THE BREAK OF DAWN IN ADAM'S PEAK....

CLIMBING ADAM'S PEAK... THE LOCAL EVEREST...

I spent the long weekend nursing my broken bones… aching ribs… crushed muscles and er… yes.. pampering the leech bites too.. We climbed Adam’s Peak! It’s fun in a way to recall the whole thing now, though we wanted to get back home as soon as possible at that time! But still.. it’s a place where you should visit once in your lifetime at least. We picked a wrong day to climb.. the result being the hard 15 hour climb uphill.. Yeah men!! It really took 15 hours! No kidding! Again.. it’s because we choose the wrong day. The last poya day of the season.. long weekend.. rainy days.. and worse.. the very day the local TV station SLRC wanted to do a live program there! The gates were closed for hours.

I just thought of sharing some tips that might help you, if you’re thinking of climbing the local Everest next time, so that you can go all prepared. The mountain, being 7,359 ft high, makes it one of the highest mountains in the country. I’ll just say it’s a hard climb.. Why? Just look at its shape and you’ll see why.. Buddhists call it ‘Samanala Kanda’, Saman being one of the four guardian gods of Sri Lanka. Hindus call it ‘Sivan Adi Padham’, believing that god Shiva left the giant footprint at the peak of the mountain. Catholic people believe that the footprint belonged their god ‘Adam’. So.. no wonder you meet all varieties of people climbing the mountain..

Another important thing… The mountain can only be scaled from December to April. That’s the official season where people visit the Adam’s peak. During other months… it is hard to climb the mountain due to very heavy rain, extreme wind, and thick mist. It is almost impossible to hike there through lesser known jungle tracks because of flooding rivers and animals. So.. don’t even think of an off – season visit!

There are 2 routes you can take. One; Rathnapura Road, being the toughest.. longest but the most scenic route. But most people choose the easiest route, the Hatton road, starting from Nallathanniya. We took Hatton Road too. Well… that’s about it and it’s time to start the actual ‘tips’.

Tip # 1 – Carry less. Your backpack should only contain the most essential things. A packet of biscuit, a small water bottle, a packet of glucose, an umbrella and a light snack is more than enough

Tip # 2 – Attire: It’s cold up there.. Ladies! It’s not a fashion parade. Just wear the stuff you need to get rid of the cold. A jersey.. or a denim overcoat (Mind it though, it’ll get wet and stay wet if it rains)… and if it’s raining… a rain coat… and a must…. Wear a beanie which covers your ears.

Tip # 3 – Wear rubber slippers or shoes. Slippers will make it easier to climb; but when you reach the top, your feet will get cold. Shoes are good in that case; but make sure they’re not heavy.

Tip # 4 – Don’t eat a lot before you start climbing. In the cold environment, the metabolism rate is high and you’ll end up looking for toilets!!

Tip # 5 – Medicine : Panadol… balms.. something to get rid of your tummy bugs.. lime… some plasters… These things are priceless out there!

Tip # 6 – If you’re climbing at night, it’s better to have a small torch with you.

Tip # 7 – Always stick with your group. You don’t want to end up getting lost in the middle of nowhere!!

Tip # 8 – Avoid weekends and poya days. Pick a weekday, so that the crowd will be lesser.

There you go!! Some tips. It’s worth a visit, believe me.. a lifetime experience!!

"I'M FEELING LUCKY..!"

Maybe you guys noticed this ages ago. But I’m pretty sure, still there are people who haven’t noticed it!!!. When you go to the Google home page, you will notice two buttons under the Google search text box… one reading “Google Search” and the other reading “I’m Feeling Lucky” We all know what the “Google Search” button does. You type your search in the text box, click “Google Search”, and a list of websites under the particular topic will be listed accordingly. But what’s this “I’m Feeling Lucky” for?? Ever wondered why??

Well…why don’t you keep the search text box blank, click “I’m Feeling Lucky” and see??? Your result page will read: “The "I'm Feeling LuckyTM" button automatically takes you to the first web page returned for your query. An "I'm Feeling Lucky" search means less time searching for web pages and more time looking at them.”

For all of you who noticed this before… Good! At least you guys are curious about simple things and you have enough time to wonder about them… plus, you people have some time for yourself. For all of you who haven’t noticed this before (jeez!!!)….Hellooooo…. Moon calling earth….!!!! Look around a bit…. You’ve been too busy!!!

FALLING IN LOVE WITH THE X-FILES... ALL OVER AGAIN...!!

It really is a topic to crave about!! Isn’t it??? The X-Files!! These days, what I live for is to watch the X-Files series. I’m watching the 8th season these days. There are 9 seasons in all. I got the series from my X-Files crazy friend Vish.. and I fell in love with the X-Files…. All over again (Thanks a LOT Vish!!)

I never was a TV person. So.. the hours I spent in front of the TV were veryy less. Those days, back when I was schooling, the 2 things I never missed watching were the Millennium series and the X-Files series, the creator of both being the same person: Chris Carter. The story line in both were somewhat alike.. but the X-Files is light years ahead of Millennium, simply because of the charm Scully and Mulder bring to the series

Oh.. by the way.. here’s what wikipedia has to say about the X-Files: “The X-Files is an American Peabody, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning science fiction television series created by Chris Carter, which first aired on 10 September 1993, and ended on 19 May 2002. The show was one of the American FOX network's first major hits, and its main characters and slogans (e.g., "The Truth Is Out There," "Trust No One," "I Want to Believe") became pop culture touchstones. The X-Files is seen as a defining series of the 1990s, coinciding with the era's widespread mistrust of governments, interest in conspiracy theories and spirituality, and the belief in the existence of extraterrestrial life.

In the series, FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are tasked with investigating the "X-Files": marginalized, unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena. Mulder plays the role of the "believer", having faith in the existence of aliens and the paranormal, while Scully is a skeptic, initially assigned by her departmental superiors to debunk Mulder's unconventional work. As the show progressed, both agents were caught up in a larger conflict, termed "the mythology" or "mytharc" by the show's creators, and developed a close and ambiguous friendship which many saw more as romantic than platonic.” There you go…!! The X-Files is short.

These days.. the voice in my head is the common vocabulary in the X-Files.. I hope you guys too can remember them as well: Autopsies… Abductions.. Abductees…Paranoia… The black oil… The alien bounty hunter… Aliens.. Area 51… You remember them too, right?? Back then… us schoolgirls were so crazy over it… collection stickers.. wallpapers.. paper cuttings.. pictures and all. I used to draw the X-Files logo in my friends books and hands. Why… The X-Files theme??? There was no other ring tone to beat it those days. Now too.. I hear it here and there… meaning… the people still love it.

That’s just it… The X-Files.. You never get tired of it.. Everybody loves it. Just thought of adding this post to bring back your X-Files memories back!! I suggest that you might want to watch it sometimes… Do I need to say how worth it is guys???