THE MISSED COUNTRY OF 20 YEARS AGO AND ITS DISGUISED ZOO

Monday - 30 March 2015 - Colombo, Sri Lanka

We sailed into the port of Colombo after a smooth crossing of the Bay of Bengal. Who gets to write a sentence like that nowadays? I didn't have the opportunity to write anything about Sri Lanka during my first lecturing gig on Song of Flower in 1995.

The Pool Cafe on Song of Flower in 1995 where I gave an impromptu lecture on the solar eclipse instead of our stop in Colombo. That's me wrapped in a towel to the right of the swimming pool. This picture appeared in the Radisson (now Regent) Seven Seas brochure for many years until the Song of Flower was sold by the cruise line. The ship is still in service for Quest Expeditions as the Ocean Diamond where it does Antarctic itineraries each year. The pool has been replaced by more hot tubs.

In the morning the day before we would have arrived in Sri Lanka, the captain of Song of Flower in 1995 announced that we were to bypass the port stop. He said that he had bad news. "The Tamil Tigers are blowing up the Colombo harbor and taking shots at tour buses" The intrepid passengers on the semi-expedition Song of Flower hollered in unison, "Damn!" I panicked, partly because I had prepared some words on Sri Lanka for my afternoon talk and also because it was clear that my audience was showing symptoms of insanity. I saved the day by postponing my navigation talk for later in the cruise. Instead I conducted an impromptu demonstration on deck the morning we would have arrived in Sri Lanka, . Conveniently a partial solar eclipse was to occur just at breakfast. I had the passengers project images of the sun on the plastic breakfast menus using their binoculars with the eyepieces aimed at the sky. Most were able to obtain nice images of the moon taking an increasingly big bite of the sun. A few menus got singed by those who held the binoculars backwards. Everyone was impressed and enjoyed what they thought I had scheduled all along.

Colombo's brand new container port was built by the Chinese 

Early morning  in Colombo's suburbs. Highrise office buildings were visible but we didn't get to see downtown Colombo as we rushed to the railway station

Rush hour commuters arriving in Colombo

South Asian rail stations are always fascinating even if you don't understand what you're looking at

Colombo was a busy port in the 5th Century. It still was busy for Silver Wind's visit. There was a brand new Chinese built container facility. We disembarked early for our all day tour. On this 32-day cruise Sri Lanka was the only new country for me, my 141st! We got only a quick glimpst of suburban Colombo as we headed hastily to the central railway station. The guide explained that we were to catch an early train, but our charter was not at the colonial railway station. We stood on the rush hour platform waiting for the train for over an hour. I had learned during my earlier visits to India that South Asian rail stations are always interesting. There's curious things always going on. Rush hours are extremely hectic. I wasn't surprised that our train's timekeeping was variable.

All manner of trains stopped briefly at the platforms from nice long distance comfortable trains to what looked like 1950s New York subway equipment. Barbara and I weren't bored.

The Viceroy Train eventually pulled into the platform. This train usually runs all day tours with a vintage steam engine. Our short charter had no dining car and was pulled by a diesel locomotive

Rice paddies as the Viceroy Train in the Sri Lanka interior

Finally our chartered train, "The Viceroy", finally backed into the station. This 75-year old luxury train set has been running on various itineraries from Colombo for 25 years. It's named for Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India who had a headquarters in Kandy, high up in the Sri Lankan mountains. We were to take this train as far as Pinnawela, some two and a half hours in the foothills northeast of Colombo but far enough to see some of the interior of the country. Nevertheless, I was disappointed that Kandy was too far a destination for our port stay in Colombo. I had booked an all day train trip to Kandy on the missed visit long ago.

Our tour guide gave a short talk on the history of Sri Lanka as well as his personal problems growing up black

More than a century of British occupation left a rail network. This classic view along the Colombo to Kandy main line reminded me an Edward Hopper painting

The rural scenery was lovely, we were served Ceylon tea (of course), and our guide's quick history of Sri Lanka was informative. The island's strategic location was critical as a stop for sailing ships carrying goods on the marine "silk road" between Asia and Europe. He also mentioned that while 150 plus years of British occupation was undesirable in general, the Sri Lankans were thankful for the train network. So I liked this guy immediately. Trains! Also interesting was his personal story. He had traced his Sri Lankan family history back for many generations but had difficulties due to his obvious African ancestry. He is very black. He explained that discrimination ended for him when he became a tour guide. He decided to shave his head and wear earrings to "look the part". Perhaps there's a lesson here.

The Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage

After a short bus ride from the local train station we arrived at this unique facility. Unlike the ubiquitous elephant parks elsewhere in South and Southeast Asia, the animals in Pinnawela are not trained. They do not put on shows or provide tourist rides. We were told these beasts were "rescued from the wild". They are orphans as their mothers had been poached and there wasn't enough food in the wild for growing elephant families.The Orphanage's mission was to provide a safe and natural home. It was emphasized that tourism was incidental to the primary function, perhaps a necessary evil to raise operating funds. Our group was jazzed, although a few people wanted rides and circus like demonstrations having misunderstood the ship's tour description. Apparently, there had been an excursion from Penang to a more touristy elephant park.

The elephant dung paper factory made letter stationery and greeting cards. Hallmark doesn't have to worry

Everyone got their existential experience. Most on the tour gushed over the humanitarian efforts of Pinnawela. Mine view became increasingly more cynical. After our guide paid the admission fee at a turnstile, we passed through a shopping arcade where all sorts of tourist dreck was on offer. Our first stop was the "Elephant Dung Paper Factory". We got a demonstration of how paper was made from the abundant byproduct of the orphanage. Many of our group purchased letter stationery and gift cards, no doubt because they cared to send their friends and relatives the very best. Barbara and I wondered what medium would be employed for any thank you notes they were to receive from their correspondents.

Photo opportunity at the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage

Mahouts feeding the animals

A siren warns the shoppers to stand aside

A few of the animals were not allowed to roam free

Next we were escorted to an observation area above the Pinnalanda River. For a while elephants were poised photographically in the river. All at once they accumulated at river's edge where Mahouts were handing out food. Soon a siren sounded and the elephants obediently herded through the town as the tourists snapped multiple pictures, some of them of the elephants. I could not help thinking of a very similar scene at the nightly "parade of lights" at Disney World. Only this parade had only Dumbos. I asked why a few lone animals were manacled. It was explained that these had "troublesome personalities". I kept my mouth shut.

One elephant was particularly happy to be photographed by the tourists

All travel experiences are "performance art" for the tourist. My conclusion was that the "Elephant Orphanage" was no specifically intended to be a performance. This was essentially a zoo. Instead of training the animals to do tricks, these elephants were trained to be displayed. They paraded and fed on demand. Noncompliant animals were constrained but still put on display. These elephants were alive, but it was clear that rather than rescued from poachers they were actually saved to be shown in a money making tourist attraction. Oh well. We got to take a niffty train ride, saw a bit of Sri Lanka, and had a wonderful lunch of local Sri Lankan dishes at The Pinnawela River View Restaurant. It should be noted that Barbara and I, as usual, were the only participants of our tour group that sought out the local cuisine.

The only super highway in Sri Lanka  was built by the Chinese. Our guide explained that the tolls were very high and the highway was "falling apart" 

On the speedy return to Colombo by tour bus, the guide explained that the superhighway we were on was also built by the Chinese but was falling apart. The expected employment from Chinese investment didn't materialize in Sri Lanka. Instead Chinese workers had been brought in to do all the work. They lived on self-contained ships throughout the projects and spent no money in country. As result of this, the new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka had recently announced that the Chinese investment in Sri Lanka was no longer to be sought.

We sailed for Cochin, India where we were to arrive at noon the next day.