Animals, Vegetables, and Minerals

Animals

The animals here don't show much regard for sacred spaces...

A dog lounges on a staircase at Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara

A monkey family plays at a Peradeniya's Hindu kovil.

Vegetables

...well, fruit.  Two of my favorite Sri Lankan fruits are currently in season–rambutan and mangosteen!  If I didn't know better, I would think that a rambutan was a poisonous sea urchin rather than a delicious fruit.  But the spines of the rambutan don't sting, nick, jab, or pierce–they're more like elastic hairs (hence the name rambutan which means hairy in Indonesian).  Once you rip apart the rubbery shell, you're left with a translucent, jelly-like fruit that's about the size of an apricot.  The flesh of the rambutan fruit has a texture similar to the flesh of grapes, but it doesn't pack the flavor punch of a grape.  Instead, the taste is subtle and sweet, and I find myself eating them like they're candy.

The mangosteens have a much bolder flavor–sweet like the rambutan, but tangy with a splash of citrus.  From the outside, the mangosteen looks like a beet, but after discarding the dark purple/red rind, you'll find that the fruit itself is cream colored, divided into 5 or 6 wedges, and has the texture of a very ripe peach.  Delightfully delectable.  

Minerals

I actually have nothing to write about minerals (just like I had nothing to write about vegetables), I just liked the sound of the title "Animals, Vegetables, and Minerals," but it turned out to not be very relevant...