Whale & Dolphin Watching in Mirissa - Dec 2009

Mirissa is slowly becoming a popular hot spot for whale watching. I really feel we should consider promoting this in a very organised manner and develop it to become something Sri Lanka would be "world famous" for.

I went for the second time earlier this month. It was disappointing this time. We didn't see any whales. Whereas last time, I had seen 2 blue whales which was one of the most amazing moments of my life. However we saw plenty of dolphins. They are such agile and fun creatures arent they? they did a their own private show for us. Speeding past, jumping up and dancing

If you want to go whale watching, be prepared for the disappointment of not seeing any whales. Thinking back, I think we should have actually checked with the operator (walkers tours) whether they had any whale sightings recently. I get the feeling we went too early, the season hasn't started yet. Also its a 5hr ride where most of the time you can just see the ocean around you. Can be very tiring, but well worth it if you get to see whales & dolphins.

I was sea sick all through out, it was a really bad experience. I was the only one sea sick out of 15 others on the boat. The annoying thing was that I had taken avomin too, and I thoght it would prevent me from throwing up. I was fine last time. I'm really grateful to the crew, they were very patient and understanding about me throwing up. I think I threw up at least 10 times. Thanks guys!

I went with walkers tours, they have two boats. I feel that the bigger boat is definitely much more spacious, but I feel the smaller boat is faster. I also prefer last time's guide, he was well versed in whale watching and he was a talented photographer as well. So please check for the naturalist, Nishantha if you are going with Walkers Tours.

Will post some photos soon.

Alimankada - a review

I saw the trailer of this movie a few months back and was impressed by the cinematography, and decided it was a "must see" movie. The guy and girl on the bike really did it. I had also read the book and loved it. Nihal De Silva is an amazing author in my opinion. However, the response to the media by Ashan Dias at the premier left me thinking he was shallow with no sense of the character. Which got me a bit worried about the movie..... But I was optimistic.

Convincing my equally enthusiastic colleagues we went to see the movie on 19th Nov.

After 5 mins I knew the movie was a big flop! All the gun fight and bombs at the beginning really spoilt it, and way the driver and female army officer got killed was really pathetic. The captain started shouting and growling to show his superiority and the woman seemed scared about it. Not at all what the book portrayed. The captain was war hardened soldier, strong character yet sensitive, the woman was a LTTE cadre, who would have no qualms killing him.

The movie couldn't bring out any of the sensitivities that we felt in the book. It made it out to be a cheap love story. The lovers seem to exchange romantic looks from the begining, where as they were supposed to be two strong individuals who believe in their own cause and mission, who were thrown together.

The helicopter scene reminded me of an animated cartoon version of tour of duty. This was just one of the many "unreal" situations that were present. Clean clothes, hiding behind trees in plain view of check points, trying to scare a leopard with a six inch knife.

Ashan Dias's words "camping & shit" echoed in my ear during the scenes where they cooked meat over the fire in the jungle. He really didn't seem to have understood the character. Had he ever read the book i wondered.

And the last scene, OMG, why did they have to go to the extent of showing a scene of 9yrs later. I think its a real insult to the intelligence of Sri Lankan of film goers.

It left my friends and me thinking, maybe its a good thing Nihal De Silva is not alive today to see his story turned in to such a cheap movie. A damn waste of a good book!