there are many many things i could tell you about sri lanka. many.

i could talk about the way 4' monitor lizards run when you try to grab their tails. i could get misty about waking to the pre-dawn sound of monks giving it up for the buddha's tooth. i could mumble about the lurching train and the men who hang from its doorways, reaching out to pluck flowers as they pass. i might mention the howling of night-time dogs, the way thunder claps in a hillside cave filled with golden statues, or the size of the breasts on the full colour coquettes painted 1500 years ago half way up the protruding thumb of stone that is sigiriya fortress.

large, they are. and unaffected by gravity.

i could say many things about our three weeks in serendib. in ceylon. in sri lanka. but i don't want to. we loved it there. the way the place felt to us. how it was to be on the beach or around the lake or atop the hill, surrounded by the smell of tea. we actually had planned to stay for another ten days but this pesky war thing has negatively affected the tourist industry for some reason. and i just feel hesitant to explain it. the way it all felt. perhaps it's the lack of sleep or a certain preciousness to the memories. i'll just leave it as: go there yourself. and the getting was good so we got.

to bangkok.

from here we probably will get to visit with anne and alex in laos and maybe also with susie the pixie. before brother lump deposits himself in mystery city x (it's a surprise!) for birthday tortures we've planned to make him miss new york. and before we shrug and check the bank balance and shrug and say,

"dunno. is it time to go to australia?"

because dunno. might be time to go to australia. in a few more months.