THE SOUTH IS MADE OF BEACHES - DAY 2

How does it feel like to wake up to the cool breeze of the sea and the endless sound of the ocean waves? Well.. That’s how our second day started. I woke up around 5.30 in the morning, dressed up quickly and ran out to see the beauty of a sea morning. The thin fog was covering the bay… and the fishing boats were slowly swaying and resting in the harbor.

I walked up to the end of the jetty and found my best friend sitting in the farthest corner. We watched a colony of fish jumping up from the sea surface like antelopes running is land. It was beautiful. When we watched the rocks closely, we found crabs..!! Yes.. Crabs of different sizes and colors.

The sad thing was… no matter how beautiful the place was, we had to leave the place, because we were suppose to reach Katharagama by nightfall. We had a great breakfast and said goodbye to the place and left for Katharagama. The next stop was Dewinuwara devalaya. I’ve passed it many times, but never being there. So.. we got the chance this time.

Next, we went to see the beautiful Devundara lighthouse. You should.. SHOULD.. I mean.. you really really SHOULD go there. What a view it is..! The sea around it was sooo beautiful. The lighthouse stands among the rocky surface as a proud giant...! You'll love this place, trust me. Actually... my whole intention of the trip was to go and see it.. and it finally worked..!
The Mulkirigala Rock temple was on a top of a hill. It has quite a history behind it. So many folk tales are woven around this ancient temple. Beli mal... ranawara... hakuru... straight from heaven to kill the thirst...!!

Now.. I'm going to tell you about a very interesting place now.. Ever heard of Ussangoda?? It's called the 'Horton Plains of South'. Just see the picture, guys..!! It is believed that a meteor has fallen to the beach in Nonagama.. long time back. And this is it..!! The meteor is the plain. The soil is pure red.. and you find strange types of stones there... The plain is a higher ground, so... you get a fantastic view of the sea from there.. Theer's only thin grass.. and medical plants. Animals live in the thicket... and the beach is full of biodiversity.. We had out lunch from an open sea restaurant in the beach and had a good mid day bath from the sea...

We were in Katharagama by 7.30. The moon was up and the climate was softer... The perfect time to visit Kiri Wehera..!! Had quite a good dinner from the place where we stayed.. Two spectacular days...! One more day to come before this ends.. So.. Good night for today, folks..!! These two days were absolutely awesome.!!

IN GOD'S COUNTRY - DAY 3.....

Waking up in the morning... far from home. You're now in Katharagama..! I'm a little bit sad since it's the last day.. Hmmm.. Well.. After a quick breakfast, we headed to Sellakatharagama... OK.... I know... That's where you get loads of dodol and all other kinds of sweets...!! Menik River was quite calm that morning... Peacock feathers... sweets... morning prayers for hindu gods... smell of fresh fruit... and various kinds of sweet smells in the early morning...!!

We wanted to be for the poojawa at 9.30 in Katharagama Dewalaya. So we hurried for it.. So. what's the best thing about it?? Well... the fruits.. yeah... you get to eat loads of them after the poojawa... I love and love it...!! We visited Thissamaharamaya on the way too..Ate loads of nelli & delum from there.. Woodapples..! There were a plenty..!! Dodol... we bought 12 kilos.. It was around noon when we reached Kirinda.. The sun was high up and it was very hot. But we didn't miss the wonderful view...

After having a late lunch at the bunt of Thissa Wewa, we started our return journey.. crossing Udawalawe & Embilipitiya.. We stopped to look at elephants and peococks.. There were so many...!!

It was around 10 at night when we reached home.. and I felt that i've gained a lot for the 3days.. maybe I ate a lot of sweets.. But.. who cares?? i enjoyed the trip a lot...I wish I could go again to see those wonderful beaches again.. I dream of them very often... Guys.. girls, don't worry about sun tans... You just go there and enjoy..!! You'll get your skin colour back...!! Katharagama.. in the best time of the year..!! I'll remember these 3 days forever..!

THE COLOURS OF THE OCEAN....

Just near the Lighthouse in Devundara... The sea is full of colours..!

GOBLIN : THE REBIRTH OF A PIRATE...

How many of you believe in mythical legends, mythical beliefs and mythical creatures? If you’re a Harry Potter fan, I’m sure you do. The creatures and beliefs in Harry Potter books were not created in one night. Do you remember the Hippogriff in the 3^rd Harry Potter movie? For most of you, it should have been the first time you’ve seen a Hippogriff. But Hippogriffs are legendary creatures who conquered the world of myth, since long time back.

Now.. who knows about Chimeras? Well.. I’ll tell you. It’s a creature from the Greek mythology with a lioness’s body with a tail that terminated in a snake's head and with a head of a goat arose on her back at the center of her spine. Time for you to picture it..!! Unicorns? Legends say that Unicorns exist in this world, but you can’t see them, because the horn in its forehead is not visible to us. I can tell you so many stories abut these creatures. But last week, an article in a newspaper caught my eye. I found it interesting and wanted to share it with you all.

It was about Goblins.. Goblins in the coastal village of Cornwall, England. Cornwall..?? Ring any bells, anyone? If you read Sherlock Holmes, this should be a familiar name to you. However… let’s get back to the story now. Who exactly is a Goblin? The word GOBBLE in English annotates eating food in a greedy way. From generations, the coastal area of Cornwall is a famous gathering place for Goblins. Everybody can’t see them. Some can see… but most cannot. For those who have seen them say that these creatures are about 8 feet tall, massive bodied and covered with golden colour fur. Their faces resemble faces of goats, horses or sheep.

From centuries ago, these goblins used to give predictions about thunderstorms to the fishermen in the village. So, for fishermen in Cornwall, these goblins are like guardians of the sea. According to those who have seen these Goblins, they just sit on rocks and stare at the ocean. When a storm is near, they scream and warn the fishermen about the nearing disaster. To pay their gratitude to these life savers, when fishermen come out of the sea after fishing, they throw a big fish or a two into the huge rocks in the beach, hoping that these unseen Goblins would eat them.

People have seen them staring at the sea, but none has seen them walking. Legends say that a Goblin is the rebirth of a pirate… and by staring at the sea and helping fishermen and boats, the pirate is paying for his sins. That’s how the story goes. Interesting, isn’t it? Well.. There are many mythical stories I know. Time by time, I’ll share them with you all. You’ll love to hear about the Unicorns, I’m sure.

THE 'NOT-REALIZING-TILL-THEY-LOSE-IT' FACTOR....

A complicated topic in the making..!! Brought up with lots of guy friend.. and spending my entire campus life with a gang of guys as my best friends, I ended up knowing a lot about this complicated topic.. GUYS..!! Guys and girls are from different planets, that’s true. Out of many things, I just want to share this one thing about guys with you all… which I have observed very often… and have enough experience to share with you all.

It’s about this ‘not realizing-till-they-lose-it’ factor. What the hell is that?? Wait… let me tell you. I’ll take two incidents as examples. There was this guy… a very good friend of mine… and there was this girl too.. both are very cool people. They studied in two different Universities, but they met in a function in one of their universities. After they became god friends, they talked everyday… text each other all the time. One studied law and one studied Engineering… two different fields. They had a lot in common.. and as the time passes, good friends became best friends. Since I knew both of them well.. I knew this guy liked her in a more-than-a-friend way. But this guy never revealed his feelings for her.. The reason I understood was… she was always there… being his best friend and she was always AVAILABLE for him

But he never realized that she has to go someday. So.. what happened was… this other guy, who also used to study in her University, popped out from nowhere and she and him… they also became good friends… The second guy was nice. I knew him as well… and it was from me who she asked about this second guy. I knew the other guy liked her, but I told her that the second guy is very nice and good… What am I to do? After some time, she started going out with the second guy. Then only the light bulb appeared upon our guy’s head. He realized that he has loved her so much… and since he didn’t spit out his feelings for her, she stopped waiting too. She knew this guy liked her… but she can’t wait forever for him to realize it, can she? Now.. this guy has gone love-crazy. One day, this girl told me the story… and then only I told her that I knew it all along. She cried a lot… Why? I know why….

Why don’t guys come to their senses before they lose the people they love? You might say it’s maybe because he didn’t want to risk the friendship. Come ooooon people! They were best friends… So they can talk and figure out ANYTHING by talking.

The second incident is just as the same one. This time… the guy was my friend. He’s a very good friend of mine. Once I realized that he has this little ‘thing’ for me. I knew it, buy he never told me what was in his mind. He knew that I knew it too. Time passed… we went our separate ways for finding jobs… and our lives became busy. He kept silent. Some time later, I heard that he’s having a very good friendship with this girl.. and as I heard, they were almost going out. Recently, this guy called me… and when I asked about it, he said. ‘I couldn’t tell her my feelings…. Now she’s going out with a guy’… Hmmm… Then I told him ‘This happens to you every time. Every time you make the same mistake. Don’t ever make that mistake again’. He knew what I was talking about … and he agreed.

I wonder why this particular thing is an in-built feature in a guy’s character. I don’t think it’s common for every guy, but I’ve seen this nature in most of the guys I know. They don’t realize it till they lose it. Just as the saying goes…

Never take someone for granted…
Hold every person close to your heart…
Cz u might wake up one day…
And realize that you’ve lost a diamond….
While u were too busy..
Collecting stones…

THE MOVIE YEAR 2008....

It’s the middle of the Sunday, and the heat is so high. Right now, I’m watching Eagle Eye, which is suppose to be a high ranked movie in 2008. While I’m watching it, I wanted to turn back and recall how the year 2008 has been, for all the movie fans. You know, I’m a movie addict and I can’t resist writing something about movies in my blog, time by time. Make sure you didn’t miss any of the good movies in 2008, before you put your focus into 2009. Just to make sure, I’ll give you guys a few clues.

As a starter, let me tell you… I watched The Day the Earth Stood Still in the theatre this weekend. It was good. It’s an alien invasion movie, starring the Matrix guy and Jennifer Connelly. If you liked Tom Cruise’s War of the Worlds, you’ll definitely like this one too.

Yesterday I watched Fly Me to the Moon, an animated movie. It was quite good. There were a few animated movies which came out in 2008. Let me summarize. The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything: A Veggies Tale… I downloaded it, but still couldn’t watch it. Igor is supposed to be very good. That too, I’m downloading right now. Will tell you after I watch it. Kung Fu panda was a hit. After the movie, a 30 minute post-movie story came out. The Secrets of the Furious Five. It just tells us about the making of the Furious Five. Horton Hears a Who was a hit. Wall-E was OK, but it’s sort of boring. But I loved the lil robot who calls out “Eeee-vaaaa” to his sweetheart. Open Season 2 was quite funny, just as the 1^st movie. Madagascar 2, yet to be watched. Tinkerbell was a sweet one. Space Chimps was so funny.

Let’s get to the fantasy world now. Make sure you didn’t miss Spider wick Chronicles and Chronicles of Narnia 2: Prince Caspian. Action movies… Untraceable… Jumper..10000 B.C… Doomsday… Babylon A.D… Iron Man.. Wanted.. Hellboy 2… The Dark Knight.. The X-Files movie was a mess. There was nothing much exciting about Death Race as well. The City of Ember, I just downloaded. The Incredible Hulk was not that good, trust me. So is the Indiana Jones movie. I hated it. I watched the trailer of Twilight and read some comments about the movie. It’s even a bigger hit than The Dark Knight, according to the statistics. The DVD rip is still not available in torrent sites, but I personally recommend it even before watching it. It’s that good. Nicholas Cage’s Bangkok Dangerous was not worth the wait too.

Sex and the City was quite a lengthy movie, but the storyline was good. Mamma Mia, the musical was funny, but it’s not that much to crave for, as people tell. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 was a sweet one. Girls, make sure you watch it, ok? The Duchess.. Hmmm.. That’s a very good one. You should watch it. Keira Knightley is in her best form, you’ll see. Flawless, the story of the Diamond Robbery starring Demi Moore…quite OK.

If somebody asks me to name the 3 best horror movies in 2008, I’d name them as One Missed Call, The Eye and Shutter. Mirrors was a big disappointment, so is The Strangers. Comedies… Hmm.. Tropic Thunder, not good. Wild Child was not exactly a comedy, but it’s nice. House Bunny, good. Superhero Movie, thumbs down. You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, a disaster, so is Love Guru.

I’m missing out so many. So, in general, I’ll casually mention some good ones. Make it Happen.. Quantum of Solace… The Other Boleyn Girl.. Taken.. Never Back Down… Loaded.. Transsiberian.. Drillbit Taylor.. Made of Honour… 21… Over Her Dead Body… The Andromeda Strain… Cloverfield… Sorry guys. I have over 50 movies in my PC, but I’ve deleted so many. But at least.. I hope this list will help. Let’s see what surprises the movie makers have for us in 2009. Fingers crossed…

THIS DAY.... I THINK OF HIM.....

Thinking of this day… exactly one year back… Hmmm… One moment, he was alive… talking and talking without stopping… and 5 hours later, he went so quiet… and didn’t open his eyes… or didn’t speak a single word. He was my best friend… my brother… the light of my life. I still remember this day.. last year… Sitting in front of my computer.. and writing in my blog about him, with tears in my eyes…. How I had him.. How he came to my life… and how he had to go away from my life. Just like a candle light blown away by the wind, he was gone… Gone forever….

I miss him so much. I loved him so much… And the place he rests is on the other side of the world. His best friend.. me… I didn’t even see where he rests… sleeping. I still believe he was an angel…and he added magic to my life, taking me under his angel wings. Brought loads of smiles… happiness and memories to my life.. and he did it all in 3 years. Maybe he didn’t want to see me being alone. So he gave me another angel… another best friend.

Today… I just smile remembering the precious memories he gave me.… He’s up in the sky.. sitting by a star, watching over me from all the way up there, I sense it. And… life goes on… and on… and on.. Still… I miss you my brother..