Andaman Islands to Sri Lanka

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After leaving paradise behind we certainly landed with a bang - the flight back to Chennai was pretty uneventful but unfortunately we had to waste about 8 hours at the airport before our next flight - oh the joys of travel. We've been using the airport business lounges where possible but unfortunately we weren't allowed to check in to the international airport 8 hours early so we had to go mad in the Indian heat one more time. Anyway we eventually made it to our flight and to Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. And guess what - it was New Years night - again, that’s 4 New Years in 4 months, and of course alcohol is banned on New Years - don’t ask...
As on our previous few trips we've really been leaving it to the last minute to book our accommodation and thankfully as we had so much time to waste in the airport we managed to use this time to book a nice little guest house in Colombo - and as we rolled in at about midnight it turned to be just like grandma's house, she was a little old Sri Lankan lady who couldn't do enough for you - although it did seem weird when she summoned her staff and referred to them as "the boy will help" and when they referred to her as "my Madam" - and not to mention she had a goldfish pond inside the lounge - quite strange indeed.
Anyway, after a quick sleep interrupted by a few fire crackers going off outside the window as it was New Years Eve we investigated the city the next day. And of course as it was New Years day now, surprise surprise, everything was closed, we did however find a nice hotel to watch the sunset - and wow, what a hotel. Suzanne liked it that much she suggested she may even gets married there one day (she said no by the way). So after watching the sunset we headed towards the very posh Raj Hotel where we spotted a Steak and Grill restaurant earlier - very nice indeed, but unfortunately still no wine due to the New Years day - bugger...
So as it appeared that most of Colombo was going to be shut for the best part of the following week we decided to head towards the islands south beaches - as we obviously need more beaches after the amazing Andaman Islands - so Unawatuna here we come...

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