http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , Sri Lanka en-us Tue, 01 Dec 09 11:46:07 +0000 Tue, 01 Dec 09 11:46:07 +0000 Although the end of our Sri Lankan Odyssey has come around far too quickly we managed to finish on a final excursion that encompassed all the things we love an exhilarating safari in Yala National Park an overnight stay in a lakeside hotel a morning mingle with fishermen selling their catch at a local market and finally an idyllic visit to the home of a schoolteacher.As always Siri wanted an e http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/blog-455564.html It has been a long while since the previous entry. Looking at these I realised that I have not set the background to this year very clearly. Maybe it is time to do that now and in the subsequent two or three blogs.this information comes from the DioceseThe Diocese of Kurunagala covers the Provinces of Central North Western North Central and the Sabaragamuwa and is composed of the Administra http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/North-Western-Province/Kurunegala/blog-455538.html Beware while travelling to SrilankaNight clubs in colombo are very dangerous they dont provide any menu card or have pricelist looking at foreigners they swindle money by charging huge cost to items and add items which was not taken.We had bitter experience at WINTER Night Club who cheated Rs. 25000 as against cost of not even Rs.5000.Srilankan government should keep a tab on these activity and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/Southern-Province/blog-455266.html As well as the Temple of the Bhudda's Tooth which was my planned highlight for the day I contemplated visiting Sri Lanka's evocatively named Elephant Orphanage. I was very keen to go there meal times were especially recommended by the American guests I met over breakfast. They ate light so I assumed they got more pleasure from watching elephants dine. It was not looking easy to get to howeve http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/Central-Province/Kandy/blog-454933.html So far we have enjoyed several excursions to some of Sri Lanka's major tourist attractions ... Sri Lanka is a destination stuffed with historical sites and stunning scenery. But the most memorable moments so far all occurred away from the established circuits Stumbling across a working lime kiln or taking a tuktuk to a local market thrust us in amongst real local people untainted by the lure o http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/blog-454800.html Another day another hotel and another driver.Following yesterday's car crash we were met in reception by a young man who had been sent as a replacement driver. Padmasiri had spent the evening in custody and was not currently available to us so we would continue the tour with a substitute. This new driver seemed to be half Siri's age with a quarter of his skill and a tenth of his personality o http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/blog-454105.html After a poor night's sleep in our cold damp and fusty mausoleum Jan and I were relieved to checkout and hit the road for Kandy. Siri was in a chirpy mood and as we left Nuwara Eliya the clouds lifted the sun broke through and our spirits soared. The landscape began to flatten out once more and we were soon passing through gently sloping fields of crops and plantations. A roadside fruit stal http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/blog-453907.html The day started with the squeaking of walking boots down deserted Blue Water marble corridors. It was still a couple of hours before dawn and we were heading off to explore the hill country. A dazzling farewell smile from the receptionist lit our way as we were introduced to our driver and guide Padmasiri. Safely belted into the back of our hire car we headed into the dark.Two things instantly be http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/blog-453636.html Serendipity the art of making unexpected and happy discoveries derived from Swarnadip the sanskrit term for Sri Lanka.Having finally taken early retirement at the end of the last century last week Jan and I were at a loose end plodding puddled pavements in a drizzly grey Aylesbury. We stopped to scan the Late Deals in a travel agents window Benidorm Canaries Cyprus Majorca .... ha http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/blog-453094.html httpwww.marinenegombo.com http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/Western-Province/Negombo/blog-451920.html Recently we visited with some friends to a sri lankan beach Where you find lot of interesting things coral catamarine boats etc Also dolphines whales watching was really exciting http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/Western-Province/Negombo/blog-448126.html Ok final post and possibly some of the best pictures. After an 11 hour drive from Horton Plains we arrived at Unawatuna at 1 am. This is a beach hot spot and for good cause. The beach is is amazing. The water temperature was perfect and the view incredible. We got up at 9 am to get our free breakfast then spend literally the whole day relaxing on the beach. A couple of us went boogie boarding and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/Southern-Province/Unawatuna/blog-446712.html Hey again everyone. So we spent our fourth day at Hortons plains. We were unsure of going to this location because it meant that we had to get up at 5 am to catch a jeep see pictures to drive us an hour to get to the location. Alas we convinced the girls in our group that it would be a good idea to do this. The whole idea of this location is to get to a place called The worlds End where the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/Central-Province/Horton-Plains-NP/blog-446707.html This next entry comes many days after the last. In this small of town of Unawatuna life has become very slow such a contrast from the first week here. The days have been filled with lounging and reading on the beach eating walking to other places to eat and sleeping.We've finally met plenty of travellers to share stories with which has been great much needed from my side. On our second ni http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/Southern-Province/Unawatuna/blog-445196.html Day 3 After a good night of playing cards and drinking we got up for breakfast and made our way to Dabulla where we went to the 5 painted caves of Buddha statues. Now you need to remember that whenever you enter a buddhist temple you must take off your shoes. On our way in we took off our shoes and were about to leave them when a man said You better put your shoes with the shoe keeper. we though http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/Central-Province/Dambulla/blog-444869.html Ok Day 2 of our Sri Lanka adventure was all about temples in the ancient capital of Polonnaruwa. This was a great day not only because of the sights but because of our tour guide. He was a local man that told us very interesting things about Monkeys and how when they finish they swallow. We walked around the cool Buddhist temples all morning with our guide telling us about them I can remember http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/North-Central-Province/Polonnaruwa-/blog-444867.html Hello Everyone I know its been a really long time since ive posted on here. It has been super busy with work and IB training and socializing way too much of this. So we got a break here in Dubai called Eid which celebrates the end of Ramadan. For this break 5 of us decided to travel to Sri Lanka. Well this was AMAZING I have been to a lot of places but this one is one of the best. We arrive in http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/Central-Province/Kandy/blog-444864.html Colombo to KandyAfter an exciting nights sleep in an open plan open air house listening to the monsoon howling a gale around us we got up to enjoy a traditional English breakfast with Sunethra I say traditional... Sunethra tells us that when the English were in Sri Lanka they always started with fruit followed with toast and jam and had scrambled egg last ... Totally backward if you ask me. An http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/Central-Province/Kandy/blog-442280.html Well now that we've finally got our bags and visa's sorted we thought it might be about time to write about some of the actual cultural experiences we've had. Chilling out at the guesthouse and oasis of calm in chaotic Colombo it's given us a chance to put our heads about the parapet and reflect on the experiences we've had so far and to look forward to some of the things we're going to do in http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/Western-Province/Colombo/blog-442278.html Elephant Rock in Kurunegala Athugala is superb place for eco tourism and adventure activities. With the tourism development projects in Sri Lanka this rock will be a great destination for local international tourists. Ethugala Adventure is the official web site of Elephant Rock ldquoEthugalardquo. An adventure hotspot in Sri Lanka where you can experience the ultimate adrenaline rush. whi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/North-Western-Province/blog-442252.html