Sri Lanka was definitely the cultural experience we were hoping for. Having spent time living and traveling in Asia before I definitely had a bit of an idea of what to expect, but Nacho was startled, albeit in a good way. Our first impression was solely based on driving out of the airport and to our first destination; the elephant orphanage. I must say it was a bit more than I anticipated as our driver weaved in and out of traffic without blinking an eye. I forgot the calculated madness that is traffic in developing Asia, and within the hour I felt more comfortable. I guess it's a good sign that people worry less about obeying traffic laws, allowing themselves to jump into the free flowing nature of the transportation, and focus more on the always desired increase in living standards
Aside from all that, the poverty in the country is readily apparent. At first it bothers you, but since no one else notices or probably even recognizes that they live in poverty, you get adjusted quickly. The towns are quite small, but the streets are littered with kids, dogs, beat up motorbikes, and dirty buildings, all the while sprouting modern advertisements for beer or PVC piping that again seems to represent all that is the developing world here. I'm not trying to say that everywhere in Sri Lanka is like this, but the contrast is quite apparent as we transitioned often between beautiful landscapes and the towns.
All in all, the trip went great. Being two young guys amongst what was mostly romantic honeymooners and European families, didn't bode well for our heterosexual self esteem, but we rolled with the punches in sacrifice of cultural experience.
The notable sites on our trip were climbing an ancient palace on top of a mountain (the "8th natural wonder of the world" which I actually do believe), seeing the tea plantations in the hill country, the "Temple of the Tooth" that holds Buddha's last remains (yes, a tooth), and obviously riding an elephant.
Without being culturally insensitive, I can sum up my experience by thinking of Sri Lanka as an abbreviated/concise version of India. Although I still haven't touched down on the ground there, my background knowledge leads me to believe that there are many similarities; from the geography and religious diversity, to the food and cultural practices. As a result I got, what I believe, to be a quick insight into what I will label as the "Indian sub-continent" in only a weeks time, whereas it might take me a month to do so in India itself.
I flew off to Singapore yesterday, and arrived last night. The contrast between developing Asia and the police state that is Singapore is obvious from the get go. That might be why I instantly liked the city, from the tree lined drives, to the lack of trash, and the obvious wealth seen from the skyscrapers to the shopping centers. Nacho and I met up with two of the guys in our program, Prash from India, and Brandon also from the US. Prash, Nacho, and I (Brandon slept off his jet-lag) went out for the Singapore experience, of cold light beer served in chilled mugs, and spicy Asian influenced food. We sat at an open air restaurant, more like a roofed terrace with lazily spinning ceiling fans that try to mask the humidity even at midnight.
Everything was great, and walking into Chinatown today only improved my opinion of the city. It's relaxed, friendly, and Tiger beer is ubiquitous. My business workshop starts tomorrow, so hopefully I'm prepared enough to be wearing work clothes in this heat.
(Elephant riding and view from the top of the temple on the mountain)
