I say farewell to the sea

Friday 27^th March 2015

This morning I got up and did some half-hearted yoga before heading to the beach. It’s quite difficult to swim at Unawatuna beach as the break has a huge undertow and it’s on a downward slope so getting in is fine but coming out gracefully isn’t easy.

After cooling off in the waves I got in some serious tanning time despite it only being about 10am the day was already steaming and the beach was getting packed. I stayed flopped on the sand like a beached whale flipping over every now and again for a couple of hours before my stomach drew me away to go find food.

Since I was bone dry I just pulled on my clothes and walked into town. I hit up the veggie/vegan place and ordered large since I couldn’t make up my mind what to have. I sat there eating and reading my book enjoying the shady spot I was in for a while before heading back to the guesthouse.

I chilled out on the veranda for a while and just when I was getting ready to go meet Verity a storm rolled in and I was stranded by the torrential rain from my window I could see that the sea had turned black except for the violent white caps smashing against the shore.

Stupidly the beach was still heaving with people walking along in the water holding umbrellas (have they seriously never been told that both water and metal conduct electricity and both should be avoided in a lightning storm?)

I chilled out in my room as long as I could but I began to get cabin fever so headed out to a café to grab some tea and cake Verity met me there and we spent the late afternoon sheltering from the hideous weather and chatting eventually we got hungry and stayed on there for dinner as well before going our separate ways back to our guesthouses.

Back at the accommodation I tried in vain to search for info about Yala National Park ad day safaris there. Sri Lanka is really not set up for independent travellers there is just no information anyway except blog posts and trip advisor forums which are often out of date. (And most of the advice given is ‘hire a car and a driver’ which is never going to happen as the prices are astronomical)

Eventually I gave up and just went to sleep instead.

Saturday 28^th March 2015

I woke up early this morning and got packed up with that sorted I walked along the beach to find some breakfast. After I had eaten I went back to the guesthouse checked out and walked with my bags down to Verity’s guesthouse.

I left my bags in her room for the morning and we went off a walking over the mountain to Jungle Beach. The story goes (if I am remembering what verity told me correctly) that Sita was chilling looking for some medicinal plant but couldn’t find it so Hanuman brought the plant in some dirt across from India and ta-da there is the mountain which is nowadays covered in many medicinal plants!

The path across isn’t overly clear so it was nice of one of the hotel caretakers to show us the way (even more so as she looked as though she was 110 years old and had no shoes on!) along the way we kept hearing rustling in the bushes and would look to see massive lizards scampering away.

We got to the top of the jungle path and there was a small road and some houses dotted about the caretaker pointed us in the right direction (we tipped her much to her extreme delight) and we headed off in search of the beach.

Along the way we stopped at the peace pagoda and took some photos of the amazing view. There was a Russian dude with his phone on a selfie stick making a movie of himself in several takes where he would say exactly the same thing and walk along until he got it perfect it was amusing to watch and he was embarrassed when he noticed we were there.

We didn’t stay long on the pagoda as we had to take our shoes off and despite only being 10am the white stone was already burning our toes.

It wasn’t much further down to the beach and when we arrived we hid behind the restaurant to get changed and then dumped our stuff and went straight for the water.

Jungle Beach is the perfect swimming spot as it gets deep fast but there is barely a break and the water is really calm as it’s a small sheltered bay. It’s also full of amazing tropical fish that you can easily see even without a snorkel.

We stayed in the water for several hours just floating about looking at fish and talking. Eventually though I felt time was slipping away and so we headed back over the hill o I could catch the bus to Yala.

On the walk back we saw a snake on the side of the road it slithered suddenly and Verity near jumped out of her skin once we realised what it was we watched it slide through the bushes for a while trying to work out how long it was but it was too hard to see.

The walk back took much longer as we couldn’t find the path down and had to ask several times. There were also a lot of angry dogs about so I was keen to get back as quick as possible.

Eventually we were on the right path and emerged back at the bottom of the garden of Verity’s hotel. I rinsed off all the sand and got changed back into normal clothes (after walking back in a bikini and long kurta)

We bid each other farewell and I said good bye to the beach and headed to the road to catch the bus. A rickshaw driver was trying to convince me that I needed to go to Galle in order to get a direct bus but as I didn’t want to double back on myself my plan was to go to Matara and change buses as always he was looking to make money and kept telling me I couldn’t do that but that he could take me to Galle, he was driving alongside me and when the bus came he was in the way and I almost missed it. As it was I had to get on at the back and so had nowhere to put my bag. Thankfully a kind local made the bus wait at the next stop while I jumped off and ran to the front to get back on and put my bag down.

I dozed most of the way to Matara so it was lucky I woke up as we drove into the bus stand as the bus I was on went further along the coast but not where I wanted to go. I walked through the bus station trying to find the bus and ended up having to ask as not many signs are in English I found the bus I wanted and luckily it wasn’t going for about 10mins so it was pretty empty and I got a seat right at the front by my bag.

Unlucky for me the old dude that sat next to me (who was actually really nice) had a mouth full of paan dribble and next to no teeth and he insisted on talking to me I couldn’t stop looking at the red goo leaking out of his mouth and began to feel quite ill. Luckily he exhausted his English pretty quickly and then fell asleep for most of the journey.

From Matara to Tissa took just less than four hours, the drive was quite nice as it was along the coast and I was on the beach side so could watch the sea most of the way along. At one point we went past a huge Buddhist temple and in the garden out the front were two enormous elephants cooling themselves off in a fountain.

Just before the sleepy old man got off and another guy sat down we chatted about cricket for a while and then he told me he was a safari guide, I already had a contact for safari who had offered me a reasonable deal and it turned out the two knew each other (and that the contact I had was a former employee of the dude on the bus) in the end I was in the middle of a bidding war and ended up with a seven and a half hour safari with breakfast included and a night in a guesthouse all for 6000 LKR considering a jeep is 4000-5000 and park fees are 3600 and a guesthouse is about 1000-1500 I ended up with a pretty sweet deal.

Once I had dumped my bags I walked into town to try and find some mozzie repellent as I ran out but all they had was citronella oil which I got because it was cheap and it couldn’t hurt to give it a whirl but by the time I got back to my accommodation after dinner I was more bite than normal skin!

The Wi-Fi only worked outside and since I couldn’t stand being bitten anymore I gave up on trying to talk to anyone and showered and got my things ready for tomorrow’s early start and then watched a movie.

Sri Lanka - Back to The Hill Country

Monday 23^rd March 2015

Today was a bit of a hellish journey I needed to get to Adams Peak which from Thalpe by road should take about 4 hours according to google maps but there is no direct public transport and so I had to get a 15min but to Galle a two and a half hour train to Colombo (where there were no seats and I had to stand the entire way!) a five minute walk to the bus station a four hour bus to Hatton and then another bus to Dalhousie.

When I arrived in Hatton a rickshaw driver was trying to get me to come to Dalhousie in his rickshaw for 1500 rupees (NZD $15) but I wasn’t having a bar of him, he told me that the bus from the bus station where I was wasn’t direct and that it would take three hours to get there and that he could take me to the train station where I could get the direct bus which only takes an hour.

I asked the bus guy and he told me it was a direct bus and that it was about an hour but actually he was a massive liar. Here in Sri Lanka (as well as India) touts and driver and paid more the more people are on their buses so I should have known he was a cheater!

About 30mins into the journey the conductor came and I told him where I was going to which he replied I would have to change buses and that it was going to take about three hours. I could have cried.

When we finally got to the tiny little town where I had to change buses the next bus to Dalhousie wasn’t leaving for an hour so that added even more time onto the journey. Eventually I arrived at Adams Peak at a little after 6pm almost 12 hours after I left Thalpe this morning!

Apart from being horrendously long and hot (People have no idea about personal space here there will lean on you put their bags on your lap and constantly touch which makes it even hotter!) the journey wasn’t too bad and I found a guest house right at the bottom of the path up.

I checked in and had a delicious Sri Lankan vegetarian spread of curry and rice. I sat chatting to another girl for a while before trying to get a few hours’ sleep before he 2am start and the hike up for sunrise.

Tuesday 24^th March 2015

When my alarm went off at 2am I was already half awake and ready to go. I was up and ready to climb Adams Peak! The climb is 7km up and 7km down and is mostly stairs (about 5200 of them!) As always when I have to be up for something I can barely sleep in case I don’t wake up! I had everything ready to go last night so it was just a matter of getting dressed and brushing my teeth.

I let myself out of the guesthouse and walked out into the darkness it was about 2.20am and there wasn’t a soul about. The stars were out in force and the lights along the path made the trail seem even more deserted.

It wasn’t long before I caught up to groups of people it was all foreigners going up and locals coming down. The bottom of the path was easy it was long stretched of flat or only slightly uphill path with little staircases dotted here and there.

I went through the temple and got a blessing from a monk and gave a small donation before trudging on. From the bottom looking up it seemed that the twinkling lights of the path melting into the stars like looking at a stairway to heaven it was really rather romantic. (But also a bit off putting that you could see how far up it was)

I powered up passing heaps of people along the way and it was soon clear that unless I slowed down I was going to have to wait for hours at the top. The path started getting steeper with long periods of steep steps the only way to keep going was not to stop but each time I got to a landing I allowed myself time to catch my breath and have some water.

About 4.30am I had made it to the last tea house. Knowing that sunrise wouldn’t start until about 6am and already feeling cold I decided to wait there before continuing up. I had a cup of tea, put on layers and rested my eyes.

The last 100m were the steepest part yet with handrails either side to pull yourself up. Towards the top there was a policeman who warned about pickpockets and thieves. The top was rammed and there was almost no shelter from the wind. Along one side of the temple was stadium like seating and it would have been perfect to sit and watch the sunrise but of course one dickhead had to stand up and set up his tripod in front of people and so they stood up and then more people couldn’t see and pretty soon even standing I could see a thing so gave up.

I took off my shoes and checked out the temple where the footprint of Adam or Buddha or Shiva (depending on your religion or belief) is located (not that you can see it as it is covered by cloth and gold and money) after seeing the temple I started to make my way down in the semi darkness. A few hundred metres down the view was much better and I was alone to enjoy the sunrise in peace.

The other great thing about leaving the top early was that I walked down alone instead of surrounded by throngs of people. I made pretty good time heading down and was so in the stride I almost walked right past my guesthouse.

The day hadn’t warmed up quite yet so the owner let me shower in one of the more expensive rooms that had hot water which was a treat. Feeling fresh I packed up my stuff and headed into town to the bus stand. His time I didn’t fall for the lies of the bus tout and waited for the later direct bus to Hatton (sucks to be all the idiots who didn’t listen to me and all got on that bus and missed their trains!)

The bus arrived at the train station in Hatton and it was just a 20min wait for the train to Ella. The ride was the most beautiful train ride I have ever been on but I barely managed to take any photos as I was too tired to move.

I dozed off for a bit and was awoken by a guy shaking me telling me I was about to miss my stop I flew off the train only to realise that it wasn’t my stop and just managed to get back on before the train pulled away.

It was another few hours to my stop and despite feeling the need for sleep I forced myself to stay awake and watch the view (a huge feat as usually trains rock me to sleep like a baby even when I’m not tired!)

I arrived at Ella and there were touts everywhere I had arranged to meet one of the guys I met in Colombo at a guesthouse in town so was walking in that general direction when I spotted him. We went to the accommodation and I dropped off my bag he had been planning to climb little Adams Peak for sunset so I figured I’d join him and get both peaks and both the sunrise and sunset in on one day!

The climb up to little Adams Peak is fairly easy going its quite beautiful with tea plantations on either side and stunning views of the mountains. We sat at the top and watched the sun go down and the tiny cars and people walking about on the road so far below us.

Back in town we grabbed dinner at a pretty lively restaurant and then had a pot of tea and the worst pancake ever made by anyone anywhere which I couldn’t actually even force myself to eat (and you all know how much I hate to waste food even when it is below average)

It had cooled down by the time I got back to the guesthouse so I was pretty pleased that there was hot water I tried to read for a bit but my eyes just weren’t having it and pretty soon I was fast asleep.

Wednesday 25^th March 2015

Today was a day of relaxation and chill time. I woke up about 9am and disappointingly didn’t really have sore legs at all! We headed for some breakfast where I abused the free Wi-Fi. Jared had to catch a train and so I was alone again. I chilled for a while then went on a mission to find a cheap massage.

Some of the places in town were an absolute rip off but I found a cute little place on the top of a hill I ended up having a full body ayurvedic massage for 90mins 20mins of Shiroarda (this weird treatment where they pour hot oil all over your forehead and then give you the most amazing head neck and shoulder massage) a 10min herbal steam bath in one of the weird coffin like steamers! And a 20min herbal sauna which was awesome it was filled with all sorts of herbs and crystals and I came out feeling amazing and energized.

I walked back up to the guesthouse and sat on the veranda overlooking the town and read my book for a few hours.

In the afternoon when it had cooled off a bit I had a quick shower to get off the oil form the massage and then took a walk up through the tea plantations to a green tea factory. The walk was about 2km and was a gentle incline most of the way. The factory is set in a stunning location and I had hoped that they would have a café where I could sit and drink some tea but all they offered was a tour of the factory and since I’ve already seen one in action I decided to pass.

On the way back down I walked along the road looking out for a café as I got to a corner I could hear a bit of commotion and as I turned I saw a snake in the middle of the rod and a bunch of men throwing rocks at it. They were determined to kill it and I was determined to stop them but they just wouldn’t see sense. Their argument was that it was dangerous, it kept hissing and lunging at passing rickshaws and at the rocks they threw which to them proved their point. I tried to convince them that it was only acting that way because it was scared and under attack but they wouldn’t see reason. In the end nothing I could say was going to stop them and I had to leave before they actually killed it.

Feeling pretty sad about life I stopped off in a cafe with a beautiful view of the mountains and had a pot of tea, watched the sunset and hoped that the little guy managed to get away.

By the time I left it was dark so I walked quickly back into town. I found somewhere to eat and had dinner tucked away in a corner while reading my book.

Back at the guesthouse I packed up my stuff ready to leave in the morning and went to bed.

Thursday 26^th March 2015

After reading that the bus to Galle was 8am and then reading somewhere else it was 7.30am I was finally told it could be any time between 7am and 7.30am so was glad I was ready and waiting at the bus stop when it came barrelling through town at a little after 7.15am.

The bus was already rammed with people and it was hard to keep any sort of balance on the winding hill roads let alone get money out to pay for a ticket so when a passenger heard I was going all the way to Galle and kindly gave up his seat (who says chivalry is dead) I gratefully accepted

I had only been standing for about 10mins but had been thrown around enough to feel quite motion sick so I sat back put my music on and tried to sleep. I managed to doze for most of the morning only waking when the sun started to stream in at me and slowly cook me.

The ride wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated and by 1pm I was pulling into Unawatuna after a scenic drive along the coast. I set about finding a guesthouse in the extreme heat and wound up with the cutest room on the fourth floor of a guesthouse with a four poster bed equipped with mozzie net and a disproportionately large bathroom. The room is the top of the building o I have my own stairs and a high pointy ceiling of exposed wood. Oh and did I mention it has a sea view?

After settling into my room I was starving since all I had eaten all day was coconut cookies but I couldn’t face going out in the heat again so I settled on the veranda and read my book for a few hours until it cooled down enough to head out.

I walked along the beach trailing my bare feet in the sand and then cut in onto the main road. There was a veggie/vegan place in town I had wanted to try out but it was closed until dinner time so instead I ended up on the beach staring out into the waves eating a bean burrito of all things.

I paddled my feet in the sea and then headed back to the guesthouse I was just about to park my arse once again when a message came through from Verity that she had finished diving for the day. I walked up to the dive centre and when she was ready we got the bus to Thalpe, where she is staying to get my bag.

Her guesthouse is right on the sea front so we sat on the porch chatting and watching the waves crash onto the tiny stretch of beach for a while before getting back on the bus to Unawatuna. I dumped my bag and we headed out to find some food. We walked to town down this unlit scary path and almost walked into a sleeping cow as well as upsetting a vicious sounding dog that was thankfully tied up. The only upside to the path of terror was the tiny fireflies dotting the way.

We settled on an Italian restaurant run by real Italians so the food actually tasted amazing! We relaxed there for a few hours enjoying the food before walking back along the beach to the main road where Verity got the bus and I walked back to my accommodation.

I was pretty shattered but decided to get some laundry down so that it would be all clean and dry by tomorrow. Then showered and climbed into my princess bed.

Sri Lanka - My first taste of the sea!

Thursday 19^th March 2015

After such a late night last night I thought it would be a struggle to wake up this morning but actually it was so hot that I was awake before my alarm went off which was good as it meant I could relax until we needed to leave (I headed to Hikkaduwa while three others in the hostel went on to Galle on the same train)

When we were all ready we walked down the road to the bus stop and it wasn’t long before we got on a bus, it was a tad busy so we had to stand for about half of the journey but I was just grateful it wasn’t a can of sardines full because that’s awkward with big bags!

We got off the bus across the road from the station and had to walk up an overpass to cross the road. At the station we had about 15mins until the train left we bought tickets.  Mine was only equivalent of NZD $1.60 (train tickets seem to be the only really cheap thing in Sri Lanka)

We made our way to platform five which was a hive of activity clearly the coast is a popular destination. When the bus came everyman and his dog crammed on and we had to walk through several over flowing carriages until we found one that was virtually empty. (By the time the train pulled away it was full) we dumped our bags in the overhead compartments and settled in for the ride.

I was hungry but it seemed all the touts wanted to overcharge and so I didn’t end up getting anything. As the train left Colombo the scenery became more and more stunning the train soon hit the coast where for the most part ran parallel only a metre or so from the breaking waves.

The city was soon left behind replaced by the ocean stretching as far as the eye could see and the occasional hotel or restaurant built right onto the sea front (in a move that is damaging the coastline and also a huge risk if ever there is another tsunami as they would all be washed away) I stared out the window listening to the sound of the sea and being dazzled by its brilliant blue. I was shocked to see at one point a ruin of a building about 20m out to sea with just its crumbling roof peeking out from the waves.

The train was hot and a bit dark (nowhere near as nice as 2^nd class to Kandy!) and the rocking motion soon had me nodding off like a baby, I woke up feeling I had only been dozing a few minutes and was surprised to see that it was after 12pm and that the train was due to arrive in Hikkaduwa in 10-15mins.

When I pulled up to the station I wished the others happy journeys and jumped off looking for the exit. There was a throng of rickshaws competing for the tourists attention and all spouting rip off prices I tried as hard as I could but still paid more than the journey was worth which was even more frustrating when the driver got lost and was driving around aimlessly asking people and then when we did arrive asked for more money (which he didn’t get)

I checked in and the guy at the guesthouse carried my bag up to the room. The guesthouse is a beautiful villa with stone walls and exposed timber and wooden window frames. The room has a huge four poster bed and a big bathroom and a weird changing room space. Just outside the room on the balcony are comfy chairs and a little table. The place is set back about a 10min walk from the beach so is peaceful and quiet.

It was a sweltering day so I decided to get my washing done and head out later to avoid the midday heat, once it was all on the line I grabbed what I needed and headed to town.

First stop was the beauty saloon (I love that spelling mistake that is all over India as well!) to get my eyebrows threaded. With that done I wondered along the main road looking in all the shops trying to find some cheap trousers and a summery dress for the beach. My search was unsuccessful despite finding things I liked the prices were outrageous and so I gave up.

On the way back to the guesthouse I stopped at the beach and went for a paddle the water was really refreshing and so clean and blue I just wanted to dive straight in fully clothed! I walked along and grabbed a popsicle and ate it as fast as I could as it was melting faster than I could eat it.

I spent the remainder of the later afternoon waiting for verity to arrive in a comfy chair with my book. Her bus should have taken six hours but was the local bus and ended up taking nine so it was close to 7pm before she arrived.

By that time I was starving so we headed into town to an Indian restaurant I had seen earlier. Unfortunately it was a Sri Lankan interpretation of Indian food so although tasty it was extremely oily and not really the curry we were after.

The restaurant was right on the beach and while we waited for our food we watched the waves lap on the shore which was when I noticed something moving, it was a hermit crab! And on closer inspection there were heaps of them running here and there all over the beach. They were so cute! Earlier in the day walking from the guesthouse to the town I had seen three huge lizards so I felt it was a good day for wildlife.

It was only about 9pm but both of us were shattered to we walked back stopping at the supermarket for more popsicles along the way. Once back we showered and climbed under the mozzie net onto our huge king sized bed and zonked out.

Friday 20^th March 2015

Despite being so tired we woke early this morning but lounged about and took our time getting ready so that it was almost 10am before we got going. We both fancied eggs for breakfast so stopped at the first place we saw that had them. The food took its sweet time coming but was pretty delicious.

Feeing full we headed to the beach stopping a few times along the way to look at the shops but not buying anything as the prices were just too high.

We got onto the beach and started walking along, there were local woman selling Kurtas on the beach in beautiful bright colours their starting price was 1500 LKR (about NZD$15) they asked what we wanted to pay and we said 300 LKR they said 500 we said 400 they said no and we walked away. We were about 50m down the beach stripping off to head into the sea and they appeared again and so we both got one for 400 LKR each.

With the sale finalised we put on sun screen and headed into the water. We were about knee deep in the sea when we saw a giant sea turtle it swam right up to us, a few metres away was another one being hand fed seaweed by a local guy we then saw a third one. They are huge and beautiful and so majestic especially when they raise their heads out of the water to breathe.

As much as I loved how close they came I was a bit upset by the crowds of people petting them and grabbing hold of their shells, they are obviously used to humans and I think they must get fed often to allow people so close constantly. We didn’t touch them we just allowed them to swim around us as we grinned ear to ear and occasionally squealed like the girls we are.

We stayed in the water quite a while, even without a snorkel it was possible to sea tropical fish darting about and we were absolutely awestruck by how beautiful the place is (even if it is a bit over run by package holiday tourists)

Out of the water we found a place to lounge on the beach, in the sun for me and the shade for verity. We spent the next wee while tanning napping and reading and every now and again we would pop into the ocean to cool off.

Eventually I needed to move into the shade as even for me (sun worshiper extreme) it was getting too much. After several hours on the beach we needed to hydrate so headed off the beach to find a cool drink. At that point we realised that despite the sun cream we were both a bit burnt.

We had a spot of food at a beach front restaurant where the waves were crashing right against the building. It was decorated like a tired old English sea side village in gaudy colours with tacky Knick knacks made out of shells on the tables.

On the walk back to the guesthouse we stopped at the supermarket for aloe vera gel and snacks while we were there I found an entire range of ayurvedic medicines and spent a good deal of time reading all the labels quite intrigued by them all.

Once we were back it was about 4pm and the day was still pretty hot. The garden was all in shade and there was no one about so I took advantage of the peace a quiet and spent a bit of time on my mat enjoying a bit of yoga (even if I did slide about in my own sweat and got bothered by a million crawling insects)

I then found my new favourite chair on the balcony and breathed in the peace and fresh air while reading my book.

When we got hungry we walked into town for food earlier in the day we had scoped out an organic Indian/Sri Lankan curry restaurant and so we headed there the food was pretty great but was still a bit oily for my liking. We both ordered the set menu but the guy thought we only ordered one portion to share which worked out great for us as it was huge and we didn’t even finish it and was half the price we expected to pay so it was a winner all around.

Back at the guesthouse we flopped into bed ready for a super early start in the morning.

Saturday 21^st March 2015

This morning we awoke at 5.45am ready for some sunrise yoga on the beach unfortunately for us we were actually on the wrong side of the island for the sunrise to be over the ocean but it was still a beautiful morning doing Surya Namaskar facing the breaking waves.

Despite the early hour there were quite a few people about so it wasn’t the deserted quiet we were after but it was still pretty peaceful and an invigorating start to the day. I practiced my handstands for a while and managed to hold one (slightly wonky) for a few seconds before crashing (gracefully) back to earth.

It wasn’t even 7am and we had worked up quite the sweat so decided a swim with the sea turtles would be just the refreshing treat we needed. I had my camera with me so we took a bunch of photos and I even managed to get quite a few good underwater shots.

We were relaxed and didn’t touch the turtles and in turn they rewarded us by following us about, to the point where I was standing about waist deep looking out to sea when the biggest turtle swam between my legs knocking me off my feet. For a few seconds I was sitting on top of a giant sea turtle it was rather magical (although it also scared me half to death and from that point I was always aware of where the turtles were!)

We came out of the water when it started to get a bit too crowded with tourists and walked along trying to find a quiet patch. Unfortunately for Hikkaduwa there are restaurants and guesthouses built right onto the beach for most of its length meaning you can’t really find a secluded quiet patch. Along the way we past a huge section of dead coral it has formed rock pools and we stayed a while looking at all the tiny fish and crabs swimming about in it. 

Finally we found a good spot and sat on the beach to meditate. I made it to 28mins before the insects crawling all over me finally broke my concentration completely.

We ate breakfast on the beach with an uninterrupted view of the sea there was a lone surfer right in front of us who managed to catch most of his waves which were pretty big. We left as the sun was beginning to get really hot and headed back to the guesthouse to relax and nap for a few hours.

About 2.30pm we set off for Galle. The sun was beaming down strong so when we got to the main road we sheltered in a little patch of shade watching out for a bus. They come hurtling through town at such a speed they barely register people actually wanting to get on!

The bus was crammed and we didn’t get a seat luckily it was only about 30mins down the coast and the scenery along the way was pretty stunning. We got off just before the bus station and walked towards the fort. We passed the cricket grounds where a match was on and the stands were full as well as people pressed up against the fence and on the fort walls looking down, we later learnt it was a two day match between two universities (Richmond and something beginning with M that sounded like Mahindra but wasn’t. in case you care Richmond won)

We walked into the fort and browsed some ridiculously expensive shops full of beautiful things before making our way to Crepology for a late lunch. We went a bit nuts in there and ate all the pancakes as well as having delicious cold drinks. It was stiflingly hot and lounging on sofas seemed lie the best way to spend an hour or so.

As the day wore on and it got a bit cooler we made our way through town to the fort walls. We walked around watching the sunset and taking pictures. We saw some mad local dive off the wall into some very shallow rock infested sea in an extreme busking stunt and then continued on our way.

Verity stopped to watch the sun go fully down and I walked right around I had read in some very unreliable place that the walk took one to two hours so I was marching along and taking in as much as I could and got right around in about 30mins! Along the way I picked up a follower who I couldn’t seem to shake he stayed with me while I waited for verity and consistently asked for my number (I don’t have a phone so good excuse) my Facebook (I lied and said I didn’t have one) my email (I told him “my husband” wouldn’t be happy for me to give it out) eventually when Verity arrived we gave him the flick and ran away.

We had another wonder about the shops and made our way slowly out to the main road to get the bus back. I managed to get the last seat but we didn’t move until it was rammed with people despite being almost 8pm it was still a hot sweaty day so it was good when the bus got moving and a little bit of air was coming through.

Back in Hikkaduwa we passed the supermarket and got popsicles and headed back to the guesthouse where we chilled out for a bit before I crashed after such an early morning.

Swimming with sea turtles at sun rise.

Walking around Galle Fort

My Follower!

Sunday 22^nd March 2015

This morning I woke up in a strange mood after having very strange dreams. We had a slow morning in which are brains were also a bit slow.

We paid for our guesthouse and had to have quite a debate about the price after they added on 11% VAT and 10% service charge to the total bill after we had already confirmed the total bill price with them. Needless to say we weren’t overly happy as it wasn’t the cheapest place to begin with.

We walked into town and grabbed breakfast on the beach I also had a wee paddle before we headed back I wanted to swim but there was a huge undercurrent and the waves were rather monstrous so I settled for a waist deep wade to cool off.

Back at the accommodation we showered and packed up and then lugged our things downstairs we were going to leave our stuff there but decided to just take it with us which ended up working really well.

We got a rickshaw to the Tsunami photography museum we left our bags out front while we wondered about. The museum is a bit tired and could do with a revamp but the overall effect is still powerfully strong. A lot of the images are extremely upsetting and the stories to go with them are even sadder.

We spoke to the woman who runs the place, the museum now stands on what used to be her house her and her entire family survived the disaster by running as soon as they saw the first wave. When they could come back they lived in a tent on the site until a house could be built the floor of the museum still has the bolt holes used to tie the tent down.

The woman was lovely the only thing that put us off was when she blatantly lied about how much we should pay in an auto back to Hikkaduwa (the museum is about 2km out of town) turns out her husband is a rickshaw driver…

We got the bus back with all our stuff and from there got the bus on to Thalpe we were going to take the train but it didn’t leave until about 4pm and it was just after 1pm. The bus didn’t take too long about 45mins (Thalpe is just the other side of Galle) and dropped us off right outside the guesthouse we wanted to be at.

We went in and had a look and agreed a price then walked along the road looking for a place to eat. Along this stretch of beach is mostly luxury hotels so finding a cheap option on a Sunday proved a bit hard but we got there in the end and had an ok curry and rice.

After eating we walked back to the main road and hopped on a bus to Unawatuna. It’s the closest tourist town and also where Verity is going to do a Padi diving course in the next few days. We went in and checked out her booking as well as wondering around the shops and the supermarket and then having a (disgusting) pancake while watching the (beautiful) sun set.

We got the bus back (and they charged us half of the price of the way there!) and went straight to the guesthouse where I tried in vain to find some sort of schedule for Sri Lankan buses. Then packed a bag ready to take to the hill country tomorrow (I’ll leave my big pack with Verity while I go climb a mountain)

With everything organised it was time to relax and get a good sleep before my long arse day tomorrow.

Colombo take two

Tuesday 17^th March 2015

This morning I got up early and headed to the passport office with the thought in mind that if I dropped it off early hopefully I could pick it up early tomorrow but that wasn’t the case.

I got the bus to the visa centre and on the way met a Belgium couple who were taking their passports in as well. When we arrived we were told to head up to the first floor and to hand it to the guy at counter number three. We had to fill out and sign a registration book (how very Indian) and then we were done.

I came out and it wasn’t even 9.30am. I went in search of a restaurant that I had read about but when I found it it was closed and there was no sign to say when it opened so I gave up on that and walked back the way came and along the main road where the bus goes in search of some good cheap vegetarian food.

I walked for ages without having much luck every veg place I found was closed until lunchtime so in the end I jumped on a bus and got a take away near the hostel and ate it there.

I spent the rest of the day trying not to scratch the million mozzie bites I got last night and researching beaches and where to head next. The day was unbelievably hot and I felt like I was melting even sat in front of a fan.

In the evening we had a bit of a party  as a farewell to one of the guys who has been living here/St Patricks day there were orange white and green streamers about the place as well as a big green banner and random shamrocks and green balloons.

We sat up until late drinking and chatting and being generally silly I called it quits around 2am and had a shower and headed to bed.

Wednesday 18^th March 2015

I slept in this morning and when I woke up decided I was too hot to bother doing much more than sit around and read.

Around 2pm I went out and got some food and by the time I ate that it was time to head to the visa office. I arrived there about 4pm and bumped into the Belgium couple I met yesterday. We sat and waited for them to open and then I went in and waited for my number to be called. I was a bit nervous that it want going to be granted or that they would only give me three months so I was extremely happy when I got it back and it was six months with no restrictions!

I got the bus back with the Belgium couple and came back to the hostel where I chilled out for a few hours until the Wednesday pub quiz. We sat around in the hostel while one of the girls taught us how to say rude things in Dutch (which none of us could pronounce anyway)

We headed there in two Rickshaws, the place was far quieter than last week but our team was still the largest (a mix of expats and hostel guests) like last week we came 2^nd which wielded a prize of 2000LKR which was spent on beer.

We ended up staying at the pub till well after closing time and then continued the merriment back at the hostel around 2am I decided to call it a night and headed to bed.

Sri Lankan adventures Kandy

Friday 13 March 2015

Happy Friday the 13^th! Luckily for us nothing unlucky happened today! Verity arrived late last night after her taxi driver didn’t know where he was going and drove around aimlessly for ages. We had a brief catch up and made a bit of a plan for the following day and headed to bed.

We got up around 8.30am and got ourselves set for the day we had planned to leave for the train station at 9am but by the time we got moving it was about 9.30am. The rickshaw driver we had was not a proactive driver and we began to think we might miss the train whilst we were stuck behind a parked bus and all other traffic jetted by us.

It was 10.20am when we arrived and the train left at 10.35am so we had to hustle we paid the driver and then headed into the tourist office to ask about trains annoyingly the man said the 10.35am train was full and said that the 12.40pm train was standing room only and kept trying to sell us tourist 1^st class tickets in the observation car of the 3pm train for 800 rupees I wasn’t having a bar of it he then went back on what he said and told us that we could reserve tickets on the 12.40pm train for 280 which was a better deal but I said we should just try our luck unreserved on that train as we could sit on our bags if need be. At that point he said if that was the case we may as well get on the 10.35am train and try our luck for a seat. Annoyingly we then had to leave the tourist office and join the queue for tickets!

Thankfully it moved quickly and we paid only 190 rupees each. On the platform we stood in the middle as we were told that was where we needed to be to have the best chance of getting a seat. We needn’t have worried we got a seat and there were still seats spare here and there. The man had also told us there was no space to store our luggage but there were overhead spaces as well as big cubbies at the end of each carriage.

The ride should have taken three and a half hours but there was a delay. For reasons unknown we stopped at a station for over 40mins and never made back the time arriving closer to 3pm when we should have arrived before 2pm.

The ride was stunning the train winds its way up through forested mountainside. The air was cooler and cleaner and there was even a spell of heavy rain which cleared the air even more. The passengers were lively with a man singing and playing a tambourine (although we really wished he would have stopped as he was a tad terrible) and a bunch of young guys danced.

We got to Kandy and tried to find a rickshaw to take us to Burmese Rest, a quaint little guesthouse owned by the Myanmar government and home to a bunch of monks as well as being the cheapest place to stay in town.

The first few drivers we spoke to offered us outrageous rip-off prices and the third tried to convince us we could stay there as we aren’t Chinese. (that argument seemed a bit weird since it’s not even a Chinese guesthouse but who am I to dispute a toothless rickshaw driver with a greasy ponytail and a guestbook for his rickshaw) he agreed to take us there but told us we would be sorry when they didn’t let us stay so it was much to our delight when the friendly monk welcomed us in and set us up in a sparse but large clean and airy twin bedroom.

The place is a former pilgrimage guesthouse so is basic with shared bathrooms (which are super nice) plain twin beds and no Wi-Fi but at less than a third of the price of the hostel in Colombo how could we complain!

Once we were checked in (the process took about 20 seconds and was just verity writing her name and date and signing it, hotels are so much more relaxed than in India where passport copies are needed and numerous forms and registers must be filled out) we chilled in the room for a bit. Verity took a nap and I read up on Kandy in the lonely planet.

About 4.30pm we headed out to find food other than toast this morning and a samosa like fries thing on the train we hadn’t eaten all day and I was fairly hungry. We wondered about until we found a local hang out and had a bit of a munch.

On the walk back to Burmese rest we grabbed cake at one of the many many bakeries along the road. Despite the lack of doing anything today I felt tired and so we chilled out for a while and then did about 30mins of meditation.

In the evening we headed out for food I wasn’t too hungry and just had fruit salad for dinner and we abused the free Wi-Fi while we ate. We had to be back at the guesthouse by 10pm and walked through the door at about 9.55pm. After showering the grime of the day away I read for a bit before heading to bed.

Saturday 14^th March 2015

I woke up super early this morning and couldn’t get back to sleep so read my book for about 90mins before feeling tired again so I went back to sleep.

We mooched about and had a slow morning and it was 11am before we actually got going. The food in Kandy leaves a lot to be desired and after a fuck up with our order my breakfast turned out to be two plain parathas.

From breakfast we wondered along the road heading for the lake in the drizzling rain. We stopped off to buy postcards and then popped into the post office to get some stamps. We took a walk to the tourist info office stopping along the way in a few shops. (Including one with free Wi-Fi) and chatted to the helpful lady about good beaches and the ancient cities.

We then stopped for lunch at a cute little café where the food was average but the staff were full of smiles. We lingered there for a while sorting out a bit of a rough plan of where we wanted to go.

Coming out of the café the rain had stopped and so we took a walk around the lake along the way we saw loads of different birds, a cat, a chicken, heaps of ducks and geese and several water monitor lizards lazing on the bank.

As we walked we stopped at the Kandy cultural association and had a look at some handy crafts as well as taking a rest sitting on the bank admiring the view of the lake and the giant Buddha on the hill in the distance.

Along the far side of the lake there were heaps of dead fish floating in the water and a few dead birds hanging from the trees. There was bird poo everywhere and bats hanging in the tree. The lake was built in 1807 by the last ruler of the kingdom of Kandy, Sri Wickrama Rajasainha. Whilst it was being built there were protests by several minor chiefs about their people being put to work on the lake and so Sri Wickrama Rajasinha had them put to death on stakes on the lake bed, since this area smelt a bit like death we concluded that it must be where those bodies were.

W completed a circuit of the lake and headed back to the guesthouse to chill for a while before heading back out to see the Puja at the temple of the sacred tooth relic.

I sat writing about a million postcards and at around 6.30pm headed to the temple. It’s free for Sri Lankan nationals but for foreigners it’s a whopping 1000 rupees. The temple itself is stunning but the entrance fee is far more than double the price it should be. I got a ticket and gave my jandals to the shoe minder before making my way in.

The puja was well under way and the place was packed. I headed in (picking up my free temple DVD on the way) and made my way to the entrance. Upstairs I stood in a non-moving line for over 30mins I’m not sure what we were waiting for. People kept leaving the line to sit down and when they came back they would bring friends and family members with them so the line was growing in front of me as well as behind.

Everyone was pushing in and although we were all stationary we were pressed up against each other every time I inched a tiny bit forward the woman behind would inch forward as well pressing herself into my back.

When finally the line started to move we were hustled past the sacred tooth relic (that you can’t even see as it’s enclosed in a golden casket) so fast that I barely caught a glimpse. I walked around the rest of the temple complex and then headed out and back to the guesthouse.

On the way back I picked up another 5l bottle of water and then Verity and crossed the road to a Chinese restaurant called The Flower Song. It was a nice place but a tad overpriced (even if the portions were ridiculous I got an extra small and it would have been enough for two people as it stands I have breakfast for tomorrow)

We got back to Burmese Rest just before 10pm and got ourselves ready for an early start tomorrow.

 Tuk Tuks in the rain

 Flower stalls selling offerings for Buddha

 Kandy Lake

 on the banks of Kandy Lake

 Kandy Lake

The tortoises that live at the guest house

Sunday 15^th March 2015

We were up at 7am this morning to get an early start on a big day out by 7.45am we were in a rickshaw heading for the bus station to get a bus to Dambulla and from there to Sigiriya. As soon as we got out of the rickshaw touts were calling out to us to get us on their bus. We jumped aboard a big mini bus which was a bit more expensive than the proper bus but comfortable and a bit quicker and it was leaving pretty much right away.

The drive to Dambulla took about two hours the countryside was pretty and I alternated between taking it all in and dozing. In Dambulla we got off our bus and straight onto another one to take us the further 20km to Sigiriya.

Sigiriya is a small town with not a lot more than a huge rock which back in the day had a palace on top. We were dropped off on the side of the road and had to walk a long dusty path pat water buffalos lazing in a pond full of water lilies to the entrance.

The ticket was a tad expensive at 3900 LKR (pretty much $40NZD locals pay a mere 50 rupees yup less than a dollar) we walked through the gardens at the bottom and through the boulder gardens at the base of the structure before making our ascent.

Sigiriya is thought to have been in use as a place of worship and later as a palace for the last 6000 years (which is insane really as all the stairs up to the top are man-made out of iron how the heck did they build stairs 6000 years ago the mind really does boggle)

It was just after 11am and already the day was hot and sweaty the climb up is constant stone steps with small flat areas to enjoy the view. On the way up there are cast iron spiral staircases that are wide enough to walk in single file enclosed in a wire cage which lead up to the fresco gallery where there are ancient paintings on plaster on the cave walls.

After seeing the frescos you leave down an identical spiral staircase and continue onwards and upwards the whole climb is not for the faint hearted but that section was defiantly the most vertigo inducing.

After coming down from the fresco gallery there is a slight respite of flat which is also slightly shady and channels a nice breeze however it doesn’t last long before there are more stairs to climb this time cut out of the rock face.

At the top of these stairs is a plateau and is where the stairs up to the top go from. It’s called the lions paw entrance and as the name suggests there are two huge stone lion paws at the base of the stairs. However whatever staircase was originally there is gone now leaving in its place more cast iron stairs bolted into the rock suspended in the air thankfully they don’t move at all but I can imagine if you were scared of heights you might struggle.

The views from every stopping point along the way were stunning but the view from the top was something else from the top you get a full 360 degree view of the surrounding countryside and oh my what a countryside it is. As far as the eye can see is beautiful dense green jungle scattered with lakes and rivers and mountains we had a perfect day for it with azure blue skies and fluffy white marshmallow clouds that seemed to lounge in the sky.

We spent a good chunk of time sitting up there taking in the view, exploring all the twists and turns and walking up and down crumbling staircases before making our descent. Down was much easier but we were forced to go at the pace of the man in front of us clearly wracked by nerves gripping the rails with white knuckles and inching down step by step.

At the bottom a man said we were going the wrong way and took us on a bit of a tiki tour through the boulder garden which was nice as we got to see a bit more of the ruins but also frustrating as we came out in a carpark on the other side of where we wanted to be and had to walk back around in the full sun of the day. The man of course asked for a tip even though we didn’t ask him to walk with us and everything he pointed out to us was incorrect.

We got back to the start point walking past one of the massive ponds where we saw kingfishers in the trees and a huge lizard basking in the sun, and went into the museum. It’s a huge ugly building I think designed to be very modern and hip but actually there isn’t enough displays to fill the vast space and you end up walking through hot dusty empty gallery halls to get to the displays.

The displays themselves are very well done (and air conditioned) but we were lacking the brain function to really take any of it in and so we skimmed through and then headed out in search of a cold drink. The walk back to the road seemed triple the length of when we came in but we were entertained en-route by packs of monkeys, there was even one eating ants out of an ant hill.

Along the way we treated ourselves to a popsicle which melted faster than we could eat it and I ended up as a sticky mess. As we neared the road a bus was coming along and we ran for it, it slowed down and then instead of stopping drove off with everyone aboard waving. Luckily the bus stop was shady and we had only been there a couple of minutes when another bus pulled up.

We got off at the bus station in Dambulla looking for food. There didn’t seem to be much about but we found somewhere semi decent after a wee bit of walking. The vegetarian section was a bit sad with only three horrendous sounding items and so I got two veg samosas (which were cold and not as tasty as Indian samosas when they are cold) Verity’s butter chicken took 20mins to arrive and when it did it was chicken fried in butter rather than a curry which was a tad disappointing (the search for curry in Sri Lanka continues!) feeling fed and a little bit rested we opted to get an auto to the cave temples as we were a)knackered and b)running out of day.

Little did we know that to get to the cave temples we had to walk up another hill although it almost killed us we were rewarded with another spectacular view and we could see Sigiriya rock off in the distance. At eh base of the cave temples sits a huge golden Buddha as well as a Buddhist museum and bookshops (although none of the books are in English)

There are five cave temples all dating back to different times and between them there are over 150 Buddha images. There is also a Siva temple which we were lucky to get a glimpse in as it is normally closed. The caves themselves are amazing with reclining Buddhas and Buddhas seated in many different mudras. The ceilings and walls are painted in amazing colours of more Buddha and of beautiful lotus flowers.

We didn’t stay long at the temple as we were fading fast and we needed to get back to Kandy before the buses stopped for the day. Luckily for us when we had walked down the hill and exited the complex there was a bus stop directly across the road. While we waited we chatted to a friendly policeman (but his English was so bad I don’t think he actually understood a word we said) I tried to feed a starving dog peanuts (she wasn’t having a bar of it) and I acted as mediator between two fighting dogs (one very healthy mutt who growled while wagging his tail and the aforementioned starving dog who had a cataract on one eye but despite her flaws was still gorgeous)

We got on the bus and although there were no seats we were allowed to sit on the big boxy thing that Asian buses seem to have next to their extreme gear sticks. As we had been walking down from the temple the sky grew darker and thunder rumbled so we were pleased we were already on the bus when the rain started to pour down.

All was going well and we had even graduated to real seats when the bus broke down. We stopped on the side of the road while they tinkered with it in the rain for a while and then we were off again but there was a smell of burning rubber and we seemed to lose traction quite quickly on hills. We stopped again and sat there for a while when suddenly everyone started making a break for another bus we asked if it was going to Kandy they said yes, we followed suit and crammed on board.

We managed to get seats and were settling in for the ride when the conductor told us we needed to buy new tickets I said we came from the broken down bus and although he didn’t make us buy new tickets he did delight in the fact that this bus didn’t actually go as far as Kandy rather it stopped in Matale 26km from Kandy.

Whilst on the bus there was a man who kept staring at me I would stare back and he would look away embarrassed this continued for the whole journey. At Matale we got off and were immediately soaked a man was telling us we needed to cross the road and get a bus going the other way so it was lucky that a Kandy bus pulled up at that moment and we didn’t go on a wild goose chase.

As we crammed onto the bus my staring friend from the previous bus got on behind me and proceeded to grind against me and then touch my arse when I was a step higher than him. The bus was packed full and I pushed my way through and swapped places with a man who shielded me from the pervert and introduced me to his wife. Annoyingly the little creeper squirmed his way behind me again and continued his molestation I gave him a telling off and thankfully the other men around us sent him packing and I could relax.

When you are standing up on a packed bus that is honing around corners 26km suddenly seems a lot longer and by the time we arrived in Kandy after 8pm a full 12 hours after we left my legs were about to give way and I felt nauseous with motion sickness. Thankfully it wasn’t raining in Kandy and smelly as we were we decided to go straight for food.

We almost fell asleep in our meals and had to force ourselves into the shower before collapsing in bed exhausted.

Me with Sigiriya Rock in the background

 Water buffaloes hiding from the heat

 Lizard chilling in the grass

 Freaking giant squirrel

 The scaffolding is the spiral stairs up 

 Some of the cave painting

 Stairs up from the lions paws

 View from the top - Well worth the climb!

  View from the top - Well worth the climb!

  View from the top - Well worth the climb!

II fed this girl peanuts!

  View from the top - Well worth the climb!

 View from the top - Well worth the climb!

 Fair warning!

 Cast iron stairs from the Lions paws up and down

 Huge stone paw

 Golden Temple

 Cave Temples - Dambulla 

 Cave Temples - Dambulla 

 Cave Temples - Dambulla 

 Cave Temples - Dambulla 

 Cave Temples - Dambulla 

Monday 16^th March 2015

This morning we both woke up early which was annoying as we could have used the extra sleep. It didn’t mean we were very productive though and it was about 10.30am before we were packed up ready to go. We left our bags in a corner of the guesthouse to collect later and went in search of some breakfast.

We chilled in a café eating and abusing the free Wi-Fi for a few hours before we got on with the day. After posting our postcards we set about finding a rickshaw to take us to the Ceylon tea museum.it took a while and a bit of haggling before we agreed on a fair price with a driver to drive us wait and drive us back. The only snag was the museum was closed when we got there.

The drive up was beautiful the sides of the road were lined with tea bushes and we could see out over Kandy. We decided to head back and see if there was anywhere worth stopping along the way (we were thinking a cup of tea and a view at a posh hotel) we hadn’t driven far when we saw an ayurvedic spa and decided to nip in and see what treatments were worth.

We ended up getting a full body massage and a steam bath. We started off with a herbal tea while they set up I’m not sure what was in it but it was very sweet. When we walked into the room it was like a couples massage as we were on beds side by side after all the walking yesterday it was just what I needed. The steam bath at the end was weird you lie inside a big wooden box with just your head poking out and inside gets pumped with steam. While you lie there sweating it up the therapist gives you a facial massage.

We finished up and returned to our tuk tuk driver who was dozing in the shade, we got him to take us back to the guesthouse and wait while we grabbed our bags he dropped me off at the train station and then took Verity to the bus station. I bought a ticket back to Colombo and although it didn’t leave for 25mins the train was there so I got on to ensure I had a good seat.

The train was pretty empty most of the way and so I had two seats to myself. I read and listened to music and took loads of photos of the world going by outside. I arrived into Colombo at about 7pm and despite feeling in despite need for a shower decided that the cheapness of the bus outweighed my desire to be clean.

I found the bus stop without drama and was soon on my way thankfully when I got on there was a seat by the door and enough space for my bag. It quickly filled up and I struggled to see where I was going which wasn’t helped by the darkness and everything looking different. I was pretty pleased with myself for getting off at the right stop and walked the short walk to the hostel.

There was no staff around (except for the groundskeeper who let me in) so I chilled chatting to some other guests (the hostel has filled out in the last few days!) once I was checked in I showered and didn’t even bother to put a bra on I was hungry but not enough to bother venturing out so chilled for the evening.

In bed I slept fitfully as it was unbearably hot and even smothered in deet and under a mozzie net I was eaten alive which didn’t make for a restful night. 

 From the train I  saw an elephant on a truck!

 View from the train

 View from the train

 View from the train 

 View from the train