11: Mysore—Ooty 28 September 2017 Post breakfast we drove to Ooty (a journey of 165 km/ 6.5 hrs approx). There were 36 switch-backs driving up the mountain and our driver Mohar was an excellent driver. As soon as we arrived in Ooty, we went to the Savoy, the best place for lunch in the city. This was very British and of course was built and used by the British. It also used to be a hospital at one stage. The furniture and gardens were beautiful. Service was slow but the food was excellent. I even had the chief’s recommendation of triple chocolate (mouse, icecream and chocolate brownie). I could not fit in the chocolate brownie so saved it for Mohar. Called the 'Queen of Hill Stations' picturesque, green Udhagamandalam better known as Ooty is the most ... read more

Day 8: Bangalore - Hassan 25 September 2017 After breakfast, we drove to Hassan (180 kms/ 4.5 hrs approx), leaving wet Bangalore behind. En route we visited Shravenabelagola. Shravenabelagola, renowned for its colossal Gomateshwara statue. There are around 700 steps to climb on to reach the Gomateshwara statue. Shravenabelagola is one of the most celebrated Jain pilgrim sites and the gigantic statue of Lord Gomateshwara has been carved out of a single block of granite and stands majestically atop a hill. The 21 m high monolithic stone statue of the Lord Gommateshwara, also referred to as Bahubali is located above this hill which is called Vindhyagiri or Doddabetta or Indragiri hill. It is estimated to weigh approximately 80 tons. The carved nude statue is shown standing on a lotus and captures the tranquillity typical of much ... read more

Day 4: Thursday 22 September in Chennai After a late breakfast (although I chose not to have breakfast except for a banana that Tom brough back for me – I can’t take all this constant eating!!!), we were met by a Webjet rep who was taking us to The Iris hotel where we were staying for the next 3 nights (3 1/2 stars rather than 5 star). We went for a walk in our new area. While Tom had a haircut (for $1.60 lol) I went for a ½ km walk and came across very depressing slums. Make-shift housing, no running water (trucks were bringing water in) and numerous beggers. Very sad. And yet, ½ km the other way theere was magnificent buildings and wealth. India is a contry of contrasts. After an hour’s walk, we ... read more

Day 14: Sunday 17 September - Colombo After breakfast, we began our journey back to Colombo. Our guide, Fernando showed us many, many buildings that were destroyed by the Tsunami and have never been rebuilt. We saw a Japanese-style Buddha which the Japanese built as a memorial. We also saw another memorial on the beach side with its concrete carved mural depicting the tsunami tragedy. This was where 100s of villages crowded in the train thinking that his would be a safe place. Most were washed out to sea and drowned. The whole experience of seeing these memorials was very moving and surrreal, and hard to imagine what it was like. I hope I never find out. After, we continue to Colombo. On arrival, we embark on a city tour of Colombo. We explored the Fort ... read more

Day 12: Friday 15 September - Weligama - Koggala Today we departed for Weligama leaving the national parks behind us. The narrow streets are dotted with Dutch colonial villas, museums and antique shops. We then drive to Kudawella to see the Hummanaya Blow Hole, the second largest of its kind in the world. It was a short walk through the back lanes to the foot of an uneven, rocky path up to the cliff face of the coast. It wasn’t long before we heard the whoosh of the water rushing through the blowhole. We got some fantastic shots of the water shooting up about 20 metres. It was spectacular. We then drove further along the coast to see the biggest Buddha statue in Sri Lanka, at the Dikwela Wewurukannala Temple. The temple is dominated by an ... read more