While there we got to see a bit of the country and its 3000 year history, during which it has been known as Serendip, Ceylon, or Sri Lanka (literally, Honorable Green place, in Sinhalese).

Here at a monument to the nation's history we each deal with the locals in our own way.

This dragon looks so much like a Mayan Quetzalcoatl, but on closer examination it is really a general-purpose monster. It has a serpentine tongue, reptilian eyes, crocodilian fangs, tiger claws on its feet, and an elephant trunk curled up on top of its snout just for good measure.