Blogs from Yala NP, Southern Province, Sri Lanka, Asia

HE SAID... Today we were travelling south-east from Bandarawela to Yala National Park. We woke late, and after slowly gathering ourselves together, we headed to the hotel’s open air balcony for breakfast. I was feeling a little under the weather from way too much arrack the night before, but it wasn’t enough to stop me enjoying a plate of hoppers (thin crispy rice flour and coconut crepes cooked in a mini-wok), pol sambol (shredded coconut with onions, chilli and lime), chickpeas and boiled eggs. With a focus on rehydration, I refreshed myself with quite a few watermelon juices and cups of tea. We left our hotel in the hills of Bandarawela after breakfast (around 9am) and began our journey out of the Hill Country and towards the southern coastline. We snaked our way through the majestic ... read more

We drove south from the cooler hill country into the very hot and humid conditions on the south coast of the island. This area and the adjacent east coast were the worst affected regions in the 2004 tsunami. In fact the hotel we were staying in had been totally washed away, sadly with all staff and guests being killed. The island seems to have recovered well and tourism has increased over the last few years. This area is famous for the Yala National Park. We enjoyed an afternoon safari, travelling deep into the park on bumpy rough roads. We were lucky to see an elephant family "playing" in a small lake and even luckier to see a leopard, albeit in the distance. Colourful birds were very abundant and our "trip bird list" reached it's half century!! ... read more

This morning was an early start, a little blurry eyed I made my way to reception with my escort in the dark. We soon set off to the entrance of Yala National Park, it took around 30 minutes by the time our guide had bought the tickets. I really, really wanted to see a leopard - I'd be made up if I did, but, the closest we came was some footprints in the sand unfortunately. We did see plenty of other wildlife on the game drive though, crocodiles, mongoose, hares, a golden jackal, spotted deer, peacocks and loads of other birds. Our driver had heard there are 2 female leopards with 2 cubs each in the area and he was doing his best to track them down. Just before we gave up and started heading back ... read more

First, little news from Bangkok. The higgest tide have passed by, and all of Central Bangkok is still on dry land. CNN and BCC are pretty acurate in their statments, but they forget to say something simple. Millions in Bangkok haven't seen the floods. We have supermarkets full of food, with all fresh products available. What is difficult to find is bottles of water. All the imported bottles of water you want, at a premium price, and no local brands. But beside this, everything is available. Sadly, this is not true for the thousands of km2 around Bangkok, and the millions who live with their feet in water. That water is not always safe! Hope the water will go down fast, but we all know it could take weeks in some places. Back to our next ... read more

One of the things that amazed me on this trip was the experience of nature and how it differed as we progressed on the journey. The start of the journey was agonizing and it was stressful driving the vehicles. Slow and hot, every hundred yards or so we had some challenge or another. Marshy grounds that needed to be driven on with the four wheel-drive in low gear and sometimes the jeep would travel forwards on its side in the mud. Whilst this seemed fun at the beginning, very soon the excitement wore off. It’s ok to drive a jeep on marshy land sideways, but it increased the possibilities of jeopardising the whole trip if the vehicle got stuck on a deep muddy hole. The concentration brought mental fatigue and the physical exertion which was stressful ... read more