Cold shower again tonight, good job this cold is not like Lancashire cold water. Other than that the Silva's Beach Hotel is very nice and the staff extremely friendly. I was struggling to get a Wifi signal and they let me sit in their office alone to send the blog at 10pm. Always smiling with a little shake of the head. We followed the coast around the southern tip and up to Colombo on the 3 month old motorway then on to Negombo, near the airport for our return tomorrow night. We stopped at Galle, which along with many other coastal towns was badly affected by the tsunami of 2006 and has had a lot of rebuilding done. It reminded me if a French Colonial town with its yellow buildings and shuttered windows but find it ... read more

I have now been in the van with drivers so long that I am speaking like them. Today Mr Ivan he go church then bring sandwiches for lunch then go new hotel, much better than one in plan and cheaper. Tonight Raje and Eranga expect go home, work done, not see again, sadness for all people, good company and much fun. Now crying. See elephant orphanage this morning, where 30 elephant given milk and maize straw for breakfast. Since I in van now I get good job as water wallah, but pay very poor. I pray that I get better job soon. Road nice and smooth today with hot sun on back, plenty water and good nice scenery with coconut, papaya and plenty dogs in road, not run over - yet. Many big fruit bats in ... read more

Nuwara Elia to Haputale We got away eventually once we sorted Joy’s pedal, which had fallen off and the threads stripped. It was supposed to be 35 miles downhill today then 7k uphill. No way. It went down but it also climbed a great deal including a 20% section and I guess they climbed 1400m. The scenery was very interesting with all the vegetable and produce farming such as potatoes, onions, rice, beans and root crops. We managed to remove my front wheel from my bike this morning to get it in the van. The problem being that the skewer was bent and the threads damaged where it hit the road meaning that it would not release the wheel from the forks. We used pliers and brute force and then called at a tyre place, where ... read more

Kandy to Nuwara Eliya Up early and caught the train from Peradeniya Junction, outside Kandy for a 4 ½ hr journey to Nuwara Eliya 1900 metres up in the mountains. The carriages were already full and few seats were available so many of our group were standing, but not thankfully hanging of the sides like in Calcutta. As we moved up the line the people standing had risen somewhat and consisted of many nationalities from Polish, Chinese to French and many more, all paying the astronomical sum of 180 rupees (90p) for the long journey. As we gained height we came across the many tea plantations their factories and workers busy picking the new leaves. The area covered in tea is immense and quite spectacular. At the top we had a 7km bus journey, as soon ... read more

Reckless drivers still out in force in Sri Lanka today (2ndFeb). 16 miles down the road and I am laid on the Tarmac winded and hurting. When I recovered enough to stand up I found large grazing to my right leg and unable to lift my right arm. Oh no! Broken collarbone. I am now sporting a sling and bandages hanging off my leg. Riding over for me, I am afraid, what a catastrophe. The van driver overtook on a left hand bend, cut in tight and forced me off the road down a 4" drop onto the dirt and since the bend was sweeping left I hit the Tarmac edge and was thrown back onto the road. Van driver carried on, of course, oblivious to my plight. Donkey. Peter also came crashing down onto me ... read more