Day 52 of 111 – One day at sea on the way to Malé, capital of the Maldives.

Day 51 – Colombo, Sri Lanka.  Colombo was a pleasant surprise. It started with a Princess bus tour to a Buddhist Temple and Museum and ended being face to face with a deadly cobra!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATHERINE!!! - From Ski Lanka and Male!

The Buddhist Temple was very beautiful. The Buddhist style seems to be ornate without being flashy. It was a very peaceful place where everyone who enters must take off their shoes as a sign of respect. Now getting around in Colombo is an adventure! I hope the time-lapse video I shot works.  I took it while sitting on the bus waiting to leave the hotel we stopped at. The uncontrolled intersection was amazing to watch.  I saw one lady cross holding an umbrella shading herself from the sun. The umbrella completely blinded her to the oncoming traffic and she strode boldly into the flow. Somehow she arrived on the far curb unscathed as buses, cars, Tuk Tuks and motorcycles raced within inches of her on all sides. If you think this is an exaggeration, you have probably not crossed a busy street in Colombo, Sri Lanka!

During the day on the bus tour Ingrid had been looking for snake charmers, which, we had heard, could be found in Colombo.  When we arrived back at the Pacific Princess and shopped the very nice nearby shops, Ingrid proclaimed sadly, “We never found the snake charmers.” A quick stop at our room to drop our newly-purchased treasures still left many hours before the ship was to sail.  I thought we had time to hail a taxi and go out in search of snake charmers. Ingrid agreed and our most exciting adventure began. The taxi shop right by the ship assured us that we could “possibly” find some snake charmers with only a $20 taxi ride. Off we went. Our taxi driver was determined to hunt down the elusive charmers. First it was to the waterfront, where we heard that a charmer had just been there, but was nowhere to be found. Next it was down some winding streets where mostly only Tuk Tuks roam – more inquiries – and still no charmers. Then it was off to the temple – where our taxi driver thought there was a good chance. We pulled up in front of the temple and still no charmers. We were about to give up when our taxi driver parked across the street from the temple and got out of the taxi. We saw nodding heads in response to his questions and almost from thin air a charmer appeared next to our taxi holding a wicker basket with two crossed wrappings. After some unintelligible banter the charmer sat down next to our taxi and waited for us to get out and get our cameras ready.  He quickly removed the crossed ties and slowly set the basket on the ground. Dramatically he lifted the lid, and sure enough, up popped the head of a king cobra. Stealthy hand movements kept the snake “charmed”.  The snake charmer motioned for us to come and sit next to him for a better view of the snake’s face.  Both Ingrid and I were horrified at the thought and felt we were plenty close enough for our likes. The charmer, ever wanting to please, then decided we could get a better look if he rotated the basket 180 degrees so the snake was facing US! We did have a better view, from about three quick steps backward! I remember distinctly trying to take video with my iPhone, stills with my Nikon and keep an eye on the cobra and the two or three bystanders behind me, who I thought might be pickpockets. Uncomfortable, thrilled and multi-tasked come to mind. After a few minutes of “charming” we felt our curiosity had been satisfied and we were ready to depart. Ingrid had read stories about charmers who don’t get paid chasing their “clients” down the street and we certainly didn’t want our encounter to end like that. So when the “charmer” turned not so charming and demanded $25 from each of us, I balked and started to negotiate. Ingrid was having none of that and quickly uttered the line of the trip so far, “Leo – pay the man, he has a cobra and we don’t!” Thus ended one of our more memorable trip experiences.

 

 

Appropriately named!

Banyan Tree.

Tomorrow Malé, capital of the Maldives