Frantic in Stockholm (Part I)

When I logged into Facebook this morning, I saw a memory from three years ago. The memory included a photograph taken at the Bandaranayaka International Airport during my first foreign trip! And it dawned on me that I’m yet to do a write up about my visit to Stockholm Sweden.

I, along with two work colleagues, traveled to Stockholm on a work assignment. But, we arrived in Stockholm three days prior to initial meeting with the clients, so that we would have an opportunity to do some sight seeing.

When we arrived in Sweden, we took the Arlanda express, and traveled from Stockholm Arlanda AirPort to Stockholm Central Station. Next, we took the subway to “Slussen”, followed by a short bus ride to “Henriksdal” where we settled into the apartment that would be our home for the next two weeks. After having a bite to eat, we walked around the neighborhood, and did some grocery shopping before hitting the sack.

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When fears are grounded, dreams take flight!

The Sri Lanka Air Force celebrated its 66^th Anniversary with an exhibition and Air Show at the Rathmalana Air Force Base. The event was in full swing from 3^rdto 5^th March 2017, with large crowds flocking to the Rathmalana Airport to view the exhibition, air Show, dog show, and mock attacks; all while enjoy the carnival atmosphere!

I was fortunate enough to attend the festivities on two occasions; on the morning of the 3^rd of March, when the inaugural session was conducted, and on the evening of the 5^th of March for the closing session.

On Friday, 3^rd March 2017, Harsha Aiya picked me up on his way to the Airport! I was very excited as it was the first time I was going into an Airplane Hangar!! On arriving at the Rathmalana Airport we proceeded to get our entry passes and made our way to the Airplane Hangar that belonged to the Fairway Aviation Academy. Due to the air show, all other airplanes were grounded, and we could set up our equipment right in front of the Hangar, facing the runway! Continue reading →

Elucidation of cultural pageantry

I’ve never been interested in watching the Kandy Esala Perahara. That is, I didn’t take the time to sit in front of the Tele and watch the procession, but I always told my parents, that we should go and watch it live. My father, especially said, “If we are going to watch the Perahara we should get good seats, and good seats are expensive, we are better off watching at home, then you get to listen to the commentary”. Thus, it was quite evident that I, seeing the Perahara with my parents was a very unlikely outcome.

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The Sri Dalada Maligawa, Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relick

In 2014, after I took up Photography as a hobby, a colleague of mine said that he could get me a media pass to photograph the Perahara! Lo-and-behold I was seated right in front of the octagonal Patthirippuwa on the penultimate day of the Perahara. It was an amazing experience!!

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Guildford Crescent to Jalan Pudu

Malaysia Airlines flight 178 was about to take off from the Bandaranayaka International Airport Colombo. Onboard were the very excited Mazarins, looking forward to a fun filled extended weekend in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

I woke up around 6 am when the aircraft hit some turbulence. After a good stretch, and getting the sleepiness out of my system I looked out of the window to one of the most amazing views I’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing. The aircraft was flying out of a light thunder storm above the Indian ocean, and slowly creeping into the air above the Malaysian Peninsula. The horizon, jagged with mountainous silhouettes, painted in shades of orange, red, and yellow was a scene straight out of a postcard. I looked back at the dark rain cloud, as I witnessed two flashes of lightening in quick succession. The first was a cloud flash, which just light up the dark cloud. And the next was a ground flash(technically it was above the sea), where I saw the bolt of lightening pierce the sky from my elevated vantage point. Soaking in the picturesque view, we touched down at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on 30th May 2015. The Mazarin excursion to Malaysia was now officially underway!!

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Evening at the Galle Fort

18th January 2015 was a hot and humid Sunday. I was home alone killing time watching movies and reruns of the past weeks TV series. It was around 11:30 am when I made a decision to get out of the house and just go somewhere, anywhere!!

Living in Maharagama, the first thing that came to mind was to take the highway bus to Galle. I’ve never taken the highway bus before, so I had a quick shower and a change of clothes, packed my camera and was on my way. The mid day sun was screaming down and I could feel my skin burn. Jumping on the Galle bound Air Conditioned bus was such a relief. It’s said that the time taken to travel from the Kottawa Highway Entrance to the Galle Exit is about 1 hour. And it takes about 10-20 minutes to get from Maharagama to Kottawa in light traffic. When the bus entered the high way and the ride became much smoother, I decided to pass the time by catching up on some reading. The bus finally stopped just passed the entrance to the Galle Fort and so began the adventure.

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The sacred trail to Adam’s Peak

Adam’s peak referred to as “Samanalakanda” (සමනළ කන්ද) is a 2,243 m (7,359 ft) tall mountain located in central Sri Lanka. According to Buddhist belief it contains the sacred footprint or “Sri Paadaya”(ශ්‍රී පාදය) of the Buddha.

Illuminated path to Adam’s Peak

We began our journey after lunch on Saturday, 21st February 2015. As we approached Nallathanniya, the village at the foot of the mountain, there was a long line of buses and vans parked on either sides of the road hinting that a large crowd was visiting Adam’s Peak over the weekend. Our bus was stopped by the police and we were instructed to leave our bus at that point and take the public transport to Nallathanniya (roughly 5km away from that point) as there was heavy traffic. We arrived at the inn we had arranged dinner around 9 pm. After freshening up and having dinner, we began the hike to the peak around 11 pm. Our objective was to reach the peak by about 5:30 am on the 22nd to view the sunrise. Judging by the crowd, this was going to be quite a challenge.

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The first river you paddle runs through the rest of your life

17 June 2013, Kithulgala

After a somewhat of a lame safety briefing I started to make my way along a narrow foot path towards the bank of the Kelani River. It was roughly 9 am on a gloomy Monday morning. We spent the previous two days engaging in various outbound training activities, and it was finally time to go White Water Rafting. The team bonded over the past two days; working together, having fun and getting to know the person behind the face that we see everyday at office. One could taste the excitement and tension in the air. We were looking forward to an awesome experience.

Geared up in safety vests, helmets, and paddle in hand, we continue down the winding foot path as the rain beat down on us. The closer we got to the river, the sound of the rain drops hitting our helmets and vests got muffled by the roar of the raging river. It was at this moment, that it struck me. I’m going white water rafting!!! I don’t know how to swim!!! I heard my mom’s voice in my head, telling me the dangers of rafting. I took a moment to clear my mind, a moment to think. We wouldn’t do this if it was that dangerous, would we? take such a big risk? My thought process was interrupted when my team mate, put his arm around my shoulder and started to talk to me. There was no turning back now, no one was backing down, everyone was anxious to get on the water. Continue reading →

Hello world!! Let us begin..

Welcome to the Extraordinary pages of an ordinary life.

First of all take a moment to read the about me section as to who I am and why I decided to start writing. I hope the posts you find here will not be a waste of your time and maybe help you to make your life full of extraordinary experiences.

Never forget that “It’s not about the friends you make, but the graffiti they write on your grave…“. Live to be remembered, let your actions and personality touch the heart and soul of everyone you meet.