2012 Sri Lanka

Part 1: Getting There

31st October  – 1st November 2014

Bangkok

Our Sri Lankan holiday started in Bangkok – where I returned from a visit to the UK met up with Megan flying out directly from Sydney. Our chosen meet-up was the Silom Serene hotel which we both knew from previous visits to Thailand. What was new for us both was the smart ‘new’ Bangkok airport, and approaching the city in a taxi from a completely different direction. As always the pool behind the boutique hotel was a major attraction.

We ate in the evening at a very Thai restaurant close by down a side street. The food was excitingly different from Sydney Thai fare, the chilies were applied at local strength, and the mango and sticky rice pudding was to die for.
That night we both slept quite well which was surprising since we were nursing contrary jetlags. As always under these circumstances, having separate beds (an accident at check-in) helped. After breakfast we started on the mammoth task of merging and repacking our luggage ready for the holiday. After re-arranging the contents of the bags, it all fitted in well. So we rewarded ourselves with some free time in the pool and fitness centre. We checked out at 2 having both had showers and worked up an appetite for lunch which was a couple of stuffed crepes washed down with delicious mint drinks.

The hotel efficiently arranged for a taxi to whisk us to the airport at a bargain ‘fixed price’ and we were in the check-in queue well before our 7pm flight to Colombo.

Then disaster struck as I realised that I didn’t have my wallet. The taxi had been paid with the last of our Baht and somewhere in the short walk to the check in it had fallen out of my bum bag. The empty wallet only contained two credit cards – and one had already been stopped by the HSBC in an act of unwarranted but fortuitous diligence. Airport lost property had not had it handed in, but took our details. There was little more we could do so we went through passport control. Whilst waiting for our flight to be called we tried to contact the St George bank to cancel our Visa card. But phoning was impossible as the lines were busy and it was too expensive to hold, and the airport free Wi-Fi was too slow to load anything.

Frustrated we went to the gate for our flight and then in a brief moment of internet bandwidth, managed to recharge the phone and find out that Visa cards could be cancelled on the bank web site. Then the Wi-Fi worm hole closed and we boarded a packed Sri Lankan Airlines A340.
Never again will we fly Sri Lankan. For a start the plane had strange faults that eroded one’s confidence that it could be airworthy. My seat back screen only worked if the seat in front was reclined! Light switches turned on the wrong lights – a great way to break the ice and meet your fellow travellers! The meal service was chaotic. And to top it all – the cabin pressurisation was faulty and I developed a nose bleed that took a day to clear up (due to taking aspirin before the flight).

Colombo
Colombo airport is new, smart and large. But we soon had an introduction to the way things happen in Sri Lanka – as the immigration queue we joined closed without notice and we were shunted off into a different area to get our passports stamped! The arrivals duty-free area was unusual with lots of white goods – as Sri Lankans returning from working abroad get a special allowance. Luckily our bags made it through as well, and our driver Ananda was waiting for us.

Negombo
We arrived much later than we had originally planned (thanks to a Sri Lankan Airlines flight change) but luckily it was a short ride in the dark to Ayubowan Guest House down a back lane in Negombo. The guest house was run by an English couple and was spotless and nicely furnished. Using their Wi-Fi I managed to cancel the lost credit card on-line and was then able to rest and enjoy a comfortable night’s sleep.

Breakfast in the morning was a relaxed and pleasant affair – and a chance to talk with the owners about life in Sri Lanka before the front gate opened and our driver arrived to whisk us away to the Cultural Triangle.

Facebook Review
We had a brief but pleasant start to our recent holiday in Sri Lanka staying with Ron & Brenda in their delightful home. We arrived much later than planned thanks to Sri Lankan Airlines and had to leave the next morning for the Cultural Triangle. But in the few hours in between we were able to enjoy a comfortable room, a delicious breakfast, and the company of Ron & Brenda. We cannot fault our experience of this accommodation – the only fault was with us for not arranging to stay in Negombo longer.

Part 2 – The Cultural Triangle

2nd Nov – Yapahuwa, Sigiriya Village
3rd Nov – Sigiriya Rock, Ritigala
4th Nov – Balloon Flight, Pidurangala, Dambulla
5th Nov – Polonnaruwa, Kaudulla National Park

Yapahuwa
We said goodbye to Negombo and drove off inland through a non-descript sprawl. Our route cross-country to the ancient city of Yapahuwa soon took us out into the countryside. After passing through an area where there were many tile factories, the scenery became more agricultural with paddy fields and pineapple plantations.
It was an early introduction to how slow road travel is in Sri Lanka, and also how interesting it can be, particularly with a well-informed guide as driver. Ananda was a keen amateur bird watcher and amazed us by his ability to spot interesting wild life whilst apparently concentrating on driving the car down difficult roads.

So it was long drive through Maho junction to reach the ancient city of Yapahuwa where, not unsurprisingly, we were the only tourists. After recent heavy rain (it was supposed to be the dry season) the rivers were rushing brown torrents and the paths on the archaeological site were small streams. Three flights of steep steps led up the mountainside to an impressive entrance gate guarded by two Singa Lions (looking vaguely oriental). Behind the entrance was a flat terrace with the foundations of a temple that once housed the tooth relic (Buddha’s Tooth).

Back at the foot of the mountain we were shown into a small cave temple with some well-preserved paintings on the roof.

As we returned to the car the locals were having their lunch of rice & curry in the shade. It was hot and we were also hungry, but it was to be a lot longer till we ate. We took a long and winding road heading on average south-east that took us through Madagalla and Rambe but there were no restaurants in this rural area. It was after 2 when we got to the busy and congested A6 with a succession of tempting signs advertising “lunch”. We stopped at a new roadside restaurant on the main road where we were the only customers but they managed to serve rice with 5 or so tasty curries. We thought the meal was overpriced and Ananda confirmed it was – it turned out to be the most expensive lunch of the entire trip.

Sigiriya Village Hotel
With a full stomach the trip seemed to go quicker! It was an easy drive on better roads through Dambulla to our hotel in the shadow of Sigiriya rock. The Sigiriya Village hotel was a well-designed collection of cottages in a delightful garden setting with an open sided restaurant/bar by the pool.

Our room was spacious with an attractive canopy over the bed and a very useful clothes rack (why don’t all hotels have one instead of the always inadequate suitcase stand?).

Meals were served in the evening in the main building. Though buffets were frequently prepared for groups staying at the hotel, we were always able to order a la carte, and on most occasions we eat what we wanted. The buffet breakfast had a few local dishes including some surprisingly spicy curries, and also included a pot of herbal porridge which I enjoyed each morning.

Sigiriya Rock
The next morning we took the short trip to the entrance to Sigiriya rock. The logistics of parking hadn’t quite been thought through in a typically Sri Lankan way. The access road approaches the rock from the South, but the entrance and museum (but no parking) is on the West side. So to buy tickets everyone had to drive on the potholed track round the defensive moat, park temporarily, buy the tickets, then drive back to park on the South side. I’m not sure what you would do if you didn’t have a driver to relocate the car.

The misty bulk of the rock towered over the gardens as the cool of the early morning gave way to the hot tropical sun.

As the ground rose, we entered the ‘Boulder Garden’ with fewer man made features other than winding paths. Any buildings or pavilions that were on the rocks have disappeared leaving only cut-outs for their footings. Many of the caves under the boulders showed traces of being used as temples, some dating back to the 5th century BC. Drip ledges above the cave entrances indicated where to look for traces of old paintings in the plaster.

Then the steps started – green mossy bricks with slippery marble steps heading up to the foot of the sheer rock face. At one point the steps passed between two large boulders making a sort of archway.

At the top of the first ascent the path made a horizontal traverse across the rock face – this is the not so shiny “mirror wall” with graffiti left by visitors from the 6th century onwards. We both skipped the vertiginous rusty circular staircase that climbed above the pathway as we had enjoyed the more accessible reconstruction of the famous frescos in the museum.

Megan terminated her ascent at the Lion’s Paw terrace where the pathway upwards used to rise between the jaws of a lion. All now remains are the lion’s feet and a new iron staircase rising steeply up the rock face. The sheds used earlier in the year to provide protective clothing for visitors against wasp attacks were now empty, and we were able to continue the ascent without the impediment of stifling outer wear.

I made the final ascent to the flattened summit with Ananda. The top was covered with the foundations of buildings – the most impressive was a large rainwater filled pool.
There is some discussion about whether the buildings at the top of the rock were a temple or a palace – the difference between the two is somewhat small. However Ananda was of the firm opinion that it was a palace as the large bathing pool had no steps for ritual cleansing.

The view from the top was stunning and the wind refreshing. But I wouldn’t have liked being up there when the afternoon thunderstorms roll in.

We descended by a different route that led us to the audience hall built on a shattered boulder and some more temple caves dating back to the 2nd century BC.

Ritigala
We headed up the road to Habarana for lunch. We were a bit skeptical about the lunch rice and curry buffet after our experiences the previous day, but the restaurant turned out to have one spicy curry and was a much more reasonable price.

From Habarana we headed west on the Gunnawalpule road to Ritigala. This was one of the many places on our itinerary that Ananda had not visited recently. At first, the turning off the main road to the nature reserve was surfaced and we were soon introduced to an unexpected delight of Sri Lanka – wild peacocks. But the final few kilometres were badly rutted and flooded from the recent rain. It was quite a challenge to get the car with its low ground clearance up to the archaeological site – in fact we got stuck once and subsequently elected to walk past the tricky sections to give the car a better chance.

It was hardly surprising that when we got to the car park there were no tickets available to be sold to foreigners – although there were a couple of local coaches in the car park. Visiting Ritigala was a real adventure, as nothing was labelled and the path that gradually climbed up the hillside passed many more unexcavated ruins in the surrounding jungle. Although some small areas had been cleaned up, there was a real feeling of what it is like to discover a new and hidden archaeological site.

The path started by skirting the ruinous remains of the tank, forded a rushing stream, and then climbed up a beautifully constructed pavement.

The stone work throughout was excellent, with walls being made of varying sized slabs, fitted together without gaps. At the top of the path we came to the foundations of “two story” raised platforms. The monastery was devoted to extreme austerity, but in this area are to be found the only carvings – decorated urinal stones.

Hot air balloon
We don’t believe in early starts on holiday – after all, it stops one having a relaxed graze through the breakfast buffet. But on two occasions it was necessary to get up before dawn, once to walk to World’s End and also to go hot air ballooning. When I say we, on this occasion it would be more truthful to say that Megan got up at 4:40am and I gave a muted groan and went back to sleep again.

A balloon ride over the paddy fields and jungle towards Sigriya Rock was a pre-birthday treat for Megan. She was picked up before dawn by a 4WD – with Ananda who came along to make the numbers up (“ballast”). After about 40 minutes driving down rough tracks in the dark, and a couple of wrong turnings, they reached the launch site, a large cleared field surrounded by dense jungle.

The truck with the balloon had already arrived and was being unpacked. The three paying passengers watched as the balloon was inflated using a team of about 10 boys. They were then given brief instructions on how to survive landing then climbed (with difficulty) into the large high sided basket. In total 8 people took off.

As the sky started to become light, the balloon ascended and the sun rose over distant hills. With a soft early morning glow the countryside was misty and beautiful.

Looking down on jungle and rice paddy fields was interesting. The balloon flew over large flocks of birds including peacocks in the top of trees. It was extraordinary to look down on flying peacocks. At one point, looking down on a paddy field, Megan could see a trail of footprints left by a herd of wild elephants.

Sigiriya rock appeared in the distance but the balloon wasn’t allowed near it because of thermals. The 50 minutes went very quickly and soon they were bouncing along a fallow onion field and were back on the ground.

The locals came out and pretended to help as the crew packed up the balloon. After glasses of juice for the passengers it was a quick trip back to the hotel nearby.

Pidurangala
Whilst Megan soared over the tree tops I snored in bed. When I did get up I found the breakfast was better than usual with several tour groups propping up the numbers. Herbal porridge – rice hoppers – sour fish curry – tempered dhal – fruit salad with curd! I was still eating when Megan got back from her flight!

So leaving Megan to her breakfast and to catch up on sleep I hired a bicycle from the hotel. The staff were surprised I wanted to leave the bike unattended, but eventually came up with a piece of chain which together with the padlock from our case discharged the obligation to “look after the bike”.

I then cycled round the outer moat of Sigiriya leaving the cars and busses behind at the West gate. It was a pleasant level cycle ride away from all the tourists round to the North gate and down the lane to the sister rock at Pidurangala.

After chaining the bike to a post supporting a branch of the temple Bodhi tree, I set off up the hill following steps by the modern temple. There was only one sign but the steps kept leading upwards and I kept following them. There was also no indication of how much further there was to climb but eventually the steps opened out onto a narrow platform in front of a long line of caves. These had been used as temples, with the ruins of walls enclosing the caves. In the final alcove there was a large sleeping Buddha.

I found no clear path above the cave temple, but broken vegetation lead to a pile of large boulders. Climbing up between the rocks I was able to clamber onto the top of Pidurangala, with its stunning view across to Sigiriya. There I was surprised to find a solitary Sri Lankan tourist who provided a sense of scale to my photographs.

After retracing the steps (literally) and cycling back, I got retunred to the hotel within two hours.
We spent the morning relaxing round the pool with its view of Sigiriya rock.

Dambulla
For lunch that day we road tested another new restaurant for Ananda – one that was owned by a friend of his. We were concerned that the buffet in the stainless steel serving cabinets would be the usual bland and ‘tourist acceptable’ fare. So I asked, and was assured that there was nothing spicy on offer. When I indicated that this was exactly what I didn’t want, I was directed with smiles to a set of clay pots in the corner from which the drivers were taking their lunch. The food from the alternative buffet was very tasty, so we gave Ananda good feedback on the restaurant.

In the afternoon we drove on to Dambulla to see the cave temple complex. The caves are some distance up a rocky hillside. At the bottom there is a very kitsch modern temple in the overdecorated office building style, surmounted by an enormous and gross golden Buddha!

We parked in the small car park, with its exhortation – “Decent Drivers will park their vehicles only the specified cage” and walked up the wide stairway.

The row of cave temples was entered through a smart white painted portico. The rock on the other side was uncomfortably hot without shoes. Although the cave temples were used from the first century BC, most of the rock paintings and statues we saw date from the 18th century. Dambulla is billed as the “largest and best preserved temple complex in Sri Lanka” but it was somewhat over-visited and lacked in spiritual qualities. Our later visits to Ridi Viahara and Mulgirigala were more interesting.

Because of its location on a major road junction, Dambulla is the centre of vegetable distribution in the country. We braved the frenetic activity under the three arches of the wholesale vegetable market to watch the process of loading trucks for distribution to Colombo and other major centres. It was hard to stay out of the way of the men carrying sacks of onions, and even harder to walk round. The vehicle lanes seemed to be in perpetual gridlock.

There were heavy thunderstorms that night which made all the white ducks in the hotel pond muddy. We also had a lot of coach parties staying overnight – and as a result had the most average service and food of our stay in Sigiriya.

Polonnaruwa
The drive to Polonnaruwa took us through Habarana and Girtale and skirted the top of Minneriya lake. During the trip we debated whether to explore the World Heritage 12th century city by bicycle. In the end, after inspecting some bicycles at the entrance, we decided to select and hire three.

But first we took the car to the museum to buy our entrance tickets. The Archaeological Museum was well designed as a linear series of rooms each exploring one part of the old city. The best part was probably the model reconstructions of some of the buildings. Whilst we were close to the Polonnaruwa Rest House (closed for refurbishment) we took a brief look at the ruins of Nissanka Malla’s palace (1187-96). Close by was one of the original sluice gates for the tank which was constructed entirely of stone.

We then collected our bikes, left the car parked in the shade, and headed south to the Royal Palace group of buildings. It was the first time Megan had cycled for a long time, but she soon got the hang of it and enjoyed herself. Parakramabahu’s Royal Palace was distinguished by the height of the remaining walls, with holes for floor beams supporting 2 higher levels. The bathing pool with crocodile mouth spouts was inviting in the hot sun and a snake basking in the sunshine on the steps of the heavily carved audience hall gave us a bit of a fright!

Within walking distance was the Polonnaruwa Quadrangle – a compact group of buildings in a raised, walled-off area. Of particular interest were:
the Latha-Mandapaya dagoba with stone pillars carved like lotus flowers,
the two tooth-relic temples (the later one with a frieze of carved ducks), and
the stepped pyramid Satmahal Prasada that reminded us of temples in Thailand and Cambodia.
We walked round the outside of the round Vatadage temple as there were throngs of sightseers clambering through the interior.

Back on our bikes we wobbled north to see the Rankot Vihara – a large dagoba or solid dome. We found a more interesting perspective on this 54m tall structure by wandering round to the south entrance. Cycling was thirsty work so we stopped for drinks nearby. There were three vendors, and Ananda suggested we should each order a drink from a different vendor. Although this was fair it added confusion to the process of paying and returning the empties.

A short ride further on was the delightfully named Lankatilaka next to the white dagoba of Kiri Vihara. The Lankatilaka temple had cathedral-like 17m high walls leading to a huge headless Buddha. The steps leading up to the now vanished upper story were narrow so that worshippers couldn’t ascend with their back to Buddha.

We finished our exploration of Polonnaruwa looking at Gal Vihara – a collection of huge and varied stone images all cut from one slab of natural granite. Then, after paying the very trusting owner of the bikes, we cycled back down the surfaced road to where we had left the car.

Kaudulla National Park
Heading back to Habarana, we phoned ahead for sandwiches so that we could have a quick lunch and maximise the time available for a safari. We had not decided on where to have a safari in advance, and left the decision on where to go with Ananda. Each day he would report back on how many elephants had been seen in Kaudulla, and so we decided to go there. He made all the arrangements for us.

We picked up the jeep in the same restaurant in Habarana where we had previously eaten, and where were having our sandwiches. Our jeep had seen better times – but that added to the sense of adventure. It was fun to stand up looking over the canvas top of the driver’s cab. In a moment of inspiration Megan had packed our boating binoculars and these turned out to be invaluable in maximising what we saw on safari.

After a slow grind up the main road north out of Habarana, we turned down a lane to the National Park. To reach the park entrance the track went between two lakes. We were introduced to the splendid variety of wildlife with a close up sighting of a Brahminy Kite and a Serpent Eagle. Because Ananda was a qualified guide we did not have to pick up a guide from the park office. After crossing the sluice gates we headed out towards the lush grasslands surrounding the Kaudulla Tank. There we were enjoyed looking at the elegant Painted Storks, and soon afterwards met our first group of solitary male elephants.

The females and young were nearby in a herd the locals estimated to be 200+ strong – it appears we were lucky enough to catch the end of the annual “Gathering”. The herd was relentlessly on the move feeding and ignoring all the jeeps.

Thunderstorms were forming overhead and the light fading. After what seemed like an eternity parked amongst the grazing elephants we turned back. But with Ananda’s keen eyes there was always some bird life to watch – including birds fishing in the evening sunlight.

Part 3 – Kandy

6th Nov – Nalanda Gedige, Ridi Vihara, Kandy Queens Hotel
7th Nov – The Tea Museum, Commonwealth war cemetery, National Museum, British Garrison Churchyard
8th Nov – Temple of the Sacred Tooth, Kandy Lake, Ragahala Kandyan Dance
9th Nov – Peradeniya Botanical Gardens, Embekka Devale, Lankatilake, Gadaladeniya

Facebook Review – Sigiriya Village
My wife and I stayed 4 nights in the Sigiriya Village hotel and had plenty of time to explore both the hotel and the surrounding countryside. We had a Superior Room in the Temple Area which was very comfortable and spacious. We particularly liked the provision of a wooden clothes rack to air and dry clothes, and the attractive fabric bed head.

The pool is large enough to exercise in, and has a very attentive pool boy providing towels.
Meals taken in the open sided main building were both tasty and interesting. The range of the buffet meals varied depending on how many groups were staying in the hotel. At their best they were exciting with several dishes being prepared on the spot. When we didn’t want to eat the dinner buffet we were offered a limited but adequate a la carte menu.

One morning I hired a bicycle and cycled to Pidurangala. The hotel staff seemed surprised that I would want to leave the bike unattended whilst climbing the rock – but eventually the came up with a short chain I could use.

Our only disappointment with the hotel was that we were told on arrival that there was not the advertised free Wi-Fi – due to there not being enough bandwidth.

Helpful Hint – Take an umbrella! It can be a long wet walk from your room to the main area in a thunderstorm. Whilst there are umbrellas to borrow at reception, that doesn’t help if you are in your room hanging out for a drink and dinner!

Nalanda Gedige
On our final morning in Sigiriya we had a nice relaxed start, giving plenty of time to repack the cases. Then we said goodbye to the lovely gardens and the ducks, bumped down the rough driveway, and retraced our route back to Dambulla. We passed once again the hideous golden Buddha by the cave temple and were then on an unfamiliar road. As it headed south, our route started to get close to the Knuckles Range of mountains.

When we reached Nalanda we turned down a side lane through the village which lead to the delightful 8th – 10th century temple of Nalanda Gedige.
The main temple was in a characteristically South Indian style (Hindu) but had a Buddha image inside. Much of the exterior carvings had eroded but there were some well-preserved faces peering out from one frieze.

Ridi Vihara
Ananda had trouble finding the cross country road we needed to take to Kurunegala – we ended up driving past the road we should have taken and had an unplanned visit to Matale. By asking tuk-tuk drivers we eventually located the narrow road climbing up the side of the valley. It didn’t look particularly promising but everyone we asked said it went towards Ridi Vihara.

The road shown on the maps hardly gave a clue that our “short-cut”between the two temples was a scenic trip over a mountain range. And “scenic” means “slow” on Sri Lankan roads. We passed through rural villages where buffalo were still being used to plough the paddy fields, and we waited at road works where rocks were being broken up with scant regard for OH&S. Then, as we crossed the ridge, we entered into an area of operational lime kilns perched on the hillside. These kilns had a traditional rural design and used coconut palm as fuel.

It started to rain very heavily as we worked our way down to the valley floor, and when we got to Ridi Vihara it was tipping down in a torrential thunderstorm. Not being fair weather travellers, we got three golf umbrellas from the back of the car, rolled up our trousers and waded our way up to the temple entrance (to the amusement of locals who were more wisely sheltering). The civil defence guards (demobbed soldiers from the civil war) were persuaded to get wet and open up the temple caves for us.

In the first cave there was a golden statue, but we were more interested in the tiles in front of the large reclining Buddha. This was a set of 18th century Dutch tiles portraying the life of Christ, which had been placed without regard or understanding of their meaning or sequence.

The second cave had a fascinating mixture of Hindu and Buddhist images. The statue of Vishnu was screened off (presumably to avoid distracting worshipers of the Buddha). This happy co-existence of Hindu and Buddhist images was a feature of many Sri Lankan temples.

Above the entrance to the third cave was a clever wall painting of an elephant made up from 9 maidens.

The rain eased and we ordered lunch in a hotel restaurant on the shores of Kurunegala tank (all Sri Lanka’s lakes are man made).

After the meal we headed up into the hills on a busy main road towards Kandy. Just as we reached the outskirts of Kandy there was a loud bang from the nearside rear tyre, and it was apparent sitting in the back that we had a puncture. Whilst Ananda demonstrated his proficiency at changing tyres, we walked up and down the street attracting the gaze of some very surprised locals.

Even with that delay it was only mid-afternoon when we stepped into the grand foyer of the Queen’s Hotel by the lake in Kandy. We were allocated a room with balcony looking directly out over the Temple of the Tooth. Once again we had four nights in one hotel, so we unpacked everything and found a place for it all in the room.

The room had a faded elegance with some unusual solid wood furniture, high ceilings, and a lovely polished wood floor. Because we were directly above the main foyer we were lucky enough to have free Wi-Fi – though one had to hold the phone down low to get good bandwidth! The shower bizarrely contained the switch board and fuses for the room (luckily quite high up), and also had a shower door that could only be closed from the outside.

After exploring our room, we started our orientation of the hotel (finding the good sized pool in the back garden), and the nearby streets (matching restaurant names with places we had read about on Trip Advisor). Then it started to rain heavily so we headed back to the hotel.

For dinner that night, after reviewing a number of alternatives, we ended up in Devon – a cafeteria style restaurant dominated by a couple of large TV screens showing cricket. Our meal was inexpensive (compared to resort prices) but we had to rush as the restaurant closed at 8pm; we were the last out!

The Tea Museum
Early the next morning we drove out of town to the south west to visit the tea museum. This is not a working tea factory (once you have seen one of those you have seen them all), but rather a well presented collection of old equipment and artefacts in an old factory building.

On arrival we were shown round by a guide – barely necessary as all the exhibits were well labelled.

We wanted to stop and look at things, and were relieved when the guide told us we could go back after the tour and look at anything we wanted. The ground floor was dedicated to machinery, above that there was a withering floor, and then a floor with lots of memorabilia from the early plantations. On the top floor there was a viewing gallery and a free freshly brewed cup of tea.

Commonwealth war cemetery
Our second visit of the day was to the Commonwealth war cemetery by the rushing water of the Mahaweli River. It was reached from the centre of Kandy through an old road tunnel. The graves and gardens were beautifully maintained.

National Museum
After dropping off the car at hotel we walked to the National Museum where Ananda paid for our admission then left us. The museum building was interesting as it was once the royal harem. But the museum contents were just an eclectic dusty collection with few labels. Probably the most interesting part of a bad lot was the collection of old books, inscribed on bamboo sheets tied together.

British Garrison Churchyard
Up the hillside, behind the museum, was the British Garrison churchyard. We were shown round by the enthusiastic caretaker. He pointed out the short and difficult lives of the early settlers.
If malaria and cholera didn’t take its toll then sunstroke, elephants, or collapsing houses did. The average age of those buried there was below 30, including many infants.

We had been advised that it was best to eat a traditional Sri Lankan rice and curry at lunch time, because what was available in the evening had been kept warm all day. Our advice was also that the best place in town for a rice and curry was the Whitehouse Restaurant. The place was packed at lunch time, with a bakery counter at the front and a hot food counter at the back, and there wasn’t much room for tables. But a manager saw us looking disappointed, and encouraged some locals who were chatting to leave so we could have a table and order. The food and drinks were good!

Once again the day finished with heavy thunderstorms. We had a splash round the narrow shopping streets and looked into the local food market. As a contrast we also wandered round the big new shopping centre with its expensive shops – the air-conditioning was welcome, but there were no seats one could sit on to enjoy it! The government craft shop beside the lake had nothing that appealed to us. We went back to the hotel so Megan could have a pre-dinner swim in the fading light.

The downstairs restaurant in the hotel was only offering a fixed menu (for group tours) but I noticed that there was a small Chinese restaurant on our floor looking out over the lake. We were the only customers there, and the waiter was very inexperienced, but the food was good. It had the advantage that we could see our meals being freshly prepared by a chef in a kitchen at the end of the restaurant. The soups were particularly good.

Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic

Visiting the “Tooth Temple, where Buddha’s tooth was supposedly kept, was particularly easy from the Queen’s Hotel – all we had to do was walk out the front door and cross the road! After the Tamil Tigers bomb attack in 1998 security and access to the temple was tightened up somewhat. Ladies going through the check point had greater scrutiny as their bags needed to be examined.

We waited downstairs outside the silver door whilst all the tour groups were ushered upstairs to wait in a line for a glimpse of the gold casket. At 9:30 the door was unlocked and priests entered to clean the temple. Then drums started playing and the queue started to move upstairs past the viewing window. Following Ananda’s instructions we didn’t join the main queue, instead we stood a bit further away from the window. We probably saw just as much with much less time wasted and less pushing. The outside gold casket looked somewhat over-the top as a container for one tooth!

The advantage of visiting during puja (prayers) is that two other rooms are opened to the public – one, the octagon, contained many ancient books – but the crush prevented one stopping for long to look.

I found the whole experience unmoving compared to many of the other temples we had visited. The worshiping of an alleged relic seems out of keeping with the values of Buddhism – and the feeling was more of a commercial institution than a religious one.

To the rear of the relic chamber there is a modern image house with an interesting collection of Buddhas from Thailand, and a series of pictures showing (incompletely) the alleged history of the tooth relic.

Kandy Lake
As the sun was still shining, and there were no signs of an afternoon thunderstorm developing, we walked round Kandy Lake. From the Temple we went anti-clockwise so that we started with the noisy stretch along the west side of the lake where the footpath runs next to a busy road.
We were surprised how much wild life we saw on the walk – fish, monkeys, ducks, turtles, lizards, bats and lots of birds.

Near the Swiss Hotel we ran into another of the types of touts Ananda had warned us about. We had already had the “doorman at your hotel” tout, and the “hotel chef” tout; now we encountered the “dancing teacher”. A wizened old man claimed he was a ‘dancing teacher’ and had special tickets to this evening’s dance show where the president would be attending!!! We refrained from asking him to do some dancing and moved on.

With keen appetites from walking we headed to the Bake House restaurant for lunch, and ordered far too much food! Megan did however have a vanilla milk shake that was to die for – presumably because it had real vanilla in it. We went back later in the holiday to sample the milk shakes again but were disappointed to find they were “not available”.

After lunch we looked inside the old Garrison Church of St Pauls (1843) which was a little piece of England in a foreign land. But its position right next to the Kandyan devales (temples to Hindu Gods protecting Kandy) showed the religious tolerance of the Sri Lankans and the colonialists. We saw girls watering the Bodhi tree in a ceremony that is believed to confer fertility. Finally the long expected afternoon rain arrived and we headed back to the hotel.

Ragahala Kandyan Dance
When the rain stopped we walked with Ananda past the Temple of the Tooth to a large building sporting no identification other than a large Red Cross sign. Inside it was a cross between a country cinema and a village hall, with rows of seats in front of a stage. We watched various dance and music acts, some more polished than others, all accompanied by incessant loud drumming and ‘flute’ playing. Ananda had warned us not to sit at the front and that saved us our hearing! At the end the audience was invited up on the stage to watch “walking on fire” but we walked out the door – we had had enough!

Peradeniya Botanical Gardens
Our departure to see the botanical gardens west of Kandy was delayed because the car was trapped in the hotel car park by the garbage truck which was in the narrow access lane. We changed the last of our Euros into Rupees whilst waiting.

I had expected the trip to the botanical gardens to go out into the countryside but it was urban sprawl all the way to Peradeniya. We arranged to have three hours to look round; it was hot and humid so we took our time.
The highlights were the palm avenues, orchid house, mature spice trees and generally the size of the trees.

Amusingly, it was hard to find anywhere to sit as all the park benches were occupied by courting couples. At one point we were driven to resting inside the Herbarium where there were soft chairs but an overwhelming smell of camphor.

We met up with our driver just after midday but there was some misunderstanding as to whether we had had lunch in the gardens. As a result we set off to see the three 14th century temples nearby without eating.

The first temple was Embekka Devale – a rock temple. We paid our dues to the quietly spoken custodian, and joined with another couple who actively ignored our presence on ‘their’ tour. We were shown round the oldest temple in the group which had an impressive door and lock. There was significant water damage inside. We declined to look through the custodian’s collection of paintings (presumably for sale) and hobbled back over the rough ground to the car and our shoes.

The second temple was Lankatilake – a brick temple. This was in a particularly scenic location on a low hill surrounded by paddy fields. Once again, the caretaker unlocked and showed us round. The niches contained an interesting mixture of Hindu and Buddhist statues.

The final temple, Gadaladeniya had a timber audience hall with carved columns. This was very similar to wood carvings we had seen in other Asian countries. There was also a 14th century tithe paddy barn still in use.

By this point we were positively starving, so Ananda dropped us off in town for a very late lunch of pastries.

On our final night in Kandy we returned to the Chinese restaurant in the hotel for a tasty dinner. We both had a spicy hot & sour soup, followed by Szechuan chicken, beans with cashews, and a chocolate mousse for desert. The bill was more than we would normally expect (2700R = $A25) but we felt it was worth it.

As a treat that night we managed to get an internet connection to Annabel who was in Florence, and we chatted over Skype.

Facebook Review – Queen’s Hotel
The big advantage of staying in the Queen’s Hotel is its location. Staying right next door to the main tourist attractions and restaurants allows you to maximise your time in Kandy. It comes with the downside of traffic noise, and the many idiosyncrasies of a slightly run down old hotel. One ‘feature’ is that the rooms appear to be very different, which probably accounts for the range of reviews received. We booked our room a long time in advance through Red Dot Tours and got a room on the 2nd floor directly above the main entrance. This had a number of advantages including the view over the Temple of the Tooth and the strong Wi-Fi signal that leaked up through the floor from reception. The room had unusual solid furniture that you would never find in a Holiday Inn – but the most unusual feature was the shower door which we could only close from the outside! The included breakfast buffet was pretty average but the swimming pool was above average. In summary we enjoyed our four night stay in the Queens.

We ate twice in the Chinese restaurant on the second floor looking out over the lake. The food here was excellent, and freshly cooked. The service was a bit inexperienced – but the chef, working in a glass kitchen at the end, seemed to know how to cook. I recommend eating at this restaurant even if you are staying elsewhere in Kandy.

Part 4 – The Hill Country

10th Nov – Train from Kandy to Ella
11th Nov – Ella
12th Nov – Horton Plains

Train from Kandy to Ella
On our final morning in Kandy we had a relaxed start, because our tickets were for the later second express train to Ella. After packing cases there was time to go to the Bake House for a final drink, and to pick up some pastries to eat on the train.

The train to Ella left from Peradeniya junction; we drove there rather than taking the connecting shuttle service from Kandy. The junction had a tiny car park but two large platforms lined with people waiting for trains to Colomdo, Kandy, and Badulla. The railway tracks were all single line and there was an original Tyer’s train tablet apparatus from the 1800’s still being used.

Our train, arriving from Colombo, backed into the station and we found our numbered seats in the 1st class observation carriage. Far from being the air-conditioned cocoon from reality that the 1st class observation car implied, all the windows were open and most of the seats were taken by locals coming up to the hills for the long Diwale (Devali ) weekend. They had a bongo to play and sang with gusto for much of the trip (when they weren’t eating).

The train set off down the valley at a spirited pace lurching from side to side, and with a deafening roar through the open windows. But it couldn’t keep up the pace for long. Soon the long and relentless climb into the hills started and we slowed down. The train crossed numerous canyons and rushing waterfalls before climbing high up on the valley side; all very scenic. From a ledge we looked down onto tidy tea plantations and Victorian factories.

Passing through Nanu Oya (the station for Nuwara-Ellya) we climbed above the tea plantations and entered the high altitude forest spilling down from Horton Plains. Soon after we went into cloud and crossed the summit at 1891m in rain.
On the other side of the summit tunnel the light faded rapidly, and we passed through Haputale and Bandarawela in the dark. Finding Ella station was tricky and in fact one English couple nearly got off too soon, and wouldn’t have realised if I hadn’t told them. To add to the confusion, the train pulled into Ella on the loop line with no platform, and we had to climb down the ladder and scramble up onto the station.

Although long and noisy, the train trip greatly exceeded our expectations, due to the ever changing scenery and spectacular views. It was a high point of the holiday.

Ananda met us at the station and drove us the short distance to the Zion View guest house, up a very steep track above the village. It was past 7 o’clock so we dumped our things in our room and joined the other guests outside the kitchen for a candle-lit meal of home cooked vegetarian rice and curry.

Our room was comfortable – though the bed was a bit hard and the bedding somewhat inappropriate. We missed not having a TV to preview pictures from our camera each day, and not having brought any games to while away the time after dinner. The free Wi-Fi in the guest house was very unreliable but sitting outside I found my phone could connect to another unsecured network!

Ella
We woke the next morning to a stunning view from our room, through the Ella gap with Ella rock on the right and Little Adams Peak on the left. Breakfast on the terrace was a simple affair in a stunning location.

As our agreed itinerary was deliberately sparse, and the order of activities not determined in advance, we started each segment of the holiday with a discussion with Ananda. When we had mapped out our stay in Ella, we walked down to the village with him. Our guest house did not have any accommodation for drivers so he was staying in the next door guest house with one of his many friends.

Leaving Ananda, we took the Passara road to the 1km post and then joined the procession of backpackers and tourists along the track to Little Adams Peak. The route climbed gently through a tea plantation to the foot of the peak which was climbed on well-made concrete steps.

Little Adams Peak sits like Ella Rock on the very edge of the highlands and there was a stunning 360° view from the top. The sunshine had started to be obscured by the gathering clouds – this was a walk to be done early in the morning. On the way back we once again ignored the ‘blind’ old lady beggar who we had observed behaving in a very un-blind way when no tourists were near-by.

We were spoilt for choice where to eat in Ella. We had drinks in one cafe followed by rotti in another. The koththe rotti that I ordered was particularly nice. It started to rain quite steadily. With just one umbrella between us we walked up to the station, as I had been told that the Demodara Nine Arch Bridge could be reached by walking down the railway track. I left Megan sheltering in the station building and set off walking. I didn’t find a bridge, nor did I find any trains. In fact the only clue that I was on the right track was a large group of tourists walking up the track. It started raining quite heavily so I returned an hour later with nothing to show for my effort but wet shoes.

I put on the emergency ‘plastico’ (poncho) so Megan could use the umbrella on the short walk back to our guest house. I filled in the rest of the afternoon doing the washing and reading. On our first night we had wondered why the balcony outside our room was so dark at night. Well, the mystery was answered on the second night when new arrivals next door turned on the lamps at dusk. The light attracted a swam of moths! When the light was turned off the moths were then attracted to the lights in the rooms, and made their way under the glass doors in a scene reminiscent of a Hitchcock movie. I turned off all our lights, except one in the bathroom, and when the moths flew in there I stunned them with a wet washer! Needless to say we didn’t turn the lights back on again!

Even with the distraction of the moth invasion, it was a long evening waiting for dinner at 7:30, as it got dark at 6pm. It was also cold eating in the open, sheltered from the rain but not the wind. We splurged on adding an extra spicy chicken dish, to our rice and curry buffet – to give us an energy boost for walking the next day.

Horton Plains
Our second early start of the holiday and we were up before dawn to drive up to Horton Plains National Park. At 5am there was a lady waiting in the small guest house kitchen who had prepared two breakfast packs for us.
We drove in the dark to Haputale, then, as the sky brightened we enjoyed views down the valley where mist was hanging looking just like lakes in the distance.

Turning off the main road to Colombo we wound down a narrow road through tea plantations to Boralanda and then up again to cross the railway at Ohiya. A thunderstorm had passed through the previous night bringing down trees and dropping power cables over the road. Luckily we weren’t the first vehicle to push past the debris, but Ananda had to drive very carefully.

The gates were still closed at the national park entrance, as most tourists approach from Nuwara-Ellya. There was a marked change of scenery as we passed through into a flat, high latitude marshland with deer grazing.

We started the walk to Worlds End at the visitor centre where the civil defence guards ensured that there were no plastic seals on our water bottles, or plastic wrapping. There was a well formed path at the start leading to the map sign at the trail head. But then it rapidly degenerated to being little better than an eroded stream bed. Neither of us had the right shoes for navigating mud and uneven surfaces.

The path/stream descended to the first view point, Little World’s End, with an (unprotected) viewing platform looking down into the valley over 800m below. The early morning mists had burnt off, but the tropical low cloud had not yet had time to form, so the views were perfect.

A short walk further on we came to the second lookout, World’s End, with an even more impressive cliff. The rhododendrons were in flower which added to the attractiveness of the view.

We sat and ate our breakfast and then watched in amazement as the clouds started to roll in. Before long there was no view at all as in less than 10 minutes the cloud forest returned to its usual state – in cloud. At least we were left in no doubt that the early start was necessary.

The return walk back to the visitor centre was much harder going. It generally followed a creek uphill past lakes and waterfalls. Once again the track was heavily eroded and was very steep in sections. There were a few boggy stream crossings but the scenery justified the considerable effort. It was the most strenuous walk either of us had done in a long time and when we got back to the guard check point Megan collapsed exhausted. She recovered somewhat after a banana or two!

As we drove back down to Haputale the views were not as good – all the low lands were now obscured by cloud. We had lunch in a very Indian hotel – with water dripping from the ceiling, half-finished cornices, and chair legs still wrapped in plastic. The hotel terrace, looking down the escarpment towards Colombo was completely obscured by cloud, but Megan found a seat in the sun and recovered rapidly as we waited for our food.

This was our first day in the highlands without afternoon rain. After our early start we just relaxed in our room and veranda outside (where I made good use of the hammock).

Once again we rang the changes for dinner by starting with soup (very tasty) but the buffet vegetable curries were unchanged and starting to lose their attraction. If we had stayed another night we would have been driven to make the trek down the dark, steep track to the village for food.

After dinner we started repacking in readiness to move on in the morning, and then crashed into a well-earned sleep.

Facebook Review – Zion View

We stayed in Zion View for 3 nights. Our room was comfortable and spacious.
We appreciated being able to use the guest house laundry and washing lines, and the hammock outside our room was a great way to relax after a day’s walking. The guest house was very helpful providing us with a picnic breakfast the morning we had to leave at 5am to go to Norton Plains.

Although access involves a steep climb from Ella and a lot of steps down, it isn’t a big issue by day. But at night in the rain it is more of an obstacle (we are both over 50). So we found ourselves very much stranded in our room. In this context, whilst the vegetable curry served each night is well cooked (if not spicy) there is little variation from day to day. And after 3 nights we were looking forward to eating something different at night.

The Wi-Fi – though free was very touch & go (we were on the lower level) – it couldn’t be relied on.

Part 5 – The South

13th Nov – Tissamaharama
14th Nov – Safari to Yala National Park
15th Nov – Mulkirigala Rock Temple, Unawatuna
16th Nov – Galle
17th Nov – Unawatuna Beach, Martin Wickramasinghe Folk Museum
18th Nov – Colombo and heading home

Tissamaharama
We enjoyed our last breakfast sitting outside in the sunshine looking out through Ella Gap.
After settling our bill for three evening meals we returned to our room to finish packing.

Our route south took us down from Ella on the main road passing through the gap at the foot of Ella Rock. We stopped to look at Rawana Ella falls which were still flowing fast after the recent rains.

After that brief diversion, the rest of the trip to Tissamaharama (Tissa) was uneventful. It was also very quick, as it was the public holiday for Diwaldi and so there were few trucks on the road.

Our travel agent, Red Dot, had substituted our hotel in Tissa as The Safari was undergoing renovations. As compensation, we had also been offered half-board for our 2 night stay . Even though we had to wait an hour for our room to be ready (we were very early to check-in), our first impressions of the Priyankara hotel were good. It backed onto paddy fields with a large pool, and a duck pond.

We had a free afternoon, and although rain settled in it wasn’t heavy enough to stop Megan testing out the pool.

Just before sunset Ananda picked us up, and we set out to Kataragama to see the evening puja at the Hindu and Buddhist temples. As we approached the town it stopped raining and the streets were dry – clearly the Gods were happy! The stalls in the commercial area were selling baskets of fruit and flowers (fruit for Hindu and flowers for Buddhists); it all looked a bit like an amusement arcade with the coloured flashing lights. We joined the many people heading to the temples with their gifts.

To get to the Buddhist stupa we had to walk through the Hindu temple. I got a painful sting in my foot whilst walking bare foot – but luckily Megan was able to pull it out by torch light. Although a Buddhist temple on the site dates back to 1st century BC all that remains from that time are a few weathered stone columns. We completed a rounding then returned to the Hindu compound where the evening’s celebrations were in full swing.

We watched the queue of worshipers make their way into the main temple. They would leave after their fruit had been blessed and then often sit in groups and eat it. Several groups had hired a band to play as they entered – and others hired someone to carry their fruit for them! Ananda was sceptical about the religious value of such a commercial operation – and we tended to agree!

Going back to our hotel (and to the rain) we sampled our included buffet dinner. Though little of the food was Sri Lankan the variety and quality of dishes was good. Our room had a flat screen LCD TV so we wasted no time in plugging in the camera and reviewing the last few days’ pictures.

Safari to Yala National Park

After discussing various alternatives with Ananda, we decided to take a safari to Yala National Park. But we didn’t want to go early or late, when the park is jammed with jeeps chasing elephants or leopards – in fact we had seen more than our fill of elephants already in Kaudulla. So we bucked the trend by setting out from Tissa at 8am in a ‘luxury’ 4WD with high up front facing seats. It took about 45 minutes to get to the park entrance on increasingly rough roads.

Yalla Park stretches east along the coast and consists of a number of lagoons and lakes with dense shrub growth in between. Once again Ananda excelled as a guide spotting things for us, and our driver was sensitive and kept us away from other jeeps as far as possible. Because of the slight risk of attack by leopards we were only allowed off the jeep once to wander around and stretch our legs. This was by a beach in an area where clearly an entire village had been washed away in the tsunami.

We tried to keep a log of everything we saw – though it was impossible to keep track of all the birds! At the end of the safari the list read as follows:
Peacock, Mongoose, Wild boar, Painted stork, Crocodile, Spotted deer & sambur, Crested hawk, Hornbill, Leopard, Bee eaters (all 3 types), Langur monkey, Elephant, and Land monitor lizards.
Our conclusion – the park was literally teeming with wildlife if you know where to look.

We returned to the hotel for a late lunch feeling thoroughly shaken up after 5 hours bouncing along the rough tracks. We spent the rest of the day relaxing by the pool.

Facebook Review – Priyankara Hotel
We stayed two nights in the Priyankara Hotel when our booking for The Safari could not be honoured due to their ongoing renovations. Far from being disappointed by this change in our itinerary, we found our stay at Priyankara exceeded our requirements and expectations.

Firstly the design and setting of the hotel is very good – the view over the paddy fields from the rooms could not be bettered. The pool is above average, though perhaps a bit more shade when drying off would have been nice.

The room we had was relatively new, with high quality furnishings, plenty of space to store and sit down. We ate in the restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner and enjoyed the quality and variety of the food offered. This was particularly the case in the evening where the buffet contained both representative examples of Sri Lankan cooking and also some very well prepared European dishes.

Service in general was attentive and competent.

The only thing I can think of that would have improved our stay would have been a slightly less petty/frugal attitude to Wi-Fi. There is no free Wi-Fi in the communal areas, and if you pay to have access that only lasts a day.


Mulkirigala Rock Temple
A relaxed breakfast was followed by the now routine suitcase pack. Heading west, we had an uneventful trip down to the coast. The effects of the tsunami 8 years ago were very obvious in this area, with destroyed houses and cemeteries beside the road. There was also a lot of heavy construction activity not altogether unrelated to the fact that it is the current President’s home constituency.

The journey became more interesting when we turned inland to go cross-country to the Mulkirigala rock temple. There was a smart new car park at the temple complete with a “no parking” sign to stop it getting cluttered with vehicles!

The caves were reached up many steps, and were similar inside to Dambulla. The temples on the first level were well maintained but those on the next two levels had leaking roofs. Ananda was quite angry that the authorities were spending money on new buildings for monks but couldn’t spend on preserving the temples. The cave paintings were from 17th, 18th, and 19th century in distinctively different styles. Mulkirigala was famous for having a valuable collection of manuscripts but these are no longer kept in the temples.

Above the third terrace the path became very steep with steps cut out of the rock and handrails. I climbed up to the Bodhi tree and stupa at the top but it was too hazy for good views.

Back on the coast road we passed through Matara which, although it had the remains of a Dutch fort, appeared to be a busy and undistinguished place.

We stopped shortly afterwards for lunch, at a beach resort in Mirissa. This was our first encounter with the European “sun holiday” set so we felt slightly over-dressed. Surprisingly the food we ordered was reasonably priced and good.

Unawatuna
We drove further on along the coast to Unawatuna, where we were to stay our last three nights in Sri Lanka.

Part of Unawatuna beach backs onto the busy south coast main road, but the nice part of the village, where we stayed, stretches out in a chaotic unplanned way either side of a narrow lane. On one side of the lane were restaurants and bars backing onto the beach. Thambapanni Retreat was itself down a side lane on higher ground and the rooms were built into a very steep hillside. From the reception area it was 92 steps up to our room! It would have had a stunning view if it wasn’t for all the jungle trees around.

Our room was spacious with a four poster bed, coat rack, spare bed and a veranda outside. Once again there was a kettle in the room so we could make coffee and tea. Surprisingly none of the hotel web sites had mentioned there being tea making facilities, and if we had known we would have brought some of our own supplies.

The bathroom, in contrast, was strange. The layout seemed more accidental than planned, and the bath was blue painted concrete!

Down at “ground level” there was a small swimming pool – but what it lacked in length it made up for in depth. There was also a restaurant in the guest house, but we didn’t enjoy eating there. The staff would pressure us to eat whenever they saw us, and we found the waiters unfriendly and incompetent. After the first night we walked into the village to eat and enjoyed the wider choice to be had there.

Galle
Adjusting to the tropical humidity we had a very leisurely start the next day; it was mid-morning when we set out to explore Galle. After an air-conditioned orientation by car round the old fort we hit the heat on foot.

Our walk round the walls started at the clock tower which gave access to the north (land side) fortifications. The Star bastion had a view towards the new post-tsunami bus station. There were two cricket fields in the foreground, one an international pitch and the other a patch of dirt with a more informal game being played.

At the East corner the view from the walls was over fishing boats, with the morning catch being sold by the roadside. Nearby was the pre-British Old gate which punches through a solid block of restored Dutch warehouses.

Also dating from the Dutch occupation was the elegant but tropically mouldy Reformed Dutch Church. There were a lot of deeply carved tombstones dating back to the 1700’s – but no translations. The caretaker was a pain – loudly greeting every visitor just to point out that a donation was expected to take photos inside.

We stopped to watch the proceedings in the busy magistrate courts as, with feint regard for security, the courts were open to the street through windows and doors.

Walking again along the walls we came to the 19th century British lighthouse. The waters washing against the rocks were crystal clear and inviting.

We finished our rounding of the fort at Neptune bastion. From there search for cool drinks took us down Pedlar Street, and we ended up in the Heritage cafe having iced coffee. Refreshed from both the drink and the ceiling fans we explored more roads and laneways of the old fort. When it was time for lunch we sought out a Facebook recommendation – Crep-ology, but it was not where it was shown on the Facebook map and consequently took some finding. Megan shunned the scattered open air cushion seating in favour of the more sparsely furnished air-conditioned lounge. We ordered a very tasty tuna crepe and chicken salad.

Plunging back into the heat, our final stop was the maritime museum in the Dutch warehouses.
Unbeknown to us there were two museums – upstairs the Maritime archaeology museum and downstairs the Maritime Museum. We chose the latter, paid our admission then discovered it was an unexciting collection of shells. Upstairs we had to pay another admission to see the exhibits we wanted.

Ananda picked us up as arranged by the new gate at 3pm. After stopping in the town to change money we headed back to our guest house.

That night we explored another Facebook recommendation – dinner at Jina’s. This was a small family run vegetarian restaurant some way down the lane towards the main road. Eating was a fairly chaotic affair with food taking a very long time to appear. But the Indian thali we ordered was tasty and well cooked.

Unawatuna Beach
When you come to a place like Unawatamola you have to actually spend some time on the beach – it is certainly a first class arc of sand. So, before it got too hot, we headed down the potholed lane to explore. We were early enough to score a free beach umbrella and loungers outside the Thaproban restaurant. And so the next few hours passed pleasantly; in the water, watching the activity on the beach, and sipping cold drinks. One of the things we observed was how many Russians seemed to be staying in Unawatuna – I was expecting more western Europeans.

As lunch time drew close we went back to our room and freshened up. Then Ananda arrived to take us on our afternoon activities. We asked him to take us somewhere for lunch (as his choice of restaurants was always good) and he suggested a place run by one of his ‘friends’. So imagine our surprise when we ended up back at the Thaproban restaurant again – this time approaching from the road and not the beach. The Italian food (that we had earlier noted on their menu) was very tasty.

Martin Wickramasinghe Folk Museum
We had had to drop our planned excursion to Brief Garden on the way to Colombo as it didn’t fit in with the timing for our final day. So Ananda had suggested we visit the former family home of Sri Lankan author Martin Wickramasinghe. This was something we had pencilled in on our planning maps but dismissed in the ‘too hard’ basket. That afternoon we headed back east to Koggala to visit the well-reviewed Folk Museum.

The museum was housed in a well-designed modern building, whilst nearby in the tranquil grounds you could walk through Martin Wickramasinghe’s ancestral home. The works of the author were unfamiliar to us, but the collection of artefacts from the traditional Sri Lankan lifestyle was interesting. It was a valuable snapshot of a way of living that is fast disappearing.

We ate that evening in the Nautilus restaurant, and had undoubtedly the best rice and curry of our entire trip. We finished the meal off with ice cream, pineapple fritters and ginger tea. It was a perfect ‘final’ meal for our stay.

Colombo and heading home
Our final day in Sri Lanka started with the big repack, juggling things round so that the carry-on bags were not overweight. With everything ready to go, it was time for some exercise (other than the 90+ steps to our room). Walking to the far end of the beach, furthest from the main road, we found the local day trippers. There were women in hijab walking on the water’s edge, and groups gathered on the beach singing and dancing. It was altogether more colourful than the “European” part of the beach.

Our plans to climb up to the Dagoba for its view back over the beach were thwarted by construction work and blasting that closed the access road. So we took the road up the marshy valley towards Jungle Beach. There was some confusion where the beach was, as Google’s map didn’t match the instructions we received from a passer-by. It appears that Jungle Beach hotel was nowhere near Jungle Beach – in fact the beach was far further away than we wanted to walk on a sticky tropical day! So we just cut through the houses to the coast and looked at the wild-life in rock pools instead.

Back at our hotel we checked-out, put our bags in store, and headed into the village for lunch. After the morning exertions in the heat it was nice to sit in a beach-side café having a leisurely light meal.
The rest of the afternoon was spent on a sun lounge in the shade by, and in, the hotel pool. There was a nice shower we could use to freshen up, but we kept our light clothes on as our overnight plane outfits would have been unbearably warm.

Ananda picked us up for the trip to Colombo well before sun-set and we were able to appreciate the rural views from the new expressway as we sped north. It was however dark by the time we reached the end of the new road and we ground to a halt in the heavy city traffic. Ananda showed us the main sights of Colombo with some pride, as apparently a lot has been done since the end of the civil war, to tidy things up. It is hard to judge a city by night – but it certainly appeared to have some charm.

We passed the gracious old colonial building of Galle Face Hotel – one of the top places to stay. And were very surprised when, with a big smile, Ananda dropped us at the grand portico saying “Why not have your final meal here”! Why not indeed! When we recovered from the shock of being dumped in a classy hotel in what was essentially beach clothes we set about choosing where to eat. The buffet at the Sea Spray restaurant surprisingly seemed to be within our price range, and after a trip to the bathrooms we felt slightly more presentable. We sat at a table covered in white linen, and enjoyed a top notch buffet; it was lucky we had eaten only a light lunch as there was so much choice. The location itself was stunning – with blue floodlights lighting up the sea right in front, and the old buildings lit up behind us.

When it came to time to settle the bill it came out virtually the same as the cash we had left in Sri Lankan Rupees – an outcome helped by the fact that for the first time in our holiday there was not an extra 10% service charge added. After a stroll round the hotel, we were picked up for our final short trip to the airport.

Check-in for our 1am flight did not open till 10pm so we had to wait for a short time in the departure area. Then we relocated to the business class lounge to get changed. The lounge was very poor – described accurately elsewhere as little better than a low-end hotel foyer. But it provided plenty to drink, and space to lie down and relax.

After our buffet dinner it was no hardship to skip the meals on the 3 hour flight to Kuala Lumpur and grab some sleep instead. Even though the business class seats had only a normal recline, I was able to get some quality rest.

The flagship business class lounge at KL airport was, by contrast, a lovely place. We had a light breakfast and relaxed before boarding the flight to Sydney at 9am local time. Our final flight was very comfortable with nice Malaysian food and plenty of space. We arrived in Sydney refreshed, but also ready to catch-up on sleep in our own comfortable bed.

Facebook Review – Thambapanni Retreat

If you don’t mind steps then this hotel is a good alternative to staying on the noisy beachfront. All the restaurants are a short walk away, but you can escape the party scene and get a good night’s rest. Our a/c deluxe room was up 92 steps (we counted them) and was spacious – with a 4 poster bed, a spare bed, fridge, kettle, TV, wardrobe and coat stand (good for drying clothes on under the ceiling fan). Our private veranda outside had comfortable seating, but surprisingly in view of all those steps, just a view out into the tops of jungle trees – it was great for watching the monkeys!

The bathroom was a big disappointment, and was not up to the standard of the rest of the accommodation. The layout was cramped, and the bath was rough and unattractive – it appeared to be painted concrete. Like others, we observed that some of the towels we were supplied were stiff and virtually useless.

The irregular steps, whilst only a minor inconvenience by day, were quite dangerous by night as the lighting points upwards rather than on the steps, and is blinding. A simple adjustment of the lights would make this much safer.

The reception area and pool is very attractive. Much has been said about the size of the pool – but it should be noted that this means it was rarely used, and it was also very deep. We enjoyed cooling off in the water and sitting on the sun lounges.

I cannot recommend the restaurant – we ate there one night and had breakfast. We found the staff intrusive and incompetent. There was shouting between the staff, and frequently after confirming several times what we wanted, something different would arrive. But the most significant reason we didn’t eat more often in the hotel was the fact that during the day we would repeatedly be asked if we were going to dine that night. We found this most uncomfortable – though in all other respects the general hotel staff were pleasant and efficient.

Finally, we were disturbed to be told by our driver that the accommodation the hotel provided for him was well below an acceptable standard.

The Highlights of Sri Lanka

In no particular order, we would rate the highlights of our holiday as follows:
Wildlife – in particular seeing peacocks in the wild, herds of elephants, and so many tropical birds.
Dramatic rock formations with caves and temples
Smiling dark faces with white teeth
Hot air balloon – looking down on paddy fields, lakes, and flocks of birds in flight
Tasty food – particularly devilled curries
Dining at the Galle Fort Hotel in Colombo by moonlight
The Sigiriya Village Hotel with its park landscaping and duck pond
Lightly visited temples and ruins – often more interesting than the tourist highlights
Cycling round the ancient ruined city of Polonnaruwa
Touring in a stress-free way.