Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is a beautiful tropical island off the southern tip of India. It lies just a few hundred miles north of the equator in the Indian Ocean, but the look and the vibe of the place reminded me very much of Costa Rica.

Dambulla, Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is mostly Buddhist with a fair amount of Muslims and Christians thrown in, and everybody seems to get along. Ancient Buddhist shrines like this one dot the countryside.

Sigiriya, Sri Lanka. These are the remains of a huge fortress built on top of a massive 700-foot rock. It's a 1,200-step climb to get up here and the views are amazing. Top : Enjoying the view. LR : Foundations are about all that remain today. LL : The entrance to the stairway passes between a pair of giant carved lions paws, and used to pass right through the lion's mouth. That must have been intimidating!

Ella, Sri Lanka. The interior of the island has some nice mountains and rainforests. It's a good combination for outdoor recreation of all types. This area around Ella is popular for hiking, climbing, camping, being a hippie, etc.

Sri Lanka is a colorful place!

Central Sri Lanka is tea country. And the best way to get there (for tourists at least) is to take the Tea Train. It's about a 4-hour shaky ride on an old British railway to the town of Nuwara Eliya, aka "Little England". The altitude of around 6,000 ft gives some relief from the tropical heat, and tea plants seem to thrive on it. All the green rows in these photos are "Ceylon Tea", something the British thought was important enough to build a railway to get it to market.

You tend to see a lot more elephants in Sri Lanka than you would in other places. This 'teenager' above was just wandering down a country road; the locals don't even raise an eyebrow. Ditto with the more domesticated city-dweller to the right, escorted (on his evening walk maybe?) by his master behind him. And yes, he was carrying a shovel.

Koggala Beach, Sri Lanka. This is the only place in the world I've ever seen this type of fishing. Seems pretty smart to me - maybe something to try out at home?

Midigama, Sri Lanka. The southwest and the east coasts of Sri Lanka are very well known in the surfing community. The island faces a wide-open Indian Ocean to the south, and picks up just about any swell that's out there. These pics just show the mediocre conditions while I was there but hey, the warm equatorial water sure beat surfing back home in February!

Midigama, Sri Lanka. Another perfect Sri Lankan day comes to an end.