Congratulations to India, which rallied to beat Sri Lanka in the final of the 2011 Cricket World Cup. We didn't know a wicket from an over when we started this trip, but after seven weeks in India and Sri Lanka (co-hosts of this year's tournament along with Bangladesh), we've developed a fond affection for the game. Just don't try planning anything around a match, as they can last a veeerrrrry looooooong time. In Sri Lanka, people were playing the game everywhere - in open fields, in courtyards, on the street, in alleyways. Here's a shot of Jeremy joining in on a street-side match in Trincomalee - he got a single on his very first swing! Too bad, though, as he was rooting for Sri Lanka to beat India in the World Cup final. (We were in Hong Kong for the final, where the staff at the New Delhi Restaurant around the corner from our hotel was crowded around a computer on the street nervously following the match. At one point, the owner lamented: "Sri Lanka has set a target of 275 and we are 31 for 2 in the seventh over - oh, it's not looking good for India!" But I digress...)
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| Wandering through the scenic confines of the fort |
We traveled about four hours over rough roads to get to Trincomalee, a city on Sri Lankan's eastern coast that is affectionately known as Trinco. It's an ancient place, believed to be the city called Gokana in the Mahavasma, the great chronicles of the Sri Lankan kings. There's a sacred Hindu temple and a big standing Buddha dramatically perched over the edge of the Indian Ocean, and there's a large Dutch fort dating back to the 17th century. But in truth, we did not go to Trinco to explore its historical monuments or its ancient and colonial heritage. We went to Trinco for two reasons: First, we wanted to visit a place that was only just beginning to open up for tourists, after decades of tumult during Sri Lanka's civil war. Second, we were intrigued by the city's ethnic diversity, with its rich mix of Tamils, Muslims and Buddhists. And we had a few days to kill before our flight to Singapore.
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| View of the beach from our hotel |
Trinco has long been a center of Tamil culture in Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, this meant that the city was often a flashpoint of conflict during the long civil war between the Sinhalese government and the "Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam," commonly known in Sri Lanka as the LTTE. In addition to the ravages of war, the city was battered by the 2004 tsunami.
Our guidebook (published in 2009) describes Trinco as an eerie ghost town with the feel of an occupied city, a "Baghdad on the sea." But things are rapidly changing - and it's time to publish a new edition. Trinco still has a long way to go to establish itself as a popular tourist destination, but the city is coming to life again, the people are extremely friendly, there are some beautiful beaches, and there are actually quite a few things of interest for tourists.
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| Looking out the fort gate to the ocean |
Blessed with one of the largest natural deep-water ports in the world, Trinco has a long history as an important trading, military and religious center. The historical area of the city is centered on the expansive fort, which was initially built by the Portuguese in the 17th century, then captured, dismantled and rebuilt by the Dutch, then fought over by the British and the French, before coming under firm British control in 1795. The kids loved climbing on the canons, while Eden and I enjoyed using our French to decipher the royal inscription on the gate, "
DIEU ET MON DROIT." But the fort is just one of the vestiges of Trinco's colonial period. Looking back to the 19th century, there's a powder blue Catholic church from the 1850s and a decaying British cemetery, with old souls laid to rest like poor Samuel Moffett from Ireland who died in 1812 at the tender young age of 25. The city also has a more recent colonial history. Before World War II, the British built a large air base here, and the city became the home port of the Royal Navy's Eastern Fleet after the fall of Singapore to the Japanese, who launched an air carrier attack on Trinco in 1942. The British buildings are now used for Sri Lankan military and administrative functions.
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| More from the fort |
Our guidebook warned that the security at the fort is intense (be careful what you try to bring in, you'll be forced to leave your passport at the gate, etc.), and that many areas are closed to civilians. But the laid-back, low-key atmosphere of the place didn't seem to match this description at all. At the entrance, a lone soldier smiled lazily and let us and some locals through without any inspection. During our walk through the fort, we met a friendly Sri Lankan bureaucrat who worked for one of the governmental ministries (he handled complaints by citizens about municipal services such as electricity, water, sanitation, etc.), and he invited us to his house nearby for drinks and conversation. He recounted how much things had changed since the end of the civil war in 2009.
In addition to the charming colonial architecture, the fort is filled with dense greenery and there are two noteworthy temples - one Hindu and one Buddhist. The busy Konesvaram Hindu temple sits high on a cliff overlooking the Indian Ocean, on the spot of an ancient Hindu shrine and place of pilgrimage that was destroyed by the Dutch during their colonial exploits. The Buddhist temple offers a more peaceful setting (there was no one there when we visited), with great views over the city and out to sea.
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| Konesvaram Hindu temple |
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| Outside the temple |
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| View down to the ocean from the temple |
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| The Buddhist temple |
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| View #1 from the Buddhist temple |
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| View #2 |
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| View of the temple from our hotel room (I took this shot while sitting up in bed) |
As we boarded the train at Trinco to make the long journey back to Colombo before our onward flight to Singapore, we reflected on how much all four of us enjoyed our month in Sri Lanka. The kids didn't like the food all that much (Eden and I did!), they didn't like the incessant heat and humidity, and they didn't like either the narrow, winding roads of the Hill Country (both kids threw up once), or the pot-holed roads in the north and east of the country. But they undoubtedly liked Sri Lanka and its many charms, especially its warm-hearted people. When I asked which of the 14 teams they were rooting for to win the Cricket World Cup, there was no hesitation: The Lions of Sri Lanka.
Enjoy the pictures and see you in Singapore.
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