Street Food

I love street food!   Why? 

I love… 

...the creativity of the vendors, 

...the variety of foods they offer, 

...that so many of the vendors display their wares in tiny display cases in front of their homes or on the street,   

...the vehicles they use to move their food up and down the streets.   

And their apparent determination to make a living offering their wares.  

Pictures

1 & 2 -  I think this lady is my favourite street food vendor.  She sits/crouches near the church or beach.  Every day?!  She cuts up pineapple, mango, guaba, and apple and serves it in little bags with salt and hot chiles. Each little bag, which is about the size of a very big apple, costs 50 rupees, about 40 cents Canadian.

3- Toby buying bread from a bread tuk tuk.

4- A bread bicycle!!!

5- One of the many fruit stands in Negombo.  This one is walking distance from Tom's house in Pitipana.

6-8  There are sometimes mini fairs on the beach, with a bunch of vendors.  This one sold deep fried prawns,  crab, casava chips, etc. Notice the creative presentations.  Skewers and ....bags made from recycled paper!!! This one looks like it was from a school notebook.  Love it!!!!

9- Toby buying ice cream from a tuk tuk.  Want the cone? No. Want the cone? No. Want the cone?  OK! I'll take a cone!

10- Cotton candy bicycle.  Crazy!

 

 

Monkeys in Negombo Lagoon

A little while back we went for a boat ride in the Negombo canals and lagoon.  What fun!

First some history….Between 1802 and 1804, the British built 14.5 km of canals from Puttalam to Colombo, to drain salt water from the Muthurajawela wetlands.  Confused by the long names with a million vowels?  Me too!  What’s important, is that these canals run through Negombo and are still in use today.  Mostly by fishing boats.  But also by tour boats.

Our tour lasted about 3 hours.  The first and last part were in the canal. The middle part was the lagoon.  The highlights?  Definitely the monkeys in the lagoon!!!  Our boat driver brought bananas to cut up and put on the bow of the boat, about 1 foot from me!  

As we approached some trees, tadah!!!  A whole bunch of monkeys appeared.  When we got close enough, they jumped onto the boat and stuffed their little faces with bits of banana.  While the monkeys were eating, the driver moved our boat away from the trees.  Oh no!  How will the monkeys get back?  They jump and swim.  That’s how!!!  What a treat!!

It was dusk when we returned.  The next best part?  Seeing fruit bats in the trees around the canal!!!  So awesome to see them fly!  I’ve been on a mission during the trip to see bats.  That was a great start!  But I want more!

Pictures

1- Some of the monkeys enjoying their banana snack. Did you know?...There are more than 300 species of primates on earth, including humans, apes, monkeys, and lemurs. All primates have

hands, handlike feet, and forward-facing eyes. Monkeys have tails, apes do not. Monkey species include baboons, macaques, marmosets, tamarins, and capuchins. Ape species include humans, gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, gibbons, and bonobos. 

2- Notice the baby holding onto it's mother!

3- Tom, our very generous host, and the family that helps him care for his house came with us on the boat trip.   So fun!

4- Toby and me.

5- Some sections of the canal were beautiful like this.  Others had some very basic houses right next to it, and lots of garbage. 

6- We stopped at a hotel called Kings Island Resort for a drink/snack.  The hotel was closed.  But there was still some fun to be had. 

7- Shiva, Tom's caretaker, cutting up more banana for the monkeys.

8- On our way back, crossing the lagoon which is about 500 m wide, some fishermen wanted to be sure we saw their nets,which were almost as wide as the lagoon.

9-A pretty part of the lagoon with the golden light of the setting sun.

Pitipana Seamstress Ladies

There are many tiny businesses here in Negombo.  Likely throughout Sri Lanka.  My favourite, so far, is definitely the local seamstress!!!

There are many clothing shops here.  With clothes that are very affordable.  For us.  Are they affordable for the locals?  I imagine yes.  Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many.  Right?  But many people make their own clothes.  Or get the local tailor or seamstress to make them.  

The seamstress in Pitipana, our neighbourhood here in Negombo Lagoon, works in her tiny house.  The first thing I asked her to do was fix my skirt.  It’s a patchwork skirt.  Some of the seams were undone.  It was such a pleasant and interesting experience that I bought some fabric at the market and asked her to make 2 tops for me, and 2 skirts!

I’m not super fond of the skirts.  She used a popular fancy elastic for the waist.  It’s scratchy.  And the beautiful embroidery on the skirt is scratchy too.  But the tops are great!  The cost?  The fabric for the skirts and tops was about $8.00.  For seamstress?  1,200 rupees.  About $10.  For all of it!  

So, of course, I’ve bought more fabric!  

Pictures
1- The seamstress at her workstation.
2- The seamstress' sister (we think)  Her feet/legs have a deformation.  She walks with two crutches.  She sits at a little window in the shop and sells candies, and misc small items.  They are both very warm nice people.  They invited us for tea and cake the other day.  We didn't accept because we were on our way to lunch.  I regret that now.  Lunch could have waited.
3- I love this picture of the cat!  Poossa - cat in sinhala.
3a- A salesman showing me some sari fabric.  Each package behind the man is the 6 meters required for a sari. Many are amazingly beautiful!  
4- 5  Ribbon and fabric for sale in the Negombo market