Sri Lanka It's Happening

April 11, 2005

On the way to Kandy other day, we stopped by the world's most commercialized elephant orphanage at pinnawala. This is the first visit after more than ten years. The changes are alarming and shocking.

To start off with there is a notice at the entrance that says you have to cough up Rs 1,500 (about $15) if you want to capture the elephants on video. This is in addition to the entrance fee. That's govt sanctoned extortion and police play a part in it. Still camera's are allowed in free of charge. The cops inspect your camera and camera bag to make sure that you are not carrying a video camera hidden away somewhere.

That would work if the police were efficient, but here in a country with a very low IQ, we have an extremely dim witted police force who wouldn't recognize a steam roller if you hit them with it. There was no way there were going to recognize my 6630 as a phone with a video camera (albeit a rather poor one). There's no way they can tell the difference between the digital camera with video capture from the ones with out.

Every day at 2.00pm the elephants cross the road from the orphanage to go for a river bath. The path that leads to the river is jam packed on both sides with souvenior shops and jewellery shops and shops selling, memory sticks, cameras , tapes, cds and films. A New Yorker visting these shops might think he is been mugged.

Right at the rivers edge, there stands a restaurent. If you collected a bowl full of water from the muddied up river it would surely taste better than the food served at this restaurent. Because of it's close proximity to the river and all the elephant dung scattered about the place is full of flies. They settle everywhere and one even fell into my plate.

Posted by raditha at April 11, 2005 2:50 AM