Intro

I couldn't wait to open my own photo blog after being inspired by all the nature explorers on blogger, especially after I bagged tons of pics from the long trip we had yesterday (1st of August). It was a pilgrimage with my mom's relatives to Tantirimale, Elayapattuwa and Anuradhapura temples and historical sites. *these 3 locations can be found on this map here. A detailed map of Sri Lanka can be found here*

We took the route,
Matale - Dambulla - Kekirawa - Maradankadawala - Anuradhapura - Elayapattuwa - Oyamaduwa - Tantirimale.

Some photos didn't come right as the van was zooming past them so it was hard to focus and capture.

The first set of pics will include the things we saw in between these destinations. Most of these capture the cloud patterns, paddy fields, lakes and so on.

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* control + click the pics to zoom in (expand)


Serene lakes - overfilled or dried


Saw some birdies of the shape and color of cattle egrets here. The lake's been dried up leaving small ponds and puddles and so the birdies seem to be hunting for its last survivors.


The distant chedi / stupa is Ruwanweliseya, one of the most prominent and revered historical stupas in Sri Lanka. The land towards the bottom of the pic is a lake bed, revealed due to lack of rains. *you'll see some close-ups of this stupa in my future posts*


Waves are a common site in certain lakes of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, probably due to the strong winds here. This is no ordinary wind as it has the potential of a gale that could sweep you off your feet! And we experienced just that kind of classic strong wind at both Tantirimale and around Ruwanweliseya Stupa.


As you can see they are water lilies fringing the borders of the lake and they covered a large area here. Not sure of their type though. *with the speed it was tough to identify them or get a clear capture*

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Fluffy clouds and the azure Sky


The clouds were like a large flock of sheep and I think according to this chart here they might be the Stratocumulus clouds. Not sure why the landscape turned out that dim but probably due to my constant tweaking with the settings. *should let the cam handle its own settings and just snap pics hereafter!* =D


Without knowing I've gotten a lens flare at the right hand top edge. The clouds here were like the silky smoke puffing out of incense sticks. They might be the Cirrus Clouds.


Like a white dragon puffing out smoke the clouds seem to diverge from the glowing patch in the center, which is none other than the mighty sun, trying to hide behind those fluffy clouds.

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Lush Paddy fields - the symbol of prosperity




The green hues of these paddy fields were stunning. The views of them stretched for acres. But sadly in between there were a lot of uncultivated zones due to lack of water, and these were far more bigger than all the lush paddy fields put together.

Some of the houses in the dry zone had large pots built in cement to collect rainwater flowing off the gutters. These were almost tall as their thatched roofs. Unfortunately I was only able to capture just one shot of this huge rainwater collector after so many attempts, but even that single pic is now gone.. since I've deleted it without realizing when I had to downsize the photo collection! -__-

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Golden savanna and dry zone trees


These blond tall grasses were brimming in this area, dancing in the winds and weaving a golden plush carpet.


The trees here were towering, with less foliage and more twigs. They might be trying to absorb more moisture this way, just like the cactus of the desert.

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Forgotten ruins of a glorious era


We saw these ruins by the roadside. There are many solitary ruins like these scattered on the way. But no one seem to notice them, since they are not placed near the heritage zones.

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This is all for now. Got to sort out the rest leisurely and post them as and when I get a break.

Any tips, tricks, suggestions on photography and related subjects are most welcome. ^__^