Living for 100 years

Time for another update I feel, but before I start I can excitedly announce that my quest to find the differences between Sri Lanka and India Buddha has begun.. But ill come to that later.

We have reached the south of Sri Lanka and are staying in the beachside town of Unawatuna.
The biggest thing to mention here would be that less than 10 years ago, an earthquake occurred off the coast of Indonesia which was recorded at 9.1-9.3 in magnitude. This created a tsunami which hit many countries including Sri Lankans southern coastline. Many lives were lost and the beautiful coastal towns were mostly wiped out.

Today Unawatuna has no obvious signs of any such destruction and has been rebuilt to be a bustling tourist location however I am sure that if you scratched at the surface and went a short distance in land away from the glitz of the sun loungers and cheap cocktails it may be more apparent. Many restaurants have photos on the wall and in albums you can view to get an idea of what once was.

At the far end of the beach is a small hill and our destination should we feel any movements from below. It is also home to a 200 year old sacred site which consists of both a large white dagoba (undestroyed by tsunami) and a newer addition, a statue of Buddha himself. It was here that we decided to explore when the sun went away this afternoon.

We reached the top when a young Lankan boy came and offered us some tea with 'no charge' - a rarity in this country. It was here that my question was to be answered.

We sipped our tea and ate water crackers in the presence of another Spanish tourist (also got the tea invite) and a Buddhist monk who had lived at this site for 33 years. He explained many things about his culture when asked if I understood, I had to guiltly and unconvincingly reply 'sort of'.

I could of lied but to be honest, I was intrigued and and wanted to understand.. So I got, in lamens terms, a better explanation.
Now before I start, there is a lot I want and could write about this because I like the religion but I don't want you to all think I'm returning to the homeland in an orange robe so i will be restrained.

We learnt more about what it is to be a Buddha, and about Buddha aka Siddhartha Gautama himself. Just a Normal man born in nepal who found enlightenment and shared his way of living with others. No creator of the universe here people.. But what a guy! 

There are two branches of Buddhism existing in these modern times.
The Theravada Buddhists who are found in Sri Lanka and south east Asia and then Mahayana Buddhists in the Himalayas and east Asia.
The differences among these two groups are to be further defined on the next tea date.

We finished up with a blessing for each of us and the tying of a white cotton band around our right arm known as a baci which preservers good luck. I must say I was very moved by this.. And we've been blessed for 100 years! Hurrah!

My baci will be staying on as good luck is what I need, as I am soon to be visiting the home country of Buddha himself and flying into the infamous lukla. The young Spanish tourist who had just done the same trek delightfully informed me that about 200-300 metres above the runway, the engine gets cut for landing. ARE YOU LISTENING HANNAH? Cut. Shut off. So we just glide down onto the runway.

Fantastic news. Freaking out... Only slightly.

Anyway best bring this post to an end because poor joe is fallen asleep on his diary beside me. Bless.