Blogs from Sri Lanka, Asia - page 6

I think I am ready for the tour . I have slept quite well , I am sure the melatonin has helped ,and the temperature +32 In the day and @26 at night is no longer so oppressive. Still crazy hot but I am no longer gasping . It is always a shock when I leave my room but a real treat when I return . It was wise to come earlier but 2 days would have been enough . Colombo is a big sprawling place and with the help of tuktuks I saw most of what I wanted to see. The city tour was good . Having an explanation of what things are and how they came to be is important . Religion is a big deal here . Buddhists dominate and there are many ... read more

Here I go again ! Last summer I was telling my travel agent I hadn't had any brain waves about where to travel in 2020 .I know there are many places I want to sèe in Europe that is not a location for a winter holiday . Then , at the seniors book sale , I purchased the EyeWitness Top 10 in the World To See and discovered that Sri Lanka was the only one I was missing in Asia . Then Gadventures had a sale on their tours and Susan found me a very reasonable flight fare . So , here I am. The flight was long . Regina -Toronto and a 10 hour layover . I took the train into the city , had lunch , walked a great deal and ended up spènding ... read more

Friday 8 February, 2020 cont'd We left the room at 6.30 pm, to have a drink before dinner. Sunset is about 6.15pm so the light was fading. It was nice to look at the sea and a full moon behind the beach. Back to the hotel and we had a drink outside by the pool. We went inside and ordered food for our dinner at 7.30 pm. Pat had chicken and chips and I ordered spaghetti bolognaise.It arrived in due course and was pretty good. The other guests were eating at the beach bar area, so nice and quiet for us. Back to the room and lights out was 10 pm. The group that arrived this afternoon, who we haven't figured a Nationality yet, maybe eastern European, were enjoying themselves being very loud and boisterous, but ... read more

Sunday 1 February, 2020 cont'd We were fairly wacked out after our wanderings in Colombo. We estimate that we walked nearly 15 kilometers all told. There are a lot of tall buildings and many currently under construction. The Chinese are involved with a lot of them. Lights out was 10 pm. Monday 2 February, 2020 We both slept well again and started stirring about 8 am. After showering and a slow start we left the room about 11.15 am. The room is part of a three story building. We are on the top floor, with an external staircase. The room has a shower and toilet. Outside is a kitchen area and washing machine. A little basic but adequate and we are only paying $84 for four nights. We walked along the coast road again. There are ... read more

I arrived in Colombo for a three week trip around the island of Sri Lanka, an island in the Indian Ocean. I was immediately hit with the humid city air, the intense smell of spices, the sounds of car horns going off in every direction and cows strolling down the roads. I walked down a small street lined with stalls selling many varieties of crunchy spiced nuts and caught a Local bus from Negombo to Colombo. It was hot and sweaty, and we were packed in like sardines, but $3 for a 45 minutes trip, I couldn’t complain! I took a walk along the Beira Lake and went to collect my prepaid train tickets and read my book at the Colombo Fort train station, the epitome of British colonial achievements. There was a small stall where ... read more