"it's a long road to Thissamaharama, it's a long way to go.."

Cows stand knee deep in lotus-choked lakes against a backdrop of shadowy mountain ranges that lay like sleeping giant fantastical creatures, shaped by what forces i do not know.
Elsewhere rice and onion and tobacco and raw red earth where gems have recently been discovered and so now earthmovers tear at the earth like ravenous beasts.
Deep jungle roads carve nauseating curves and valleys between groves of rubber and cacao and teak and the looming black hills behind them. The rubber trees, i quickly learned, can be identified (@high speed and distance, that is) by the scars on their ravaged trunks where they have been bled for their bouncy white blood. This is deep country here, a road not travelled by tourists (for its perceived lack of attractions, which of course makes it all the more attractive). 
We are here on an insane, if not a fool’s, errand - a favor for Sampath, Dinesh’s semi-ex boss and the owner of the Lion Rock Hotel where we have stayed the last 7 nights. A 5+ hour drive from Sigiriya here to Thissamaharama (D’s home village, incidentally) to pick up parts for the hotel’s generator and bring them back…tonight…! We have just arrived in Thissa’ and have semi-scammed our way into hotel courtyard with a pool, so that Madam can cool her wilting Northern core (&, apparently, fulfill a 2 drink minimum!) while Sir catches up with his homies. The pool is a bit sketchy, but i dunked and thrashed for a bit to wake up my numb ass and stretch my terminally folded legs, and the beer? Well, it’s almost cold and since the Lion Lager plant shut down Sri Lanka has been suffering a near complete beer drought, so i’m thankful to have it, a cool drink that is not sweet. Perhaps, too, it will put me to sleep for some of the return journey if i’m lucky? One can hope…
For all the heat (no A/C in Sampath’s truck - could’ve been a deal-breaker had i known before heading out!) & the seemingly crazy choice to spend an entire day driving when i could be doing yoga, swimming in the pool, and studying Sinhala, i am very glad i came along. we have laughed so much along the way, AND i believe him when he says i would never see this part of the country otherwise. It is distinctly beautiful, quite unlike the main roads, and with everything to offer - verdant farmlands, jungle plains with the mountains of Kandy off in the distance, and these glorious thick and humming jungle valleys. The villages are beautiful, and feel enchanted; self-contained, and blissfully unsullied by the desire to serve anyone’s needs but their own. Really heartening to behold.


PS after a sunset boat ride on the lake in Thissa’, we crammed back into the truck, picked up the parts, and headed back. The road passes through 2 parts of the rear of Yala National Park, so we had a mini night safari on the way home, encountering elephants, a jackal, and the rare mouse deer ( btw, i misunderstood the name for the small deer in Wilpattu at the beginning of my travels here - it was a barking deer. the mouse deer is smaller still, like a spotted, fawn-colored jack russell with short ears and long legs!!).
​Home by 1:30 am, delirious and with fur growing on teeth. “Slept” (-ish) ’til 11:30am, then watched a monitor lizard explore the poolside while i had a long slow practice. ahh…

rivers, nonplussed buddha and elephants en route. sunset over Thissa' rice field and lake.