Seniors of Auckland Indian Association Inc. cannot stop raving about their experience and joy observed during their short trip to the Indian subcontinent countries earlier this year.
“This was a trip of a lifetime for most of us. Sixteen days of sun, sand, shopping, sightseeing and fun in India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives,” says a senior recollecting the memories of his recent trip.
The trip started in the middle of February this year when a group of 14 seniors arrived at their first destination from Auckland in Mumbai, India. The first tour of their 16 days outing to three countries was taking a bus ride to heritage sites and seeing the residences of Bollywood stars in the city.
The next day, the troupe descended upon Colombo city in Sri Lanka which was their home for the next 12 days visiting historical places, temples, hill stations and other natural beauties of the country,
“The first two nights were in Chilwa, a beach resort in a small coastal village. We relaxed, swam and enjoyed the sunsets, and while walking along the beach, we came upon local fishermen repairing their nets and others bringing in their morning boatloads of fish destined for the local markets,” one of the senior added.
The seniors described each location and site as breathtaking and astoundingly beautiful. The following are the excerpts in brief from their experiences at different locations in Sri Lanka.
Anuradhapura: The ancient capital of Sri Lanka is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. The remains of its ancient Sri Lankan civilisation are spread over a vast area, and it was the centre for Theravada Buddhism.
“On the way to Anuradhapura, we stopped at the famous Shiva temple Munneswaram where Lord Rama offered his prayers to Lord Shiva to remove the curse of Brahma Dosha, after killing Sri Lanka's Brahman King Ravana, as Ravana was the son of Brahman Rishi Vishravas,” a senior added.
Trincomalee: Enroute to this city, the group stopped at the site of two ancient remains, first a Buddhist retreat at Mihanthle and then at the remains of an Ayurvedic hospital. It had 80 rooms, and even a body shaped carved stone bath for herbal treatment. The visitors walked along one of Trincomalee’s world famous long beaches, the town, the famous Fredrick Fort, Sri Lankan Army base, Koneswaram Shiva Temple, the local market and the Kali Temple in the city.
Kandy City: Kandy City is famous for its local handicraft and Lankan gemstones. Enroute to Kandy the troupe stopped to climb the world famous Sigiriya (Lion) Rock which has 1202 steps and visited the world’s first Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, a gem factory and tooth relic temple of Lord Buddha.
Nuwari Eliya: A famous hill station built by the British (staffed by indentured African workers and off limits to locals until independence in 1948). The hill station was beautiful windy misty, and the holidayers also visited the biggest waterfall of Sri Lanka, Glenloch Tea Estate and Factory and just further up the road entered a Hanuman Temple where they sang Hanuman Chalisa.
Ramussalle Rock: This rock is known as “Kishkinda Parvat” uplifted from the Himalayas by Lord Hanuman to bring herbal medicine “Sanjivani Buti”.
Galle Fort: An area encompassing 36 acres of Dutch settlement, built in 1663, a city within a fort.
“On the road back to Colombo we stopped to visit Cinnamon Island via a boat cruise on the famous Madhu River lagoons. We also explored a Spice and Herb Garden where most of us had a good body massage,” said a senior concluding the troupe’s Sri Lanka travelogue.
The seniors’ next destination was the Maldives which was spent on a tiny island, covering barely one kilometre in the perimeter. The island was located about 75 kilometres away from the city and an hour and forty minutes ride by a speedboat.
The Island is surrounded by beautiful white sandy beaches and crystal clear warm water. The seniors spent their time there by attending the yoga sessions at sunrise and warm, relaxing time at the sandbar. Seniors described the island to be heavenly beautiful and the experience spending their time there as ‘therapeutic’.
The trip was one of a lifetime’s experience for the seniors of the Auckland Indian Association, and the community organisation looks forward to hosting more of such escapes as a much needed holiday for the seniors in the future.