So with our unexpected year not turning into the year we wished for we decided we would take the positive and head of on another adventure to a new land, or maybe old. A colleague had just been walking in the Himalayas and my need to drink chai and get back to India was bubbling inside, I broached the subject with Sam, however was quickly told no and reminded we had just bought a house, I left it and pondered and obviously pestered and managed to find flights from Edinburgh for a decent price, with a few quieter words Sammy was convinced, the flights were booked and Sri Lanka was the destination.
We had wanted to go to Sri Lanka when travelling in 2014, however our time and money just wouldn’t allow it so we decided to give it a miss knowing it was somewhere we could enjoy on a 3wk holiday. We sat down with our guidebook and map and discussed what our wishes were from the holiday, as always I wanted beach, a good hike with a touch of history, I am so lucky having Sam as my travel buddy we pretty much always want the same, he is a great beach bum, loves indulging in a good book and battling the waves. We had some advice from others and decided that with 3wks we had enough time to venture South then make our way North, we also had friends we wished to meet in Ella so made sure we had a good couple of days with them also.
We flew into Colombo and decided to stay in the capital for one night, we had a long flight so knew we would want to rest when we arrived and snooze the afternoon away, Sam had found the Silvikris Villas, which was nestled away, the ease of the taxi from the airport slowly turned into unease as we drove around looking for our accommodation, however with lots of asks we found our stay and checked ourselves in.
Sam and I love venturing and seeing the capital, it’s always so busy and mental and it’s great to dive in and experience it for a few hours. We found a place to eat before crashing out for the afternoon, as always with our limited language we bumbled our way through ordering and managed to get a few rotis and some dips. That evening we took a stroll out to the cricket, Sam has always talked of wanting to watch cricket in another country so we paid our 25p and took our seats amongst the locals, I must admit I snoozed the afternoon away on the hill, with the joy of cheering and laughter in the background. Sam had a great time and I could see from the smile on his face and the temptation to come back the next day for more showed his pure enthusiasm for the sport and enjoyment of watching it in another country.
After the cricket we headed to Galle face Green for sunset, it was rammed with locals and food vendors and we tried our hand at some street food, deep fried, spicy and interesting, we strolled back and forth, people watching and taking photos. As we left we were followed by a myriad of flea ridden dogs, to which I partially freaked out and ran into a posh hotel to get rid of them, they wouldn’t stop following our scent which was hilarious or maybe they just knew we were different and may have food.
We took the train to Mirissa the following morning, our first journey on Sri Lankan trains, it was rammed on the train, there was no room to sit and sadly the beautiful view out the window was only enjoyed at intermittent points, however when it was seen it was a total joy, coastline, blues, tropical greens and rustic browns, families enjoying life and getting on with everyday chores, the snapshots seen were wonderful and a much difference to some of the sights I have seen on other train journeys.
We arrived in Mirissa and had decided to stay at Amarasinghe Guesthouse, some friends had stayed here a few years before and really rated it, Sam and I love a good recommendation so we decided to go for it. We were lucky as the guest house was empty so we had a whole area to ourselves which was gorgeous and looked out onto a garden with spices and sweet delicious smells. We enjoyed tasty curry and rice there that evening and spent the days lolling about on the beach and attempting not to be sucked under by the waves. We also had booked our whale watching tour in Mirissa, with a company called Raja and the Whales, again they had been recommended, however Sam had chosen to do some reading and was really pleased with the values they held http://www.rajaandthewhales.com/ they carry out work with Edinburgh university and were one of the first companies operating whale tours. We took our trip the next morning and rose early, I swallowed my seasickness tablet willing not to be affected, however with my track record it was obvious I would be, the sickness came as we headed out and although I managed the tour there was defiantly a few icky moments. The guys shared a lot about the whales (I wish I had been able to concentrate on it all), they shared how they would track the whales and what they would do once they spotted a whale. The trip paid off and we managed to see 3-4 blue whales, we mainly saw the backs of the whales as they dived down and sadly no tail flicks, however the joy of seeing them was mind blowing and was worth the sickness. We came back in that afternoon and snoozed on the sands then eat out that night, enjoying more rice and curry, sadly no lion beer as the brewery had been flooded so I ordered a cheeky cocktail and took in the evening sunset with my love.
We woke the next morning and headed to Tangalle, another beach spot and our plan was 3 days of doing nothing but reading and sunbathing, we bought our yummy egg samosas and took the bus to Tangalle from Mirissa, the hustle and bustle that surrounded us was wonderful to watch, people staring as they saw us on the bus, talking and asking us where we were from and why we were travelling there Sri Lanka.
We arrived in Tangalle and fell upon a wonderful accommodation, sadly it didn’t have a name as was still being rebuilt from the tsunami, the owner had two rooms but was in the midst of building another four further back, due to this he gave us a great price, our room looked right out onto the ocean, the room was nestled in between the palm trees and was an adorable spot for the next three nights. My favourite part of Tangalle was that there was what we called ‘the lazy river’ it was a pool where the water became trapped between the rocks and it was so funny going from one end to the other, sadly the rest of the sea was too crashing to lull about in so the lazy river was our main hang out when the tropical sun took over. Tangalle was super quiet and still, with nothing going on but a couple of restaurants, it was ideal to just switch of, read and really shake the worries away.
From Tangalle we headed into Ella, we were meeting friends in the hills for a few days, we had two days booked and Sam had organised a wonderful homestay that looked out over Ella Rock, Nimsara Homestay, it was a wonderful two room stay above the home of the hosts, the food was absolutely delicious, some of the best we have tasted in Sri Lanka, we ate at Nimsara both nights and couldn’t have asked for more from our stay. We had decided we would spend one full day out and about, a morning walk and late afternoon due to the midday sun being too much. We climbed Little Adams Peak in the morning, up to the tea factory, across the railway line (for miles) then back to Ella for some lunch. That evening we headed back out along the railway tracks to mini ravana falls, it was crazy watching and talking to people as they ambled along the train tracks, living just off the tracks with small homes and showers outdoors for the world to see. A train came past as were walking and we were quick to jump on the side as it zoomed its way along. Sam decided to be the daredevil he is and climb out on the top of the waterfall (there was no water so it was empty) with a local guy, the fear struck us all and we quickly urged him back as we could only see his head. The waterfall is part of the walk to Ella Rock, which we had decided not to take on, however a few late travellers passed us by as we turned ourselves around and headed back into Ella for drinks.
We woke the next morning with blurry heads, we had a couple of buses to take before we got to our next destination which was Arugam Bay, on route to the bus stop a tuktuk drive accosted us and asked if we would like a cheap tuktuk all the way to ‘A Bay’, obviously dubious we started to walk away, however then realised this guy was being serious and when we worked out the effort and cost of the bus to the tuktuk it was a difference of £3, so in we hopped and off we went. It was so much fun, yep I was hungover but what a dream a tuktuk straight there, it took around 3.5hrs and we drove through so many interesting spots, towns, national parks, elephant stoppings, it was great, I snoozed and took in the journey, Sam chatted away to our driver who lived in A Bay and wanted to get home to his family after dropping a couple of in Ella. It was a perfect way to travel and such a great experience to add to the adventure we were on.
We arrived in A Bay and planned to stay at a certain beachfront accommodation, however it was full and brimming with your classic backpackers so we headed in and came across The Folly, which was literally a dream stop and exactly what we were looking for, a hut on the beach which was clean and had frangipani trees situated in the beach filled garden. We could see and hear the sea and there were deckchairs out front for lounging when not on the beach, yep the next 4 days were definitely sorted.
Arugam Bay was totally beautiful and such a delight, situated on the Indian Ocean, the sea was wild and there was so many great surf spots, Sam decided it was all a bit too cool and advanced so we gave the surf a miss but enjoyed scooting out to see some of the surf hang outs and play about in the ocean waves without a board. My most favourite part of Arugam was the elephants, so many wild ones, we took a bike out one day and managed to spot two elephants playing in water and then another family on the way home at dusk, there wild large frame just idling through the sandy terrain, we sat for some time just watching and willing for a closer look however we respect there wild and wondrous ways and enjoyed this scene of nature from afar.
We also encountered a crazy rainstorm whilst in A Bay and an afternoon on the beach soon turned into sodden clothes and hibernating away. The storm came as we were out wandering the top end of the beach, the locals went crazy for it, jumping and lapping about in the waves, some took cover but a huge amount soaked in this storm, thankful for the break in the heat. I enjoyed getting my camera out and taking some shots of the smiles on folks faces, the men and children in the water and the women on the side lines, hiking their saris and dresses up and paddling into the edge of the ocean.
We were ready to move on from A Bay when the time came, feeling we had taken what we wanted and lapped in its delights, I was ready to move inland, away from the sea and enjoy a good few days exploring the Ancient Cities, we had decided to base ourselves in Polonnaruwa at Devis Tourist Homestay, the homestay was nice, friendly, an abundance of cats (not so great), but a really helpful place and they sorted everything out for us which made it very easy. We had 4 days, the first our arrival day, we chose to relax, read and have a mini explore, there isn’t much to do in Polonnaruwa, its very local with little but one street of shops and about one restaurant, plus its gets super dark and Devi’s is a little walk from town, so we ate at the home stay every night.
The second day we headed into Polonnaruwa, the tickets for the ‘main attractions’ were more expensive than the sites in India and we were looking at £25pp for each ticket, Polonnaruwa is defiantly a good day ticket and we hired bikes and cycled around the ancient sites, enjoying the history of the ruins and the statue of the Buddha’s potted around the grounds. We went early to avoid the heat, however sadly it does get busy and we found ourselves attempting to stay ahead of the crowds, the site itself is so grand and there is so much to see, we decided which sites we felt we could manage before the midday heat took over, and we got a good amount in, feeling we had the opportunity to embrace it all and get our money’s worth of our ticket. My favourite was the Polonnaruwa Vatadage, this is an old house relic with four staircases and at the top of each is a Buddha, the Buddha is just sat there, present and strong, I found myself standing for some time in awe of its structure and shape. Gal Vihara is the other incredible spot in Polonnaruwa, its where 3 Buddha’s are placed, they were found around different parts of the ancient site however have been brought together to preserve, this area was so busy but there was something quite special about being in the hustle and bustle and everyone putting their lotus flowers down and praying to their god. We headed back after seeing the Gal Vihara and hid away from the baking sun, we went back out that evening to see the other site that was unearthed, it was a joy cycling out here, you went along a lake and there was people carrying out there every day activities, couples dating, people coming home from work, it didn’t take long to see the evening site,, similarities to other parts of the morning site however just being further out and seeing what else had been found was such an experience and a pleasure to have taken the time to see.
The next day we took an afternoon trip to a national park, we had been informed to go to Minneryia but were advised by the owner of the homestay to go to Kadulla as there were more elephants there. We decided to treat ourselves and got a jeep for us two, costing us around £60, we were picked up around 2pm and went out in the jeep to the park, it didn’t take too long to get there and our driver pointed a number of birds and other animal life out to us on route. As we entered the park it didn’t take too long before we saw our first elephants, our driver was great, he was really respectful and didn’t drive too close, force us to get photos took or do the whole touristy thing, even when more jeeps drove up, he drove off not allowing too many jeeps to be on top of the elephant parade. In total we must have saw nearly 100 elephants, down by waterholes, lonesome or just a small family heading across the grass lands to find shelter for the evening. It was more than I could ask for and the exact reason I love seeing what a national park can bring, animals in their natural habitat, just beautiful.
The next day we headed out to Sigirya in a tuktuk, from Sigirya we were heading straight to Trincomalee, so our lovely driver stated he would stay with us and keep our bags whilst we took the climb up Sigirya. This was definitely my most favourite day, I never thought the elephants could be beaten but climbing up Sigirya and reaching the top was just mind blowing and the sights just took my breath away. The story of it being a monastery or palace, or both was great to explore and to see what was up there and how it was all laid out. My belief is it was a monastery but then was made into a palace by the king who took over the lands of Sigirya, to imagine home being so high up. Before you make the big climb there is a point where you head up the stairs through these grand lion paws, you can see the elements of regency and grandness through pockets of the rock and it was just an incredible morning of hiking and sightseeing. The museum was also great at Sigirya, it had information about the finding of this great rock palace and the story of the first archaeologist that dug out so many parts of this ancient ground.
We caught a bus straight to Trincomalee from Sigirya which was great, the journey went quick and we landed at our stay. Trincomalee was a great spot to end, we stayed in Uppuveli at The Little White House, it was a quaint stay, however there was an air of sadness floating as we found out one of the owners had been diagnosed with cancer a few weeks before, meaning you were basically left to work it all out yourself, however one guy was still there and after our first days of doubts he calmed our nerves and shared some hidden spots that we should unearth. Our next few days here were spent eating rice and curry and kotthu, reading, snorkeling and hiring scooters to go to an old army beach that had no one on but the fishermen. It was a paradise bliss and I was thankful we had headed north to end our trip in such a quiet part of the country. I could feel the sense of some newness creeping in and I felt that in a few years this part of the coast may look very different to what we were seeing, as we sat on our last day sipping cocktails by the sea, I was marveled at the beauty Sri Lanka had given, ready to head home but my heart was full and my travel toes happy.
