Hikkaduwa, Galle

First day in Hikkaduwa had dinner in nearby restaurant which was ok. Unfortunately I became quite sick resulting in a day in bed. Others had a great day. First to Galle and the old Portuguese fort with a tour with a local guide who was very good. Had a nice cool drink at a hotel owned by a Sri Lankan who had lived in Australia for some time. After the tour they had good lunch in fort then on to a train trip. The train trip that was to be a feature of the tour had to be cancelled so this was added in to appease the train lovers. Travelled a number of stations. Following this they had a boat trip around the small islands dotting the coast line here. Stopped at an island to witness cinnamon harvesting. Back to hotel and Judy had dinner in the hotel.
Next day, I’m improved. Took a trip to a moonstone mining and jewellery making operation. Interesting. Judy bought ring and elephant pendant.
Rest of day was free. Judy and I and another of the group caught the train from Hikkaduwa to Galle. Had a walk through the fort s I could catch up. Fantastic huge fort with massive stone walls surrounding. Clock tower at one end and lighthouse at other. Huge area in the middle with many hotels, Grand and not so, restaurants, cafes, museums, working courthouses and other admin offices. Old buildings converted to hip hotels and cafes. Galle cricket ground opposite fort. International games played here.
We 3 squeeze into 3 wheeler (tuk tuk) for trip back. 18 kms $15. Good fun.
Special dinner of jumbo prawns and/or lobster tonight.

Ella to Hikkaduwa

Full driving day today. Left Ella 9am. Drive south passing waterfalls and when down to flat ground, many kilometres of lush green fields, primarily rice paddies. Stop at Elephant Transit centre, where injured and orphaned elephants are treated until old and well enough to be released into the wild, carrying radio collars. Witnessed feeding time where they are let into the feeding area in batches. First stop is the milk section where they are given milk via a hose into their eagerly open mouths. Have to be forcefully moved on to allow the next batch. After milk they move over to a section where  jack fruit tree branches are strewn about for them to eat. Some move to a small pond and throw water over themselves using their trunk.
Back on the road and stop at small roadside bakery for crocodile buns. Crescent shaped bready buns baked in wood fired ovens and sprinkled with sugar. Tasted great. Eventually reach south coast and head west along coast road. Lots of surf beaches and predominately young tourists. Stop to take photos of traditional stilt fishermen, standing on poles stuck in the sand in shallow section of beach and fishing with simple stick and line rods with small hook. No bait used. We pay about $1.50 each to take photos. These guys now earn as much from tourist photos as fishing. Continue on through Galle before reaching Hikkaduwa, another coastal town at 6pm. Check in and have a look around hotel and beach then dinner at local restaurant. Tomorrow go back to Galle for detailed tour.

Ella

After breakfast, start out on walking tour. Walk about 4kms and climb little Adam’s Peak 1140 metres high. Walk through tea plantation and past small Hindu settlement. Some kids selling fruit and trinkets along way. At top get great views across Ella Gap.
Next climb back down and walk about 1km through bush (here be leeches) to reach the Nine Arches railway bridge. Then decide to walk back along railway line about 3kms back to hotel. Total walk tour about 4.5 hours. Arrive back for beer and lunch. Shower (no leeches found) and lazy afternoon.

Nuwara Eliya to Ella

There has been constant rain for days and our walk on Horton plains had to be cancelled due to land slippages. This morning we visited Hindu temple and the botanical gardens. Both interesting. Then back to hotel to check out and partake in incredible high tea as farewell to Grand Hotel. 

Drive to Ella interesting with views of both tea plantations and many vegetable gardens. Arrive at Ella which is a thriving tourist location with many back packers. Looks like SL’s Nimbin. Change over to smaller vehicle as Bus cannot fit up narrow roads to hotel. Drive up steep narrow dirt track arriving at Mountain Heaven Hotel with fantastic views down across Ella gap. Lunch (of course, it’s only been a couple of hours since we last ate). Then nap time in nice room with view.

Nuwara Eliya

Left Kandy for Nuwara Eliya. On way stop at various view points for views of tea plantations, water falls. Travel through rolling hills of green plantations reminiscent of vineyards. Many estates with Scottish names e.g. Inverness due to original planters being Scottish. See tea pickers working hard and fast. Visit tea factory with very interesting tour of factory showing processing of tea leaves. Have complimentary cup in cafe.
Next to Nuwara Eliya known as little England. A number of English buildings with Tudor facades. Arrive at amazing Grand Hotel which is a huge old English style hotel. Have grand lunch with monogrammed silver etc. out for walk around town including visit to Nuwara Eliya golf club also old fashioned club house with trophies and honour boards dating back to 1800’s. Then walk through town with same fume belching buses and other vehicles as everywhere else. Go to pub for beer. Pretty ordinary joint.
Back for dinner in main dining room, seating 100’s and spectacular buffet style dinner.
It has rained a lot which has impacted some of our planned activities, with Friday’s walk on Horton plains abandoned due to earth slippages. Big weather issues on west coast with significant damage, power lines down etc. Hopefully over and back to normal by time we get there.

Kandy

First item today is 1 hour cruise on Mahaweli River starting from hotel. See various wildlife, mainly birds. Men fishing from outrigger canoe. Guys dredging river by hand. Interesting river side buildings of all ages and standards. People washing clothes and selves in river. Huge colony of bats in river side trees.
Next take bus to small village on edge of Kandy. Small government housing project with many having cottage industries. We visited home of brass maker. Intricate etching and embossing of brass items, many used in Buddhist temples. Then visited nearby ancient village temple with 2 sections containing big Buddha statues and one with painted walls and ceilings reminiscent of the caves in China. Brass maker guy is custodian of temples and very proud of them. He then provided tea and snacks for us and gave each of us a gift of a small trinket box.
Back to hotel for lunch, then off on walk around Kandy town centre. Much vehicular and people traffic. Lots of noise and exhaust fumes. Thousands of little shops and stalls. Walked through laneways lined with little stores, then on to produce markets with many exotic fruits and others including betel leaves and nuts and tobacco. Stopped at one place making hoppers (the bowl shaped ones). Guide bought a few for group to try.
Back on bus to arts and craft centre which was pretty ordinary in my mind. Back to hotel for rest before dinner.

Travel from Sigiriya to Kandy today. On way see guys washing their elephant in the river. While it is “owned” by them and hence chained on 1 leg, it appears to be well treated. They washed him as he lay on his side in the river and they scrubbed him with a brush. They gave me the opportunity to go down to the river side and pat him. Big thrill. Not sure how they use him, but there are elephants being used for rides which is a bit sad. Then next stop at spice gardens where we were taken on a guided tour of the gardens with explanations of the various spice and herb plants together with their uses in cooking and medicine. Then a short talk on the various spices in their processed forms followed by a neck and shoulder massage using the various oils for those that wanted. Judy did and loved it. Voluntary payment for massage. Lastly to the shop of course and Judy only spent $20. Lunch at that place before taking off for Kandy. My turn for the diarrhoea today which I think might be by the curry breakfast. Might need to be a little less adventurous. Of course we did have the king coconut again yesterday.
On arrival at Kandy visit a gem factory with explanation of mining and processing methods then of course the shop. Judy bought nothing! Then attended a fantastic cultural show with lots of drumming and dancing. Extremely energetic dances. Finale was fire walking show.
Next to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth in which is supposedly housed one of Buddha’s teeth! Special service today in which the small room containing the gold casket in which the tooth is housed, is opened. Devotees (and many tourists) file past a small doorway and get a few seconds to peer into the room at the very golden casket. Sounds a bit odd but quite interesting and associated with the evening service with lots of drum banging and wind instrument. Other parts of the temple house golden Buddha statues and an interesting library of 1000 year old books made of paper made from leaves of a pandanus like tree. Also a big room contains gifts made to this temple from Buddhists from around the world including a big golden Buddha sent from Thailand.
Been raining all day, often torrentially so now to hotel with very wet feet. Very nice hotel of the Cinnamon chain. Very modest dinner for me - no curry tonight. More of Kandy tomorrow.

Sigiriya

Early start to Lion Rock. Massive granite rock 180 metres high. On top are the ruins of palace and fortress. First stop at the museum to see models of how the palace and surrounds would have looked originally. Then walk through the huge gardens leading up to the rock. Start to climb rock with many other tourists. Hard walk and many steps. 3/4 of the way up there is a steep metal staircase to reach the top. I chickened out of that last section but judy went up with others of the group. She took photos and declared it fantastic. We then descended in the light rain that had started. Back to hotel for quick change then off to next leg.
Drove to a farming area for typical traditional lunch at farmhouse. Lovely lady provided selection of about 8 predominately vegetable curries and rice. Eaten by hand from a small basket with a lotus leaf lining. Very good but a challenge with one hand. Followed by delicious pineapple and bananas that tasted like bananas! After this took a short but slightly perilous ride on bullock wagons around paddy fields. Then a short walk to board small catamarans paddled by 1 man for ride across the “tank”. Tanks are ancient man made reservoirs. Stop to visit a small farm for coconut. Man cut open coconut with machete with small hole in top to allow drinking the coconut water. Once empty of water, split open to allow us to eat the flesh. Back on boats to cross the tank - about 20minute ride. Then back to hotel for rest. We had refreshing swim in hotel pool.

Days 1,2,3.

Arrived at Negombo hotel at 2:00 am and flaked. Woke at 6, opened blinds to view of beach in front of hotel. Quick walk on beach then breakfast. Hoppers and fish curry for DH - “when in Rome”. Meet tour group - 9 people plus guide and driver. Head off for Anuradhapura- original capital. Long drive with lots of interesting viewing. On way stop at roadside stall and sample “king” coconut (orange colour) - milk and flesh, reputed to be laxative. Drive on to Wilpattu national park. Lunch at Lepoard Den restaurant. Buffet style curries and rice. Arrive park and board 6 person jeeps for safari. 4 hour drive through the park, spotting deer, buffalo, wild boar, crocodiles, jackal, fleeting glimpse of mother sloth bear and cub bolting into bush, various bird life including eagles, but no leopards. Interesting finish to safari when driver got lost and missed 6 pm time when must be out of park. Got 2 week suspension from park, despite our fibs trying to cover for him. Back to hotel. Huge new hotel built in Italian style. Massive area with bungalow style rooms. See www.palmgardenvillage.com.

Dinner much same as lunch but not as good. Pouring rain tonight.

Sunday. Judy unwell with diarrhoea and headache. After breakfast change of plan due to rain. Swap activities between today and tomorrow. Tour Anuradhapura which was birthplace of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Lots of ancient sites & ruins of original Buddhist settlement as well as start of building new massive stupa. Drive to Sigiriya and lunch at hotel next to where we will stay night. Buffet of curries and rice etc. Then drive to Polonnaruwa, 2nd site of Buddhist settlement and location of ruling kings for extended period. Site of massive monastery with many ruins of temple sans stupas. Back to sigiriya to hotel and dinner. Indian night with 3 piece group playing Indian instruments and buffet of curries and rice (surprise). Finally get some wifi access.

Day 1

And we’re off. Flying today with Singapore Airlines to Colombo via Singapore. 8 hours to Singapore then 3 hours to Colombo.