Medway Students: July 2023

I am extremely blessed to have some wonderful friendships that have lasted the tests of both time and distance. One of those friends is Joke (pronounced 'Yo-ka') who I got to know in Youth With A Mission (a global mission organisation we both spent many with), many moons ago.

Joke lives in the Netherlands and the last time we saw each other was January 2018. This was a fleeting visit, as she was on route to Wales to go camping with another mutual friend.

Yesterday, we had a truly marvellous day out together, exploring Dover Castle, complete with its medieval tower and its World War II tunnels; then walking the iconic White Cliffs above Dover.

Here are just a few photos to tease you and/or inspire you to make the trip for yourself 😀😀😀

This is my Health & Safety talk, prior to walking the cliffs!

Mrs Knott's Tea Room

Just over a week has gone by already and I'm only just getting around to this personal blog post about my recent trip to Sri Lanka. It has taken me this long to sift through 800 photos and wee video clips 😮😮😮

My long-term bestie, Pauline, and I had the most marvellous two and a half weeks exploring five different locations around the beautiful island of Sri Lanka, which included elephants, trains, tuktuks, local buses, stilt fisherman and so much more. I have tried my very best to chose a few favourite photos to give you a flavour of our time; but, if you have the energy for all 800 please just let me know 😎😎

Location One: Negombo

This was the only location we visited that I had been to before. It's just a short distance from the airport and was a good place to spend our first two nights. We stayed at the Serendib Village Guest House, which was comfortable, friendly, had a lovely small pool and served a super breakfast out by the canal.

Several times during our trip we used the services of Kalinga from Lanka Tour Trails which was a blessing. Kalinga is so kind and always seems to pop in an extra wee treat to make the day special. On being picked up at the airport ... the first time I've ever arrived to someone displaying my name 😀 ... we were whisked off to the morning fish market and treated to a refreshing king coconut!!

Curry & Rice Sri Lankan style

Serendib Village

Guest House

Location Two: Kandy

The day we left Negombo was a slightly early started in order to stop briefly at Kajugama (cashew village) and make our way to Pinnewala Elephant Sanctuary in time to see the elephants being walked down to the river for their daily dip.

VIDEO: Pinnewala Elephant Sanctuary

Whilst there we also learned how they make paper from elephant poop and stopped for a light snack, before travelling on to Geragama Tea Factory.

Despite neither of us being tea drinkers, it was fascinating to learn more about the processes for different types of tea. We even sampled a cuppa at the end 😀 Those of you who are tea drinkers, be warned what goes in to tea bags is like the dregs of the process ... so change your habits and use loose-leaf tea!

Kalinga's last treat before we reached our hotel in Kandy, was a stop off at the Commonwealth War Cemetary. As both Pauline and I have had military connections we found this very moving; and the grounds are so beautifully kept.

In Kandy we stayed at the Highest View Guest House, which again we found comfortable and had the added bonus of a small balcony. As the name suggests we were fairly high up but within walking distance of Kandy Lake down (or up) a steep windy road, taking care not to get mown down by a tuktuk!

We spent four nights in Kandy, exploring the town, visiting a huge Buddha statue, the Temple of the Sacred Tooth and a wonderful day at the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens - which I really enjoyed and where I had the best ever iced latte!!

Location Three: Ella

We travelled from Kandy to Ella by train. A six and a half hour journey passing some utterly stunning landscapes.

VIDEO: Kandy to Ella train

The Rock Face Guest House was lovely 😀 A really nice room, spacious & comfy balcony and super helpful owners. It also happened to be up the steepest of steep inclines which I might not have got up without the aid of my walking stick and hanging on to the chain-link fencing. It was certainly a good cardio workout that we made sure we only did once a day 😆

We had three nights in Ella and our two main sites to visit were: (1) the Nine Arches Bridge, which we got to by walking along the train tracks and then through the forest/road on route back to the town, and (2) Ravana Falls by local bus.

VIDEO: Nine Arches Bridge

Torrential rain in Ella

Location Four: Galle Fort

We were then driven to Galle Fort, about a three and a half hour drive, where we stayed at the much to be recommended Beach Haven Guest House. Once again, a great location in the heart of Galle Fort, clean, comfy and complete with balcony.

We had five nights in Galle and were able to take each day at a slower pace. Whilst there we visited the Japanese Peace Pagoda, had a lovely day at Unawatuna Beach, enjoyed hanging out with the stilt fishermen, and visited a turtle sanctuary. We also spent many hours exploring the network of tiny cross-cross streets in Galle Fort itself, checking out some shops and enjoying a variety of cafes and restaurants.

The Beach Haven Guest House had the most humungous, scrumptious breakfast for £3 each and, on several days, that saw us through virtually the entire day.

Location Five: Colombo

Our fifth and final stop was two nights in Colombo. Kalinga came to collect us from Galle and on route we visited the site where 1,500 people lost their lives during the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, when the second wave completely derailed a packed train. Further along the coast was the related memorial site of a mass grave and finally, the re-built home of a survivor that has been made in to a simple but poignant museum. It was so humbling to hear Kamani de Silva's personal account of that day.

We pushed the boat out for our last two nights and stayed in the Marino Beach Hotel ⭐⭐⭐⭐, which was so beautiful. Day one we took advantage of the 3-hour complimentary tour, which took in the National Museum, Independence Square, a temple, and Galle Face Park. Day two was spent lounging by the infinity pool on the roof, plus the jacuzzi and steam room; as well as enjoying all the super tasty food on offer.