Sri Lanka - the well-kept secret

  Bismillah Ar Rahman Ar Raheem

My recent visit to Sri Lanka was an overall pleasant one. I was pleasantly surprised by the hospitality and friendliness of the people. Though my face cover would turn eyes my way, they would usually be friendly ones accompanied by a smile and often followed by friendly chit chat.

From the moment we landed at the airport, it was a city of sights and sounds. An official spotted us with two kids and hurried us into an office where we were sped through the immigration process.  Sri Lanka is probably one of the few countries left which gives Pakistanis visas on entry. Whenever we told anyone we were Pakistanis they were delighted. Next they sent a man to accompany us and facilitate us right up to our car – which didn’t show up. We would find out later that the people were friendly but quite laid back.  They were not in a hurry to get anywhere it seemed. So we waited for a van driver who said he would be there in 5 minutes but took another 15, so we hired another van to take us to our hotel in Negombo.  Negombo is a sort of small beach-side town with peaceful, uncrowded beaches and it is about an hour and a half drive from Colombo, the capital city. The best way to get around in Sri Lanka is to hire a van with a driver who then takes you sightseeing and shopping. It helps as he knows the directions and timings, he can find good restaurants, he arranges for his own food and bedding. The only problem is the language as the drivers usually do not understand English too well at least as far as we experienced. Also at times we felt that the driver had his own plans to take us to some places that clashed with ours. So make sure you tell them your itinerary clearly and see that they follow it too.

We soon left for the country side where the scenery was breathtaking. Known for its tea production, we saw slope after slope of tea gardens and it actually tasted wonderful too. Waterfalls breaking through the mountains, lakes surrounded with trees and bridges, flowers and fruits of amazing colours, all struck us with awe. We had never known Sri Lanka was such a beautiful country with such diverse landscape.  The hotel staff everywhere was very welcoming, the service at the hotels was also very good.
We specially loved the Hunas Falls hotel near Kandy which was built at the top of a mountain next to a  waterfall and a lake. The lake was surrounded with a walkway shaded with old trees, we were told it had been declared a protected site because of the flora and fauna; there was a well kept garden with lovely flowers and even a golf course and ducks and monkeys to the children's delight. It was a poet’s dream come true.
One problem we had was because of the food. It made me grateful all over again for living in a Muslim country where I can eat whatever I want without worrying about it being halal or not. 

My husband made a joke of my routine of interviewing the waiters before every meal about the ingredients of the food. We were told later that certain restaurants and hotels had halal certificates which they often displayed too and it was okay to eat from there. We also heard that others claimed they were halal just to sell their product. But then I would also worry about the hidden ingredients in the chocolates and desserts (those served on the Sri Lankan Airlines actually turned out to be ‘unfit for our consumption’ when I asked the air hostess, which obviously won me a green signal for quizzing people to my hearts content lol). Again a wave of shukr would  sweep over me that in Saudia, we don’t have to see pork and liquor every time we go out to eat or every time we open a hotel fridge. That is why in spite of people’s surprise and disbelief I think Saudia is a great place to live. It gives Muslims the freedom that is curtailed elsewhere-the freedom to protect our iman, to eat halal food, to protect our eyes from haram sights, to pray in a masjid when it is time no matter where you are or what gender you belong to and to cover our bodies and faces, to feel comfortable in a segregated environment and so on.

Sri Lanka has four religions that are practiced by its people, the main one is Buddhism (70%). Next comes Hinduism (15%), then Christianity and Islam (7.5%). One of the hotels we stayed at, had this place built at the back with a statue of Buddha, Hanuman and Jesus in each compartment. You could choose your own god to worship. I think they had a fourth empty compartment with some kind of prayer mat kept there. Jokes aside, it made us think how unique Islam is from all other man-made or man-altered religions, as Islam has no statues, idols or pictures to worship. It completely negates the concept of false gods, of worshipping the material and the superficial and focuses on the sublime and the Divine.

It was disturbing to see so many statues in almost every street, of Buddha, of Christ and Mary and then the multitude of Hindu idols on their temples. I felt an almost physical ‘najaasat’ when  I looked at these idols, symbols of associating partners with Allah.  I kept telling Abdullah how these people considered these idols as god, one way or another, because he had heard about idols in the stories of the Prophets but had never actually seen any. He would keep asking ‘but why?’ And I really don’t know the reply. How can anyone see the breathtaking and humbling beauty of the Sri Lankan landscape around them and then attribute it to these idols or to any other creation. I told  him many people don’t know that there is only one god and we have to tell them because no Prophet is going to come now.

The weather was a pleasant surprise as I found it quite nice spcially in the countryside. It was not terribly humid or rainy like Malaysia so even in the abaya, I did not feel hot. In the mountainous areas, it was even a bit chilly. The people seemed simple and humble in their living. However, staying at a hotel we witnessed photo shoots for brides and several weddings which seemed to be elaborate affairs. I think they were mostly Christian weddings with bridesmaids and all. But the majority of the people wore simple clothes, following simple lifestyles it seemed. Their houses looked modest as well as their food. They started their day very early and everything started closing early in the evening. So if you want to shop or visit parks, don’t wait till too late.

We passed several convent schools and I started thinking how Christians still follow the pattern of keeping their church with their school. They have opened such church-based institutes called convents all over the world. Their standard of education and discipline is usually high so even Muslims happily send their children to study there. We Muslims too used to have our schools and madrassahs as one but over the years they became separated and now the gap between religious and secular education is huge.

We travelled to a lot of places like Kandy where the Botanical Garden was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. They had huge well-maintained gardens, gigantic bamboos, palm trees, ferns, beautiful ancient trees and an orchid house.

   






                     

There was one tree that was more than a 100 years old, that was as big as a house. It has spread to an area of 2500 sq meters and its branches have to be held up by props. Below is a picture of the tree that looked like a boat from afar or a house.

a view of the tree from afar



 

a view of the tree from inside, branches held up by props





 







It seemed they take great pride in preserving nature.  We visited a refuge for elephants that was a very different experience. They gave us a guided tour showing us elephant skeletons, telling us about the different elephants they have in the place. The elephant sanctuary keeps elephants that are too old or unwanted and they treat them when they are sick. People give them donations too. Elephants eat an enormous amount of food, they need to be bathed every day for which they had a small army of men. We also rode an elephant which is a very uncomfortable ride even though it’s so big. We thought it’s probably the first time an abaya-clad woman would have been seen riding an elephant.

Then they let us give them a bath which my youngest son thoroughly enjoyed until the elephant drenched him with his trunk. However I would not recomend the bath as we dsicovered that the water was quite dirty. They have a special language for commanding the elephants which has been transferred from generation to generation and that is what the elephants understand and obey. Each elephant has a separate ‘mahut’ or caretaker who is the only one who can control it. There are two elephant sanctuaries: Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage with 80 plus elephants and Millennium Elephant Foundation with 6-8 elephants. Both are in the same area about 45 km from Kandy and it would be a good idea to visit both as you can feed

milk to baby elephants in the first whereas you can ride and bathe elephants in the second one.

Next we visited a herbal garden where ayurvedic herbal medicines were prepared. An ayurvedic ‘doctor’ from Kandy was present there and he gave us a guided tour, showing us the different trees and herbs that are grown there organically for the preparation of the medicines. So at times certain medicines may not be available because the plants are obviously seasonal. He also showed us their ‘classroom’ where lectures are delivered to students and I immediately thought of my teacher who also taught us in tents and parking lots  

and wherever the need arose so I took pictures of this classroom. Next he showed us the medicines telling us their benefits and method of use, even giving free demonstrations on us. They had medicines for cholesterol, migraines, varicose veins, all kinds of pains, skin care, etc. He also showed us letters in English and even in Arabic sent by people who had used the medicines and had benefited or wanted more. I am not too sure if there are ethical issues with Ayurveda as this knowledge is believed to be of divine origin and traces back to the sages of India.

At Nuwara Eliya,  we stayed at a rather grand hotel which had been converted from a British Governor’s residence to a hotel. The dining room was supposed to have a dress code such as no  shorts or slippers were allowed and it was a formal affair. We were trying to keep the kids as quiet as possible however the tables next to us had a large group of Indians who were laughing loudly and joking with each other. My husband had to go out for something and one of the men stood up and said something very loudly about being thankful for not being a  Saudi (everywhere we went, people mistook us as Saudis because of my abaya.



a riding facility nearby the children enjoyed

 Everyone at the table burst out laughing and some even looked at me.  I got up and went to the head waiter; my anger had just crossed the danger mark and was still escalating. I complained to him about the gentleman’s behavior rather verbally and walked out of the dining room. There I met the Manager of the Hotel who was a Muslim and very friendly and I complained to him of this insulting behavior. He promised to look into it and asked me to give him a written complaint. I took it as an opportunity to do dawah and wrote an eloquent complaint. I wrote that it wasn’t just a personal insult since I’m not even Saudi, but I wanted to complain against this intolerance world over about the Muslim dress and practices.  I often feel disturbed by the fact that in spite of our beliefs, we are tolerating different and often repulsive ways of dressing and eating, whereas our practices are not tolerated in the same way. Yet, it is the Muslims who are labeled as intolerant. After returning home, I received a letter of apology from the hotel management and the fact that they lodged a serious complaint and warning with the group who had been misbehaving. We also saw  the Temple of the Tooth next to the Kandy lake, which is supposed to have the
holy tooth relic of Buddha inside it. We only saw it from outside (as our guide informed us that I would not be allowed inside with my face cover) and the gold roof is supposed to have 6 kg of gold leaf used in it. It is the holiest site not only for the Buddhists in Sri Lanka but the world over.  

One thing we really wanted to do but could not due to limited time was going on an animal  safari . Sri lanka has several National Parks  and we were interested in Yala National Park as you can go on a safari and spot leopards, boars, crocodiles and if you are lucky a black panther or two.  But the way we had planned our trip, we were quite far from the park and with 2 small kids, postponed the idea for now.  In fact we did not know that Sri Lanka has quite a fair share of natural and historic spots that need at least a fortnight to explore so we could not go to Sigriya and a few other famous spots.                     

After returning to Colombo, we visited the Colombo zoo which wasn't very clean but where the elephant show was really amazing to watch. Children tend to enjoy zoos irrespective but do make sure to visit the zoo at a time when the elephant show is on as it is the best part of the zoo. It was amazing to see these huge creatures sit  and stand on chairs and even do a head stand (or sajda as I liked to call it.)

The thing I enjoyed doing most though was white-water rafting at Kitulgala. We were given life jackets and sat in a raft jumping over the rapids. The water splashed us to the bone and I was so grateful for my abaya and niqab which did not make me feel uncomfortable alhamdulillah. The scenery was one I would probably never forget as the river flowed into a heaven of sorts, a surreal river way surrounded by trees with cloudy mountains in the distance. Subhanallah. The locals showed us the spot that is supposed to be where the famous movie, "Bridge over the River Kwai' was filmed. And the place was truly picturesque to put it mildly. Night fell and it started raining and the last leg of the boatride, we were given the option to swim or rather float in the water. It was amazing specially in the rain and in that place. I just wished as always that the light would have lasted a bit longer so we could have enjoyed the beauty some more. That was one thing I felt amiss that the car rides were so long that the best part of the day was spent travelling and the tight schedule did not leave enough time to enjoy some places.

The shopping in Sri Lanka is good and if you are a woman and a crockery enthusiast (almost synonymous for some) then you will be delighted to know that Sri Lanka is home to the famous Noritake brand. It has showrooms and warehouses (where you can get cheaper stuff I suppose). We got the Dankotuwa brand which is also quite nice. They pack it very nicely for travelers but it takes a while. The fancy dinner set we bought is lying cozily packed in our house of two boys, waiting for a special dinner party where we can use it. So much for women’s collectomania! May Allah forgive us.

Sri lanka is also famous for its gems and batik. We really liked the ODEL retail outlet which had a range of clothes and accessories. Housed in a colonial style building, it has a tempting ice cream parlour on the outside and tastefully decorated shops inside. I got a gift that was bought from the Barefoot outlet though I didn’t go there myself but read good reviews about it. House of Fashion is the place for vacation shopping though as it is a multi story departmental store with clothes, accessories, toys and almost anything else at low prices.

On the last day, at 8:30 am, I had a lecture at the centre in Colombo where they are having the Taleem al Quran weekly online class. I was amazed at how some of the women were so fluent in the local Sinhalese language and I felt ashamed that we had not mastered Arabic yet in spite of its importance and after living for so many years in an Arab country. Many people spend lifetimes in the gulf countries without even thinking of learning the language of the Quran though it is so similar to Urdu.

 Anyways a hall had been booked and a lady had arranged it at very short notice. Yet around 50 people turned up at 8 30 am, the designated time, which amazed me. I gave a lecture along with a Power Point presentation on Anger Management. I had been quite nervous the night before, because I had not met any of these people before, my constant travelling had left me only the last night to prepare and anger management was not one of my strongest character traits to put it mildly. But my husband, always my counselor and best friend had encouraged me the day before, “Just think, DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE THIS QUALITY? It’s the will to improve that matters.”

I was amazed when women came up to me and said that anger was a big problem for the majority of the women there. There were 4 online students and other Correspondence Course students present. I have experienced again and again that you can literally tell the dedicated, regular students apart from the others because of the glow on their faces. As they go through the Quran, juz after juz, their faces actually change and one can see it happen.

The lecture went really well and the people were very responsive.  There were many comments and question and answers. However a group of women who claimed to have studied from the West argued about the validity of the Western theories , I handled them as best I could infact their challenging questions made me think harder and use more logic. But they were apparently just asking questions for the sake of asking, not even listening to the answers. The majority of the women however were very appreciative and said that they had benefitted a lot from the talk.

The highlight of the day was when the one Hindu lady attending the lecture came up to me and with tears in her eyes she said that the thing I had said about ‘always having a choice’ really made a difference to her. May Allah ta’ala bless her with iman and amal-e-saalih. Ameen.

I had not been too sure giving a lecture this time as it was a hectic trip with the kids and extensive sightseeing. We wanted to show the children as many things as we could. But after I did the lecture, I want to share the fact that it was the only thing during the whole trip that gave me the greatest sense of satisfaction and peace. Everything else is temperory and fades away and has regrets or longings attached to it, but truly it is the remembrance of Allah which brings hearts peace. Even if it appears difficult at the beginning, when you do something for Allah, it stays with you for a long time.

(Please note that the views and opinions expressed here are my own observations as a traveller and may not be completely accurate from a local person's point of view.)