Recent Comments Nawam Maha Perahera Today (4) AS: Firstly, I would like to say that there is no need for being so patronizing and using bad language to make a point. I think we are all adults and can have a discussion without resorting to swear words and etc. Really, the worst debaters I know... Omr: Are you a vegetarian? If you are and you care about ALL animal life equally I can understand your sentiments. If not STFU, seriously. Parading elephants is evil but slaughtering thousands of cows, goats, chickens and fish on a daily basis is... Trishaw Economics (4) Firaz: Not all of them run with the dispatch guys. Most now run independently because they just get more hires off the road. People are more inclined to jump in a meter taxi these days. That’s what I hear. Nawam Maha Perahera (Photos) (2) Annonymouse: Poor elephants. Thank you for that sensitive portrayal of their plight in the service of Buddhism! Omr: That first picture is brilliant. Thanamalwila (Photos) (15) Omr: Imagine if all the money spent on Mihin was spent on buses instead? Wouldn’t that have been a better investment for the people of Sri Lanka? indi: indi.ca always was a photoblog, I just keep working cameras to death. I couldn’t afford to replace my last one for almost a year Maldives President Resigns After Soft Coup (4) Omr: Also, the lack of criticism among Maldivians about the rise of Islamic extremism in their islands is frightening. People actually want females to be flogged for having sex outside marriage? I mean really? People running about destroying... Omr: Wonder whether he can come to Sri Lanka and get involved in SL politics? Seems to be quite forward thinking and classy. the way of the dodo: Personally, I will never trust the people of a dry country to make reasonable decisions about anything.

Recent Posts Lost Cat (Found): The worst days are the ones that don’t end, like yesterday. The best days are often ones where something tragic doesn’t happen, making ordinary life incredibly sweet. Today was a bit of both. Nawam Maha Perahera (Photos): Colombo has a perahera (elephant, fire and awesome parade). Well everywhere has a perahera, but Gangarama Temple in the city has a boss one. Briefly interrupted by war, the colorful Podi Hamduruwo has brought it back in style. I attended for the first time and it was pretty awesome, and well organized. The Kandy Perahera is a bit of an endurance event, but this one was more modern. Maldives President Resigns After Soft Coup: Alas, Anni has resigned. The former democracy campaigner against an implacable dictator implausibly became President. Then, almost as quickly, he fell, largely to forces of the former dictator, and his own fractured opposition. Anni actually used to hang out in Colombo talking about regime change and we kinda laughed at him. Then he somehow won the 2008 election. Now, just as surprising, he’s been forced out in what looks like a soft coup. Nawam Maha Perahera Today: Colombo’s somewhat eccentric Gangarama Temple is holding a grand procession near the Beira Lake. Basically everything around the Daily Mirror office and the Beira Lake will be closed to traffic, besides elephant, dancer and fire-bearing traffic (route list, of sorts). Thanamalwila (Photos): For Sri Lankan Independence Day we travelled in the armpits and elbows of our countrymen to the rural south, where we slept in the fields. I wouldn’t call it a vacation, but it was definitely an experience.