Minding the buffalos.

 

I saw this herd of domestic buffalos taking a bath in a stream at Udawalawe. There was only one man in charge of the herd. The second picture shows them being guided home.

On the 'Uda-walawe' reservoir bund.

I took this picture on the highway going over the 'Uda-walawe' reservoir earth bund. You can see the electrified fence which keeps the elephants away from the road. The 'Uda-walawe' nature reserve is on the other side of the fence and has quite a few elephants.

Waiting for some fruits, Udawalawe.

An electrified fence seperating the wild elephant from the Udawalawe-Thanamalwila road, the elephant waits for fruits to be thrown across the fence by passers-by.

Hot water springs in Sooriyawewa.

When I visited this place in 1969, it was in the outback with jeep tracks leading to it from Thanamalvila. Now it has been built up and the local council earns a fair income from it.

Child with a pumpkin gourd.

The shell of a type of pumpkin which was dried over a month, after evacuating its contents was used as a 'water carrier' by the villagers of ancient Sri Lanka. This is varnished over and sold along the Tissa-Katharagama road. The picture shows a child in proud possesion of one of these water-carriers.