For administrative reasons, I left India a month ago to visit Sri Lanka. Straddling Western and Indian customs, here cows do not roam freely on the roads, trash bins are in use, sidewalks exist just like washing machines, and the temples have set the sound system volume to a reasonable level. These are significant improvements for the tourists who are very present on the island of Ceylon, whose capital, Colombo, hints at exotic flavors.

That said, the island has retained some essential folkloric specifics such as its countless stupas, its gigantic Buddha statues, and its bakers in tuk-tuks who announce themselves with Beethoven's Für Elise played on a synthesizer. There is also the famous Paan, a preparation made from areca nuts, tobacco, and snail shells that is chewed for its euphoric properties. It stains their teeth and gums blood red, so Sri Lankans do not laugh yellow but red.

I mainly spent time on the paradisiacal beaches of the southwest where one can see the sun rise and set over the Indian Ocean and where fruits like mangoes, jackfruit, and durian are abundant. I walked and cycled through these coastal areas where wild dogs come to be petted and where one can swim with colorful fish and turtles.