Welcome to another instalment of my blog! Regular readers will know that this was originally set up to document the work on our house. Now this is (finally!) finished, I’ve been using it to write about my travels and adventures.
This time around, we are spending 10 days in sunny Sri Lanka, an island just south of India in the Indian Ocean, formerly known as Ceylon. I am the second person in my family to visit Sri Lanka, my then 18 year old grandfather having visited with the Royal Navy as a morse code operator in the war. We still have his kit bag at home, which shows he was clearly more efficient at packing than me.
People who have visited Sri Lanka all gave amazing reports of endless beaches, friendly people and stunning scenery. There is so much to do in Sri Lanka, so choosing where to go was tough! After a lot of research, we decided to use the time we had to tour the mountains and do a safari, before heading to the beaches for some well needed chill time.
Our first stop was in Columbo. After flying through the night, we touched down in Bandaranaike airport. After navigating our way through the crazy traffic, horns blaring and narrowly avoiding collisions with tuk tuks, we arrived at our hotel, which we booked to give us some relaxation time before the 3 hour drive to Kandy the next day. Here we are drinking some cocktails in the scenic Galle Face hotel, frequented by movie stars over the years and a popular spot to watch the sun go down.
The next day we headed to Kandy, a lovely town set on a lake, where by tuk tuk we traversed the hill to reach the giant Buddha at the top. Our driver worshipped at the temple next to it and was pleased to show us around, including climbing the steps all the way up to the top to look out over Kandy.
The next day we jumped up ready to catch our train from Peridenya to Ella. This was said to be one of the most scenic journeys in the country to take by train. The reports didn’t lie and our adventure started at the station, where the station master showed us the Victorian era equipment still used, made in England.
After boarding the train, we were treated to amazing views of palm trees, rolling tea plantations, waving children and tea pickers and even a waterfall as we chugged our way through the hills and forests towards Ella. The later part of the journey turned from bright sun to mist and fog as we climbed higher and higher up. We arrived there 7 hours later, tired but amazed by the journey, which was one of our best experiences of the holiday.
Travelling through the tea fields
For anyone wanting to travel, booking in advance is a must if you want reserved seating. Unreserved carriages get quite crowded, with locals squished in and teetering perilously out of the doors in conditions that make rush hour on the tube look spacious. We booked our first class tickets in advance with Visit Sri Lanka Tours, who were brilliant and delivered the tickets direct to our hotel and also arranged our transfer to Kandy.
When we arrived in the hills of Ella, a world of adventure awaited us. We needed to stretch our legs after the epic train journey, so the next day to the sound of monks chanting from the local temple we jumped up at 5.30am to start the walk by flashlight up to Little Adams’ Peak. Starting early meant we missed the day time heat, when we reached the top we were rewarded with an amazing panoramic view of the sunrise from what felt like the top of the world.
After that, we headed towards Nine Arch Bridge, a huge stone viaduct built by the British. We walked down into the tea fields below to admire the beautiful scenery before heading back to our hotel for a well earned breakfast, a cookery lesson and some yoga.
After a wonderful stay in Ella, we ventured on to Udawalawe. A town on the borders of an amazing national park. Again, we were up bright and early before the sun rose to see herds of elephants, peacocks, monkeys and lots and lots of crocodiles. Our guide explained they were crowded together and likely feasting on a dead buffalo somewhere beneath the surface. Eek! Deciding to save swimming for the beach, we moved swiftly on..
Happy but now quite exhausted after covering literally hundreds of kilometres of ground since our arrival in Columbo, we washed up in dreamy Weligama. A palm fringed surfers’ paradise on the south coast, where Will immediately made friends with the local surf guys and hit the waves, emerging roughly two days later.
Next up, we spent a few days further down the coast in the Unawatuna. People said this would be busier than Weligama, and whilst there were a few more restaurants and things on the beach, busy by Sri Lankan standards is still pretty quiet, given how underdeveloped it still is. Our journey to Unawatuna by tuk tuk was dotted with deserted beaches and fishermen on stilts, catching fish in the sea. At the stunning Wijaya beach, we spent some time drinking coconut juice, hanging about on the rope swings and walking further down the coast to explore quiet stretches of sand.
Sri Lanka has been one of our best holidays yet and we’ve had an amazing stay. The people we’ve met have been warm, friendly and kind. Having never been before, we didn’t really know what to expect, but our experiences and the people we met have by far exceeded any expectations we had.
For anyone thinking of visiting I’d make three recommendations; take the train and book your tickets well ahead of time! Bring binoculars for the safari and to look at the birds, monkeys and other wildlife in the trees (or the surfers!) and lastly, make sure you leave yourself plenty of chill time – you’ll need it!
I hope you enjoyed my blog and learned a bit more about what it’s like to visit Sri Lanka. Next stop, we’re off to the Maldives, so watch this space for an update on that.
Laura
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