Blogs from Negombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka, Asia - page 3

C’est toujours un plaisir de retrouver mes parents, et encore plus après 13 mois passés sur la route (en vélo et sac à dos). Nous avons opté pour une destination exotique et ensoleillée : c’est donc à Negombo, à 40km au nord de Colombo, au Sri Lanka, qu’on s’est retrouvés à 2heures du matin sous une pluie battante, alors que j’étais en train de me disputer avec le propriétaire de l’auberge qui n’avait que du mal à dire des français… Etant de bonne humeur, c’est en souriant que je l’avais invité à ne pas mettre tous ses œufs dans le même panier, mais je me suis vite rendu compte que j’étais face à un dégénéré sans le moindre sens de l’humour et surtout doté d’un tempérament ultra agressif et qui cherchait une excuse pour se battre. ... read more

HE SAID... We’d arrived in Negombo at 11pm the night before, after a mammoth road trip from Kandy that took us south to Bogawantalawa and then north-west to this touristy beach town. We were exhausted, so we quickly scouted the streets outside our hotel (Rani Beach Resort) before crashing in our room. To describe our accommodation as a resort was stretching the truth just a little too far. It did have a pool and it was located on a beach, but that’s where its so-called ‘resort’ features ended. Maybe we were in an old wing – who knows? Anyway, enough about Rani Beach Resort. It was a place to stay, somewhere to eat. We had no idea where we were, or what Negombo was like, so we had a day of exploration ahead of us. We ... read more

Our flights began on Saturday night so motze Shabbat was a scramble to clean up and close the suitcases and start on our family trip to Sri Lanka. Caroline was already on her way from Manchester to Dubai when we checked in at Ben Gurion airport. Our first flight was to Bangkok. We took off on time and I slept for most of the way. We landed on time and then sat in the lounge for seven hours waiting for our second flight to Colombo. The plane was late coming in and so we were an hour late taking off. We had been told that Thai airlines was a great airline. Well the hostess uniforms were beautiful and that was as far as it went. The kosher meal was a grey looking chicken dish on rice. ... read more

Relaxing, resting, recovering from the jet-lag, acclimatising to the hot (34c) & humid weather and generally having a good time is the order of the day, at a beach hotel in Negombo on the West coast of Sri Lanka, prior to setting off on a "round the island tour". Colombo was an interesting city - we were slightly surprised by the numerous well maintained old colonial buildings, wide tree-lined streets and busy but not chaotic traffic. On a day trip to Colombo we chanced upon a noisy colourful ceremony in a Hindu Temple - chanting, banging of drums and smoke - while, in comparison, the Buddhist Temple was quiet with many Buddha statues and praying monks. Old Colombo, down by the port, was a maze of busy narrow colourful streets, small shops and a lively atmosphere. ... read more

Wir schlafen länger, das frühe Aufstehen vom Vortag steckt uns noch in den Knochen. Gegen 9.00 gehen wir zum Frühstück. Alle anderen Hotelgäste sind auch da, keiner konnte sich wohl überwinden den etwas kühleren Morgen für einen Ausflug zu nutzen. Für den Vormittag haben wir einen Ausflug zu den Fischerdörfern weiter im Norden geplant. Wir leihen uns ein paar Fahrräder (die drei ältesten Fahrräder der Welt um genau zu sein) und radeln los. Mein Fahrrad hat eine Gangschaltung mit nur einem funktionierenden Gang, dem kleinsten. Ziemlich viel Treterei. Wir radeln durch den Ort und dann 1.5km entlang der geschäftigen Hauptstraße. Danach biegen wir links Richtung Strand ab. Aaron hat ein Problem mit seinem Fahrrad, wie bei (fast) jeder Radtour ist die Kette abgesprungen. Ein Einheimischer eilt herbei und hilft uns bei der Reparatur. Bei 35°C eine ... read more