

The hotel had set up an out door lunch by the lake. First we drank “Rusem” which was heated on an out door fireplace and served in coconut shells. No plates! Lotus leaves were used to serve lunch. This was way cool. No doubt this was one of the best Sri Lankan food I have ever had.

In the evening we went on an elephant ride. Her name was Rani and she was thirty years old. We proceed along the bank of the laketill we came to what I think is Rani’s favorite location. Here there was a man selling plantains and Rani makes it a point to stop here. She understands if we buy them and she knows for whom they are for. We gave here one by one as she kept putting her trunk up asking for more.
The high point of the ride is when we got in to the water. Rani picked me a blue lily and her mahout skillfully made a necklace out of it. After a while I could feel the water at my feet. At the end of the ride we gave Rani a few more plantains and said goodbye.




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