Brotha In Sri Lanka Day 1

Everywhere looks like this.

Day 1
No matter what kind of research I do beforehand, it's hard not to feel like I'm getting "got" by the currency exchange. I currently have 18,000 rupees. To give you an idea of what that is, I could get a monthly metro card (I guess I still could) but I couldn't get the newest Jordan's.

The first thing we were struck by leaving the airport was the smell - life. Doha has very little plants so it has no smell. It's one of it's major drawbacks. There are also no signs of Qatari culture in Doha, whereas Colombo's streets are filled with signs of the culture, from tuk-tuks (the hybrid car/bike vehicles used for transportation) to the colourful housing and business decor (color almost seems banned in Qatar). Make no mistake, I'm referring to what looks like very poor areas, but growing up in NYC hoods, they have a liveliness I can appreciate and miss. We've already seen 2 public displays of culture, some military ceremony and a parade/festival. The prayer call is the closest thing to public spectacle in Doha. Coming from NY, I'm used to frequent acts of expression. I miss it, but not enough to want to go back. This rain is everything right now. We're taking an hour ride from airport to hotel and it became dark and rainy on the way in. It's rained in Doha, but the trees and open air here release the tropical feel into the atmosphere I like to absorb when we vacation in Mexico and the Caribbean.
The driving is AT LEAST as crazy as in Doha, which is considerably worse than NY.

There are actually women walking in the street here. Most are driven around in Doha. You pretty much only see Filipinos, and the occasional ex-pat or African chick on Doha streets.

A 40 km ride to our hotel is an hour (it would be 20 min in NY) because the roads are narrow and crowded with different types of vehicles with vastly different horsepower. And it's raining. And now it's dark. It's 6pm local, 4pm Doha, 8am home.

The hotel is one of the liveliest hotels I've ever been in. Luxurious without the stiff pretense of Northeastern luxury hotels or the plantation luxury of the tropical resorts we've stayed at. It's large and has all the shops, restaurants, clubs and facilities you expect, along with intimate touches to the amenities that show that they care about the details. The service is impeccable, our view is nice and the food is the best I've had at a hotel - flavorful, spicy and robust. And oh yeah - cheeeaaap. I dollar = 127 rupees and the room service is cheap. Banging prawns Caesar salad for 600 rupees ($4.27). Mixed seafood of lobster, prawns, crab, tuna, sole veggies and potatoes for 1000 rupees ($8). It's almost unbelievable. There are two weddings going on and the people are dressed to the nines. While traveling the city from Colombo to Kandi, we see that the men are well groomed and the women are beautiful. They wear the traditional robes that show off more of their bodies than the typical American outfit does, and that's a contrast to Doha, where the women are as covered and closed as you can get. Thats actually a simplistic explanation of how Arabic women dress because there is great variety and the women, surprisingly to me, have great sex appeal in the Arabic world, but thats for another blog. The women here look at men, and flaunt their hair and figures in a natural way. Everyone seems to have clear, smooth skin. But you don't really see muscular fellows. There is more of a balance of the masculine and feminine here. I'm sure it's a patriarchal system here like everywhere else, but the women walk around and project the energy of power an strength that isn't common in the Arab or Western world. Low crime is a factor I'm sure, but I've observed this kind of spirit when watching tv programming about the poorer places in the world that are rich in culture, spirit and natural resources.

1 US buck = 127 rupees

Took a ton of footage from the elephant orphanage, the tea factory, and the buddhist temple - stay tuned!