A rare bird

I don't take very good bird photos with my phone but this one was easy. A Black Neck Stork, one of only 6 individuals in the whole country.

Sri Lanka is joyful over the election of its new president.

Several months ago the citizens of Sri Lanka elected a new president, a man from a working class background, who promised to stop the corruption of the last 30 years. The families that had run the country had left poor villagers to fend for themselves. The president was elected overwhelmingly but he needed a parliament that would help him make reforms. That election took place a few days ago when we were in a small mountain village. We watched people making their way into the polling place, distances of 5 miles or more, to cast their vote. The president's party won overwhelmingly. A local Sri Lankan pointed out the sight of the old parliament members leaving town

Egrets and fruit bats

Very large fruit-eating bats hang in the trees in tropical countries where they devour mangos and papayas and no doubt other things as well. There is a well known spot at the edge of town where the egrets, herons and ibis come in to roost at night. As the birds fly in the bats fly out. The white spots on the dark trees are birds.

Bird photos and one snake.

Fashionably dressed in our leech socks.

I'm glad to be out of the country.

I'm devastated with the election results and grieving with the people I care about. So I'm just going to post a lot of photos from Singapore and Sri Lanka and hope they bring you some joy.

Sideways sunset from our hotel in Kitulgala SL.

For the one of you who asked...

I did stop posting partway into the scubaspa trip in the Maldives but that was mainly because I was semi-embarrassed about the luxury I was enjoying and I thought you all might get tired of photos of wonderful food. 

Every single meal was superb. Breakfast was served after the first dive so the divers had an excuse to be hungry. I did not but it didn't stop me.

On our penultimate day on the boat, we made a 4 hour trip across open ocean and were warned it would get rough. Fortunately I had my daily spa treatment early (I had spa treatments because I didn't dive) rather than deal with the rocking and rolling of the boat, which I can still feel as I write this 5 days after leaving the boat. The passage was indeed rough. Closet doors flew open and clothes and suitcases landed on the floor. Potted plants on the deck rolled over and broke and a lot of water washed onto the decks. The crew was pretty damned good-took it all in stride and by evening we were all ready for a drink, made by our amazing barmen who created some lovely concoctions.