10 wonderful nights in
Sri Lanka
January 10 - 20, 2022
WARNING:
This is another long post. How could it not be with over 2000 pictures taken and such an awesome adventure?
What can I say about beautiful Sri Lanka? It really is a magical place filled with lush vegetation, friendly people and LOTS of wildlife! Everywhere you turn it's a Kodak moment!📸
What wildlife you say? We saw tons of stray dogs (unfortunately), some cats, tons of monkeys, elephants (my favorite), 1 leopard, wild boars, water buffalos, spotted deer, 1 snake, crocodiles, squirrels - including a giant squirrel, chipmunks, beautiful birds, turtles and even huge bats. 🦇 Plus some scary creepy crawly bugs.
Day 1 - Monday, Jan 10th:
In Negombo
After a yucky overnight flight, we arrived at the Colombo airport and immediately took a taxi to Negombo to the Regal Reseau Hotel & Spa. Check-in was brutally long and incredibly inefficient, but after that it was an enjoyable spot right on the beach with a lovely rooftop infinity pool. We explored the beach a bit - unfortunately it was littered with garbage, but still a nice beach to walk and play in the waves. Sadly, on this trip we didn't go in the ocean because of the "incident" and later on, red flag conditions.
About 3 hours into our vacation, Craig was hit by a tuk tuk! Yes, you read that right. See next picture if you're unsure what a tuk tuk is. He was very tired from the overnight flight and he looked left (instead of right because they drive on the left-hand side like in the UK) and saw traffic coming towards him and says he thought it was a one way. I screamed at him, which he said made him stop and turn. Thankfully he wasn't directly hit and wasn't even knocked off his feet (just call him "The Tank"), but he was hurting pretty bad! He had tucked his arm in, so it may have acted like a cushion protecting his ribs and organs. He quickly turned very pale and started sweating. He was assessing the damage when the shop owner across the street and a few others came rushing over to him and escorted him to the shop, sat him down, did their own assessment - poured water over his head, gave him some to drink, roughly applied some natural balm and finally ice. They were SO kind and very worried about him - telling him to go to the hospital. He never did go - we went back to the hotel and spent the rest of the day at the rooftop pool. We are forever grateful to those people who helped him. It was a good introduction into the genuine kindness of Sri Lankan people. They wouldn't even let us pay for the things, but we went back there after dinner and purchased some things and gave them some money. We also bought more of that balm because it seemed to help - and he enjoyed having me rub it on him twice daily (and still does). 😘 Love you Baby!
3 weeks later... he's still a bit sore, but it gets better every day. So ya, that wasn't a great start, but it could have been SO much worse! Other than not being able to play in the ocean waves, he managed to enjoy doing everything else this awesome vacation had to offer. Phew! That was a long story, but it had to be told...
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Darn tuk tuks... they do drive like maniacs in Sri Lanka, but I think this incident was mostly the tourist's fault (a.k.a Craig). So be very careful regarding the traffic here!
Where we were in the world:
Darn! Didn't even realize we were SO close to the Maldives... we should have popped over there for a few nights too.
Where we were in Sri Lanka: |
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| In between #9 and #10, along the coast, I forgot Ahungalla where we stayed for 2 nights at the RIU all-inclusive. |
Flights: Moscow - Dubai (3641 kms) Dubai - Colombo (3288 kms)
Driving (approx): Colombo to Negombo (39 kms) - Anuradhapura (171 kms) - Sigiriya (73 kms) - Polonnaruwa (55 kms) - Kandy (133 kms) - Nuwara Eliya (75 kms) - train Nanu Oya to Ella (65 kms - 2.5 hours) - Ella to Yara (125 kms) - Galle (185 kms) - Ahungalla (43 kms) - Colombo (93 kms).
Total flying kms = 13,858
Total driving kms = approx. 1000 kms
Total train kms = 65 kms
Craig had arranged this trip through Hamantha @ "One & Only Travels"
and they were awesome! We greatly appreciated all they did for us including booking all hotels and arranging the itinerary and our PCR tests at the end (3 hour turn around through Hospinorm Laboratory).
Our guide & driver - Roshan Indika Batukandage picked us up on time and he had a nice, modern, comfortable car. We were spending the next 10 days with him, so we really hoped it would be a great fit and thankfully, he too was amazing! He was a wonderful ambassador for the country. His knowledge of history, birds (he loves birds) and facts about each site we visited was outstanding. His love of his "job" and making sure that we were enjoying ourselves went beyond our expectations. He was so accommodating and catered to our every need. He even opened my car door every time! A girl can really get spoiled! (ok, more spoiled). He's such a kind, genuine and organized person and we very much enjoyed getting to know him through all his stories. We left Sri Lanka with a new friend and would HIGHLY recommend both the tour company and Roshan.
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| Roshan, our new buddy, great driver, guide and photographer also! |
A few Sri Lanka deets:
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The green stripe represents the Muslim minority, the orange stripe, the Hindu minority. Budhism, the dominant religion is represented by the four leaves around the lion and also the yellow colour. The red represents the blood spilled and the lion has been the national symbol of Sri Lanka since the 5th century symbolizing bravery, but also so many other meanings. The curly hair on the lion representing meditation, religious observance and wisdom. The sword represents the sovereignty of the country and the handle of it represents the four elements of air, water, earth & fire. Who knew there was so much meaning in a flag?
The Canadian flag, in contrast, has the maple leaf which has been a recognizable national symbol of Canada for over 300 years. It is also used in the coat of arms and the flags of the Canadian Armed Forces. The red and white colours became official in 1921. I can't seem to find a much deeper meaning to either the maple leaf or the red and white. 🤔
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| Population (2020) | 21,413 million |
| Currency | Sri Lankan rupees (1 Canadian dollar = 161 rupees) |
| Area | 65,610 km2 |
| Capital city | Colombo |
| Population density | 288.0 residents/km2 |
It's a gorgeous, but fairly flat country. The mountain area is particularly breathtaking! See Topographic map of Sri Lanka below
We just loved the lush vegetation in almost all of the country. There was a noticeable difference though in the dry zones, but still beautiful. Temperatures were basically 31°C the entire time we were there. The only place where it was cooler was in Ella where it was about 16°C at night. The rest of the time I was in a constant state of stickiness as the humidity levels are high. 😰
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Formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka - it is an island country in South Asia.
The people:
74% Sinhalese
18% Tamils,
7.7% Arabs
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70.2% Buddhism
12.6% Hinduism
9.7% Islam
6.1% Roman Catholic Christianity
VERY brief history: The historical period of Sri Lanka begins roughly in the 3rd century and was ruled by 181 monarchs. From the 16th century some coastal areas of the country were controlled by the Portuguese who lost to the Dutch (in the 80 years' war) followed by British rule (who colonized it from 1815 - 1948). Sri Lanka remained a Dominion of the British Empire until 1972 when they assumed the status of a Republic.
Since 1948, relations between Tamil and Sinhalese communities have been strained. A civil war ensued resulting in the deaths of more than 100,000 people. The war ended in 2009, but there are continuing allegations of atrocities being committed by the Sri Lankan Military.
Their Independence Day is celebrated on February 4th. Roshan said despite all the fighting with the British, they did provide many of the modern conveniences that Sri Lankans enjoy to this day and are thankful for. Sports such as cricket, golf and rugby. Infrastructure such roads, railroads, schools, post offices, parliament, parks and green spaces. The train routes are a huge part of daily life as is the tea industry - producing about 340 million kilograms per year.
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| This was Craig for most of the 1st day. He did manage to get out for the sunset on the beach and a nice seafood dinner later |
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| Nice rooftop infinity pool in Negombo @ the Royal Reseau Hotel & Spa. He's pointing out his frozen chest from the ice. |
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| A lovely spot to spend the afternoon after being hit by a tuk tuk |
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| Young boys hanging out on some bamboo that washed ashore |
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Beautiful Sunset in Negombo
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| Our 1st seafood dinner - cheap & delish! |
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Day 2: Tuesday, Jan. 11th
And we're off on our Sri Lankan road trip! Starting from Negombo and heading towards Anuradhapura (now a World Heritage Site, famous for its well-preserved ruins of ancient Sinhala civilization).
Little did we know when I took the picture above that this is actually very calm traffic, but imagine this with several dogs crossing the road, many more tuk tuks, wild buses, trucks, cars and motorcycles and that is daily driving in Sri Lanka. |
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| Blacksmiths selling their wares at the roadside |
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Just a truck full of coconuts... a normal thing here because coconut is used SO much. They use every single part of it too - the oil, milk, flour, butter and shavings for cooking, the shell for utensils, etc. and even the husks.
Sri Lanka is the 4th largest coconut exporter in the world. By the year 2020, the country had nearly 444,000 hectares of coconut estates. |
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| This was a familiar scene... bodies of water with lily / lotus flower pads all over. So pretty. |
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| An impromptu stop at the side of the road to try some "king coconut" - the kind you drink the water from... and eat the flesh |
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| It was actually better than we were expecting, but we didn't want to drink TOO much as it tends to cleanse the body (if ya know what I mean)...not great when you're on a road-trip! 😆 |
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Roshan and Craig carving out some of the flesh to try...not my thing. 😝
Our 1st encounter with the monkeys. At first I was concerned about them, but Roshan assured me they would not harm us unless we threaten them. Cool banyan tree also!
I captured this pic by accident! hee hee Too funny... The body language of the poor traumatized infant money is the cutest part.
Our 1st Buddhist temple and stupa (the temple is the place of worship and the stupa portion is the dome or bell shaped structure that is filled with bricks - so you can't go inside - and possibly some sacred relics of the Buddha). This one is called Jetawanaramaya - Built by King Mahasen 1600 years ago!
This shows the sheer size of the stupa. Two things we had to be aware of when visiting temples was that we had to go barefoot - which on the hot stones was not easy, but was therapeutic. Thankfully the stones weren't AS hot as usual (per Roshan). Typically, worshippers walk clockwise around the large stupa at least three times to be meditative, purify negative karma and foster realizations to the path of enlightenment. The 2nd rule was never turn your back to the Buddha statue as it is very disrespectful. Unfortunately we did it once by mistake and were called out for it. Felt bad. 😞
Monks are a common site in Sri Lanka
A reclining Buddha represents the historical Buddha during his last days, about to enter the parinirvana. After the Buddha's death, his followers build a statue of him lying down.
Beautiful wood carving detail at a temple. I really regret now not shopping more in the antique shops because I would have loved to have an authentic, old wood carving.
Roshan has an amazing ability to spot things while driving that would make beautiful photographs or even just a unique bird in a tree. This young boy was jumping around this swampy area collecting flowers to sell to worshipers who then offer those flowers to the Buddha
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There are thousands of Buddhist temples/stupas in Sri Lanka. Ancient and more recent. I do not pretend to know the names of all we saw, so let's just say this is another photo of a beautiful stupa.
This is the entrance to the very beautifully unique Forest Rock Garden Resort (built in 2013) just outside of Anuradhapura. It is meant to look like an ancient city and give you the feeling of being royalty and they've done a wonderful job of it! The sites and forest sounds are incredible. We were impressed and especially happy when they upgraded us to a luxury villa with private pool! There are a few customer service hiccups at this resort, but it didn't matter to us.I believe they said there were 4 km's of these walkways suspended about 15 feet above ground. You really do feel one with nature here on this 50 acre property.Our incredibly large and lovely room
Our villa & private pool area
The monkeys had a party on our roof overnight, but hey, it's all part of the experience and that's what we travel for! We just wish we had more time here to explore.The main pool area was the most impressive and we had it all to ourselves because there weren't many other guests and it was pouring rain - the only bad weather we encountered on our entire trip. We enjoyed swimming in the rain! |
| Craig's private, royal pool |
The next morning, we were up early to have a look around and were treated to a wedding party having their photos taken! I normally would love seeing a bride, but in this case, I found it was the men who really stood out in the wedding party. They were out getting pictures at about 6:30 am... imagine how early they were up to get photo ready?The groomsmen (above) and bridesmaids (below) in their traditional wedding clothing. I'm not sure what the significance of the padded hips is for the men, but it's definitely unique and interesting! |
| The bridesmaids were also stunning... again, taking a lot of attention away from the bride, but all very beautiful. |
I mean, look at that guy on the far right in the picture above! That hip padding looks so uncomfortable and bizarre to a Westerner like me who has never seen such a thing.
Day 3: Wednesday, January 12th
Heading to Dumbulla & Sigiriya
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| Today, we were in for a real treat. I heard "village tour at Habarana Hiriwadunna" and personally was not expecting much. It started out on a bumpy ox-cart ride. Then we transferred to a small catamaran to where we'd meet a family for lunch and at the end took a tuk tuk back to the car. |
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| "Pet the ox", he said... turned out ok |
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| Not sure I'd hold his horns, but Craig lived to tell the tale. Now I know how people felt in the horse-drawn carriage days. Man it was not a smooth ride! |
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| This pleasant 14-year old guy was our captain for the sailing portion of the tour. It was lovely and peaceful to be out on the water |
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| Roshan stepping up and helping row |
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| A local inner tube fisherman. Seems like a lot of work! He did show us the little fish he caught |
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| I do believe this is a cormorant... Roshan will correct me if he sees this post lol |
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| Then we arrived to the spot where, little did I know, I'd be given a hands-on Sri Lankan cooking lesson. Sometimes I like just showing up and not knowing what's going to happen! This is our kitchen. The counter and the walls are made out of clay mixed with something else... cow dung? Ya, I honestly think that was it. |
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| This is Manika - or "Aunty". She was wielding that manchette-like tool with ease. What a dear, hard-working soul with a beautiful smile on her face. This family was incredibly welcoming and we honestly felt at home with them |
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| Good shot of the clayy walls. This is poppa Ratne...he's a character and did a LOT of joking that all the work being done was "women's work". He wouldn't survive out in the world today saying that, but for someone my age, it was just a cheeky joke - although also true here. His job around the camp is to sleep up in the tree house and protect their home and gardens, etc. from the elephants. |
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| Here I am taking my turn to shave some coconut |
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| This is Manike's daughter, Kumari. She is incredibly sweet and we were saying we are "friends" by the end of the afternoon together. Such a gem and beautiful person. 😘 |
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| Then they really put me to work...lol Little did they know it should have been Craig in the kitchen with them. It was HOT in there too and probably the longest I've spent cooking in a long while! 😁 |
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| The guys just hanging around being "men"! |
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Look at this woman! The warmth shines out of her. 🌞
If you'll notice what she's doing... she's gathered some herbs in her hands, then holds them over this incredibly sharp knife and rather than chop it on a cutting board, she holds it and pushes the herbs down onto the blade... while not even looking! I would totally cut a finger off. They don't use traditional plates, instead they use nature - a lotus leaf (waterproof). We ate off these leaves several times over our holiday. |
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| Frying up some papadam (crispy bread that accompanies a meal - made from Orid flour - high in protein - salt and water) |
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| Our catamaran captain climbing a tree to get soursop fruit - do not eat the seeds, they're toxic |
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| Me sort of climbing into the tree house where Ratne watches out for elephants. If he hears/sees one he lights off some loud crackers to scare them off. |
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| They wanted me to feel the part, so they wrapped me in a "redda" which is a wrap-around skirt. Village men also sometimes wear the male version of this as you can see Ratne wearing in the 1st pic of him. |
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| Such amazing women and SO much pattern! 😂 |
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| Now I'm trying my hand at weaving. It's an acquired skill that takes practice apparently. |
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| Here I believe she was taking the husk off of each rice kernel to then crush. Also another good shot of the clay walls |
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| Kumari is WAY more coordinated than we are at crushing the rice grains to make rice flour |
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| Although I was much better at it than Craig! |
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| Taking what we crushed and making it finer for making flour |
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| And finally, it seems hours later...after all our hard work (by "our", I mean me and the ladies), lunch is served. I liked the rota, papadam and salad from herbs best - which reminded me a bit of tabbouleh |
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| The gang. Thank you for hosting us so graciously and making us feel welcome. 💗 |
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| He picked something from the lake and started making me a necklace! |
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| And then hats from the lotus pad! |
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| Yes, they do this for every tourist, but I don't care, it was cute! |
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| So cute! Nice touch to the end of this experience |
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| And finally a short tuk tuk ride back to the car |
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| After a wonderful day exploring, we liked to go in the pool to cool off. Here we had the pool to ourselves at Cinnamon Lodge in Habarana. Our room was on the top half of a 2-storey townhouse with vaulted ceilings. After a short swim/rest at the hotel we then headed off to hike the 1200 steps of Sigiria Lion Rock Fortress |
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| Our room up top with vaulted ceilings |
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| Bulls on the road as we headed towards Sigiriya |
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This is Sigiriya or Lion Rock - where we're about to hike the 1200 steps. It is a 590 foot high ancient rock fortress near Dambulla.
King Kashyapa (477 - 495 AD) built his palace on top of the rock. The capital and the palace were abandoned after his death and used as a Buddhist monastery until the 14th century. Today it is a World Heritage Site (a.k.a. tourist spot). The face of the rock, back in the day, was an art gallery with frescoes - very few remain today though unfortunately. |
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| On our way to the site we stopped to watch this captive elephant have a bath. 🐘🛁 |
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| It's a beautiful park setting with the ruins of the ancient capital all around and the beautiful backdrop of Sigiriya Lion Rock |
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| Roshan was good with the selfies too |
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| The entrance to start the climb |
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| Let's hope that platform is secure!? |
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| The grand gate to the top |
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| We did it! Only a couple pounds shed. So friggin' hot, but wonderful! |
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| Incredible views from the top where the palace once stood. Imagine how difficult it was for people to build a palace up there? |
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| Having a little moment in this beautiful spot |
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| Heading back down... always seems more precarious on the way down |
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| This little guy didn't want to move... he was checking me out. |
Day 4: Thursday Jan. 13th
Heading to Kandy
After the hike and our late afternoon swim, we enjoyed dinner at the hotel and then the next morning we were up with the birds, so we decided to go watch them from the tree perch complete with bench!I just loved this beautiful tree! 😍 |
| If we had taken more time, we could have sat here for a while and did some bird watching |
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| Yes, that's a termite hill... we recognize them from Brazil |
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| This too was a lovely hotel and nearly empty for our enjoyment. We stayed here 2 nights, so that was a nice little break from a different hotel each night (8 different hotels total on this trip) |
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| These silver monkeys are larger and more elusive than the other ones we saw everywhere. They're also more camera shy. I believe it's called a tufted grey langur. |
Then we headed out to explore the area more
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| I don't know what these ruins were called, but this area was the parliament |
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| King Parakramabahu's Palace ruins |
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| Nice banyan tree |
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| Same area on the grounds of King Parakramabahu's palace - this is different parliament area from the other one I mentioned. I just did a jump not realizing Craig captured it. Good one honey! |
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| The moonstone rock at the base of the temple stairs. You will see these elaborately carved, half-circle stones at the entrances of ancient Buddhist temples in the city ruins of Anaradhapura and Polonnaruwa. The bands alternate between animal and flower motifs. There's a lion, bull, elephant and horse - which were used by the ancients to symbolize Buddha. |
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| This is a guardstone - it's located on the side of the staircases in Buddhist temples. The Makara is the figure depicted of a half terrestrial animal in front (eg. elephant) and half aquatic animal at the back (eg. snake)... there are many different versions, but usually it's 6-7 animals such as trunk of an elephant, jaws of the crocodile, ears of a monkey, teeth of a pig, tail of a peacock, feet of a lion. They're considered guardians of gateways and thresholds. |
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| Here's where we disrespected the Buddha and posed with our backs to the statue - not in this picture, but another one. The carvings were very beautiful... let's see if I can find a clearer picture of it from the internet |
Incredibly detailed carvings even up the back of the steps |
| These are statues in Polonnaruwa called Gal Vihara were carved from out of the granite landscape in the 12th century! It is over 15 feet tall |
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| This is the reclining Buddha pose again with the left food slightly withdrawn to depict that the Buddha has attained parinirvana (nirvana after death) is over 46 feet long. |
Nishantha Wood Carving shop in Polonnaruwa where we purchased a royal ebony carved elephant |
| Here's our little royal ebony guy... only about 5" tall. It is an extremely hard wood. |
Day 5: Friday Jan 14th
(full-moon long weekend)
Visiting the Tooth Relic Temple & Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple near Kandy
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| This is the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic - another World Heritage site. We happened to be touring this spot on a full-moon holiday weekend, which means a LOT more people here to worship |
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People lined up to get a glimpse of the actual tooth relic. We did NOT partake in this. It is the relic of the tooth of the Buddha. It was believed that whoever holds the relic, holds the governance of the country because safeguarding the relic was the responsibility of the monarch. Elephants would have the honor of carrying the tooth casket from place to place during the festival of the tooth and one such taxidermy elephant is on display near where the tooth relic currently is.
TripAdvisor photo of the Tooth Relic festival |
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| Pictures above and below are part of the Tooth Relic complex |
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| A Hindu Temple along the way to the Buddhist Cave Temple |
This is the cave temple - also known as Dambulla Cave Temple or Golden Temple of Dambulla and is another World Heritage site (1991). This was one of my favorite spots to visit as it is beaautiful and the largest and best preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. There are 153 Buddha statues in this complex, 3 Kings and 4 gods and goddesses. This temple complex dates back to the First Century BCE and is still a functioning monastery and has 5 caves.
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| Truly beautiful and a bit haunting in this cave setting. It was one of my favorite sites visited. Because it's in a cave the frescos and everything else is very well preserved. |
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| Trying not to pose with my back to the buddhas... although there's so many in this cave, it's difficult to do - your back seems to be towards a buddha no matter where you stand. |
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| A lovely view along the path to and from the cave temple |
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| I didn't much care for the monkey fight going on as we walked the path. It's a fairly common site as they fight for territory |
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After another lovely day of touring, we arrived at the Cinnamon Citadel Kandy. It was a nice hotel, but our least favorite of the 8 we stayed at. It was quite old, more crowded with locals (as it was a long-weekend for them) and the food was average. Lovely giant bamboo walkway along the river though.
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Day 6: Saturday, Jan. 15th
Damro Tea plantation & train ride to Ella
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| Lovely waterfall along the way |
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| We stopped to take a few photos in the tea plants. I didn't even realize that's what they were until we were standing in the middle of them! At the plantation we were given a very brief tour of the tea plantation that unfortunately didn't include anyone currently working. I think I had higher expectations of this experience and it felt too commercial and not rustic authentic. It's one of the largest tea companies in Sri Lanka with a beautiful view right from the parking lot, but the whole experience was underwhelming for me. I did enjoy the view, a cup of tea and cinnamon cake though! We purchased some tea here including one that was made from the flowers (called "silver tips") and cost $35 US! Definitely not worth the price. lol Worst $35 spent, but I had to try it! |
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| Gorgeous hillside view when you arrive at the Damro Tea Centre. FYI: Tea grown in the highlands (have more shoots, but lower yield in terms of dry weight) is considered better than tea grown in lowlands (less shoots, but grow fast). |
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| A picture of a picture in the plant showing the tea leaves being dried... or sorted. I can't remember |
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| Enjoying tea and cake at the Damro Tea Shop |
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| Vegetable stand right on the side of the road. You could make lots of stop along the road to pick up everything you need from fruit & vegetables to fish |
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| The lovely tea plant scenery all over |
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| Badulla Train station where we're about to take the iconic train ride to Ella where it's selfie heaven for the tourists hanging out of the train. Yes, I did it too! Well, actually not a selfie - I'm old, and I have Craig!🤳 |
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| In railway signaling, a token is given by the signalman - the system was developed in Britain in the 19th century to enable safe operations of single-line railways |
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| It is the thing to do when the train goes around a corner to stick your head or body out and take pictures. Also, each time we went into a tunnel people screamed... it was bizarre, but funny. |
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| Doing the tourist thing and dangling out of the train door. Yes, the train is moving while I'm doing this and I was making sure there wasn't anything going to hit me! |
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| Looking back now, this is a silly thing to do because you never know when the train will lurch and I could go flying out! |
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| This was even more risky! Look Ma, no hands! |
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| This is 9-arch bridge. The people are on the bridge where trains pass, but I guess they know the train schedule, so they chance it. We stayed up top. |
I forget which town it was, but we did a little "rejects" shopping at this bazaar where they had brands like The North Face, Colombia, etc. We bought three things super cheap.
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And then we arrived to our next hotel - 98 Acres Resort & Spa. Absolutely gorgeous spot, I can see why it's Roshan's favorite hotel. Beauty and serenity (as the website says).
https://www.resort98acres.com/
We wished we had more time here, but we made the most of it. Unfortunately, it was the one hotel pool that we didn't swim in. That hill on the right is called Little Adam's Peek and we climbed it early the next morning before breakfast. It's an easy hike not far from the resort with beautiful views. |
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| Our room. Talk about a lovely view from the bed. That's Little Adam's Peek again |
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| Pathway heading up to dinner. It was a tasty dinner, but they're still working on their customer service aspect since covid and needing new staff |
Day 7: Sunday, Jan. 16th
Hike Little Adam's Peak in the morning, then head to Yala for the safari
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| View from our balcony with the tea plantation below. The sounds of nature were so serene. Loved it! I want to go back! |
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| This picture is as we climbed up Little Adam's Peak and it shows 98 Acres Resort |
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| I think the orange "Us" is where our room was. |
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| Our room on the lower half of this cabin |
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| Same pathway from last night, but this is when we were heading to breakfast |
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| We had such amazing weather on this trip. Beauty surrounding us and it's so calming |
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| Sadly, we had to leave this area after less than 24 hours |
Heading to Yala for a safari... like we haven't already seen so many animals!
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| As we were leaving 98 Acres (near Ella), we finally saw a person actually picking the tea leaves. First and only one we saw actively picking during our whole trip. |
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| Roshan went off the road to show us this area where a few large trees submerged in water had enormous bats hanging from their branches. Cool, but yuck |
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| Lovely rice fields with a stupa in the background |
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| Water buffalo... we can definitely tell we're in the drylands area of the country now. |
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| Our hotel pool - Cinnamon Wild Yala (Kirinda). Just on the other side where you see a person sitting on the lounge chair is where the lake is that has crocodiles |
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| We found it bizarre that this was the sign by the lake... Where's the warning about the MANY crocodiles swimming about?? |
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| Our room (which is a twin villa) in this very unique hotel in the wilderness |
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| I seriously thought I was going to witness the death of one of these birds because crocodiles were all around... you can see the head of one by my little scared face in orange |
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| If I look uncomfortable it's because I WAS! Knowing the crocodiles are right there lurking around and could bolt out of the water at any moment (like they do in the movies) did not make me feel like I should have my back to the water. I feel that's how tourists get killed! Such a thing did happen with a tourist in Sri Lanka, but it was with his back to an elephant. |
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| One of the big crocs sunning himself. They say they have their mouths open to cool themselves off - similar to a dog panting |
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| Croc in background |
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| Another crocodile in the background |
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| Now we're off on a safari |
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| Lovely wild peacocks ✅ |
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| Elephant Mama with her baby + water buffalo and deer roaming the field too ✅ |
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| I could watch elephants all day. Just love 'em! |
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| This was "the road" at one point |
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| That's not an actual turtle, but sure looks like one! |
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| Land monitor lizard ✅... It's difficult to tell his size, but in total he's probably 4 feet long. They're mostly harmless to humans unlike the komodo dragon |
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| Road runner? ✅ |
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| Another elephant Mama and baby sighting... so close to our jeeps |
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| This was our leopard sighting ✅about 12 feet from the jeeps all lined up along the road. Hard to see unfortunately, but she's there! |
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| Loved these lazy water buffalo just lazing in the puddle |
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| Elephant footprints 👣 |
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| Snake spotted near our hotel... lovely 🐍 |
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| Also by our hotel, these wild boars |
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He just has to be so friggin close to the crocodile... I was as far back as possible!
Day 8 - Monday, Jan. 17th
Heading to Galle and Ahungalla |
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| A family gathering firewood... doesn't look so safe |
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| Roshan drinking out of a liquor bottle...it's just water, but he doesn't like to drink out of plastic, so he drinks out of old liquor bottles! lol |
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| Anyone want to buy some fish? |
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| Old church in Galle. The umbrella is for the sun |
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| This is part of the defense bastion built by the Portuguese in 1620 |
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| Nice cannon guys! |
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| All the fishing boats ashore |
This whole area is where Sri Lanka was struck by the tsunami resulting from the Indian Ocean earthquake on December 26, 2004.
On January 3, 2005, Sri Lankan authorities reported 30,000+ confirmed deaths. The south and east coasts were worst hit. We saw the destruction left behind including some homes that people abandoned - just thankful to be alive.
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| More fish for sale! |
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| And then we arrived for 2 nights at the all-inclusive RIU resort. This was the view from our room. Unfortunately, we arrived on the full-moon holiday, so no alcohol for us until tomorrow. Nice ocean view and decent hotel. The star here was the beach! SO gorgeous and clean! 🏖 |
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| Exploring the beach once we got settled in |
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| It's a little late, but I finally took my shorts off after getting soaked by a wave |
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| The RIU hotel from the beach |
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| Craig and his sunsets... especially over water, he loves those. I must admit, they are quite beautiful |
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| Cool dude! 😎 |
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Masks of Sri Lanka. This one is the Mayura Raksha with 3 peacocks. It is believed to bring peace, harmony and wealth according to the superstition of the Sri Lankan culture.
Day 9: Tuesday, Jan 18th
2nd day at Riu Hotel in Ahungalla. Pool and beach day!
Pool area to ourselves until the aqua aerobics started |
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| Craig enjoying our Japanese dinner with all you can eat everything including these delicious shrimp |
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| Despite having to get to the testing facility for our PCR test, Roshan managed to fit in a quick stop to visit the turtle hatchery. Above are the 5 kinds of turtles common in Sri Lanka. |
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| Here I'm holding turtle eggs. They totally look like dented ping pong balls! |
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| We were lucky to be able to see some little hatchlings recently freed from their shells. |
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| I was ok to hold these little guys, but they were squirmy! |
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| Then I tried to gently place them in the water for their first time swimming! |
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| I believe this beauty is a Hawksbill turtle |
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| Nice turtle...no biting |
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| Craig's turn to hold a bigger one |
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| The huge Chinese-built Lotus Tower in Colombo, Sri Lanka... our last stop before returning home. 😢 |
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| Our hotel - The Cinnamon Grand Colombo it was an impressive place, for sure. There was a wedding held here that night, but we didn't hear it |
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| A lovely dinner at The Lagoon seafood restaurant. It was a great atmosphere outside and the food was excellent! Very reasonable prices also. |
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| Craig choosing his dinner |
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| Yum! So much seafood. Great way to end our vacation before we had to head back to the cold, snowy Moscow winter. |
Some interesting tidbits about Sri Lanka:
* Everyone is cremated now
* You will eat a lot of rice & curry! And if you're doing it right, you'll eat it with your fingers by mixing some rice with the curry.
* White-skinned people are of interest like in Vietnam. North American's want to tan and Sri Lankans want to be (generally speaking) lighter skinned. White babies, in particular, were a real hit and people would come right up to them and touch them (not good in covid times).
* Arranged marriages are a thing here, but not necessarily how you might think. An ad is posted in the paper, the ads are then answered and meetings are arranged. After meetings with both families (of several suiters) then the bride-to-be's family does a little investigating to see if the men are who they say they are and if a match is good, then the bride will agree to marry. It's not forced, it's her choice.
We were sad to leave this beautiful country, the heat, the sun, the sights and sounds and the people. Seriously one of our favorite trips - definitely up there in the top 5 and we highly recommend it to any adventurous traveler.
Have you ever thought of going to Sri Lanka? Definitely GO!
The main pool area was the most impressive and we had it all to ourselves because there weren't many other guests and it was pouring rain - the only bad weather we encountered on our entire trip. We enjoyed swimming in the rain!
The next morning, we were up early to have a look around and were treated to a wedding party having their photos taken! I normally would love seeing a bride, but in this case, I found it was the men who really stood out in the wedding party. They were out getting pictures at about 6:30 am... imagine how early they were up to get photo ready?
The groomsmen (above) and bridesmaids (below) in their traditional wedding clothing. I'm not sure what the significance of the padded hips is for the men, but it's definitely unique and interesting!
I mean, look at that guy on the far right in the picture above! That hip padding looks so uncomfortable and bizarre to a Westerner like me who has never seen such a thing.
Nishantha Wood Carving shop in Polonnaruwa where we purchased a royal ebony carved elephant
