There and back again

Last month, I went home to see the parents for five days. I contemplated on crossing off an exotic destination from my list of new countries to visit. But then I had a startling reminder that my remaining time with the family, realistically speaking, is limited to x number of moments and that pretty much settled where I wanted to be for my holiday.

I was told there was also going to be a family wedding we'd be attending. Crowds, making conversations and finding a dress! Bother. Thankfully, my helpful elder sister with a sophisticated sense of fashion came to the rescue (what will I ever do without her!). So I was saved the trouble and trauma of hunting for a perfect dress. More on that later.

The long weekend also found me celebrating Vesak with a large population of Buddhists in the country. By "celebrations", I mean doing things like visiting the temples, making Vesak lanterns with my adopted brother, driving in town with family and neighbours to watch creative displays of colourful lanterns and finally, eating from dansal.

Dansal are stalls set up by groups of volunteers offering food and drinks to anyone and everyone passing by (no questions asked) free of charge in the spirit of the occasion. Food ranges from good full course meals to ice cream and the queues can be pretty long for ones famed at having delicious meals. It's not really about fighting the crowds to get a free meal. The idea is for one party to organise, spend, cook and offer food with generous thoughts to others, while the receivers leave behind any pride and in turn enjoy the meal and offer their gratitude and appreciation for the other party's efforts. These days they have to operate on government licenses to ensure that food provided meets health and hygiene standards. Revisiting traditions and the culture back home with the family brought much me joy.

The Dalada Maligawa - an iconic palace turned temple in my hometown that attracts thousands of devotees and tourists every year

A recent addition to the main shrine 

The start of a large project that eventually took us a whole day to complete. My brother had already made the "skeletons" of the lanterns out of bamboo sticks when I arrived home, but there was much cutting and pasting to do!

The lantern slowly takes shape with coloured paper

The largest lantern of the lot. They look their best at night, when the light from inside the lantern radiates through translucent paper.

We had a total of four lanterns. My brother did the hard work of pulling electrical cables over the trees in the garden and fixing the lights and lanterns. I was his helpful aid.

Vesak lanterns can take various shapes, sizes, colours and designs. It takes considerable skill and time to make artistic ones like the one above (a photo which I borrowed from http://vesaksrilanka.blogspot.com/). Ours were of course amateur attempts. 

In addition to being able to show off his new driving license, my brother had a new member in his fleet of vehicles (the other being a bicycle). I also had enough time to look at all the plants my Dad and brother had planted, eat some of the fruits fresh off the trees and visit my favourite river.

A curious looking "three-wheeler". Its ability to squeeze through small spaces makes it an efficient mode of transport during traffic hours in Sri Lanka. We drove to the nearest playground where he gave me a crash course on driving it and I raced to my heart's content (mostly in circles), only having to dodge a few grazing cows and their dung piles.

Kitty - another privileged member of the family

Homegrown bananas and (a little harder to spot) Kitty about to do a death-defying stunt from the roof to the ground

I never miss the 3-minute walk down to the river whenever I visit home. This is where I spent a good deal of time growing up. It may explain my hydrophilic tendencies.

Reminiscing the past...

The wedding turned out a lot better than I imagined. I could tell my parents were filled with warm, parental pride to have atleast one of their offspring present at this social event. I believe they miss us very much. Social awkwardness aside, seeing them happy made me happy. It was actually fun to meet up with the cousins, aunties, uncles, nieces and nephews and others after what seemed like ages. Thankfully, I didn't meet any nosy and pushy relatives who tried to convince me to let my parents arrange a husband for me (I even went prepared with some sharp comebacks that these situations require, but it's a shame I didn't get to exercise any of those lines!).

The awkward/ simple Shu was transformed into an elegant lady with the help of her sister's choice of attire and a professional makeup artist. Photos that surfaced a few weeks later on Facebook, proved to be a hit (going by the positive comments). Initially, when the photos turned up and drew a bit of attention, I felt like a slug that crawled ignorantly out from under a rock only to be stunned by the flashing photos of the slug paparazzi. I was even told off by a couple of close friends when I gave due credit to the lighting technicians, the photographer, his sophisticated camera and the make up artist for tastefully enhancing my features. But I learned quickly to graciously thank everyone else for their compliments.

And just like that, it was time to leave back to Singapore.

The scenic drive from my hometown in Kandy to the Airport (took us nearly 3.5hours, the same time it takes me to fly from Singapore to Sri Lanka, actually) through mountainous terrain. In the background is the "Bible Rock" overlooking Kadugannawa

More lanterns on the roadsides!

Why, look at the time! It's almost time to start getting ready for work *nervous laugh*