Travel Cass

What more can I say? I'd like to pretend I'm still out there living the beach life. Alas I'm washed ashore in rainy England. Luckily there was a brief spell of sun when I got back to help me with the reverse culture-shock, but then the rain returned. Still this only means one thing: it's time to start planning my next trip! :) If anyone made it to the end then don't forget to leave me a comment and recommend my blog thanks! xxx... read more

I was afraid Unawatuna would've changed into a mega-tourist resort since I last visited a couple of years ago. But luckily not! Compared to last time I was here there are quite a lot more beach bars, but it's still got the same laid back vibe I love so much. The beach boys are just as friendly and best of all, there aren't too many tourists! Strangely enough some people even remember me from a couple of years ago which is lovely! Today I met up with Rushan who Barney and I had hung around with when we were here on holiday before. Rushan works at Riddim Beach Bar where Barney and I had enjoyed a crazy beach party before! Rushan and I went out boating on the lake and later Rushan did his best to ... read more

All of a sudden it's the BIG day! and as expected Helen and David do a fine job of getting married serenely in Sri Lankan splendour. Held in an elegant church with a fantastic choir the ceremony is lovely and afterwards we all enjoy celebrating in the grounds of the church. The jazz band gets everyone dancing and we enjoy a buffet banquet fit for a king and queen! I think it's today over G and T's with Vaughan that I decide I should move to Sri Lanka and get a job out here, or at least change my flight and extend my holiday... Congratulations to Helen and David and good luck for Zambia! xx ... read more

HAPPEEEE BIRTHDAY MUM! :) x Helene's friends Claire and Nicola are lovely :) and they're mad enough to take me with them on a 2day action-packed adventure around Sri Lanka. I'm a little over-excited about having travel companions for a change! We're on a bit of a mission to take in half of Sri Lanka in a very short space of time. In about 36hours we're squashing in some of Sri Lanka's finest sights including ancient Sigiriya, the Dambulla rock caves, and the amazing annual Kandy Perehera festival (a massive street parade with about a thousand Kandian dancers and about 60 elephants). There's no time for sleep on this trip. We take the train from Colombo up to Kandy which is a lovely relaxing trip. The rocking of the train makes you want to sleep but ... read more

I seem to have timed my stay in Kerala quite nicely. Well that's why I dragged myself away from Periyar and raced all the way back to Fort Cochin yesterday so that I could be in striking distance. It's the annual Allepy Dragon Boat Race where the sleepy town comes alive when thousands of revellers come out to watch the dragon boat races. The only dragon boat race I'd seen before was on the Thames with about 10 people in the boat. In Allepy this is a major event in a league of it's own. In each boat 80 or 90 men are paddling like crazy! This year is also the first year that there's an all women powered dragon boat (though they aren't allowed to compete in the race) I decide to take the easiest ... read more