I came back from this trip on a real high - who wouldn't after four days with perfect weather, stunning scenery and fabulous company? However I have to say it didn't start this way. A friend of mine who has recently become an Australian citizen asked the internet via his Facebook page how he should celebrate Australia Day (26 January) now that he is a citizen. Many of the respondents suggested he should get drunk and punch someone, which sadly if you were to believe the newspapers is a regular Aussie pastime. However I've been here long enough to know that there was another option - celebrate the "Great Outdoors"!. Last year my mother and I had a wonderful 10-day holiday driving around parts of Tasmania, and my favourite spot was the Bay of Fires, so ... read more

Since I've been in Sri Lanka I've been blown away by how amazing and delicious the food is. It's fresh, tasty and with huge variety. The best thing is the basic "rice and curry", however that is massively underselling what's on offer. Rice and curry means rice (obviously), a curry, be it fish, chicken or very occasionally beef, then usually there are at least three different vegetable dishes, plus dhal, coconut sambal and poppadums. The vegetables are usually curries, but sometimes a type of sweet and sour dish. I've had carrots, beetroot, green beans, potato, pumpkin, eggplant, sweet potato...... I've also had fruit curries, which might sound strange but taste sensational - jackfruit curry or mango curry, yum! Nearly always dinner is served with rice, although sometimes it's string hoppers, which is like a little nest ... read more

Lalith has some competition in the title of favourite tuk tuk driver. Prasad, from Dickwella, may overtake him. He took me to the big Buddha on Christmas Day and suggested that he take me the way to Unawatuna, not quite a 2 hour drive. Since he didn't drive like a lunatic, and also because he was so genuinely nice, I thought this sounded like a great idea. So, after a sombre start to the day with one minute's silence in memory of those lost in the tsunami, we were off. We stopped off at a few interesting places. I think Prasad was thirsty himself, so he stopped and bought some King Coconut for us both - they are sold on the roadside all over Sri Lanka and are a deliciously refreshing drink, not to mention very ... read more

The gorgeous mountain town of Ella is known for its walks, so I was up bright and early to walk to Little Adam’s Peak. It is an easy walk, meandering through the tea plantations, until the last ten minutes, which is a steep trek up the very top. It’s all worth it when you get there, as there’s a lovely view over the hills, and it’s the perfect peaceful spot to start your day. I had it all to myself, so drank in the views. I was also very happy that I got up there so early, because not too long after I arrived the mist crept in. I must’ve been feeling a little bit too pleased with myself, with my mind elsewhere, because as I was walking down the narrow pathway near to the summit ... read more

Camilas and I have agreed that he will stay with me for another two days, taking me to Nurawa Eliya, and then I will take the train to my next destination. This meant that he came with me to buy the train ticket, which worked out very well. Queuing as a concept doesn’t seem to have made it Sri Lanka. In fact even in the middle of the train ticket transaction people were pushing in and elbowing me aside from the ticket window. Camilas’ elbows work pretty well too. Imagine that concept on the roads. That is what driving is like here. I feel surprisingly calm about what would normally be multiple near-death scenarios. Camilas has avoided all head on crashes with oncoming busses and cars with split second precision timing. He has been driving for ... read more