All in a day's work

I often feel that the best part of my work is the visits to the field, working with colleagues and communities and really getting to understand the challenges. I have been fortunate enough to travel to many parts of the island, and am treated to some great sights on the road.

Like this line of brand new tri-shaws lined up at the roadside.
and this truck which someone (the coconut shell loader probably) has very carefully arranged with thousands of empty coconut shells

Lush green paddy, coconut and banana plants, in the "wet zone" of the island.
and wet weather in the "dry zone"
All manner of bird and wild life - and late in the afternoon in the East, we are treated to these commuting elephants, apparently on their way home

Not a bad way to balance a hard day's work!

Images

These images give a good sense of the events on Friday in Colombo. They are not mine (they're from the web) - I was sheltering inside, but had a good enough view of what was going on.

Safe and sound

Thanks for the many messages of concern - I finally got home around 2 am after a pretty scary night in Colombo - too many fireworks for my liking, just hope and pray for others................ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7902392.stm

Impressions of Nainital

As promised, here are some pictures from our December visit to Nainital in Uttarakhand, North Western India. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nainital

Picturesque Nainital sits at an altitude of nearly 2000 metres and this picture makes it look as if the Lake drains out from the other side of the valley. In fact, you can't easily see from Nainital that there is a neighbouring town at the other end of the Lake .

This is a fascinating hill station, clearly popular with Indian holiday makers, especially honeymoon couples. We saw many couples with their marriage finery, and even sweet, though possibly coincidentally matching sari and fleece sets!

The town is clearly geared up for holiday makers with activities and every kind of stall along the Lakeside - you can eat......

freshly prepared Chaat............

omelettes.........

..............fluorescent candy floss as just a few examples.

And you can go boating...........

.....shopping for woolly slippers to wear with flip flops (thongs)............

or watch the cricket.........

or even try .................................

.............SHOOTING!!!! Yes, this is not just a fun activity for young folks, granny can also have a shot (literally) though no prizes even if you burst the balloons set up as targets.

We thoroughly enjoyed our unusual day trip which ended with a pleasant drive back down through the hillside scenery

to Ramnagar to catch the overnight Ranikhet Express back to Delhi.