the internet is at best intermittent here in crazy lazy aragam bay – so this post may have a long gestation period. a nine hour, two hundred mile drive from colombo through the hill country navigating horrendous roads delivered me to this bizarre enclave of peace in a crazy civil war ridden, election frenzied (the first in twenty years!) eastern sri lanka. the sound of gunfire and bombing whilst out surfing this evening turned out, of course, to be fireworks at a local buddhist festival!
it was sad to lave the ashram family, they made me very welcome and unusually I felt at home immediately upon arrival which is testament to the spirit of the place. I’d love to see them again, and my imagination has been captured by india. wouldn’t it be great to do a road trip around the coast finding surf spots along the way… anyone interested?
having spent two weeks in lacsidasical coastal karnatika I got an intense blast of what india can offer a rooky when I transferred from mumbai’s domestic terminal to the international one for my flight to colombo. it was a thirty minute ride but it packed in a middle-england’s lifetime’s worth of sound, colour, traffic, dirt, poverty, mayhem and all round sensual overload. there’s almost too much life happening there for my tiny mind to comprehend!
i only managed to get my camera around the lagoon in mulki to the beach for one morning’s photography – that’s a damn shame as we had much better sessions than the one recorded here but on reflection i realised i’ve only put one surfing image up so here’s a few more…
Arugam Forum
Arugam Photo Galleries on Picasa
Old Website
Press Coverage
Surf Forecast for Arugam Bay
ahhhhh Innndia…..
I really identify with your observation of brimming with life… it is such an extraordinary continent for that.. even the brilliant green leaves seem to have a an extra dose of life force..
there is much I can say about that aspect of india and why it has attracted the ‘inner-world focus’ it has…
compared to any country in the world the indian’s seem to have concerntrated on ‘ what it is to be alive’ …. perhaps this is as a consequence of
having a surfeit of life….. the trapping and extra toppings we have in the west have been, until recently, non existent,….so therefore it is ‘ very good common sense’
to look inwardly at life as opposed to the external focus we have the privilege to experience….. and yet living with an outer world focus without the inner world is empty..
and that is what we experience more and more …..
a balance is required of course..
which is why all the ashrams have ‘good business focus’ of course…. it makes sense…
I don’t know about you but I find the indian’s, broadly speaking of course, to be intelligent and young minded i.e. agile and flexible thinking…
anyway blah blah blah…
very hot here
all well
love sis x