Sri Lanka to Japan

Hi all,
Writing from a nice traditional-style hotel in Kyoto, Japan. This place is great so far. Its interesting to have some time in a country which represents both the east and west as a crossover before returning to the states. Also, my day in Sri Lanka was a trip! Its similar to India in many ways, looked a lot like Kerala, but there are all these subtle differences that you would notice only if you've spent some time in India, like all of us. For example, while most people probably would not be that interested, I was amused to find that there were no yellow rickshaws during my day touring around Colombo. There were lots of BLUE, RED, GREEN, PURPLE, BEIGE, and even NEON YELLOW rickshaws, all pimped out to the max, but no standard Indian yellow ones. I liked it. Another weird difference: I actually saw a GARBAGE TRUCK! That's right, a truck, picking up the trash from the road and at people's houses. So weird. Most Westerners would probably not be all that impressed by a garbage truck, but I certainly was.
While folks had warned me to "be careful", I actually felt really safe the entire time. The place was swarming with military though, and we were stopped an checked a lot, though in a rather friendly manner. There were billboards all over the place supporting the army. I went to a beautiful Buddhist temple downtown (80% of the country is Buddhist, I learned), then got some biryani with my taxi driver. It was hot as hell, which was not a change, and there was a lot of traffic. Overall, it was a great day, and I'm really glad I spent the time seeing a tiny bit of the country rather than holed up at the fancy shmancy airport for eight hours. I want to go back and spend some more time there in the future.
I hope all are well. Japan is beautiful and peaceful and clean. The room I am sitting in is entirely quiet. I already miss India. And all of you. Ok, love to you all, safe travels, happy returns home, and I'll be in touch.
Ethan
202-406-0020
2078 Chrysler Dr., Atlanta, GA 30345