There was a wedding at my hotel today. There were traditional dancers from Kandy - a town in the centre of the island.

Hi Gary

Sonia says you’re interested in the tuk-tuks. I have looked carefully at them. Some are 2-stroke (which have some oil mixed with their petrol) and some are 4-stroke, which use plain petrol. Some of the ice cream vans are tuk-tuks as you will see in the photos. I like the one that’s being used to sell packed lunches, pile up in plastic boxes on the seats. I don’t know if you can really get wifi on a tuk-tuk!

The tuk-tuks are made by companies I’ve not heard of, mostly from India. There are lots of small motorbikes: some are made by Yamaha, Honda and so on, but there are lots of makers I’ve not heard of, such as Hero.

I took this photo from the balcony outside my room Can you spot the monkeys? I think there are six: what do you think?

I bought some mango jam today! I love mangoes!

I am working part time in a school. 

School starts early at 7:30 and finishes at 1:30. Everyone eats a big curry and rice meal, which they call lunch, about 10:30 at break. They bring it to school with them wrapped up in a plastic package with newspaper.

I also visited a Buddhist temple.

 

Today I saw a big monitor lizard. When I got too close, it puffed up its chest and hissed at me. I did get some photos though. 

I also saw coconut palms and banana palms. I got a drink from a coconut: someone chops the top off with a big sharp knife and then you suck up the liquid inside with a straw. It’s clear, like water and doesn’t taste very coconutty!

Bananas

Chilis drying in the sun

My Hotel

Monitor Lizard

My Room

My first full day

Today I went to the school where I will work. I will start there properly on Monday. It is quite a big school, with 53 teachers. I will try to get photos some time soon.

After that, I went for a walk in the town: it is very busy with cars, lorries and motorbikes everywhere. There are also hundreds of “tuk-tuks”. These are 3 wheeled taxis with a motorbike engine and handle bars instead of a steering wheel. They have a soft roof and can seat two passengers or maybe three with a squeeze. The drivers keep blowing their horn and overtake in some dangerous places!

In some parts of Sri Lanka, fishermen sit on a pole stuck into the sea-bed and fish from there. I don’t think the ones in this picture are used now though. They are maybe just there for visitors like me to take photos! See the tuk-tuks in the bottom picture: can you spot the coconuts?

Here I am!

I have arrived in Sri  ar sellingenk after a long journey, so I have been very tired today. My plane landed in the airport near Colombo at 5 o'clock this morning. Colombo is the capital of Sri Lanka.

I took a train to Galle, where I will be staying. The train was very busy and very hot. At each station salesmen would come on, trying to sell peanuts, fruit, snacks and things like that. They push through the crowds shouting out what they have for sale, but as they are speaking in Sinhala, the local language here, I can't understand them.


Tomorrow I think will be starting teaching a primary school here.