On a personal note ...

I have just returned from a fabulous two weeks in Sri Lanka visiting Sonali and her family there. Here are some photos to give you a taste of my two weeks in the sun :-)


Here I am arriving in Colombo, Sri Lanka  ...  my 35th country!!!










Our first few days were taken up with Sonali's friend's wedding at which she was a brides-maid.  It was lovely to be pampered and dressed by the beauty salon next to their home  ...  I loved my hair and sari :-)

Monday, Dec 31st we visited the town of Negombo with Sonali's cousin, Malintha and his daughter.  I enjoyed seeing the harbour, the fish market, getting my first paddle in the sea and drink my only latte of the trip :-)

On January 1st we left for our little five day adventure.  It was great to have Sonali's uncle, Kalinga, as our driver for the trip. He was really accommodating and I felt very safe in some of the madness on the roads.

Our first stop was Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage.

What a great place to sit on a hot day :-)

Yes, believe it or not, they make natural paper out of
elephant poo!! We watch how they make it,
all very fascinating. What I'm wondering though is
who ever came up with the idea in the first place?!

We drove north-east, through Dambulla and on to Sigiriya Village where we stayed in the Castle Rock Hotel for a night. Two minutes out the car and I'd been feasted on by mosquitoes :-(  Next day we woke early to climb Lion Rock.

Sigiriya (Lion Rock) is an ancient rock fortress located near the town of Dambulla, Sri Lanka. The name refers to a site of historical and archaeological significance that is dominated by a massive column of rock nearly 200 metres (660 ft) high. According to the ancient Sri Lankan chronicle the Culavamsa, this site was selected by King Kasyapa (477 – 495 CE) for his new capital. He built his palace on the top of this rock and decorated its sides with colourful frescoes. On a small plateau about halfway up the side of this rock he built a gateway in the form of an enormous lion. The name of this place is derived from this structure — Sīnhāgiri, the Lion Rock. The capital and the royal palace was abandoned after the king's death. It was used as a Buddhist monastery until the 14th century.

Sigiriya today is a UNESCO listed World Heritage Site. It is one of the best preserved examples of ancient urban planning.

I was grateful for my knee brace and walking pole which made the whole thing much easier. The only negative was the rather aggressive monkeys.

Even with several breaks on route, we made it up and down in just over two hours. As it was still only 10:30am we decided to drive on to Polonnaruwa, stopping for lunch on route  ... yeah, mango lassi and veg curry!!

POLONNARUWA  ...  The second most ancient of Sri Lanka's kingdoms, Polonnaruwa was first declared the capital city by King Vijayabahu I, who defeated Chola invaders in 1070 to reunite the country once more under a local leader.  The Ancient City of Polonnaruwa has been declared a World Heritage Site.

After Polonnaruwa, we carried on north-east to the coastal town of Trincomalee, on route seeing elephants, monitor lizards, porcupines and monkeys galore.

There followed three wonderful nights at the Trinco Blu Hotel  ...  relaxing, reading, swimming, eating  ...  I was born for moments like these :-)

We spent one morning exploring the fish market and veg market and harbour  ...  

On Saturday, Jan 5th we headed back to Ragama. Then the following day enjoyed a drive along the coast southward to Ambalangoda to visit one of the turtle hatcheries. Here they rescue and care for sick and deformed turtles. Plus having a breeding programme for those turtles on the endangered list.

This one was super heavy.

After this we had the remainder of the day with a mammoth visitation exercise.  I have now met most of Sonali's mum's relatives and in the evening we had dinner with a lot of her dad's relatives :-)

On a hot day, there's nothing more refreshing that a cold Elephant Ginger Beer, which became my drink of the day.



This is my new elephant, Trinco




                                     
It really doesn't take a lot to keep me happy. My longest ever train journey was in India ... 36 hours!  In Sri Lanka, I possibly took my shortest ever train journey ... about 7 minutes :-)  But, hey, it only cost 4p!!

They say, all good things come to an end.  I really can't thank Sonali's family enough for welcoming me in to their lovely home, for feeding me scrumptious curries, fresh fruit and let's not forget the ice-cream.  You made my time in Sri Lanka so very memorable and THANK YOU just isn't enough.