Blogs from Central Province, Sri Lanka, Asia - page 42

Colombo to Dambulla Just before midnight we arrived at Sri Lanka's only international airport, north of Colombo, where we were met by Ervin Alphonso - our driver and guide for the next seventeen days. Twenty minutes drive from the airport is the coastal resort of Negombo and we received a warm welcome at the pleasant, minimalist Beach Hotel where we were soon tucked up in bed in our large room overlooking the pool and - through the silhouetted palm trees - the moonlit beach and the Indian Ocean. For thirty years I had been telling myself that I must visit Sri Lanka, but it was the relocation of our friends Ashleigh and Yves Ogier from London to Kandy that provided us with the impetus to actually go. And here we finally were, about to embark on ... read more

So now for my weekend away. Well what can I say except WOW, I never realised how beautiful and historical Sri Lanka was. As I said before we went to visit some of the sights on the Cultural Triangle, we left Friday afternoon and drove for about 5 hours on the worst roads in history until we reached our overnight stop, a really nice little hotel with lovely food and no bugs….. The drivers out here are awful; they seem to think that the line down the centre of the road is a third lane which makes for some pretty hair raising overtaking I can tell you. Before it got dark we drove through the Appura Jungle (not sure of spelling) and saw elephants walking along the road, in Sri Lanka farmers use them to carry ... read more

... and the monkey won! It all began with the purchase of some precut pineapple as we descended from the rock temple at Dambulla. The cheeky little monkey in question also had its sights set on the pineapple and a challenge arose between the monkey and Suz ... The monkey blocked our path and gestured at the pineapple, Suz tried the trick tactic of throwing a bit of pineapple away from the path in the hope that the monkey would take the bait, following the pineapple away from the path allowing safe passage. But the monkey had seen this trick before and his sights stayed firmly fixed on the remaining pineapple clutched firmly in Suz's hand. Not to be deterred Suz lunged at the monkey to shoo it away but the monkey bared his teeth and ... read more

The title of my latest entry refers to the coastal thoroughfare stretching from north of Colombo all the way down to the Dutch fort town of Galle, a run of nearly half the island down the western side of southern Sri Lanka. It also makes mention of what should be an hourly and most noteworthy occurrence on the streets here, given the apparently lunatic tendencies of those behind the wheel of each vehicle; then again perhaps ‘road rage’ is the domain of Western society only. Motorists in Colombo appear to accept most readily each other’s foibles, and indeed are likely to reciprocate such manic and dangerous manoeuvres straight away given half a chance or a car-width’s space. But contrary to what a casual foreign observer might expect, those road-users that have been cut-up, run onto the ... read more

O.K, so I lied. I’m not in Kandy. I’m back in Unawatuna. But you know, I did’nt find myself in the hills (unless you count the fat girl inside me, who was trying to get out)… and other than looking for yourself and eating, there wasn't all that much to do. Having said that, Kandy is a truly beautiful town. After a couple of not so great guest houses I found a Room with a View. Perched up on a hillside, and with a wall of windows, the curtains redundant, I’d open my eyes at 5 am dreamily looking down to the Temple of the Tooth, the early morning sun reflecting on a glistening lake, and the tree covered misty hills rising up on the other side of the valley. Accompanying this was a soundtrack of ... read more