Blogs from Unawatuna, Southern Province, Sri Lanka, Asia - page 2

J: Our first anxious moment in Sri Lanka occurred just after we stepped off of the plane. My Indian visa had used up the last blank page in my passport and I spent much of the flight wondering what would happen if I was refused entry into Sri Lanka. Would I be sent back to India? Made to wait until I could get a new passport before I could officially enter? Be deported straight back to the UK? Luckily the Sri Lanka visa turned out to only fill half a page and the customs official I encountered squeezed it onto a half-empty page and we entered the country. For most people, Sri Lanka is all about sun, sea, sand and surfing. For us, it was unexpectedly all about animal encounters. Naturally, Holly was in her element. ... read more

Lotty's version; Sri Lankan airways were a pleasant surprise. We had checked in behind a family of about 12, each one had maxed out their 30kg baggage allowance with tatty boxes and taped up carrier bags, seriously who puts a carrier bag into hold baggage! We also saw a guy casually checking in two flat screen TVs... as you do! India had remained weird even up to the airport! After the worlds longest queue and grottiest airport (OK, maybe not grottiest after experiencing other Indian airports) the airplane seemed like a palace! It definitely had the biggest legroom i've experienced and the food was actually really good, for a 75 minute flight they did extremely well. 10 minutes in the person in front put their seat back, wouldn’t have been too bad if I wasn’t trying ... read more

The day started early with me waking up at 3:30AM to get ready for my second trip to Sri Lanka. Dad dropped me off at Sandeep's place and we took the cab to the airport. After a hot cup of chai outside the airport and the emigration formalities, we finally boarded the flight at 7:00AM. We were 5 people, Myself, Sathish, Sandeep, Nazeer and Krishnan, friends since school. We were joined by Kiran, Swamy, Vamsy, Baskar and Das, all friends of Sandeep. So it was a pretty big party. At 11:00AM we landed in Colombo. It was fine weather, a bit sultry, just like Chennai. We proceeded to the immigration counter, finished the formalities and headed right to the forex counter. I had assumed that forex people would exchange any currency to the local currency and ... read more

Does deet actually work I wonder? Its a real lottery regarding whether you get infected or not, I just pray I don't get anything x So itchy though, but for all my sunburn, bites in uncomfortable places(like my nipple can you believe !),and dealing with the odd stare from locals, (they really can't help it.) I must seem so odd and exotic! This really is a wonderful place, full of natural beauty and amazingly kind and generous people, who love to tease you, and most of all kick back and watch the cricket with you. Life is slow in the south; its hot and if you wanted, you could just melt away. But I was never the kind to just sit still. Leaving the comfort of Ems flat, Will, Ems and I headed to Siggis Mono ... read more

Afin de vous aider à positionner le Sri Lanka sur la carte du monde, on la surnomme souvent: la goutte tombée de l'Inde. Une goutte de la grosseur de l'Irlande ou du Costa Rica, située à quelques milles marins seulement au sud-est de la région du Tamil Nadu en Inde. Ce territoire, majoritairement bouddhiste, est depuis la nuit des temps considéré comme une terre de merveilles dans l'imaginaire populaire. Cette ile tropicale, anciennement nomme Ceylan, compte environ 21 millions d'habitants principalement divisés en 2 groupes ethniques: les cingalais à 75% et les tamouls à 20%. Ce sont d'ailleurs, les tensions entre ces 2 groupes aux mœurs différents, qui alimentèrent la guerre civile qui secoua le pays pendant 25 ans et qui prit fin officiellement, très récemment, en mai 2009. Les Tigres tamouls revendiquent l'indépendance des territoires ... read more