Plastic junk.

Hampi, 18-12-1994. The main festival of the year dedicated to the deity of Hampi - Lord Shiva himself - started yesterday. Last night they carried statues of Lord Shiva and his wife Parvati from the temple to the tank in front of my hotel where they put the statues in a boat and let the boat float around for a while. I watched the proceedings but the exact meaning of all this eluded me despite the efforts of the chai shop wallah to explain it all to me!!! Despite the VERY polluted water of the tank several locals overcome by relicious fervour, no doubt, jumped into the tank and swam along with Lord Shiva`s boat. Naturally all the noice, singing and chanting, the cries of exited devotees chased me away from my customary place at the chai shop late afternoon. Off course the festival brings bus loads of local tourists to Hampi as well as sellers who come to Hampi en masse building their market stalls in Hampi`s main bazaar selling all this plastic junk the average indian tourist is so happy with. Plastic bangles in a billion different colors but with only one design.

Chai shops.

Hampi, 17-12-1994. I quite mellowly live my life from one day into the next. The chai shop opposite my hotel or the Trisule chai shop a bit further on in the village, are sure bets looking for me late afternoon. Early in the day I`ll most likely be on a walk discovering new temples and more ruins everytime I leave the village. I`ve come to know most dope dealers by face and am now quite familiar with their prices, who has the best grass in what place can you smoke and where not....

Cool babas.

Hampi, 15-12-1994. All the friends I`ve made since my arrival Have all suddenly decided to move south or go to Goa for X-mas. So I`ve finally some time to clear my head and look around. Apperently there`re some real cool babas at the other side of the river, might go there tomorrow to check things out.

A fertility scrine???

Hampi, 14-12-1994. Almost at the top of Archyutaraya Temple is the entrance to a small cave dedicated to Lord Shiva. Through a semi-dark tunnel of about a km. in length which is sometimes broad and huge and at other times small and pitch dark, we got to a small chamber with a small lingam. I imagine the place to be a small temple dedicated to fertility. I imagine the childless women in the village and from far away to come up there and make sacrifice and offerings in the hope to get pregnant with a son. I imagine the oldest and childless spinster in the village living up there taking care of the scrine. I imagine this place to be stricktly OFF LIMITS to all males, females only!!!....There were actually quite a number of local women up there shyly looking away from us and there WAS an old woman at the place who looked quite upset at us being there..........

A skeleton in a cave.

Hampi, 13-12-1994. From the top of the Achyutaraya Temple on top of the hill over looking Sule bazaar, the views are great and inside the temple are cool babas and sadhus always willing to share a chilam with you and explain the "religious" aspects of the chilam, singing ancient Veda songs in Sanskrit and Pali. An australian archelogist who wa stoned out of his mind on good and cheap indian grass, showed me the human remains, a skeleton probably left there among the rocks by the local constabulary as he explained to me, got the picture myself really! We reached it after a circuitous route up and over huge boulders and finally inside some sort of cave. At night I end up in chilam parties with weird people from all over the place who are always preparing a new mix and talk absolute bullshit.

Baths in the river.

Hampi, 12-12-1994. To avoid the laddle-style shower in my "hotel" I take baths in the river during my long walks around Hampi. The whole area is set in a magnificent landscape and with the ruins behind me I take off all my clothes but my underpants and bathe in the murky water, feeling more relaxed as ever despite a period of intence and persistent bad luck. There are many sadhus living in and around the ruins always willing to share a chilam with you. With their orange robes and long rasta beards they fit in nicely with the magic of the landscape.

A soaked mix for my chilam.

Hampi, 11-12-1994. Had a nice walk today visiting most of the ruins in the immidiate vecinity of Hampi despite getting stoned well before breakfast. Maybe that is what made all these ruins so special!!! A begging sadhu at the river showed me how to make a good mix for my shilam, how to make it burn longer. Basically he just soaked the whole mix in a mixture of hash oil and some liquid before throwing it into the chilam.....no wonder I got so stoned out of my head when I left him!!! I`m still not over my wonder at having found this place!!!

AN AMAZING FEAT!!!

Hampi, 10-12-1994. Finally in Hampi, fabled Hampi. The area is everything I imagined it to be and much more!!! Big boulders are strewn all over the place and evry bend in the uneven footpaths reveal new ruins that are in an amazing good condition considering how long ago they have been built. For 25 Rp. a day i found a small room witha thin matress on the floor in a place called Durga Lodge. I left my key inside the room this morning when I went out with the padlock in a closed position. One of the boys of the hotel/lodge managed to get the key through the bars of the open window with the aid of a self made "fishing rod" with some electricity at the end turned into a hook. AN AMAZING FEAT!!!

On the way to Hampi.

Hospet, 09-12-1994. I spent most of today in the bus thinking about Sri Venkatesan, all the sellers with their plastic junk that seems to be so popular here among the locals, and all the devotees waiting patiently in endless queues gaining merit by giving to the poor of whom their were a surprising lot in such a small little and prosperous town. tomorrow I`ll arrive in Fabled Hampi I been hearing so much about on the backpacker`s road.....

Lord Venkatesan.

Thirupathi, 08-12-1994. 51 haircut curves and all the way up in a rambling old bus I fear will fall apart at any moment, full with pelgrimsdressed in black, their voices shrill in exitement. their eyes full with devotion. Their time has finally come to get darsan from Lord Venkatesan. Nothing can stop them now, not even the prospect of 5 hot and dusty hours in a queue. I followed them and full with wonder but bought myself a entrance ticket for 30 Rp. to shorten the waiting time. In the end I saw a black colored, 3 m. tall statue, bulky like the priests that were in attentance and covered in garlands, tikka and flowers at about 20 m. of murky dark distance. A mean looking indian pushed on those devotees who spent more as the presumeably usual 10 seconds. As a western tourist who had also bought a hefty 30 Rp. Entrance ticket, however, I was allowed a special place at the side and could take my time.

Long-awaited-most-promised letter.

Thirupathi, 07-12-1994. Finally this long-awaited-most-promised letter from Magareth informing me cheerily about this other bloke she met and blablabla, not really a great surprise, did I really expect her to wait for me after I ran out on her???? Off course not..Surprising myself I even felt happy for her. However close Mahabalipuram and Thirupathi might seem to be on the map of India, it still took me most of today in the closed confinement of an indian bus with a change in Madras - confinient becuase I had to go to the G.P.O. anyway to pick up Magareth`s letter -and a broken down bus30 km. or so before Thirupathi Needless to say that I retired to my room after wolving down a couple of plain Masala Dosas.

The crocdile farm.

Mahabalipuram, 06-12-1994. Fully packed in in the super right spirit to hit the road again, I walked to the bus stand this morning just to be told "no bus today, sir, strike". I have heard this before and over a year of travelling in Asia has thaught me to see this philosophically. Returned to myu hotel, smoked a joint, hired a bike and cycled the 14.5 km. to the crocodile farm. Interesting place with pits full with ugly, mean looking crocs. They watch you with their ice-cold beady eyes, not moving an inch, just waiting and waiting.......Naturally the indian holiday makers in their fancy clothesknow quite a few tricks to get the crocs active, throw a Tumps-Up bottle on top of them for example.

White eagles at Thirukkkalikundram.

Mahabalipuram, 05-12-1994. I`ve started thinking about leaving tomorrow but ain`t sure yet. Supposae I`ve to figure out which place first to go to...18 km. inland from Mahabalipuram is this place called Thirukkalikundram with lots of interesting indian country life in between and therefore a good daytrip by bicycle! Two big white eagles come to the hill temple - you get there by going up 500 stairs on foot, you could also get up by being carried up - to be hand-fed by a local priest at noon every day. I climbed the 500 stairs leaving my bike downstairs but these eagles were nowhere to be seen. The local priest was there, however demanding baksheesh from me. He, after all had also climbed these 500 stairs to hand-feed these white eagles that I still have to see. hahahaha!!!!! This is India after all!!!

My first joint of the day.

One whole year I`ve been on the road today, I did, however, nothing to celebrate it apart from the fact that I smoked my first joint of the day a hell of a lot earlier!!! I do remember vividly, however, Magareth, tha nice little black lady, bringing me to Schiphol and passionately kissing me goodbye seriously believing I would come back soon instead of staying away, today one year.

Modesty in India.

Mahabalipuram, 04-12-1994. "You hear that a thousand times a day", The irate voice behind me whispers. Turning around I see the voice belongs to a pretty blond passing me while this beggar - he must be the skinniest beggar in the whole of India, dressed only in a loin-cloth - tries one more time to get some baksheesh out of her, completely ignoring me. On the beach I see rich middle- and upper class indians bathing with their clothes on, the local fisherman 30 m. further on is less modest, cleaning his ass with sea water after just having a shit in full view!!!

Crowds in India.

Mahabalipuram, 03-12-1994. You`ve got to be carefull with crowds in India. Crowds can really gather quickly in this place!! Something out of the ordinary and almost instantly half of India is out en masse to see what is going on. A white tourist with a huge sketch book is sufficient reason to attract bus loads of locals.

Dirty street children.

Mahabalipuram, 02-12-1994. Dirty street children with a weird american accent ask me for a cookie while the tank just behind Arjuna`s penance is being used to clean one`s ass after having attende to a ever repeating daily need. I almost fell asleep in the shade of trees, the distinct sound of the sea in my ears, at Tiger Cave, four km. out on the road to Madras. The sunset at the tank offers fantastic views, a great panorama with the Vs of over flying geese that remind me of my youth in the south of Holland. Many dutch people here, most of them on organised tours. I eavesdrop on their conversation: discussions about indian life and the cup of chai they just drank in front of this primitive shed that houses a whole family back in the fishing village.

A local professional opinion.

Mahabalipuram, 01-12-1994. Spent most of the day making drawings for this sketch book. One has got to be carefull with this hoppy, though, in this part of the world. The moment I take this book out of my bag I can feel curious eyes - local eyes, that is - rolling up and down in their sockets in exitement. A crowd gathers quickly in this country and in no time I`m surrounded by locals giving one another their professional opinion with exclamations like; "Oh, artist. Very Good. Let me see! One photo, please". And more of the same. All of a sudden I see quite a few tourists. Did they all arrive overnight or what? I mean there was practically nobody yesterday....

Mahabalipuram.

Mahabalipuram, 01-12-1994. Heavy drinking at the airport with a stream of tears last night but I`m alone again with my not-so-any-more freedom. Mahabalipuram is full with hotel touts and but a few tourists. So naturally all these hotel touts are rolling over one another looking for business. I avoided them all, took a room and knocked myself out with good grass trying to forget the fact I`m alone again.I told Christina just before walking out of the airport "I love you, you know that!!!" Just to give her confidence a good booster! Could use some myself, though!!!

Goodbey to Christina.

Madras, 29-11-1994. Looking back to the last three weeks or so - 2 and a half week really but it feels longer - I just can`t but wonder how much influence my short relation with Christina had on my person. Time has literally flown during our time together! I`m usually mostly into the sex when I`m in a relationship but with Christina I was also quitew content just to be around her. The same for her as she happily told me. From a selfconscious and scared shitless of the local males she turned into a self-assured and confident woman over the past few weeks. However, all good things come to an end. Tonight she`ll fly back home, to work and a boy-friend who hopefully won`t notice the little horns that have come growing out of his head recently. Who doesn`t know yet that just 3weeks ago he was her "my dearest boy-friend" to a "good friend"now..... The pic is of the two of us together in Periyar underneath the watch tower.

Auroville.

Pondircherry, 28-11-1994. Despite the absolutely hopelessly chaotic traffic situation on the roads of India, we decided to take our chances and hire a bicycle to go to Auroville, an international settlement of idealists about 13 km. from Pondicherry. Ian, a New Sealand amigo of mine, moved out of Auroville leaving his 30 year younger wive behind with another - probably younger man - according to one of Auroville`s residents. I met Ian and his charming local wife during my last visit to Auroville 5 years ago. The famous Matri Mandir - I would personally rather use the word "notorious" - is after several years of internal strife in the upper echelons of Auroville`s hierachy finally nearing its completion. To me and my most charming amiga it still looks like a blemish on the very green and fertile landscape of Auroville. Wildlife aplenty with even a sighting of a mother mongoose with two offspring.

Pedalling dope dealers.

Pondicherry, 27-11-1994. The pedalling dope dealers - rickshaw wallahs - of this former french enclave in Tamil Nadu amuse me beyond believe. The street might be totally deserted but they still wisper "you wanna buy good grass"? Ijust start screaming "hey everybody just listen up, this man here wants to know if you want some good Ganja"! Naturally thay disappear in a hurry probably believing I`m completely off my head,

The Sri Rangam Temple.

Trichy, 25-11-1994. Many cities and town in southern India have two names - one of them in Tamil - which is occassionally quite confusing. The Rock Fort Temple - definitely worth a visit - offers good views at 23 m. in height. As usual with these hindu temples, devout Hindus are prostrating themselves in front of Hindu idols making a small offering, a bowl with fruit, a coconut, some insence and a bit of colored powder called .T.I.K.K.A. The little shops providing all thesae necesary items in religious Hindu life do a triving business! The Hindus are dressed in their best clothes, chatting among themselves and asking us, the foreign tourists, if they can pose with them for a picture. They buy plastic bracelets and similar stuff - even plastic binoculars - from the souvenir sellers, naturally after the usual haggling over the price. A few km. outside Trichy is Sri Rangam Temple, the biggest temple complex in India with seven walls surrounding the Sanctum Sanctorum. Pelgrims dressed in black and local children explaining the stone sculptures to us.

Shri Meenakshi Temple.

Madurai, 24-11-1994.After our disastrous experiences with State Transport busses which were obviously non-excistent despite the efforts of the locals to convince us otherwise, we have gone into the habit of getting up real early whenever we wanna move to an other city or place and catch the first bus leaving for our preplanned destination. We still will have to wait around a little but at least we manage to get our precious bus. Madurai with the Shri Meenakshi Temple belongs among the cream of India as far as most western backpackers are concerned. An opinion with which I readily agree! Even though the inner sanctum is not accessible for non-hindus, the place is still fabulous with spacious corridors, the walls and collumns full with stone carvings and gargoyles. The ceilings covered in murals, a temple elefant that will pat you on the head with its trunk after you`ve given the animal a coin and everywhere very devout Hindus in their best clothes. Naturally the "official" guides have a problem with a negative answer to their services but in general the place is quite relaxed.

Tripping on Magic Mushrooms.

Kumily, 23-11-1994. Our adventurous and drug induced time in the watch tower came to an end this morning. In three days we finished a whole tola of grass between us and got on a far out trip on Magic Mushrooms. I had never before tried Magic Mushrooms in my life, always waited for the right opportunity and company....The watch tower offered me the right opportunity and Christina the right company. It was quite an interesting experience! First I started to feel extremely relaxed, next I was able to break the colors of any object down or add to them, any way I wanted. Eventually I was seeing all sorts of Walt Disney cartoon sort of shapes marching by - maybe that were the elefants we never saw....I made the squares of the chess board go around in circles, yeah, I was most definitely tripping!!!

Fresh tiger droppings.

Periyar, tiger territory, 21-11-1994. Two days we`ve been here in our wooden watch tower, sleeping on a wooden bunk and spending the morning brewing noodle soup mixed with Magic Mushrooms that keeps us high and happy for the rest of the day which we spend on the little balcony of the watch tower watching wild life while working on our tola of grass. A pity for Christina but we`ve to as yet see any elefants....Where are all these elefants I saw when I was here in 1989. Maybe they`re not around any more. All shot by trigger happy, money oriented poachers - ruthless business people or else locals brought to those horrible acts by the starving of their families. Who can say? During our very first forray in the nearby forest we found the fresh tracts of a female tiger which got Christina quite worried. I decided to tell her nada and nothing about the recent tiger droppings I had found earlier in the morning very close to our watch tower.

Periyar, tiger territory.

Periyar, tiger territory, 20-11-1994. After a full five years I`m back in Periyar and staying in the very same watch tower as at that time. But not alone this time. The boats that cruise the lakes of Periyar cost 50 Rp. for us foreigners and only a fraction of that for locals. They are loaded mostly with indian middle class holiday makers, all in their best clothes and eager to see a real wild tiger, camaras at the ready. In sheer excitement they start shouting like a pig that is about to be slaughtered, whenever a they see a deer, wild boar or whatever sticks its head up. I`ve a nagging suspicion that they`ll have to wait a very long time for that tiger they`re so keen on!!! We need this boat to get to our watch tower which is deep inside the park. We`re well equiped with a whole tola of grass, tabacco and food for the next couple of days. This is all pretty much deja vu for me but then Periyar has always been my favourite wild life park in India.

The Hindu holy books.

Ernakaulam, 17-11-1994. The jewish synagogue in Cochin is very interesting, especially when you are jewish. But even when you`re not you can`t but be impressed! Only a mere hundert meter further up the street is the Matkunderry Fort also called the Dutch Fort. Magnificent murals depicting the Hindu holy books like the Mahabarata and the Ramayana. At the jewish synagogue they showed uas a page of the Toran , the jewish holy book, supposedly 100 yeras old. A few days ago I thaught Christina how to play chess. Now that might have been a little mistake! Despite no real previous experience, Christina picked up the essence of the game remarkably fast and actually beat me in the third game.

India`s transport system.........

Kottayam, 18-11-1994. Trying to explain today`s debacle in plain terms instead of abussive language against India`s transport system , not easy really. More like practically impossible!!! We spent four hours - waiting included - to get to Kottayam where we had lunch and waited for the bus to Periyar/Thekkady. By 19.45 h. we gave up and found ourselves a room instead. Of course the room`s wall were riddled with peep holes but by that time we were to exhausted from sheer frustration to care!!!

The backwater trip.

Alleppuza,16-11-1994. We did the very relaxing and mightily interesting backwater trip today.A very good way to watch the life of the people who live on and along the backwaters of Kerala. All along the backwaters the locals use these chinese fishing nets. I seemed to me a lot of work just to catch a few small fish. It is quite amazing to see how some locals live on small, little floating islets, having a hut to live in, raising chicken and pigs and even growing some vegetables. For 2400 Rp. it`s possible to go down the backwaters in your own private cruise ship. However, the only one we saw had engine problems of the mechanical type and under the irritated supervision of the foreign clients, the locals were paddling it on. Must take a long time to reach Alleppuza that way! Well, this is India after all!!! I`ve actually been to Alleppuza before but though I vividly remember this backwater trip< I`ve no recolection of Alleppuza whatsoever.

Kollam or Quilon, Alleppuza or Alleppy?

Kollam, 15-11-1994. We left Kovalam early today nearly getting into a fight over breakfast with Terry and his friends. Staying easy and relaxed and looking them straight into the face over the breakfast tables that seperated us, they chickened out. Anyway they were probably all carrying Kerala grass which can only get shitty when the local constabulary gets involved. A train got us from Trivandrum to Kollam. The last time I was here they called this town Quilon but apperently it is Kollam now, well, whatever....We took an obscure hotel downtown near the bus station with walls full with peep holes - we are in India after all! - and bought our tickets for the backwater ferry to Alleppuza - the last time I was here Allepuza was called Alleppy but who cares?

A closed zoo.

Kovalam, 14-11-1994. It is not really like we were getting tired of these pot induced massage sessions, and our walks down the beach to our very own - as we have come to call it - village. Still we decided we needed a day trip to trivandrum to get information on this famous backwater ferry trip and a excursion to the city zoo. Trivandrum was dusty and chaotic like any other indian city and the zoo closed - that figured! - but we did manage to get the backwater trip info we were after before hurrying back to our hotel down in Kovalam for more massage, fruit salads and pot smoking.

Tae-kwon do on the beach and massage in my room.

Kovalam, 13-11-1994. Today I managed to get beyond the kissing and massage barrier with Christina. Before we got to that point she wanted me to teach her Tae-kwon do on the beach. Much to the amusement of the locals. The massage technics and all that came with that, we did in private in my room and on my big double bed, knew that the bed would come in handy when I took this room.

Smoking pot and having fun.

Kovalam, 12-11-1994. I spent most of today together with Christina and like yesterday, we first smoked a whole bunch of Kerala grass before walking down the beach to our very own little village just a few km. away from Kovalam and watch the fishermen pull in their catch of the day. We walk down little alleys in their village meanwhile having fun with the local village kids who ask us for "one Rp., sir, please". one bonbon or a schoolpen.

Christina from Down Under.

Kovalam, 11-10-1994. I met Christina, a 32 year old woman with brown/reddish hair and blue eyes this morning at breakfast and spent the rest of the day together smoking pot. When we eventually left my room stoned out of our heads, we walked down the coast where we found a small local fisherman village where the catch of the day was being sold on the beach with the usual bartering and people losing their temper with heated arguements as a result. Absolutely nobody in this village hassled us apart from a drunk who demended sigarettes but I have always known how to handle El Senyor Borracho!!! It was definitely an intence experience walking through this village the mental state we werew in!!!

Following me around foolhardedly.

Kovalam, 10-11-1994. Slowly getting back to my roots. India, a fascinating country - most of the time I think of India as a continent - of which I haven`t gotten enough yet. Passport control and customs went smoothly as well as getting a triwheeler to Kovalam at a reasonable price. Nor did finding a place to crash pose much of a problem, a nice room among the coconut trees, my gear thrown all over my double bed and a tola of good Kerala grass. Terry - the bloke whose face I smashed back in Unawatuna, is in Kovalam too. Funny because I already saw him in Negombo, does the fool follow me around foolhardedly? Kovalam`s main attraction doesn`t seem to be the beach, there are three actually divided by big rock formations. But good Kerala grass with the whole Kovalam native population trying to push dope. From the numerous shop owners to the fishermen on the beach. And not just plain grass but also hashish, hash oil, extacy, and much more no doubt but at that time I have already disappaered among the coconut trees. Local women on the beach selling fruit salads - 15 Rp soll der richtige Preis sein - delicious I`m sure but their real money comes from the grass they hide underneath the fruit. Of course being back in India means meeting these weird accentrics who are comonly called Sahdus and like to spend most of their time smoking pot.

Not all belgiums are bad after all!!!

Airport Colombo, 09-11-1994. I pay a very hefty 890 Rp.for my room here at the airport which is probably more than I have ever before paid for a hotel room in Asia but I can`t affort to miss my flight tomorrow morning at 08.30 h. to Trivandrum/India. Did absolutely nothing the whole day but smoking delicious grass which I git from a belgium bloke. Not all belgiums are bad after all!

Negombo`s beach.

Negombo, 08-11-1994. My hotel in Negombo is right on the beach, spotlessly clean and the people who run the place are friendly. However the roof over my room leaks whenever it rains and this being the monsoon.....well, I think you get the picture. The beach is full with dirt and fishermen repairing their nets. Some very ancient looking fishingboats on the beach. The locals offered me some excursions out to full see in them but I have to yet accept.

Wandering around Mt. Lavinia.

Colombo, 06-11-1994. wandering through Colombo and Mt. Lavinia today despite the heat. My departure date is creeping up on me so I am preparing myself for hectic and chaotic India. The end of Galle Face Green - no green to be seen - is full with a sorts of shady characters that offer me dope, snake charmers whose snakes perform their antics doped out of their minds i believe. They make their trained and doped up cobras waggle their heads and the monkey wallaws let their dressed up monkeys dance for a few meagre Rp. With the big hotels nearby and all the fat german tourist couples I can understand they ply their trade here.

Ugly black crows.

Colombo, 05-11-1994. Buddhism is the main religion in this country but from the amount of churches i would presume the catholic faith the be a fair second with a good number of muslims around as well. The first couple of seats in a bus are always reserved for buddhist monks. Like in India there is a huge population of ugly black crows anywhere were there is human population. They live on the filth of the city and seem to eat about anything they can get their claws on. Terribly aggresive birds, one picked me on the head while overflying me a few days ago in the town of Galle. I`ve no doubt they terrorise the small bird life as well, eating their eggs and babies and destoying their nests. I took a bus to the airport today to reserve a room in one of the hotels facing the airport building. They are a bit more expensive than my guest house in Negombo buty at least i Won`t have to worry about curfews or how to get to the airport early in the morning.

The lungy and the sari.

Colombo, 04-11-1994. Got my visa today and I`m glad about it. While waiting for it - bring it in the morning and pick it up in the afternoon - I went to a bar and got myself drunk on local beer together with an american who lives in Hawaii and walks with a bad limp. Nonetheless he claimed to be a notorious and well experienced martial artist. His opponents probably kick his legs from under him in case of a fight, I know I would!!! The sri lankan people are pretty much dressed like the people from south India. They wear mostly lungies, a piece of cloth wrapped around the hips and aproximately a meter in lenght and width. sometimes they wrap it double, a bit like the difference between long- and short pants. Off course the ladies`favourite garment is the sari.

IT REALLY RAINS IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD.

Colombo, 03-11-1994. Getting soaked by a tropical downpour in the streets of Colombo makes me long for the closed confinements of an over-populated Colombo city bus, or maybe just a bar with ice-cold beer. As I have said before: when it rains in this part of the world, IT REALLY RAINS!!!I took a local bus to the nearby beach resort of Negombo today. Very interesting fish market on the beach - basically the fishermen selling their catch of the day right out of the boat. Many camara toting toursts from the nearby tourist district crowding around looking for the perfect photo opportunity. The district itself was overpriced to the max and considering the huge amount of hotels and restaurants almost completely devoid of tourists. They were either all still busy with their camaras on the beach or asleep in their expensive hotel rooms.

Ma fist on da face, mon.

Colombo, 02-11-1994. Apperently the Indian High Commission will have a public holiday tommorrow so I could have stayed one more day in Unawatuna en vez de tener que matar un dia en Colombo. From the moment I first met Micheal`s friend Terry there have been tesions between him and me which I tried hard to ignore but after a couple of plain insults this morning by Terry, the shit finally hit the fan and my fist his nose. Too bad.....for him!

A stale smell in the garden

Unawatuna, 01-11-1994. Slowly coming to the end of my stay in Unawatuna. I`ve decided to return to Colombo to pick up my visa for India which should be ready by now. The people of my guest house - Happy Banana guest house - wonder about the smell of stale urine in their garden. No real surprise to me, I usually have a leak at that particular place during the night. I have to go through their house to go to the toilet but at night they close and lock the door, so......Let them think it is one of these mongrel dogs that are so abudant here.

Waking up to black colored monkeys.

Unawatuna,31-10-1994. Together with Micheal and Terry I went on another day trip to Galle. I took this travel journal with me to make sketches and drawings which i do best being on my own so I soon seperated myself from them to explore Galle on my own. The following page shows my drawings of Galle and as soon as they were finished I bought myself some cold beers and looked around for a suitable place to consume them. A nice spot on the city wall looked good for drinking beer, watch the life beneath me and contemplate my trip so far. It was not like sitting under a mango tree back in Thailand but contemplate I did up there. I the morning - like every morning since I`ve been logding in Unawatuna - I wake up the screams of black colored monkeys, they seem to live in the tree behind my guest house.

A faithful clock.

Unawatuna, 30-10-1994. Two days ago my clock stopped. I managed to get it going again but one day later it stopped again and this time, I am afraid for good. Slowly all the things I took with me from back home, - was that Holland? - have either been replaced or need to be replaced on short notice. In pure fustration I smashed my clock that has faithfully accompanied me on countless travels across the globe, to pieces.

A mellow day on the beach.

Unawatuna, 29-10-1994. Together with Michael and Terry - a friend of Michael - we spent a mellow day on the beach. In Unawatuna once the rain stops all sorts of small, little places open up. Restaurants where you never expected one, or souvenir shops, some of them as small as a telphone booth. Also locals walking up and down the beach trying to sell beach wear, marionets and incense. Local tourists changing into their bathing suits using their towels in a vain attempt at hiding their nudity. Many new faces on the beach today I`ve not seen before. Where were they when it rained? Probably hiding in their hotel rooms. Most of them exremely white, trying to soak up as much sun as they can. Yea, trying to soak the sun right into their pores and getting a sun tan before flying home and face their 8 to 5 shifts at the job, their friends and relatives and their neighbors.

Grass from Colombo.

Unawatuna, 28-10-1994. No excursions today, too much rain. Spent most of the day in my room reading and resting. A walk in the afternoon together with Michael. We went to to the other bay where a friend of Michael`s stays but didn`t manage to find the bloke which pissed us both off since he had apperently been boasting to Michael about this suburb grass he bought in Colombo.

The old city of Galle.

Unawatuna, 27-10-1994. Woke up to a beautiful and sunny day so I decided to be active today after last night`s pot smoking session with Michael, an australian I met last week in Colombo. I spent the morning snorkling and took the 3 Rp. bus to Galle in the afternoon which is only a few km. away, to have a look at Galle Fort. The whole old city of Galle is surrounded by a thick wall interspersed by bastions. Each bastion has a dutch name - from the former colonial dutch days - as well as many streets in the old city which has a distinct dutch/potuguese colonial admosphere to it. Many locals around trying to sell all sorts of worthless looking souvenirs to the many tourits like dried coral and handmade table cloths.

Day trips to Galle and Hikkaduwa

Unawatuna, 26-10-1994. Unawatuna is one of these beach places popular among long-term backpackers. A small village dedicated to shoe string travellers with guest houses and restaurants prominently visible along the palm tree studded beach and the village`s one and only street. Naturally pot is readily available and no cops around to hassle the dope-addicted backpackers. Yes, I can most definitely spend some time here waiting for my indian visa to get processed. Perhaps make some day trips to Galle and Hikkaduwa which are probably okay to stay at as well but has too much organised tours from europe to my taste. I decided to make the day trip to Galle by train and then a ten min. bus trip to Hikkaduwa a bit further south. Just outside Unawatuna is what the locals call a sacret area with atop a hill a small stupa with images of Lord Buddha and beautiful views in all directions.