Back to India!

Afew weeks ago, I found out I was going to India for a short work assignment. I'm always excited about going back to India, one of my favorite travel destinations.  This time, I'll be in Kerala - mainly in Kochi.  On the way, I'm taking a two day layover in Mumbai.

After work is over, I will spend a few days in Kochi itself and then meet up with my colleague and friend, Smitha and her family.  They are from the Kerala area and I'm thrilled to be spending time with someone who really knows their way around the area. Smitha is planning my visit so I'm leaving everything up to her.  I did tell her that I wanted to do some shopping - I want to pick up some thin cotton shirts for both work and travel.

Packing list. Sri Lanka.

It would be nice to imagine that all I need to take with me, on this vacation, is a pair of flip flops but that would be dreaming.   On the other hand, I'm actually a relatively light traveler though I don't hold a candle to my brother who can go on three week trip with a bag smaller than what most people take to the gym.  Yes, he does a lot of clothes washing when he travels which isn't a bad thing because that usually means he has relatively few dirty items of clothing in his bag at any one time.

Polonnaruwa.

After the fall of Anuradhapura in 993 AD, Polonnaruwa was declared the capital city by King Vijayabahu I, who defeated the Chola invaders in 1070 AD to reunite the country once more under a local leader.

While Vijayabahu's victory and shifting of kingdoms to Polonnaruwa is considered significant in Sri Lankan history, the real ruler who exacted the most significance on the kingdom was actually his grandson, Parakramabahu I who ruled the country 1153 to 1186.

A cooking lesson.

It's been a while since I've posted to my blog but that does not mean that I've forgotten about the fact that In am going to Sri Lanka in a few months.  In fact, today, I attended a Sri Lankan cooking class.

The last time I was in cooking class was when I was in India in October 2010 so I was overdue to go to another one and fact that it is for Sri Lankan cooking could not be more timely!

  Flashback to just two days ago. I was at work and I got one of the food related e-newsletters that I subscribe to.  There was a announcement that caught my eye.