Arriving in Sri Lanka - and staying in a very special place

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Trouble free journey to Manchester. Arrived and got through security ridiculously early. Shops, coffee, boarded. Emirates seem back to their best - in flight entertainment was excellent. Watched comedies and documentaries and did not sleep. The time passed very quickly during our plane change in Dubai - as we flew in we saw the "tallest building in the world" that they're putting up there. It is phenomenally tall! Really looks quite silly towering so far over the existing skyscrapers. It seemed no time between immigration and boarding our flight to Colombo. Mind you, we did spend ages in the shop buying binoculars as I'd forgotten to pack ours. They seemed like good value but I have to say that we were generally shocked at the prices in Dubai duty free. Last time we were through there was 2004 when we bought sunglasses and Swarovski at really good prices. This time, the prices actually seemed more expensive than in UK shops!

Colombo flight was smooth - breakfast served as soon as we took off. Needless to say we did not sleep again. Landed at 8.20am Sri Lanka time and very soon after we had our bags and were meeting up with Seelan, our driver / guide for the first week of our tour.

We set off on the long drive to Vil Uyana. Seelan said it was about a 4 - 5 hour drive. We decided, rightly or wrongly, to miss out the optional trips we could have done along the way. We were offered a choice of the Aukana Buddha (statue), Yapahuwa fortress or Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage. Seelan said that we'd see elephants at other points in our trip. With hindsight, I wish I'd gone to see the Aukana Buddha (38ft tall, carved out of living rock) but you live and learn!

We actually fell asleep in the car, but not before we'd driven through rural villages and seen rice paddy fields, pineapple farms, rubber tree plantations, coconut farms, teak plantations and a variety of idiotic driving incidents. The roads here are shocking - bumpy, busy, no pavements. Filled with dogs, tuktuks, buses, wagons, pedestrians. Constant beeping on the horn is the way to drive. Seelan said he'd rather drive with no brakes than no horn!

We woke up just before Dambulla and Seelan stopped, as requested, so that we could visit the ATM and buy a Sri Lankan SIM card for our phone. Oh, and buy some bottled water. We actually arrived at Vil Uyana at 1-ish - earlier than I expected. I'd had more than enough of being in the car by then.

We were checked in and given cold flannels and a welcome drink, then we arranged to meet Seelan at 1pm the next day for a trip to Habarana and Minneriyia. I think he knew how tired we were and wanted us to get in to our room and relax.

What a fabulous place Vil Uyana is!
http://www.jetwing.com/JW%20hotels/VU/jw_vu_index.php

We love our room - which is a thatched lodge built over a paddy field. Wooden walkways link all the different dwellings. Wow - it is an incredible place - within an hour of arriving we'd seen a peacock up in a tree, a huge water monitor in the paddy outside our room, indian pond heron, a common bronze back snake (in the sugar cane growing next to our balcony). Then, later on when we went round to the main pool for a swim, there was a crocodile up on the banks of the lake, next to the pool!

So this afternoon we unpacked, had a little sit in our private plunge pool while we drank coffee, and then wandered round to the main pool to have a swim. When we got back to our room at about 4, I decided to have a nap while Roy headed for the gym (located on the lake - what a view!). I slept until about 5.30pm - it rained from about 5 - 7. We headed round for an early dinner. We're on a half board package here and there is a set menu at night, with two choices for each course. The food was excellent. Best bread basket - filled with mini-rolls of all descriptions - that I've seen in a long time. Accompanied with a little dip, and 3 flavoured butters (tomato and chilli, orange, spinach). We ate:
Jan - Aubergine & Artichoke salad, walnut dressing
Roy - Smoked chicken & ham salad
Both - Soy bean and shitake soup/Lime sorbet/lamb cutlet and chicken piccata, veg, cinnamon mash
Roy - Chocolate cake and strawberry yogurt mousse
Jan - Tropical fruit platter
Coffees. Bottle of white wine. Superb! Sounds like a lot but the portion sizes are all very small, so it is perfect. The food is quite light and healthy, in the main. Wine is expensive - we didn't see a bottle for less than £25 all the time we were in Sri Lanka.

Went back to the room for an early night - were in bed by 10.15pm. Immediately on returning to the room I became "unwell" with a tummy bug - I don't think it is anything I've eaten here, seems too soon after dinner. Might have been the chicken I ate on the Manchester to Dubai flight - which was luke warm. Or maybe the bottled water we bought at lunchtime. Who knows?

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Photos

Greeting us at Vil Uyana
Water monitor in paddy field outside our dwelling at Vil Uyana

Indian Pond Heron
Always around our room

Common bronze back snake
Ok, bad photo but if you look hard there is a snake's head and some of it's body on here...