Category Archives: Sri Lanka

13 highlights of 2013 – My Year in Travels

28 Saturday Dec 2013

Posted by in Animals & Wildlife, Asia, Beach, Brunei, Culture, Destinations, Europe, Food Markets, Foods & Feasts, History, Iceland, Love London, Malaysia, Markets, Scenic, Sri Lanka, The Maldives, Travel Styles, Vietnam

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I can categorically state that 2013 has been the most exciting and varied travel year I’ve ever had. With Pumpkin in tow, we’ve frozen in Iceland and sweltered in Sri Lanka, we’ve filled our bellies (a bit too much) with everything from Austrian Schnitzel to Vietnamese Pho; we’ve hiked and snorkeled, felt more exhausted than ever and more relaxed than ever (sometimes on the same trip!) Firsts for me have included: a perfect sunset, a perfect rainbow, an orangutan, the largest flower in the world, a glacier, a geyser, a Communist country, a wedding anniversary and a blog!

Here are my 13 highlights from 2013. If there are any that tickle your fancy and you want to read more, just click on the photo for my previous posts! Those of you who have seen the blog before may notice that some pictures look familiar and I’ve thrown in a few teasers on some upcoming posts…

What have been your most memorable travel experiences of the year?

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!

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Relaxing at the Blue Lagoon, Iceland

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Jame Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque, Brunei

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Sailing around the towering rocks of Halong Bay, Vietnam (after nearly missing out on the trip altogether!)

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Strolling through Holland Park, London on my first wedding anniversary

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Snorkeling amongst colourful fish and beautiful coral in the Maldives

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A tiring climb rewarded by magnificent views at Sigiriya Rock, Sri Lanka

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Breathtaking purple skies in Kota Kinabalu, Borneo Malaysia

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Seeing a glacier for the first time on the South Coast Excursion, Iceland

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Getting into the Christmas Spirit at the Magic of Advent Market, Vienna, Austria

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Warming up with a cup of home grown tea in the rolling hills of Nuwara Eliya’s tea plantations, Sri Lanka

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Unwinding in paradise at Kurumba Maldives

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Culinary heaven in Hoi An and Hanoi, Vietnam

Orang-utan spotting in Borneo

sunday-traveler-green-300x279Part of the #SundayTraveler Link Up

The Madu River Cruise, Sri Lanka

30 Monday Sep 2013

Posted by in Animals & Wildlife, Asia, Culture, Destinations, Scenic, Sri Lanka, Travel Styles

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As a final, unexpected addition to our week in Sri Lanka, we embarked upon a Madu River Cruise, suggested by our driver and thankfully so, as it has not featured a mention in our guide books. Just over an hour’s drive away from Galle before you pull up and see row upon row of boat tour operators, competing for your custom. We were taken straight to one selected by our driver. Madu River

At 40 USD per head (which includes a 1.5-2 hour trip and a guide,) I wonder if we were in fact ripped off, as this seemed heavily overpriced even taking into account the cost of tourist attractions. I am cross with myself, in hindsight, for not negotiating or raising the issue.

The Madu River

The river named after its largest island used to contain hundreds of small islands, now only approximately 60 exist, some inhabited by handfuls of local families. On a sunny day, which we were fortunate enough to have, it really is idyllic.Madu River CruiseWe glided through cocoons of mangrove trees, on serenely still waters, occasionally stared at by monitor lizards (try and spot it in the final photo) and bright blue kingfishers. Groups of water lilies decorate the Madu river, looking rather like large thumb prints dotted along the water. I was given a handmade lotus flower necklace by the guide, who plucked a long-stemmed lotus from the river to make this for me. (Not the famed Sri Lankan pink diamonds that I’d been egging Pumpkin on for throughout the holiday but more novel, more thoughtful and really – did I ever stand a chance?!)kingfisher bird Sri Lanka

There are various stops along the cruise. Opportunity to hold the dressed up baby monkey? No thank you. I do not consider this kind. Opportunity to do the fish pedicure – quite popular it seems but another no thank you from us. This bio-active form of pedicure hit London with a frenzy a couple of years ago but I never took to it. The idea of shoals of live animals nibbling at my feet gives me the eebie-jeebies and the neurotic doctor within me can’t help but wonder about infection risk.

So we steered clear and instead stopped off at the island of Madu, now home to a Buddhist temple. We were greeted by a monk, who kindly lent me a sarong  (ladies, in summary – while in Sri Lanka, keep a sarong in your handbag at all times and you can’t go too wrong).Buddhist temple Madu River Sri Lanka

This was actually the first temple trip during our visit where we were given a good explanation of the history of Buddhism, the symbolism of the colours of the Buddhist flag and the components of a Buddhist flag. We also saw authentic ancient Buddhist scriptures and had a quiet moment to pray at the neighbouring Hindi Vishnu temple – apparently several of the ancient Buddhist kings married Hindu queens, accounting for the ample examples across Sri Lanka of the 2 places of worship, co-existing adjacently. Hindu temple Sri Lanka

Where we felt cornered though was at the end. We were always going to tip but after the monk’s account of how the temple needs renovations and the expenses incurred by distance from land, we were subsequently shown a book of donations and our proposed tip was suddenly made to feel rather small. We had very limited change so ended up donating generously. Nothing overt was said to pressure us and you shouldn’t feel guilty or obliged with these things (but we did here) and for that reason, carry a variety of denominations so you can give at your own discretion.ancient scriptures Buddhist Sri Lanka

Next stop : Cinnamon Island – and I just loved this 15 minute burst of Cinnamon goodness! The place, full of cinnamon trees, smells like one big dessert. We are shown how to make cinnamon sticks, powder and oil, which the Sri Lankan people use for medicinal purposes rather than cooking. The roof above our head has been made from cinnamon leaves and at the end of the demo, a plate of these three products is brought to us for sale. Once again, very hard to say no especially when there were only two of us. Fortunately, I didn’t have to face this awkward predicament, as I happily nabbed 3 bags of sticks, as requested by sister (the unknowingly talented chef amongst the clan).If you’re thirsty midway through the tour, stop off for a fresh coconut drink in the middle of the river – you’ll find a small coconut stall on stilts manned by a single elderly gentleman – definitely the strangest place in the world to have spotted a supermarket…monitor lizard Sri LankaPart of the #SundayTraveler Link Up

 

 

 

 

Peradeniya Botanical Gardens, Kandy, Sri Lanka

28 Saturday Sep 2013

Posted by in Asia, Destinations, Scenic, Sri Lanka, Travel Styles

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It’s never ideal visiting a botanical garden when it’s grey and rainy so I suppose our experience was hampered before it even started but putting that aside, this is a beautiful botanical garden. I’m not green-fingered nor do I claim to know anything about different plants so I don’t know quite how to describe it other than to say it was full of colourful flowers and interesting plants. Won’t be winning any Booker prizes for that description but in some situations (like when you know no better), simplicity is the key and the pictures give you a better glimpse than any of my primitive descriptions would.

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Besides plants, which one expects to see in a botanical garden, I was more intrigued by 2 other captivating findings: 1) The abundance of bats – I’ve never seen as many in one place as I did here; they hung eerily from the trees, adjacent to each other, appearing almost motionless, except for gentle movements with the wind, rather like paper chains on a classroom wall at Christmas time.

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DSC_07822) The even more abundant presence of canoodling couples, skulking behind trees, staring into each others’ eyes longingly, drifting into an endless romantic lull. I don’t know whether the gardens have just evolved as the location of choice for amorous teenagers escaping their parents or whether one of the unnamed plants exhibits aphrodisiac properties but love was definitely in the air. In fact, it made me feel so old and married that I started moaning and grabbed Pumpkin’s hand, insistent on a hand-in-hand walk. I’m not sure it’s the same if you’re coercing your spouse into doing it!

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Unawatuna and Galle

27 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by in Asia, Beach, Destinations, History, Restaurants, Scenic, Sri Lanka, Travel Styles

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Our cultural foray into Sri Lanka ended with 2 relaxing days in the sleepy southern coastal town of Unawatuna near Galle. Life assumes an altogether different pace here. The roads are narrower, the crowds….well there are none and you could easily kill a day listening to the sound of the waves, munching on freshly-fished king prawns, milling with expats, locals and free-thinking European tourists, all of whom are so freely woven into the fabric of ordinary life. This is not a place for opulence or for conventional honeymooners but for a welcoming, sluggishly laid-back stay, away from the commercialism of larger resorts, families, couples and backpackers are welcomed alike.

There is one main street, which I referred to as The Strip (frankly I couldn’t have thought of a less appropriate description.) It consists of numerous hotels and guest houses, catering for different budgets and tastes. Do some online searching, as there are far more options than most guide books allude to. You’ll also find small shops, selling souvenirs, crafts, clothes and a very grand tea shop (if, unlike me, you haven’t already purchased your body weight in tea).

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I was allowed to choose ONE fancy tea on this holiday and opted for the vanilla and almond black tea from the factory we visited in Nuwara Eliya. This is a result of Pumpkin’s exasperation with the ever-increasing range of foreign souvenir teas occupying space in our larder.

coastline Galle Southern Sri Lanka

If you have a free afternoon to pass, you may want to indulge in a spa experience – I’ve dabbled in a few but generally I’m not a huge spa-goer and in mosquito-laden lands, I find it most perturbing to walk out of an evening facial, your cheeks feeling so light you could float into a Ylang Ylang cloud only to return to the hotel, needing to apply DEET.  But, had time permitted, even I would have succumbed to The Sanctuary Spa (which bears no relation, as far as I’m aware to any other eponymously named spa elsewhere). At £25 a head for an outdoor Ayurvedic massage with your personal selection of rosewood oil, sandalwood oil or a 3rd which escapes me, this is a steal.Kingfisher restaurant Unawatuna fresh seafood

If you haven’t already made dinner plans in Unawatuna, can I highly recommend the Kingfisher restaurant, right on the beach and serving the best seafood we had in Sri Lanka? Pumpkin’s king prawns were amongst the largest we had ever seen and my “pumpkin” curry was a soft but spicy burst in the mouth.

Unawatuna Galle coast shoreOur final day involved a visit to the Dutch fort in Galle (actually built by the Portuguese but renovated by the Dutch). Its vastness is impressive and just glance at the box-like, dark, old prison cell to spare a thought for how its inhabitants must have lived. In moments of depravity, I always find it fascinating, admirable often, seeing how resourceful people can be about finding ways to earn money. Here at the fort, along the coast, several young local men will stand from high viewpoints and dive straight into the water (in an area not specifically designated for swimming or diving) for a small charge.

Several other tourists were asking us to chip in to watch this – I couldn’t bring myself to do so. I appreciate that on the one hand, this provides their livelihoods and with enough experience, it is not dissimilar to being a professional diver but on the other hand, as a risk averse person myself, I was unable to stomach how dangerous it must be for them. The Dutch Fort is not as visually striking as some other world forts such as the Red Fort in Delhi but only 4km from Unawatuna, I was glad to have seen it.

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The Heritance Tea Factory, Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka

26 Thursday Sep 2013

Posted by in Asia, Destinations, Scenic, Sri Lanka, Tea & Cake, Travel Styles

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High in the Sri Lankan hills of the Central Province, Nuwara Eliya is a lush, green haven, rich in vegetation. This is the home of tea production in Sri Lanka and we had an opportunity to visit the Bluefields Tea Factory for a brief but informative tour to learn how the leaves are turned into that warming, habitual drink that us Brits just can’t live without; the drink that seems to unite women socially, single-handedly sustains many of my elderly patients, instantly turns a bad day into a bearable one.  A staggering 6000kg of tea leaves are picked daily by the committed tea pickers before being processed and then sent on to auction houses, where large international companies bid for them.  I had no insight into just how many steps are involved in making tea and the use of old machines in preference to newer gadgets and gizmos only adds to the charm and antiquity of the place. We were offered a complimentary cup of Orange Pekoe – perfectly hits the spot after a rainy and nippy day and it was to become the first of many cups that day. If you can’t go to town on tea when you’re in a tea town, then when can you?

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http://www.bluefieldteagardens.com/

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An unnerving uphill drive through long, meandering, narrow, country roads, traversing stretches of tea plantations, surrounded by a vast expanse of leek and cabbage fields led us to The Heritance Tea Factory Hotel. This truly rustic and quaint place eats, breathes and sleeps tea, aptly housed in a former tea factory.  We were greeted with a warm towel, a handful of sugar cube/ aniseed and cardamom combination accompanied by a cup of home grown vanilla tea. The hotel looks more like a museum with photos and texts outlining the history of the region and the hotel.

A walk through the wooden-panelled lobby and an old fashioned, manually-opening lift led us to our room – each one represents a different area of the former factory, which ceased operating in the 70s. We also found a tea book, a tea chest, loose leaf tea, the list goes on.  The presence of colonialism in Sri Lanka never seemed more apparent than it did here. You feel as if you are dining in the 1940s and a view outside the window would have you believing you are staying the Peak District not in temperate Sri Lanka. The founder of the original factory was from Nethersett, a town in Norfolk, the county where incidentally Pumpkin was raised.

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The hotel offers walking eco-tours, pick-your-own-tea-leaves tours (with your hand-picked tea ready for you the next morning) as well as treks for children. Sadly, it seems when the British left their influence here, they also left their weather and we were unable to take part in these activities during our one night stay due to rainy conditions. Our biggest regret, in fact, was not staying another night to savour this most charming hotel. The food was the best we had in Sri Lanka and you also have the option for a higher price to have a more gourmet, silver-service dinner on an old train.

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Do not leave Sri Lanka without visiting Nuwara Eliya and please, please stay at Heritance – you do pay above the odds but within 5 seconds of walking in, you’ll b e glad you did. Just make sure you allow yourself enough time to kick back and enjoy the magic of the tea plantations.

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http://www.heritancehotels.com/teafactory/

Little Adam’s Peak and Yala National Park

14 Saturday Sep 2013

Posted by in Animals & Wildlife, Asia, Destinations, Parks, Scenic, Sri Lanka, Travel Styles

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Little Adam’s Peak

A pit stop en route to Yala National Park and suitably informed by the cardigan-clad residents of Nuwara Eliya about the climate change we were about to transgress. From a distance, I was wary of this “little” peak. After the exhausting day seeing Sigiriya and Dambulla, I was adamant my climbing days were over, ideally forever and certainly for this trip. Pumpkin was having none of this and persuaded me that this peak would hold true to its name. On holiday, rather like in marriage, one occasionally has to make a compromise and so I obliged – but on holiday, rather like in marriage, Pumpkin was right – this is an easy climb of which about half actually seems to be on the flat. Far less populated than Sigiriya and still rewarded with breathtaking views

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Yala National Park

My 2nd safari and first since Tanzania and Pumpkin’s first safari experience outside Africa began with low-ish expectations. Sri Lanka is not famed for its safaris, there is one animal and one alone that visitors are hoping to see here and it’s never a good thing to come with such a focused check list. Furthermore, we were certain we had about as much chance of seeing a leopard on this safari as we did of ever managing to have a holiday anywhere without spotting a Durian. (I’ll put on a retrospective entry one of these days about our honeymoon and the Durian story will come to light)

Our adventure began at the Elephant Reach Lodge, a short distance away from Yala. The accommodation has a combination of smaller rooms and larger chalets. It seemed (unbeknownst to us) that we had booked a chalet, complete with AC, a TV and warm showers (warm showers, which you share with the occasional frog apparently – Pumpkin accidentally-on-purpose forgot to tell me about this until we had ascended above Sri Lankan waters)

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Our driver arranged the safari for us and gave us the option of standard jeep or luxury jeep. It seems the only benefit conferred by the latter are the raised leather seats but the price difference is small in real terms and we paid about 6000 RS for 2 people.

The starts, as with most safaris, are early – I do not take well to early starts. I’m not sure nature intended for anyone who hasn’t popped a sprog to be up before 7am. (Sprog poppers and anaesthetists it seems) so Pumpkin took this in his stride and was rather shocked by my distinct lack of grumpiness when the 4.30am alarm went off. You are offered a breakfast package with your tariff if you wish but this replaces your breakfast and is far less substantial or appetising and furthermore, who on earth wants an egg sandwich at 5am?? I say, grab some cereal bars/biscuits or bananas and give the packet a miss. At 9.30am after returning from the safari, we were famished and made far better use of the breakfast buffet.

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I made the schoolboy error of assuming it would be nippy at 4am and went in my long linens – stick to your shorts. This is not a safari for those seeking to venture into unchartered territory – in fact, upon purchase of the entry tickets, what ensues is the sight of drivers literally running into their jeeps, on your marks get set and go, all speeding off to try and get to the leopards first. The sight of jeeps in a traffic jam in the middle of the national park does ruin a bit and sitting 4th in a queue of 12 trucks again, somewhat takes away from the magic of spotting a leopard – but hurrah – we did!!

The sight of a leopard and her two cubs playing amongst the trees left me speechless (yes, once in a while, even I get lost for words). We only spotted one more leopard after this about 2 hours later, sleeping very lazily on the top of a rock and much further away. A good pair of binoculars would be a very worthwhile investment for any safari virgins out there. The leopards should have been the highlight for us – it is what Yala is famous for and spotting a cat was one thing we had missed out in Africa but this was superseded by an extremely poignant chance spotting of a peaceful 7am sip of water from a thirsty Mummy and baby elephant, harmoniously standing together near a watering hole, hydrating themselves in the humid air, totally oblivious to the their pull on our heart strings.

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On the backdrop of dry yellowish land and through the 4 hour game drive, we went on to spot wild boars (having seen how cute they are, I’m now working on persuading sister to forgo her beloved Borough Market wild boar burgers), peacocks on every corner, monitor lizards, which seem to be mating their way around the world, hornbills, crocodiles and deer (I don’t think you can come from England and get excited about deer).

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The game drive is broken up with a short recess near a stretch of coastline, tragically demolished during the 2004 Tsunami. Where a grand, ocean-view, expensive restaurant once stood, all that remains is it’s foundation, which now lies as a memorial to the 47 people in Yala National Park alone, who lost their lives, not to mention the total number of lives lost in Sri Lanka, estimating  around 50,000. It isn’t possible to fathom just how terrified and panicked those people must have been, sitting in that restaurant that day, watching the tidal wave advancing towards them and helpless to stop it. May they rest in peace.

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Dambulla Cave Temple and the Pollonaruwa Ruins

09 Monday Sep 2013

Posted by in Culture, History, Sri Lanka

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Dambulla was one of my favourite historical sights in Sri Lanka. An ancient temple, carved inside a raised rock with an impressive collection of colourful Buddha statues and more frescoes and paintings. When first approaching the temple, you’ll see a large golden Buddhist temple and would be forgiven for thinking this is the cave temple. In fact, Dambulla is a rather more subdued white-faced temple concealed behind the facade of the Golden Temple and the Golden Temple Museum. (The museum has a few nice paintings but doesn’t necessarily need a specific visit). Once again, as with all Buddhist temples, care must be taken to adhere to the appropriate dress codes and there is a shoe rack just before entry into the temple grounds, where for a slightly overpriced cost, your shoes will be watched over tentatively – or you could leave your Louboutins behind and needn’t bother with that.

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We then proceeded to the Pollonaruwa ancient ruins, a city that was the 2nd ancient capital of Sri Lanka after the destruction of the original ancient capital of Anuradhapura (we didn’t make it there on our 7 day trip but if you travel to Sri Lanka for longer, this would be a historically-rich and culturally significant place to visit. At Pollonaruwa, the ruins that remained are scattered around and you need a vehicle ideally to move between them. There is also a museum which is well laid out and informative and this one would be worth a stop. We visited 3 or 4 key ruins, as we were utterly exhausted after Sigiriya and Dambulla. It was reminiscent of the ancient Southern Indian city of Hampi or Pompeii for a European analogy. These sights are not to be missed but I would recommend avoiding doing all 3 in one day unless you have a specific preference for achy joints and car sickness…. We must have spent nearly 6 hours in the car that day, not to mention 2 climbs and the early start and time permitting, would have paced out these trips over 2 days.

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Sigiriya Lion’s Rock

04 Wednesday Sep 2013

Posted by in Asia, Culture, Destinations, History, Sri Lanka, Travel Styles

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I am not a climber. No. In fact I am not a sports woman by anyone’s definition. I took up Zumba a year ago but even with that, the shameful truth is that I do it more because at my age, it is a social taboo to be wiggling your curves in nightclubs to up tempo beats whereas in Zumba, it is very acceptable. Expected even. But by and large, I do a sedentary job and my hobbies, when not in foreign terrains, involve sitting in coffee shops, sitting in restaurants, sitting in parks, sitting at picnics and sitting at home with friends and family. So I approached this particular part of the trip with trepidation.  I envisaged feeling faint, short of breath and being generally acopic. I pictured moaning a lot about the heat, the climb, the leg ache, the headache. Pumpkin was uncharacteristically gleeful – he loves an opportunity to climb and trek – I think he feels somewhat cheated by the restrictions imposed by the “rules of marriage;” He is not allowed to participate in life-threatening activities and I am not allowed to moan about the rain.

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However, if UNESCO are impressed enough to name it a world heritage site, if 2 good friends of mine were so swept away by its beauty that they decided to get engaged at the top and as Pumpkin convinced me it is “only” 200m high, I got over my cowardice and rose to the summit. What a breathtaking climb it was. Namath, our driver, wisely told us that it was worth forfeiting our lie in to get there early before the sun really starts weighing you down and before the crowds start infiltrating. We were making the ascent by about 7.30am and it was temperate, peaceful and a very comfortable climb. The earthy brick red, grey and golden colours of the rock contrasted starkly with the lush green foliage visible from the aerial view. En route to the summit, you will spot the mirror wall with carefully preserved ancient frescoes. You can visit Sigiriya with or without a guide. We chose not to and were put off by being hounded persistently upon arrival despite several polite attempts to decline. We ferried ourselves around with a guidebook but without either an informative written source or a guide accompanying you, you would miss out on a lot of the culture and history to this beautiful site.  It was a doable climb – even for me. Don’t miss this but do go early in the day.

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Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

04 Wednesday Sep 2013

Posted by in Animals & Wildlife, Sri Lanka

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Those who remember me in my youth will vouch for the elephant obsession I had as a child – my bedroom filled with elephant ornaments, soft toys, necklaces, pictures and the list goes on. I have always found them to be such magnificent, wise and caring animals and to see them in the wild both in Africa and again on this trip to Sri Lanka was a dream come true. We saw them both at Yala and here at the orphanage but that said, I must admit that I was a little bit underwhelmed.

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The orphanage, which was founded in the 70s is home to more than 100 elephants and kudos to the staff for the work they do for these endangered creatures but it just wasn’t quite how I expected. This may have been because of the time we arrived, late in the day when bathing and feeding is generally over but essentially we paid a dear entry ticket (only made more palatable with the knowledge that the money goes towards the copious amounts of bamboo the elephants snack on) to see them walking around in chains. I fully appreciate why this needs to happen for their own safety but it didn’t sit easy watching them restricted that way. I think our experience was probably marred by going late in the day as many have spoken to me about how much they enjoyed this visit so ensure you arrive in good time for feeding and bathing. On a side note, the unexpected finding of 2 snakes mating in the grass was strangely intriguing – they twist around each other as if performing a ritualistic dance (see if you can spot them in the photo below – they are well camouflaged!) ….we shall now add this to our list of mating animals we have spotted coming in third after hippos in Tanzanian waters and monkeys in the middle of the Sri Lankan roads.

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Planning a one week tour of Sri Lanka

04 Sunday Aug 2013

Posted by in Animals & Wildlife, Asia, Beach, Culture, Destinations, History, Scenic, Sri Lanka, Travel Styles

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Time for us to start considering our next destination for twin-centre activity and beach holiday. We last did this sort of trip for honeymoon and have since had a paper anniversary. The “one-y-moon” craze seems to be sweeping the nation if my social media news feeds are anything to go by…..it’s up there with phenomena like “staycations”. (incidentally, I would question how much cheaper a 7 day staycation in London would actually be…)  I think the “one-y-moon” is supposed to allude towards the niche concept of a honeymoon for one but in the interests on jumping aboard the bandwagon and justifying another trip to ourselves, I’ve decided it means a one year honeymoon. Cue Sri Lanka.galle lighthouse Sri LankaIt’s one of those places, which had transiently come up in casual conversation last year but was never really pursued. We were busy sorting table plans, debating toaster specifications for the gift list and if I’m completely candid, I’d always imagined it to be rather similar to India, the country of our origins and ancestors. ….not so.Dambulla cave temple Sri LankaFast forward several months of research and we were intrigued by the breadth of experience that Sri Lanka seems to offer. A bit of outdoorsy (to keep Pumpkin happy), a bit of culture (to keep me happy), a lot of food (to keep us both happy). Ok good. So everyone’s happy. And with a certain, renowned group of islands a mere hour’s flight away, the choice of beach destination was as good as made for us…if it’s not already obvious, you can keep reading in the coming weeks to find out where – or you can just look at a globe, which is probably quicker.flight over Maldives

Selecting a Sri Lankan Tour Company

After some provisional enquiries with renowned UK-based tour companies, we opted to arrange our trip directly with Go Lanka, a local Sri Lankan tour operator. From the outset, we were impressed by their speed of response, professionalism, comprehensive itineraries and ease of payment. Regardless of how long you wish to spend, what you wish to see, the class of accommodation you require, they are able to customise a travel plan for you and are excellent value in comparison to some of the premiums charged by larger international firms.  It would also be worth your while looking at Blue Lanka, another local tour operator, a tad slower off the mark with responses but seem to receive excellent reviews and offer very similar trips – rumour has it they also provide you with your own mobile telephone for use out there.

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A Review of Sri Lankan Airlines

I can’t say I loved the Sri Lankan Airlines flight. Tickets weren’t cheap and I suppose I would have liked a bit more bang for my buck. The airline seems quite dated, the in-flight entertainment, in particular. Films and programmes were on a rolling cycle and therefore it was not possible to stop and start entertainment at your own leisure, the choice was limited and no touch screen element to this (ironically, this isn’t the case on some of the shorter haul Sri Lankan Airlines flights so maybe we just boarded an older plane.) OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

None of this bothered us too much anyway on the way out, as it was a night flight and we were planning to sleep (if you do book with either of these companies and especially if you are on a tighter timescale, it is more than likely that they will suggest heading to your first excursion straight from the airport so you would be well advised to get some sleep on board).

What I will say though is that the flights were punctual, clean and the staff were friendly, welcoming and accommodating. The food was local Sri Lankan food for the most part, which would have been fine other than it was rather too spicy, even for my native Indian tongue. The food quality was not brilliant but this bothers me less – I’ve come to think of gourmet cuisine on flights a bit like free upgrades – a great bonus if you get one but not something you walk around expecting.DSC_0733

11 squished hours later (the leg room is stingey so remember your DVT prevention and stretch those legs) and we reach. Our dishevelled (and smelly) selves were greeted in a timely fashion by a welcoming smile from our driver, Namath, who together with his air conditioned and fully-belted car was to become our legs for the next week while we traversed the country. Quick pit stop for water and first stop, the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage.