Is what Sri Lanka means in Sanskrit and it certainly lives up to its name! We started our travels here as we thought it would be a soft landing and it is. If you want 5 star all-inclusive, polished and pristine don’t come!. If you want somewhere easier than India, bit older, cultural and more stuff to do than Goa (other than raving) charming and beautiful it’s the place for you. Easy to travel around, female friendly and warm friendly people!. So much for ‘feet-up’ for 2 weeks and sunning myself on a beach though!, its been manic trying to cover all the places we wanted to see. Managed a sum total of 20 mins on the beach and that was only due to the sea current being too strong when we were snorkelling. So our tans are top heavy farmer tans! i.e brown arms and face, belly down our bods are as white as the driven snow!. But I am traveling with Glenn who gets bored very quickly so what did I expect?
This blog is intended for Glenn and I to look back on and
reminisce, a great way to store memories, so I thought it would be good to list
the stand out moments of each location. So here are our thoughts on the
Resplendent Island (if you are reading this, hope you find some tips here for
you too!)
·
Mosquitos!!!
·
Mad Cows!!! Glenn now has a new phobia!
·
Jungle beach - we went early evening when only
locals were there chilling out and playing bongo’s. Its actually where the Blue
Lagoon (1980’s film with Brooke Shields) was filmed. Beautiful jungle back drop
with a white mosque peeking through the trees
·
The pirate hunter we met in Unawatuna, ex squaddie,
very interesting, wouldn’t want to cross him!
·
Our own private beach garden in Polhena beach
with turtles swimming up to say hello at breakfast
·
Room rates which include free toiletries which
means the tiniest slither of soap wrapped in tissue paper. But why would you
need more? It’s the Sri Lanken way!
·
Rotten rubbish colds we picked up in the dank
horrible room in Unnawatuna, still suffering now!
·
Hot water, when you can get it!
·
More Mosquitos! One got trapped in my net one
night, lets just say a lot of damage was done!
·
Sleeping in what felt like a railway station on
our first night with the 4am express trundling through our bedroom!
·
The people, genuine, friendly and really
helpful. The man who took us from the train station when they weren’t running
to the bus station and safely put us on our first bus adventure, and he wouldn’t
accept a penny!
·
Our night in Kandy, really great bunch of boys
we met and dancing with the locals.
·
Being called a ‘Foreigner’, foreigner hotels,
foreigner queues, foreigner prices!
·
Mosquitos!!! There are various hotel rooms throughout
Sri Lank where my blood adorns the walls on the rare occasions when I managed
to get my own back, SPLAT!
·
Glenn, he’s taken to traveling like a duck to
water and has been a brilliant partner, companion and best friend! His hair and
height means he’s a target for the pedlars and he’s handling them all with
ease! Just wish you brought more
t-shirts with you J
·
Train journey through the mountains
·
Hello Bear! Jungle Safari and nutty guide
·
Magical thunder storms and hair frizzing
humidity – time of year!
·
The food, creamy, coco nutty and spicy!
·
Beware of the electricity, so far my Iphone and
Glenns camera have both died after charging! Get a local power supply!
And our 3 tops tips:
1.
Beware of the Mosquito, Citronella Soap, super strength
deet spray, deet wrist bands and a plaster thing you stick on your bum were no obstacle
for these little suckers
2.
Beware of the Mad Cow!.
3.
If we were to do it again, we would travel in
the reverse direction starting in Negombo. It’s a much softer landing than
Waddua as the place is setup for tourists. Also the transport route is easier
this way with faster connections and direct routes.
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