India & Sri Lanka – 1976

This is my first attempt to document a trip several years after the trip was taken.  In 1976 I began keeping a rudimentary journal but did not have any word processing system to write up a trip description.  If I wanted to record a trip back then, I would have to type it using our old portable typewriter.  So here is my recollection of that trip taken 33 years ago now using a very brief journal, old cancelled passports, and failing memories.



Now Ruz is the Iranian, and old Zoroastrian, holiday that welcomes in the new year which they celebrate at the beginning of spring, March 21.  We were living in Teheran, Iran, in early 1976 and as we had several days off for the holiday, some people at work organized a trip to India and Sri Lanka for about 20 of us.  Rita and I signed up for the trip along with Rachel, who was eight, and Gretchen, who was five at the time.



We were scheduled to depart Teheran’s Mehrabad Airport the afternoon of Wednesday, March 10.  A steady snowfall started in the morning and lasted all day.  We were at a new wing of the airport that was recently built but there was no heat and the building was like an icebox.  Our Air France flight was delayed by several hours and the airport staff brought us hot tea and blankets while we waited for our flight.  We finally departed after 10:00 pm, about six hours late.



We arrived in Bombay, India, Thursday morning and, naturally, missed our connecting flight to Sri Lanka.  My notes say that Air France put us up at their expense in the Horizon Hotel at Juhu Beach on the Arabian Sea.  Much of the afternoon was spent lounging around the hotel swimming pool.  In the evening we had a fantastic sunset and the beach came alive with hundreds of people, camel and pony rides, dancing monkeys, food stalls, and much more. 



Friday morning we had time to take a taxi into central Bombay and viewed the Gateway of India monument built in 1911 to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to India.  We walked around the city, did some shopping, and ate lunch at the Intercontinental Hotel.  Our aircraft departed Bombay at 4:00 pm for Madras where once more Air France put us up in the luxurious Taj Coromandel Hotel since the next flight to Sri Lanka did not depart until the following afternoon.



Saturday morning Rita, the girls, and I had time once more for sightseeing in Madras and we stopped first at a snake farm where we all held a small green snake and saw pythons being annoyed by snake charmers.  We saw the Bay of Bengal and beach that Madras sits on.  We visited an ancient Hindu temple but I didn’t record the name – probably Kapaleeswara (Lord Shiva), Parthasarathy (Lord Krishna), or Ashtalakshmi temple.  We had to walk barefoot on hot pavement filled with dirt and spit.  Needless to say we rushed back to our hotel and washed our feet before departing Madras about 4:00 pm once more. 



The flight was very short to Colombo, Sri Lanka, and after relaxing a while around the swimming pool at the Lanka Oberoi Hotel, we took a taxi into town to what was known as the Fort area where we did a bit of sightseeing and shopping.  At dinner we noticed that the further south we proceeded on the sub-continent, the hotter the curries grew.



The hotel informed us that our arrival was fortuitous since that evening was the Perahera, a Buddhist celebration of grand proportions.  Our entire group took taxis to the area where the Perahera parade was to take place and sat ourselves on wooden bleachers set up for the occasion.  Many locals were there, too, and we tried our first taste of betel nut but couldn’t develop a fondness for them.  After sunset we were treated to an impressive parade starting off with ornately costumed torch bearers followed by a large group of men cracking whips.  These were followed by dancers, drummers and approximately 50 elephants painted up in bright colors, decked out in extravagant garments and covered with patterns of electric lights.  Following each elephant was a small truck or jeep with batteries to power the lights.  It was a fantastic, colorful parade that lasted past midnight.



The next day, Monday, March 15, was a Poya or Full Moon Day and an official holiday meaning very little was open for business.  We spent the morning relaxing around the pool and letting the girls swim with their friends from Teheran.  One boy, son of a friend I worked with, had his birthday so we hastily put together a birthday party for Travis and shopped for gifts at the hotel gift shops.  Near noon we checked out of the hotel with every family doing their own thing.  I hoped to rent a car but discovered we could not rent cars but could rent a car with a driver – for a very small amount.  So we hired Henry and his comfortable car for the next few days.  Henry turned out to be a great guide as well and we saw more through him than we would have with a guide book. 



We headed up into the central hills to the town of Kandy and at various levels we encountered different types of agriculture.  We saw people bathing in rivers along with their elephants.  We stopped to see a mahout with his large elephant and mounted the elephant to have our photos taken.  We also saw a baby elephant which the girls enjoyed petting and feeding.  We saw fields of pineapples, rice terraces, and banana, mango, coconut, cashew, and cinnamon plantations.  The countryside was lush with flowers everywhere and smelled wonderful.  We arrived at a hotel Henry picked out for us and checked into the Hotel Topaz in Kandy rather late in the afternoon.  I’m not sure but I think Henry slept in his car.



Tuesday morning the first order of business was a visit to Kandy’s main attraction, the Dalada Maligawa or Temple of the Tooth.  We had to take off our shoes to enter the temple and were the first ones to visit that morning.  The four of us were allowed to enter first, ahead of the locals.  We were viewing the sacred tooth of Buddha in a gold casket when all of a sudden the gates were opened and we were mobbed with hundreds of Buddhist pilgrims surrounding us.  We extracted ourselves from the crowd and made our way back to the car.



Next we visited the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens on the outskirts of Kandy, 147 acres of beautiful palm trees, bamboo groves, orchids, anthuriums, spice plants, and much more.  One large tree had hundreds of large fruit bats.  Henry told us that part of the movie, “Bridge on the River Kwai” was filmed there.  We had lunch at the historic Queen’s Hotel in Kandy where our waiters went barefoot and wore sarongs.  After lunch in this beautiful hotel we headed back towards Colombo through a heavy downpour.  During a break in the weather Henry stopped at a roadside café for tea.  While here the girls had the chance to play with a little monkey who peed on Gretchen’s arm.  Henry took us to a small beach hotel in the town of Mt. Lavinia, south of Colombo on the Galle road.  Mt. Lavinia is noted for its Golden Mile of beach and is steeped in history.  Later in the night our electricity was out, perhaps turned off by the hotel, and Rachel became sick with a stomach virus.  Rita was up several times in the night leading Rachel to the bathroom by candlelight. 



Wednesday, March 17 was St. Patrick’s Day but there were no Irish pubs in Sri Lanka at that time – perhaps today there may be some.  Henry drove us further down the beautiful coast to the small fishing village of Hikkaduwa which today is a renowned surfing and diving area.  We checked into a seedy little hotel called the Coral Beach Garden Hotel.  Today, searching the Internet, it appears to be a very nice beachfront hotel but in 1976 it was a crummy run down hotel, the only one in Hikkaduwa.  We said our goodbyes to Henry and settled in for three days of relaxation on the beautiful beaches of Sri Lanka.



The next three days were lovely, lounging on the beach, viewing the many tropical fish while walking on the coral reefs at low tide, swimming, sun bathing, and having a great time.  We took glass bottomed boat rides to view more tropical fish.  I remember a very dark, black fisherman in a skimpy thong walking along the beach with a crude spear in one hand and an octopus in his other hand.  He was trying to sell us the octopus but we were only interested in looking at it.  Our girls were the only westerners on the beach and swam alongside little naked boys and girls.  Alas, we had to return to Colombo eventually.  On Friday late afternoon we took the Queen of the Sea train, second class, back to Colombo and the Lanka Oberoi Hotel once more.  The train ride was very scenic as the tracks go along the ocean.  The windows were open and the smell of the ocean was constant along the route.  The train was also full of cute little Sri Lankan children on a school outing and outfitted in their blue and white school uniforms.  Tragically this same train was swept off the tracks in the tsunami of December, 2004, and over 2000 people were killed making it the world’s worst train disaster.   



Saturday morning was spent shopping in the Fort district once more.  We bought amethyst and moonstones but felt that the corn flower blue sapphires and rubies were too expensive for our budget at that time.  Now we wish we had gone ahead and made those purchases as well.  In the afternoon we visited the Colombo Zoo which had a performing elephant show.  Rita and I ate dinner at the Indian restaurant in the Lanka Oberoi.  Sunday was spent lounging around the pool with the end result that many of our group were sunburned.  Sunday night our group went out for a lobster dinner together.



Monday morning, based on a false rumor, we spent time at the Indian Embassy getting photographs and visas for India that weren’t really needed.  Our flight left Colombo around 2:00 pm and during a layover in Madras we had special stamps put into our passports to allow us to drink alcohol at the airport.  We arrived in New Delhi late in the day and checked into the Oberoi Maidens Hotel in Old Delhi.  This colonial hotel was built in 1903 and retained much of its old charm.



We headed out on our own Tuesday morning and visited the Connaught Circus area and a shopping area simply known as Cottage Industries.  In the afternoon we were moved to the Oberoi Intercontinental Hotel, a supposed step up.  We spent the afternoon around the swimming pool and in the evening Rita and I joined another couple to eat at the hotel’s rooftop Chinese restaurant.  I was surprised to learn that I had to have a coat and tie, which the restaurant provided for me.  The coat was plaid and the tie was garish.  I don’t remember the food.



Wednesday most of the group rushed around frantically trying to find a tour to Agra.  Rita, the girls, and I walked to the train station and bought round trip tickets to Agra with no hassle.  In fact, in Agra we joined in with the rest of the group for tours of Fatehpur Sikri, a 400 year old deserted city, the Agra Red Fort, and of course, the Taj Mahal.  We loved the Taj Mahal with inlaid semi-precious stones and marble.  It lived up to its reputation.  We returned to New Delhi on the train which took about three hours each way.  We had breakfast and dinner on the train and we arrived back at our hotel about 10:00 pm.



Thursday we toured and shopped some more in the Connaught Circus area, this time taking a bicycle rickshaw ride dodging hoards of people, sacred cows, and assorted traffic in the streets.  The girls loved the ride and so did we.  Friday morning we took a tour of Old Delhi visiting the Delhi Red Fort, Gandhi’s grave site, a Hindu temple and the Silver Street Bazaar.  We rested around the swimming pool in the afternoon and departed for our late night flight back to Teheran.  However, we were bumped from the overbooked flight and put up at yet another old colonial hotel (whose name is lost to me) for about three hours of sleep.  We did get to depart on Air France, now known to us as Air Chance, early in the morning and arrived in Teheran about 10:00 am. 



We thoroughly enjoyed this super trip to India and Sri Lanka and were pleased that we got to see more of India than was planned.  In less than a month I departed Iran for England where I transferred to another project and thus began another, new adventure.