Sri Lanka - The World's Richest Country

Besides the famous tea plantations Sri Lanka boasts its precious stones as well. It's one of the world's leaders in their extraction. The very process of extraction has remained the same since ancient times. It's still manual work. Mines are dug with the help of picks and shovels and are usually not far away from the bank of a river. The rock itself is lifted in baskets and buckets with the help of ropes and then washed in a stream of water or the nearest river.

Then special people start their work trying to find precious stones among other stones. Sometimes they find one, two or even a handful of them, but often remain empty-handed. Then the whole process repeats all over again. 

Almost all precious stones, especially the large ones, are sold at auction. The famous 400 carat sapphire "Blue Belle" adorning the British crown and the 536 carat sapphire "Star of India" exhibited in the museum of New York are both from Sri Lanka or, if to be more precise, from Ratnapoura considered the major center of extraction of precious stones.

Extraction is carried out manually. Automation equipment is represented only by pumps constantly removing water from the mine. If the pump is turned off, the mine will be full of water in an hour or so. If the mine is deep enough, a power pump supplies it with air.

In former days excavators and other heavy vehicles were used to extract precious stones but they left lakes after themselves.

About 90% of the Sri Lanka's land contains half of the 200 varieties of precious and semi-precious stones existing in the world.

To extract them one must have a license which costs $5000 a year.

Such wicker baskets are used when soil is lifted up.

The greater mine workings consisted of several mines each of which is from 7 to 30 m deep.

Unfortunately, they stopped working several months ago and now are abandoned. 

Here are some semi-precious stones. After the end of the shift they are sold to the market. It's not clear if the stone is valuable until it's processed. That's why nobody gives much for an unprocessed stone. But if it turns out to be pure, without any admixtures, it may be very expensive. Pity, its extractor will never know about it.

That's why the whole families often join to work together: some of them extract precious stones while others process them. It prevents them from losing great money.

They are kept in envelopes. Only professional can understand where the real precious stone is. Sapphires are heated to get a certain coloring. A real pure sapphire is extremely expensive. The price of one carat may reach $10.000.

Amsterdam: The City Of Bicycles

Amsterdam can be considered as the European capital of bicycles. It seems that here are more bicycles than in China. Everything is well arranged for bicyclists: special roads, traffic lights and parking places. Bicycle bells are heard everywhere in Amsterdam. About 400.000 people get on their cycles each day. But all this is not so simple, because if you are not experienced enough it wouldn't be a safe ride. Especially tourists have various unpleasant accidents.

Bicycles are the most popular transport in Amsterdam. About 40 % of locals have and regularly use them.

Many streets in the center are given up to bicyclists.

Speed lovers ride on such race cars.

Children can be put in a box.

And when they grow up they can ride themselves on such funny little bicycles.

The rain can not stop true bicyclists.

Especially if they have raincoats or umbrellas.

All bicycles are rather simple so they don't tempt thieves.

The rent of a bicycle costs about 5-10 euro.

People repair their cycles in the streets.

Fietsflat is the biggest bicycles parking in Europe.

It is not easy to find a vacant place.

Bicycles in Amsterdam are even more numerous than cars.

Scooters and bikes look so lonely.

Special lights for bicyclists.

Owners of All Animals - the Masai

The Masai are a Nilotic ethnic group of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania. They are nearly the most well known African ethnic group, due to their distinctive customs and dress. Today the Masai population is about 400.000 people. 

They have many in common with the other Kenyan people - Himba.

For example, they also build huts near the central court.

Masai use sticks and manure for huts construction.

Masai believe that they own all animals in the world. That was the reason for many conflicts with other people.

However there are some distinctions between Masai and Himba. Especially as to clothes. Masai wear more things, and they are of modern materials.

Locals sell souvenirs of their country.

To become a real man every boy has to leave his family at young age, build himself a house and live there for several years. Then he returns home to have here some rights.

Masai are known to be fierce fighters, but now they do not have any enemies and their one occupation is grazing.

Stone House of a Hobbit

In Portugal, not far from Fafe town, there is an amazing stone house, built in 1973. The house is built between two huge stones, which play the role of walls. The unique design of the house with its unsymmetrical windows, stones fleeced with moss, tiled roof and even stone barn very soon became a popular place of interest for tourists, that's why the owners had to move to another place and now the house is abandoned.

The Museum Of ... Pears

In Japanese prefecture Totori there is a museum devoted to the 20th Century Pear sort.

This sort of pears is a pride of Totori prefecture, and looking at this building, one won't even think that it's a pear museum.

The exposition of pears from all over the world.

There are no apples in the museum - all the fruits are pears!

The 20th Century Pears were cultivated in Tottori prefecture about 100 years ago and grow only on its territory.

The central exhibit of the museum is of course the pear tree itself. Here you can see its root system.

There are also lots computers, terminals and information centers which also contain different information about pears.

This museum is a perfect place for kids entertainment. They never want to leave...

Every day the museum holds degustations.

The 20th Century Pears can be bought by every volunteer. One pear costs about $4-6.

Dizzy Heights of Nepal

If you ever have a chance to visit Nepal, never miss it! This is an amazing country with breathtakingly beautiful mountainous landscapes. So let's walk around some of the most picturesque Nepalese places and admire the nature.

The roads leading to the mountains are very narrow thus drivers have great difficulties in passing each other on them. Here and there you can see buses slipped down in a ditch or even precipice at the side of a road.

The landscapes are just wonderful. It's summer in Nepal. The temperature is +25 and the mountains seem to be sunny and fresh.

Sometimes traffic jams appear on the roads for short periods of time. 

A rather fanciful landscape.

The road is hard and long but at the same time very picturesque.

In summer the Nepalese celebrate their own local New Year and decorate not only themselves but also their cars.

The height is about 2000 m. To walk is very difficult but to breathe is still quite easy - yet there is enough oxygen.

Some beautifully blossoming trees.

And this is one of the well-to-do Sherpas (an ethnic group from the most mountainous region of Nepal). Why is he well-to-do? Look at his shoes - these are sneakers. Besides, he often smokes and refuses to be photographed.

The road is covered with shining stones. It's quartz which is easily crumbled and divided into layers.

The higher you climb the more magic and shaggy the forest becomes. All the trees are covered with fern here and look quite unusual.

At an altitude of 3000 m there is the tea-house of a very hospitable Sherpa. In fact, there lives the whole family. This is father.

A couple of wonderful horses.

If you squint you can see a very nice bird in the middle of the picture.

Only one word comes to mind when looking at these pictures - beautiful.

But what can impress you even greater is the view of a praying man in the distance. 

Nobody's around... Only fog, silence and the praying man.

It turned out to be a very nice girl from Switzerland admiring the beauty of the landscape as all the common tourists but there was still some mystery in her eyes...

This is Mount Gosaikunda in the morning. An altitude is more than 3000 m. To walk and to breathe are unbelievably difficult here! It takes much effort to get over another hundred of meters. Amazing views are the only consolation for the tourists.

Not far from this place is a pass.

This is the man living in a tent on the bank of a river. His look is quite threatening. Do you know, by the way, why the Nepalese don't cut their hair? Because they believe there is some magic in it and if they cut them, it will disappear. They also smoke their Nepalese buns and try to see God while doing it. 

On your way uphill you can see some wonderful spots with Nepalese traditional colorful rags.

And this kind of pyramids. The local believe that if you build such a pyramid in the mountains, you will get a house in the paradise.

There are many beautiful waterfalls there as well. When passing by them all the clothes become wet at once. But the Nepalese sun makes wonders. It takes about 40 minutes to make them absolutely dry.

It turns out to be much easier and landscapes become more lively and colorful. Plenty of oxygen makes you happy again.

Goodbye, mysterious forest. 

Amazing clouds above the mountains.

The height is still quite dizzy.

Spiders are united and made a huge web between the two trees.

One more Nepalese girl who attracts tourists' attention at once. Unlike other Nepalese children she doesn't ask them for sweets and money and is very glad to pose for a photograph.

That was the beautiful country of Nepal and its wonderful Himalayas.

Climbing Machu Picchu Mountain

Machu Picchu Mountain is situated not far from Aguas Calientes town, Peru. At the bottom of the mountain there is an ancient Incan town with homonymous name. A ticket to Machu Picchu costs about $35 and can be bought only with passport submitting.

In this post there are no photos from the ancient city itself - it's devoted to the climbing the mountain and beautiful views which open from it.

This steep staircase paved with stones many centuries ago leads to the very top of the mountain.

The rise goes up higher and higher. Even if there are no steps the path goes up. The town itself is situated on the height of 2400 meters above sea level - this photo was shot 300 meters higher.

Everything around is nebulous and sometimes visibility does not exceed a couple of meters. Somewhere on the left in the gorge the Urubamba river flows.

From that point views of surroundings begin to open.

In the centre of the panorama there is Putucusi Mountain, about 2500 meters high.

And here is Huayna Picchu Mountain, also very popular among Machu Picchu visitors. Its height is about 2700 meters.

And that's how the empty Machu Picchu looks in the end of the day. As a place of interest it works only till 5 p.m. No, it's of course not padlocked - the thing is that the last bus from here departs at 5 p.m. So take it into account, if you decide to visit the amazing ancient Incan town!