Monday, September 5, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Hiking to Lipton Seat in Haputale
Well, last weekend we hitched a ride to Haputale. The train was already booked for the weekend so we decided to head there by bus. One of my friend'stold me about the "Super Line" bus which actually offers a very comfortable night transportation between Colombo and Badulla.
After some Googling we came up with this very informative post on Lakdasun forum on how to reserve seats on the Colombo Badulla Super Line bus. The ride itself was really good, the bus unlike other AC buses had enough leg space and the reclining seats provided a comfortable sleep during the journey. Our visit to Haputale was in fact to take a hike to the much famous Lipton Seat which is said to be used by Sir Thomas Lipton as favorite look out post during the his visits to British Ceylon. On a clear day you could see 5 provinces in Sri Lanka and the view from there is magnificent.
We reached Haputale Town at 4.00am on Saturday morning, after chilling out at SriLakView rest (which we had booked before arriving) we began our journey to Lipton Seat at around 10.00am. Lipton Seat is located a bit off the Haputale Town so if you are going to take a hike you very much need to take the bus from Haputale to Dambetenna Tea Factory which takes around 40mins.
From Dambetenna Factory there is a long hike which would take up around 3.5 hours. If in fact if you have a vehicle the journey is quite fast where you could get to the place itself in the vehicle.But we of course opted to take a hike to the place and thought of cutting across the long winding roads by making our way through the tea plantations.Though the hike was tiring the view leading up to the place was magnificent and its worth every effort. After exhausted few hours we were able to reach Lipton's Seat, there was a small Shop run by an old couple who served us some awesome tea and biscuits.
We relaxed and spent several hours in the place, and started our way back through the tea plantations as the sun started to set. We heard that the sun set from the top was really amazing but we had to rush back as we needed to catch the last bus from Dambetenna to Haputale. There are some video compilations captured from the hike...
I've located Lipton Seat on Google Maps, you could access it from the following link. On Google Maps swith to Satellite(Earth) to get a better 3d view of the place...
http://bit.ly/LiptonSeat
After some Googling we came up with this very informative post on Lakdasun forum on how to reserve seats on the Colombo Badulla Super Line bus. The ride itself was really good, the bus unlike other AC buses had enough leg space and the reclining seats provided a comfortable sleep during the journey. Our visit to Haputale was in fact to take a hike to the much famous Lipton Seat which is said to be used by Sir Thomas Lipton as favorite look out post during the his visits to British Ceylon. On a clear day you could see 5 provinces in Sri Lanka and the view from there is magnificent.
We reached Haputale Town at 4.00am on Saturday morning, after chilling out at SriLakView rest (which we had booked before arriving) we began our journey to Lipton Seat at around 10.00am. Lipton Seat is located a bit off the Haputale Town so if you are going to take a hike you very much need to take the bus from Haputale to Dambetenna Tea Factory which takes around 40mins.
From Dambetenna Factory there is a long hike which would take up around 3.5 hours. If in fact if you have a vehicle the journey is quite fast where you could get to the place itself in the vehicle.But we of course opted to take a hike to the place and thought of cutting across the long winding roads by making our way through the tea plantations.Though the hike was tiring the view leading up to the place was magnificent and its worth every effort. After exhausted few hours we were able to reach Lipton's Seat, there was a small Shop run by an old couple who served us some awesome tea and biscuits.
We relaxed and spent several hours in the place, and started our way back through the tea plantations as the sun started to set. We heard that the sun set from the top was really amazing but we had to rush back as we needed to catch the last bus from Dambetenna to Haputale. There are some video compilations captured from the hike...
I've located Lipton Seat on Google Maps, you could access it from the following link. On Google Maps swith to Satellite(Earth) to get a better 3d view of the place...
http://bit.ly/LiptonSeat
Thursday, June 16, 2011
From Baiting to Bliss : A Tale of Three Bears
You might remember the previous post I published with regards to Bear Baiting in Pakistan, well some great news arrived in my inbox today! With so much donations and support WSPA has been able to rescue three bears and usher them to a safe sanctuary where they are enjoying their new found freedom.., Its really great to see that something you have contributed in little had made a big impact on the lives of so many people...
With continued support and donations they aim to rescue more of these suffering animals held in captivity in various parts of the country. Read the full story from the below link..
Check out this awesome video on the tale of the Three Bears...:)
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Paranoid Earthling Live - Concert Videos
Paranoid Earthling is one of the most prominent and well known Rock/Grunge acts i Sri Lanka. Few week back they put up an electric performance at Aphrodisiac at their self-titled concert "Paranoid Earthling Live". There were also performances by Nevi'im; an exciting new act by Dhas brothers as well as well known experimental stoner rock band Karmic Sulphur.
With all the footage gathered I was able to create a small playlist, but of course the adrenaline rush and the thrill that was unleashed at the audience is noway justified in these videos. But of course if you like any of the bands don't forget to check them out and be there at their next performance.
Note that I have kept the videos in order of performance you could always skip through as you wish from the list you would get below once you click the play button.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Stop Bear Baiting in Pakistan!
Well, my newsletter subscription for WSPA, brought a very unusual update from Pakistan. To be honest I don't run through thoroughly on any of the newsletter subscriptions but the image heading itself caught my attention. A bear tied to a rope and another coming out from its nose....the story was on Bear Baiting, a horrific sport practiced in Pakistan where captured bears are forced to fight each day and left to live a miserable life in unimaginable conditions.
They are caught as cubs and brought up only to fight with raging dogs who are unleashed at these sporting events. Most often the canine teeth of the bear are pulled out and the bear is tied to a rope to prevent it from escaping. If the dogs manage to hold the bear down for a considerable time it is considered that the bear is defeated.Unfortunately these poor animals have to undergo several fights at a given day in one event. They live in gruesome conditions with no proper feeding and with unhealed wounds from previous fights.
Of course there are many such notorious blood sports across the world, like Bullfighting, Dog Fighting Fox Hunting etc etc.. And its always hard to put an end to all of it single handedly, but I believe that all of us in our own capacity should work towards eliminating these inhumane practices.
WSPA has for a long time, with the support of Pakistani people and its legislature had campaign against this cruel sport.
Please visit the below link, Do your best to support, create awareness and donate in any way you can!
https://www.wspadonations.org/pages/3683_bear_baiting_appeal_5_11_version_q.cfm
They are caught as cubs and brought up only to fight with raging dogs who are unleashed at these sporting events. Most often the canine teeth of the bear are pulled out and the bear is tied to a rope to prevent it from escaping. If the dogs manage to hold the bear down for a considerable time it is considered that the bear is defeated.Unfortunately these poor animals have to undergo several fights at a given day in one event. They live in gruesome conditions with no proper feeding and with unhealed wounds from previous fights.
Of course there are many such notorious blood sports across the world, like Bullfighting, Dog Fighting Fox Hunting etc etc.. And its always hard to put an end to all of it single handedly, but I believe that all of us in our own capacity should work towards eliminating these inhumane practices.
 |
| This image just took me back to childhood, um sure everyone had a Big Brown Teddy to play with..but this is just not that beautiful.... |
WSPA has for a long time, with the support of Pakistani people and its legislature had campaign against this cruel sport.
Please visit the below link, Do your best to support, create awareness and donate in any way you can!
https://www.wspadonations.org/pages/3683_bear_baiting_appeal_5_11_version_q.cfm
Monday, January 31, 2011
High? Our eco system?
A friend who visited Delhi after some years away reported the new, hip thing to do in Delhi clubs. Cocaine. Affluent men, women of the upper classes lazed around getting high, but it was the lax attitude about it that shocked her.
Cocaine is primarily a substance which stimulates the brain and is highly addicitve. I'll leave the pros and cons to the reader, but has anyone really thought about the supply chain and how it actually affects the eco system?
In fact, even the illegal cultivation of cocaine (AND ganja and other drugs) kills acres of rain forests in Costa Rica, protected national reserves world over, acres of the Amazon and supports violent, drug-cartel related crimes globally. In fact, Colombia being the 2nd largest producer of Coca saw its forest cover falling from 82% to 78% between 2002 to 2007 where as the drug crimes in Mexico just gets worse.
Danilo Villafañé, an Arhuaco indigenous leader in Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta who is helping his people take back lands formerly controlled by guerrillas and cultivated by commercial coca growers.
Photos by Rhett A. Butler 2010.
Cocaine is primarily a substance which stimulates the brain and is highly addicitve. I'll leave the pros and cons to the reader, but has anyone really thought about the supply chain and how it actually affects the eco system?
In fact, even the illegal cultivation of cocaine (AND ganja and other drugs) kills acres of rain forests in Costa Rica, protected national reserves world over, acres of the Amazon and supports violent, drug-cartel related crimes globally. In fact, Colombia being the 2nd largest producer of Coca saw its forest cover falling from 82% to 78% between 2002 to 2007 where as the drug crimes in Mexico just gets worse.
Danilo Villafañé, an Arhuaco indigenous leader in Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta who is helping his people take back lands formerly controlled by guerrillas and cultivated by commercial coca growers.Photos by Rhett A. Butler 2010.
The implications are frankly scary, specially in a day and age where we need out living greens to at least sustain the earth as we pollute it from one end. The question is, does a drug have to cost so much?
So the next time, someone narrates me a story about getting high in Hikka and how fun it was, I'll only be thinking how misinformed that person is. That maybe being a little less ignorant where your intoxicants come from would probably take you out of a cycle that cultivates deforestation, promotes poverty/dependency and violent crime the world over.
So the next time, someone narrates me a story about getting high in Hikka and how fun it was, I'll only be thinking how misinformed that person is. That maybe being a little less ignorant where your intoxicants come from would probably take you out of a cycle that cultivates deforestation, promotes poverty/dependency and violent crime the world over.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Amaarisge Ethnocentrism+Marketing
Ethnocentrism is the tendency to believe that one's ethnic or cultural group is centrally important, and that all other groups are measured in relation to one's own.- Wikipedia
Inspired by Barbara Kruger's Work
Inspired by Barbara Kruger's Work
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