Beach time at Hikkaduwa

Four hours from Yala took us to our final destination in Sri Lanka: Hikkaduwa on the South-West coast. I had initially been put off of Hikkaduwa by the Rough Guide and tried to look for places in recommended to me like Unwatuna/Mirissa but I had spent so much time on TripAdvisor that I just lost the plot and thought I'd trust the tour company to know what we like and so settled with Hikkaduwa. Unfortunately it took us an extra hour to get there, because as we were just minutes away from the hotel there was some incident in the road so we had to turn around and go across country to get round it. It's at times like this that I realise how much I appreciate traffic officers and police in the UK creating diversions. It was fine for us to travel along the quiet single-track backroads, past pretty villages and so on, but traffic soon ground to a halt when buses and giant lorries also had the same idea coming from the opposite direction. Once everything came to a standstill everyone was too stubborn to make the first move so we sat there while there was much discussion. Finally someone reversed and eventually we got going and reached our hotel. Lavanga is not the kind of place we would usually stay (a bit posh!), but our tour company had recommended it and it has been such a treat to enjoy some luxury for our last few days.  

Our balcony

Sea View 

Turns out we love Hikkaduwa. The beach is absolutely huge, and so quiet. The sea is a bit rough at times with a strong undercurrent pulling at you but it's beautifully clear and warm. The next few days were spent sitting around, reading, swimming, eating and drinking: how every beach holiday should be.

Hikkaduwa Beach

Yesterday my friend Thanuri and her new husband Yojitha came to visit us for the day in Hikkaduwa which was great. We went to a very cool beach restaurant to chill out with drinks and food, and went in the sea there was was slightly more calm but I still managed to get totally wiped out by a wave when I attempted to bodyboard! It was so nice to see them again before we leave, and hopefully it won't be long until I see Thanuri again :)

So now we're at the end of the trip and I'm just trying to enjoy the last of the lovely weather until we have to pack up and head to the airport in a few hours. I am very sad to leave and I really hope I can come back soon.

Thanks for reading

Love,

Eleanor xxx

Yala

As we drove down to Yala on the South-East coast, the sun came out and it got warmer and warmer, much to our delight! Our hotel was lovely - right in the middle of countryside and I was like an excitable child when I saw the pool, so as soon as we were checked in I jumped in. The weather was finally perfect, hurrah! That afternoon we got in a big jeep to visit Yala National Park. It's a huge place on the coast, and is quite stunning. We saw lots of elephants, peacocks (and peahens, the less beautiful females...), birds, iguanas, crocodiles and a jackal. Oh and a "leopard" but more on that later...

Crocodile

2 male elephants having a slightly lazy punch-up

Iguana

Peacock doing his dance display (centre of the photo)

The ride around the park wasn't quite the same as an African safari - everyone sticks to the well-worn tracks around the place and you drive around for about 3 hours. It's very bumpy at times but good fun. We saw so much wildlife, and it's absolutely huge. I loved seeing the elephants, especially the baby ones. I don't think the adults really liked having the photos taken though because they would often turn their bottoms to the camera. 

At one point we appeared to reach a long traffic jam of other safari jeeps. Word got round that there was a leopard in a tree so everyone was lining up to take it in turns to have a look. Absolute chaos ensued as all the jeeps piled in to get a good look.

Not sure how the leopard managed to get any sleep with this racket going on next to him

We waited about half an hour and when our turn finally came we pulled up in the right position and could we see a leopard? No. It was "asleep on the second branch of that tree"

Spot the leopard...

Everyone was snapping away, at what I have no idea because I am almost certain it was not there at all. I looked for it using binoculars and we even went back for a second look about an hour later and what a surprise, still no leopard. Even our driver admitted that he couldn't see it, so I think everyone was imagining it. Oh well, there was probably a leopard sat in the tree behind looking at us all and laughing.

Next our final stop for some down time in Hikkaduwa.

Love,
Eleanor xx

Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Ella

Kandy

In Kandy we visited the Temple of the Tooth which was beautiful. It supposedly houses one of the Buddha's teeth was there but has been much dispute over it during Sri Lanka's history and whatever is only displayed for 2 weeks every decade or something I think (clearly did a lot of research...). We also saw a traditional cultural/dance show that evening. We had already seen the Kandyan dancers and drummers at Thanuri's wedding which was particularly special, but it was nice to see the female dancers and hear more music anyway. There was a huge thunderstorm that began that evening, sending tons of water rushing down the hills of Kandy! But at least the next morning it had all cleared up and the weather looked to be vastly improved. 

Offering to the Buddha

Temple of the Tooth

We were pretty happy to be checking out of the manky old hotel, and headed up the hills to Nuwara Eliya AKA "Little England" so we dressed accordingly in the warm stuff we had travelled in from the UK...

Nuwara Eliya

On the way up we passed the most stunning scenery with rolling hills, tea plantations and botanical gardens. 

We stopped at a tea factory (Mum wanted to avoid because it sounded a bit dull, but actually I decided I wanted to go because I have no idea how they make tea and thought it might actually be interesting!) en route and they showed us which leaves are made into each different tea. The whole process to make black tea is very long and complicated, whereas green tea they simply dry the leaves out and leave them as they are, which I guess explains why it' better for you. Anyway, Mum was happy to be proved right that leaf tea is far superior to teabags because in the bags you get a lot of the leftover dregs put in there.

Nuwara Eliya is full of old colonial buildings, some particularly beautiful like the Golf Club which is cripplingly expensive to be a member of! Our hotel was a great little place, with dark wood original flooring and great furniture, a roaring fire (necessary, temperature was lovely during the day and sunshine but got pretty cold after the sun went down) and snug sofa areas to chill out. 

Hotel Glendower

We had dinner at their King Prawn Chinese restaurant which was great. Went to bed and froze to death (like England).

Ella

Despite the Rough Guide singing its praises, one travel agent tried to put us off going to Ella - not really sure why and I'm so glad we ignored them and went anyway. It's a tiny little town in the middle of nowhere, lower down than N'Eliya but still in the hills. It's such a cool place, a bit hippy-ish with lots of cool cafes and a very chilled out atmosphere. We turned up at what we thought was our hotel, and this was the view:

Ella Gap

Of course this wasn't our hotel, we were actually staying in a hotel with the same name about a mile away from town. It wasn't as nice, and half a construction site but still with a pretty amazing view. There isn't much to do in Ella apart from chill out with drinks and enjoy the food, my particular favourite being a rotti cafe serving a huge variety of sweet and savoury rotti - my favourite was the coconut and honey :). The main attraction is Ella Falls:

Next we're off down south!

Habarana and Anuradhapura

Well, the weather couldn't be much worse. There is currently a cyclone hanging only over Sri Lanka, of course. The centre of it being right above my head it seems. Our morning in the ancient city of Anuradhapura was ok, it was grey but dry as we drove around looking at the temples. Unfortunately we had chosen the worst day to visit (Sunday) as it is a holy day, so it was pretty busy. Anyway, it was fairly interesting and I'm sure it would have been better if the sun was out, because everything looks better in the sun. 

             

               

                                  

  

Back at the hotel we joined the few other optimistic guests who sat outside by the pool. 5 minutes later it started chucking it down. Not really enjoying Sri Lanka at this point. 

The hotel we stayed in was really nice though, with lots of animals about like the giant squirrels who bomb down the trees and stick their heads in your face, frogs, and of course monkeys. 

 

Today we arrived in Kandy. It is still raining. Now we are staying in a very weird old hotel, the Swiss Residence. It's definitely stuck in a time-warp and the furniture has that retirement home feel to it...

 

Don't Look Down! Spectacular Sigiriya

Today we went to Sigiriya, which is one of Sri Lanka's most spectacular archeological sights. Rising 200m above the countryside below, King Kassapa built his summer palace here on top of the rock and his winter palace below back in the 5th century AD.

There were water gardens, flower gardens and numerous swimming pools all on a grand scale of course. We had a brilliant tour guide so it was interesting to hear what they think happened when this was a fully-functioning palace e.g. there is a throne above one of the pools where the King would sit and watch some of his 500 women/wives bathe! Then it was time to begin scaling the large rock. The guide book did say it is not as impossible as it looks from the ground, and they would be mostly right. Luckily for me, the last few months of going to the gym really paid off as I didn't struggle at all. Mum, however, only had to look at the almost verticle steps and decided it would be best to stay on relatively low ground and let me go up there without her! Turned out to be a good idea because it did get a bit hairy and it was best she stayed with my bag :)

Only half way up...

One of the scariest bits was climbing the wire-encased (thankfully that was there!) spiral staircase up to see Sri Lanka's most famous frescoes: the Sigiriya Damsels. The guide kept saying "Don't look down!" and I wish I had followed his advice as I of course looked down through a crack in the walkway underneath my feet and I felt slightly wobbly at the sight! We were already so high up, and only at the base of the rock. 

The last bit is where you enter through the lion's mouth (which isn't there any more, just the paws) which is where the name Sigiriya originates: meaning Lion's Rock. Then is the final quite terrifying climb up the steps attached to the sheer rock face, where the wind really picks up and I find myself wondering what I've let myself in for because surely these steps aren't going to hold out and I'm going to die here. 

The Steps up to the summit

However, I didn't look down and finally got to the summit. It was totally worth it! At the top on the flat of the rock are the ruins of the King's Palace, including flower gardens and a swimming pool. The views are fantastic. (Thank you Joanna for the recommendation, I'm so glad I did it!) 

Jumping off the "final 2" steps of the thousand-and-something steps up

(Of course the King wouldn't have been expected to walk up these steps, he would have been carried!)

The King's Palace on top of the rock

ELEPHANTS!

On our way to Sigiriya we were incredibly lucky so see some elephants in the wild. Firstly we saw 3 some distance away at a salt lake, and then a while later we came across 3 right by the side of the road! It was wonderful to see these beautiful creatures up close in their natural habitat. 

Not sure if this will work but it's a video of the elephants :)

Tomorrow to Anuradhapura

Love

Eleanor xx

Thanuri's Wedding Day

Today's the day! Thanuri first asked me to come to her wedding back in February 2013 so it was very exciting to head off this morning. We left the house fairly early to head over to the salon where we had our hair and make-up done (I think I looked a bit scary) then they draped the saris and pinned in place. Mine was tied up so tight I could barely breathe, but other than that it was surprisingly comfortable. From there we headed to the Cinnamon Hotel where the wedding was to be held. We were a bit confused when we appeared to be turned away and asked to go through a different entrance, but were then delighted to see that we were in fact joining the bridal party. Thanuri was sat down with her bridesmaids and flower girls and she looked absolutely beautiful. When it was time to get going, everyone gathered behind Thanuri and her father as the group of drummers/singers/dancers (I should know the name!) performed their traditional Sri Lankan wedding dance I guess. It was really exciting and there was a real atmosphere. Lots of the hotel guests were watching and taking photos so it was nice for us to be a part of it! The procession carried on with the group slowly leading the bridal party into the main function room where the bridegroom and the rest of the guests were. The bride and groom then stand together on Poruwa (an elaborately decorated wooden platform) where a number of rituals are carried out, including the tying together of their wrists and exchange of rings etc). Then there is the cutting and eating of special coconut rice, and things continue in a fairly similar way to what we know - everyone sits down and speeches followed by first dance. Then the food buffet opened up, and it was excellent - as me and mum both agreed, the best food on that huge scale (about 300 guests) that we have had. There were lots of traditional Sri Lankan dishes as well as Western, and my favourite was the tempura prawns fried in front of you! Then it was time for the music to pick up and the dancefloor was soon filled with people, despite the fact that it was only 2pm and no one had had a drop of alcohol! It was nice to see people in such high spirits, and not because they had had their fill of the usual free drinks we would have at English weddings! Inevitably me and mum were dragged (well, I was anyway - any of you who know mum know that she cannot resist a little bop in her seat to a good tune) to the dancefloor where the band were playing a mixture of traditional Sri Lankan music and Baila (popular dance music in Sri Lanka, a mixture of Sinhalese and Portuguese) music.

At about 3:30 we left that room (had to vacate for another wedding - there were about 4 that day that we saw!) and went on board the docked hotel boat bar/restaurant where we relaxed with iced coffee and chatted to some other guests. After about an hour it was time for Thanuri and Yojithi to leave and as they walked out of the doors to the hotel we all threw fresh white flowers over them to wish them well.

So that was the day! It was a brilliant experience, and I have tons of photos but will just post a few here:

Me and Thanuri

The lovely family who are hosting us

Tomorrow we are off to travel around the country for the next 12 days, so will update as we go.

Love,

Eleanor xx

First few days in Colombo

Our flight to Sri Lanka was a mixed bag. Everything ran very smoothly at first: it left on time, the plane itself was a bit old but was ok, the passengers were all terribly nice and polite to each other, food was fine and we enjoyed a glass of wine each to celebrate the beginning of the holiday. Then just after I had popped a cheeky diazepam and was drifting into a lovely deep sleep I am violently woken by mum shouting the dreaded "ELEANOR!!!!" and before I knew what was happening she threw up everywhere! Now I'm not so sure the food was actually that good and we will never eat prawns on a flight again! So we arrived in style, tired and stinking of vomit. We were met by Thanuri's father and brother who drove us back to their house. It's a beautiful home, which they had built for them 9 years ago. When approaching the house, they beep the horn and the "help" come and open the gates for them! We are staying in a nice guest room downstairs with our own bathroom and views over the garden. The whole family are living here: Mother, Father, Thanuri, her brother Themal (who is on holiday from University in America) and her older sister Amaya with her husband Birendra and son, Sevindu. He is definitely the prince of the household, demanding that everyone kiss his feet! 

 

Thanuri's House

                Our room

A whole cooked river fish was presented to us for lunch which was delicious. Mum and I had both decided we would like to wear saris to the wedding, so as soon as we'd finished our lunch, despite being absolutely exhausted, we went off sari shopping with Thanuri's lovely friend Dilini. It was almost impossible to decide as there was so much choice of colours, fabrics and patterns but after about an hour we were both happy with our selections. Then we had to go to another shop to get matching fabric for the "jacket" (the top you wear underneath the sari) and the underskirt. After we bought that, we met up with Thanuri and her mother for the first time! I hadn't seen Thanuri since she left St. Mary's in 1992 but we wrote to each other quite often and more recently we've been in touch via Facebook so I knew what she looked like, but it was really nice to see her again. From there we went to the seamstress to get measured up and left her to make the garments. Arriving back at the house at 9pm we could not be happier to fall straight into bed and slept for a good 12 hours!

Curry for breakfast! Which is eaten with the right hand. They also had bread and cereal which was nice as eating curry and noodles that early in the morning was unusual for us! Anyway, there's no danger of going hungry here as our hosts (and the 2 girls who help) are wonderful cooks and incredibly polite and hospitable. We did a couple of things in Colombo on our first full day, visiting the National Museum and Independence Square. The weather is great, up to about 31 degrees is about as hot as it gets this time of year. Sri Lanka is very pretty - mostly much cleaner and more organised than India, which we are more used to. Returning to the house we had a traditional Sri Lankan lunch of curried prawns (which were amazing) and some other dishes which I can't remember what they were but tasted great! Then it was off out again to get various wedding things sorted, suit fittings etc. Thanuri has decided not to do a fully traditional wedding, so the men will be wearing Western suits. But it will mainly be a Buddhist/Singhalese ceremony. Driving around Colombo on New Years Eve is a nightmare with so much traffic it takes ages to get anywhere! NYE is quite a big occasion here, but not as important as the Buddhist New Year in April so actually everyone was so exhausted when we got back that we just had a light dinner of buttered roti (yum) and curry then everyone went to bed before midnight. That was until the clock struck 12 and all hell broke loose with deafening fireworks going off all around us! 

   Mum under the enormous tree outside the museum

Outside the museum

                                                  

Today we are just chilling at the house sorting out our plan for the rest of the trip after the wedding. We will go to a few places including Kandy and Yala National Park, and then spend our last few days down South at the beach. Tonight we are staying with Thanuri's uncle because she will start getting ready at 3am tomorrow morning! 

I can tell you all about the wedding in the next few days :)

Love from Eleanor xx