1st February 2013 time is 16.30 Mr. F & I are on our way to Heathrow terminal 4 – final destination Sri Lanka. This is our 25 years of wedded bliss holiday. We are very early but it is Friday night & if we had left it later I know there would have been a traffic jam. We are queuing up for check in (not yet open, yes we are that early) when a Sri Lankan airlines rep puts out signs for upgrades at a very reasonable rate. We look at each other & grin. It’s a no brainer. After a quick but thorough hammering of the credit card in duty free, we make our way to the Business class lounge. Here we sup champagne have some good food and a chat with other travellers. Time flies by and it is not long before our flight is boarding. More champagne aboard, lovely food and a flat bed for some reasonable sleep. The choice of films is poor so it is a good job it is a night flight. It seems in a very short while that the lights come back on & we are having breakfast. 1 &1/2 hours to landing. Mr. F is looking shell-shocked & wants to go back to sleep (too much champers I think) but he soon rallies once we land.
After queuing up to get some Sri Lankan Rupees – not an enviable task when spaced out and jet lagged. (Actually no problem at all, just a wait while the machine was stuffed with money. This task was performed in the open by 2 men, no security, anyone of us had we the strength, could have run off with a fistful of filthy notes) we met our driver Fernando, strange Sri Lankan name I am thinking, but there is a Portuguese history here somewhere I think. We march outside in the blazing heat, Mr. F immediately asks about the weather, face falls when hears about torrential rain last 2 weeks and severe flooding in the area to which we are now heading.
Fernando has a Toyota and the back seats are raised up, so we get a good view. I am well pleased with the sight of this as I did not fancy circumnavigating Sri Lanka in a saloon car. We have a good view of all the surroundings and as we drive out of Colombo it is not long before the subject of cricket is on the agenda.
Now then, this tour we arranged ourselves as we did not want to do the Trailfinders tour as it involved visits to gem factories, Wood carving places and “cultural dancin” to name a few. We tell Fernando that we are not interested in these things but want to see the real Sri Lanka. First stop is supposed to be an elephant orphanage but we have read about it and do not want to go. Main reasons are 1. They treat the elephants in a way that we would not accept and 2 they fleece you, to look at elephant, touch elephant, ride elephant, and wash elephant. Etc. etc. Geared up for our first fight with the driver he says that the timing is all wrong to visit the orphanage. Sigh of relief actually we really just want to get to the hotel. About 3 ½ hours later, I cannot remember much about the journey apart from feeling it would never end, stopping to look at rubber trees, Cricket Stadiums, place where Fernando’s wife comes from, a million & 1 Tuk Tuks, mad drivers, frantic and dangerous overtaking and marvelling at the strange and beautiful sights that confront us.
I also remember the strange large brown leaves that are hanging down from the electricity cables. I see a lot of these individual leaves. I mention it to Fernando who tells me they are electrocuted Fruit Bats that have accidentally touched 2 wires and are fried.
At last we turn up a dusty red earth road; I am thinking there is no salubrious hotel at the end of this drive!! However we climb up a paved incline & the hotel in all its creeper-clad glory is revealed to us, just then a Mongoose scoots across the road in front of the car & disappears into the undergrowth. It is late afternoon, very hot and we try to take in our surroundings, it is all a bit too much to believe, miles & miles of jungle, strange animal or birds noises (not sure) and a view you see only on National Geographical magazine.
We are greeted by Sari wearing young ladies and boys in sarongs, all have bare feet. We are given Lotus flowers, our precious luggage is whisked away from us and we are walked through a rock tunnel into the hotel reception area. Ice-cold flannels are presented for us to freshen up and a choice of welcome drink, King Coconut, Woodapple (thick brown looking stuff) or custard apple juice. I play it safe & go for the king coconut, Mr. F thinks coconut is the food of the devil (he might have to change his mind about that) and plumps for the congealed gravy drink. Actually it does taste nice but a bit thick for a thirst quenching drink.
We are then shown to our room, not on a top floor as we wanted but down on level 2. The room is massive and very nice but smells very damp. I put this down to the creepers etc. adorning the windows also you cannot open the windows for fear of the monkeys getting in. This is a very humid country as we are only just beginning to find out. We look out from our balcony to see 3 birds in a tree opposite. Mad rushing to get binoculars, bird books etc. wow we have 2 Red vented Bulbuls and a white throated Kingfisher, we are stunned, must be fantastic to see such rarities on our first day (we saw more of these 2 birds on the whole holiday than you could shake a stick at)
Dinner was a buffet, whilst the food was excellent and a fabulous choice in the main it was tepid. Being a bit scared of Montezuma’s revenge we were a bit selective in our choice. We ate the curry some of it was too hot even for Ian. They did do an absolutely amazing steamed coconut sponge yumaroony.
Fernando tells us we have to be on the road at 8am so it is a 6.30 start for us the next day. Slept reasonably well I think. Breakfast was excellent – egg hoppers (I think I will do a separate food explanation section) samabal – proper bacon and the most amazing tea, fabulous. There are certain aspects even at this early stage of the holiday where you can see the British Influence, driving on the left and great tea.
Fernando is waiting for us outside and asks how we slept, did we like our room etc., we tell him we wanted a high up room overlooking the lake, before we have reached the end of the drive our room is changed.
We did not know what to wear; it is nice & warm but overcast. It is freezing in the car; the aircon is on full blast. The roads are bad and it starts to rain. Fernando says it will not be raining at the ancient city, we are headed towards Polonnarwa, and this is an Ancient ruined city. When entering the ruins you have to take off your shoes, we are lucky that it is not hot as you are unable to walk on the ground if it is sunny as it burns your feet. However there is rough sandy gravel that really hurts my soft European pinky feet. Fernando marches off ahead and I follow. Ooh ah ooh ah ooh ah.
Fernando is very good as a guide his knowledge of the history is exceptional, some of it goes over my head, Mr. F is taking all in. Fernando’s English is very good but occasionally he gets lost for the right word and has quite a strong accent. There are several puzzled exchanged looks between Ian & I, throughout the tour. We see our first of many Buddha statues; Buddha has many poses all of which mean something. Buddha is resting, Buddha is sleeping, Buddha is thinking about other people. The position of Buddha’s hands is also important, the only one I can remember at the moment is palm facing out means no Violence (pronounced Wiolence).
Also I am constantly told Buddha is not a God Buddha is a human being or Buddha is not a God Buddha was a living person.
Buddha say’s if you do good, good will come. If you do bad things bad will come.
More about Buddha later.
Fernando took us to this place for lunch, buffet meal not good, only luke warm and we did not really want it, we had curry and it was spicy hot.
The afternoon was really sunny so we went on a Elephant Safari – we had to go to their office as we did not have enough rupees and had to make up the difference in $. It gave us a chance to see riding elephants; this is something that I wanted to do. However I did not like the elephants being chained up and having huge chains round their necks and feet. They are very beautiful and do not deserve this, so we did not do it. While we waited on the shores of a beautiful lake filled with water hyacinths, lotus and Lilies a kingfisher swooped down from a tree in front of me & flew off with his dinner firmly clenched in his enormous beak.
The Safari was very bumpy but exhilarating, we saw, Elephants, Hawk Eagles, and Bee Eaters. Our Driver was not really interested in birds and kept driving off despite my cries of stop, what was that, did you see… . Added to the list were Land Monitors, Mongoose or should that be Mongeese or Mongooses. We had a great afternoon and enjoyed the sun and the warm.
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| More people than elephants |
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| Ranjan pondering |
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| Riding Elephant |
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| Riding Elephant |
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| Wild Elephant |
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| Crested Hawk Eagle |
Back to the Kandalama hotel and our new room, smaller than before but a better view. We did not have any dinner, as we were not hungry. Slept well until 2.30 when this loud clicking noise woke me. No idea what it was, seemed to be outside on the balcony. Next thing alarm goes off at 5.30. We are going on a bird walk.
4th Feb 6.30 just 3 of us and the leader, who is a wizened, thin old Sri Lankan. Piyasena is his name and he is a very knowledgeable proud man. He taught himself everything he knows about the wildlife and learnt English from the visitors. Prior to him working at the hotel he was a farmer, very hard work he says. He had a very old and tattered bird book that was his pride & joy. We saw many many birds, giant Squirrel, Palm Squirrel and Mongoose. Piyasena also tells us a tale about a footballer who came here and went on the bird walk. He is very proud of the fact. He also told us the footballer liked a drink, he drank a lot, a lot at any time of the day he says. Do we know who it was? Several names spring to mind but it was Tony Adams.
Another amusing story was that the bathroom windows had no blinds or curtains. They were just glass windows that looked out across the lake & the jungle. No one could see in so no need for them. Well that is until (I apologise if you visualise this but…) I was on the loo when a monkey swung past the window, saw me, swung back for a second look. Hilarious. Perhaps he thought me a rather large relation? Also the wet room was glass and right up against the window. Rather cool having a shower with small monkeys not three feet away, peering quizzically at you. “hey guys come and have a look at this one” They restrained from laughing and pointing though.
A very quick breakfast and then off to Sigiriya.
I hope you are not bored I am only on day 3.
Sigiriya (Lion's rock) is a large ancient stone and rock fortress come palace ruin in the Matale district. It is a huge bare rock like Sugar loaf mountain, It’s bare sides tower high up out of the jungle. A rickety stairway 2700 steps so I am told, takes you up to the dizzy heights. Now those of you that know me will know I am not so steady on my feet. I have been panicking about doing this for weeks, but feel that it is essential. Mr F also is cajoling me along, I pay $30 to get in and then see the stairway, the hordes of people and the height of the thing & say that I am not doing it. Fernando is less than impressed by this declaration but I know I will get half way up & freak out and spoil it for everyone. I am told to wait along the path, they will be an hour & half to 2 hours. I wander along & and find a place to sit on a wall. It is hot & sticky, there are a lot of helpers around and they all want a piece of the action and several hundred rupees. There are also people trying to sell wood carvings but they leave me alone I start to write my diary as well as keeping a wary eye on a monkey, that is pondering if there is any food in any of the numerous bags I am carrying.
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| View from top of Sigiriya |
Nearby a snake charmer has 2 Cobras in baskets he tries to tempt people to pay him to “make snake dance” – not many takers. I am definitely not making eye contact with him. Some people come down & take the snake around their shoulders and have their photo taken for 200 rupees, poor snakes.
It starts to rain and then it pours, I take shelter in a cave under the Cobra rock. I am told that this is where people will exit from the climb. The rain is torrential, it is running down the roughhewn steps like a river, one women slips & falls. I thank god (or Buddha) that I did not do the climb. I pass the time talking to a “Nice man” (I’m not gay you know) from Wigan. Who was full of tales and very interesting to talk to, but no digressions here.
Worried about Ian, it is about and hour and a half since they went up. I move out from the cave & wander nearby, I then see Fernando who is less than pleased that I moved from the designated spot. How was I supposed to shelter from the rain? Ian was quite relived to see me, I don’t know what they think would have happened to me unless eaten by Monkeys or abducted by white slave traders, nah probably the monkey thing! Anyway Ian is saturated to the skin. Fernando has a change of clothes in the car and is soon sorted out, he lends Ian a shirt but his crops are sodden. We have no alternative but to go back to the hotel. It is only 2pm we are less than happy when we are dropped off & Fernando says to see us in the morning. We did not come all this way to sit in a hotel & watch the rainfall down. Once Ian is dried off we decide to cheer ourselves up with a beer or 2 surf of the net and email a few friends. Only once we get to the bar we find out it is a dry day and no alcohol is served. We raid the mini bar for 1 small can of beer and a gin & sprite. Mr Sulky takes to his bed (actually tired after his hike) and I sit on the balcony to read & write the diary.
I hear Ian rustling about & wonder what he is up to, it is warm, stopped raining now and I am nodding off. More rustling, peer round the door, Ian asleep, I nod off again, more rustling, wake up see monkey running out of room. He has stolen the milk powder sachets. He sits on the balcony and no amount of shooing, shouting or swearing at the thing will make it go away. With great dexterity it opens the sachets and eats the powder. Not interested in the sugar sachets only the milk. Now then If Mr F had woken from his slumber and seen the said monkey in his room, I really do not know what would have happened (gone bananas? Sorry). He really is not a great lover of monkeys and certainly not in his personal space. Secondly this breed of monkey reminds me of someone – ah yes Bruce Forsyth. See what you think.
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| Bruce Forsyth milk powder monkey |
Despite the bad weather we had a fabulous sunset, and the swifts were screaming overhead, it was quite unreal. More curry & beer (drinks were served in the restaurant) and bed. Woken again at 4am by the clicking noise, later told it might have been the bats eating the flies off the windows. There were loads of bats flying around here. I think I might have done a good job of dissuading anyone from coming here but it really is a great place an experience of a lifetime.
Tuesday 5th Feb 6.30 am – Low cloud, no view, lake shrouded in mist, air very damp. Cases stored in car on our way to Kandy via Dambulla temple. At the bottom of the lane in a small paddy field, we see a Bar winged flycatcher, Black headed Ibis and 4 Woolly Necked Storks. Not bad.
Dambulla Temple –
Not 2700 steps up to this one but quite a lot. Only I manage to do this, it is not so
steep & the steps are more even. At the top we have to discard our shoes. They are looked after for 25rupees. We are now at the Buddha caves, up here there are 150 Buddha statues in 5 caves. More information about Buddha – reminded again that he is not a God. People do not pray to Buddha they make a wish. If the wish comes true they will bring an offering of food, flowers or alms. Too many Buddha photos later we descend and start our journey up into the hill country. We have one night at the Heritance Earls regency hotel in Kandy.
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| Teaching or giving instruction pose |
The scenery soon starts to change from the flattish jungle to more hilly jungle. This is Spice country; we decline the Spice Tour having done one in Zanzibar and head straight into Kandy. We park in a very busy street. The sun is shining and it is very hot. The Temple of the Tooth is an ornate building in Kandy, it is where the Buddha’s tooth is kept inside 6 Gold caskets. You don’t get to see the tooth but the building is worth a look. Shoes off again – feet are burning today. People leave flowers and there is a procession of people laying flowers and people clearing them away. The waste is phenomenal no sooner are they laid out than they are cleared away to make room for more, They are such beautiful colourful exotic flowers they make a huge vibrant splash in front of the sacred tooth casket. I would dearly love to see the Elephant procession of the Tooth in March it must be a spectacular event. This is a very lovely peaceful place.
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| Get your Buddha flowers here. 2 for 5 4 for 10! |
Today we find out that Fernando is really called Ranjan. His full name is Oswald Ranjan Edward Fernando. His grandfather worked as a government official during the British Rule and he wore a cap we are told.
We go to a restaurant for lunch and I have a fresh pineapple juice, it is just pulped fresh pineapple & divinely sweet and cool, Ian has a beer. We eat beef curry, which comes with poppadum’s, radish salad, cabbage, brinjal, chutney & rice. £12 which looking back was expensive in the great scheme of things. Normally we paid about £3 each for a curry.
For a country that is poor, they do “rip off” the tourists. There is one price for the locals & one for visitors. I do understand that they need the money and whilst we do not mind paying a bit more sometimes it is excessive, like the entrance to Sigiryia.
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| Kandy |
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| Lunch |
Ranjan then takes us on a drive through Kandy and past our hotel. Ian wants to go for a walk around the lake, but we keep driving. Soon we are outside the Kandy cricket ground. Trying to take some photo’s we are beckoned into someone’s house. Well it is actually a building site. It looks at one time like it was a hotel or is going to be a hotel. Not sure if being built or repaired. We go up these concrete stairs, 2 men who do not speak a word of English keep beckoning us to follow. Ranjan assures us it is OK. We are at this stage still not sure about Ranjan. We get to the top & have a magnificent view of the ground. The toothless man grins, brings out an “England Flag” (actually New Zealand) and points at broken seats, more grins. Ranjan translates English people come here & drink beer to watch the cricket. His flag mistake is pointed out & he disappears again only to return with a real England flag, more toothless grins. We wish them all Ayubowan (long life) and head back to the car. They are still waving as we get down to the end of the road. It is situations like this that you do not know what to do, do you offer them some money, and will they be offended. We do feel uneasy, but it would be very bad to offend someone’s hospitality.
On the way back to the hotel Ranjan makes a detour. I am taking you somewhere special he says as we disappear down some back street. There are high walls and electric gated houses. He stops outside one & asks if we know who lives here? Err no. It is Muttiah Muralitharan’s parents house. A man comes out, Muti is not home (thank god), but would we like to meet his father. Actually I would not know what to say to the man. Your son plays lovely cricket?? Anyway Mr Muti Snr is asleep. Phew.
The Earl regency is our hotel for the night. Reception is a very grand affair; we are welcomed again with a drink, passion fruit for both of us this time. The bedroom is nice and has a plaster tree set into the wall. I quite fancy one of these at home!
Mr F is a bit put out, there are something’s that he wants to do but is it not happening. Lack of communication and a definite undercurrent of jetlag and lack of sleep so far are taking its toll. We are at the hotel early so we go down to catch a few rays (it is overcast now). Soon Mr F is snoozing away and I am not far behind.
Dinner that night – we choose to eat in the spice bar as the restaurant looks like a free for all. This part of the holiday there are lots of tour parties. As we are staying in large hotels there are a lot of people about. However we have the spice bar nearly all to ourselves and the staff fall over themselves to help us. We shared a Nasi Goreng and a fish platter the food was very good and hot. Soon to bed, slept well I think, no bats clicking anyway. On the road again by 9 this morning.
First stop Kandy Botanical gardens. After calming Ian down, he wanted to stop & take photos but it was the rush hour and we really could not stop, as the road was too narrow, we exchanged some money in a shop. Ranjan said we would get a good rate but as we had not been to a bank we had little to compare it to. However it was a good rate. Again felt rather vulnerable. Mr F Still stomping mad but managed to rid himself of it as he had good photo opportunities in the gardens. Especially of the thousands of fruit bats hanging off the trees and screeching overhead. They were a bit spooky and you had to be careful they did not poo on you.
The gardens were lovely although in need of a bit of TLC. It was a really peaceful place and it was nice for a wander. Young courting couples were everywhere. Parks and gardens are the only place where they can be alone. It is not done to show affection in a public place in Sri Lanka. We were hoping to see a wedding party having their photographs taken here. We saw one along by the river as we drove here but not in the gardens. There is also a small orchid house which held some fine specimens. I have to drag Ian out as we have been here for 2 hours. Ranjan will be worried where we are.
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| Kandian Wedding and traditional wedding attire. |
We start our journey up to Newara Eliya – tea plantation Country.
We pass some school children running in the road. It is sports day says Ranjan. Several of the schools are having sports day. They seem to be running a cross-country or marathon. Some boys encourage them along help some of the girls who are struggling. Some of them do not look as though they will make it.
We also pass a school where the children are all lined up for a race, They have half coconut shells on strings, which they stand on and then run as fast as they can. Some of them are very fast others not so good. It looks like great fun. There are buildings on the field that are made from palm leaves one is made to look like a Peacock.
The drive was long and winding, hairpin bends but thankfully the road was relatively clear of traffic. After a while we stopped at a Tea factory and had a tour of the plant. We saw the process from picking right through to the cup of tea at the end, extremely interesting and extremely good tea. We are now drinking our tea without milk, as it is so nice.
We stop en route to take more photos of the view, tea plantations and tea pickers. We also stop in Newara Eliya for Ranjan to have a rest and a bite to eat. We walk around to look at the market and street sellers. Fascinating, there is so much fresh produce everywhere. Although it is still warm to us, people are wrapped up like it is the dead of winter, fleeces and hats. Hmmm.
We stop en route to take more photos of the view, tea plantations and tea pickers. We also stop in Newara Eliya for Ranjan to have a rest and a bite to eat. We walk around to look at the market and street sellers. Fascinating, there is so much fresh produce everywhere. Although it is still warm to us, people are wrapped up like it is the dead of winter, fleeces and hats. Hmmm.
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| Beetle leaves (Chewing tobacco gives you red teeth!) |
The Heritance tea factory is a magnificent building. It stands majestically on a hill in the middle of a large Tea plantation. You have to go up a long narrow lane for about 6k maybe more to reach it; it is in the middle of nowhere. Someone said that looking at it you would think it was the hotel from hell. I strongly disagree with this, I thought it fascinating. It was only upon real close up, staring at it that I saw perhaps what they meant as the corrugated metal outside is not the most aesthetic of building materials, but it is what it was originally made of. You have to read the history of the place to understand it or even better just go there.
A turban wearing, doorman welcomes us, much more of an India feel about this place. The reason for that is quite drawn out but briefly, Tamils were brought here from Southern India to grow & pick the tea, as the Sri Lankans did not want to do it. We are ushered inside many greetings and big smiles, we are awestruck by the inside of this place, and I fear the photographs do not do it justice. The welcome ceremony consists of a daub of Turmeric on your forehead, in the palm of your hand is placed some sugar crystals, cumin and cardamom. You throw this into your mouth in one go & chew. It is quite delicious. A demi tasse of hot-spiced tea, sweet, exquisite & refreshing is then served with hot towels. I told you it was cooler here. We are taken to our room, which looks out of the front of the hotel we are on the second of 3 floors. There is an atrium at the bottom of which an old engine from the original factory, this fires up in the evening & turns the fans on each floor. Just for show. The décor is all wooden floors, brass, pictures of its past, and caskets of tea and fresh leaves. Set in the midst of a vast tea plantation with low clouds enveloping the hotel and mist clinging to the surrounding hills. The clouds clear away to reveal a fabulous view and blue sky. The clouds soon sweep back in and then back out again.
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| Lunch on the terrace |
We decamp to the bar and mull over, the day & what we are going to do about our driver, it not that he is a problem I think the problem lies with us! We meet up with John & Mavis who were in Kandy and they say other people have really bad drivers so we decide that things cannot be so bad & we just need to talk to him more about what we want & what Aitken Spence expect of him
Dinner is a grand affair, the restaurant is superbly furnished and you do feel like you have stepped back in time, the food is buffet style but the grandest buffet I have ever seen. The food is hot as well. I have Kottu Roti which I read about before I came & thought I would only get to eat it from a street trader so was delighted to see it on the menu & it is cooked to order in front of you. Cooked on a griddle, veggies, Roti, Chicken curry, egg and chilli It is then all chopped up using these giant blades, chop chop chop goes the Kalle Roti man. Yum yum yum say’s I. Mr F is delving into the stoneware pots full of all different curries, homemade chutneys, sambals. There is dhoti, breads and so many other things I just cannot remember them all. I will just say this – hot banana sponge pudding.
As it gets cool in the evenings they light fires in wood burning stoves but fuel they use is coconut shells – very effective and very hot. We however sleep with both our windows open as feel it too warm. In the middle of the night we are woken by loud howling and growling and snarling of a dog. What the hell ?????? We find out the next day that a boar or buffalo has come into the vegetables plots. Imagine this steep hillside clad with tea bushes, the valley bottom flat with deep rich soil. The bottom of the valley is terraced and used to grow magnificent veg, carrots cabbage, leeks etc. etc. Just like allotments. Now the wild animals come in at night & wreak havoc, destroy all the crops and the living of the people. A man & a dog stand guard every night, I guess the dog was just doing his job but it was the talk of the morning! Actually quite scary.
Morning arrives and the hotel is again shrouded in mist. Guests are leaving some go on an early trip to Horton Plains so we are woken at 7am. Today is a rest day but we are awake so we get up, have a light breakfast, (I speak for myself). We then go on a nature walk. Morgan is our guide he is just a young lad. Mavis & John join us, they are very loquacious. I try to keep up ahead with Morgan to get the history & nature of the place.
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| Wild bees |
Bird count now up to 61. Morgan is not that good at identifying them really and looks at my book with great interest he also takes a liking to my binoculars. We meet ladies picking the tea; they smile & let us take photos. It is amazing when you have a guide they do not ask for money. Some people that went off on thier own said they felt like the pied piper they had so many people following them. Morgan tells me he has always lived here in this remote place & walked 5k each way to school everyday. His English is perfect, enough said.
We sit outside for a while & have a beer, this turns out to be a bad mistake, although it is not hot and we have sun cream on we get severely burnt, and I mean severely. I am so embarrassed that I can hardly drag my self down to dinner.
Tonight we are celebrating our Silver Wedding (well one of many celebrations). There is an old wooden railway carriage parked outside the hotel in which they serve a special 5-course dinner for 4 couples. The train master runs it! I cannot remember his name but he is very entertaining. He and all the staff of the railway carriage are dressed for the part. The whole thing was hilarious, extraordinary and absolutely delicious (no curry tonight though). We are welcomed aboard amidst toots and whistles and station master flag waving. Every course is a station. We have a G&T and then order our food; there is a choice of courses as well, so Ian & I have different things so we can share. I am slightly concerned that I am not going to be able to eat 6 courses, but I need not have worried, as they were small tasters until the main course.
There is a copy of the menu and the story of the TCK 6685 in the usual place at no 62. It makes good reading. Anyway a tape of train noises is played as we “leave the station” and the captain rocks the carriage and you actually do feel like you are on a train and have to stop looking out of the window to see “where we are” as obviously the view does not change. The various “stations” are laid before us – most interesting was the palate cleanser or Lollipop station. I had the lime & orange liquor fantasy. Which had been frozen on a stick, hence the lollipop. Very clever. Main course for me was best end of lamb; it was superb and cooked to perfection. Just before pudding was served the captain put on Cliff Pilchard singing - yes you all know this one ‘Congratulations”. We were presented with a cake, chocolate by nature but decorated on the side with pressed on cornflakes and I am guessing not Kellogg’s. Quite unpleasant but we ate it and smiled as we quickly swallowed it down. The captain meantime ran outside and lit 2 sparklers, which he then waved madly in the air like a person possessed. We were the talk of the carriage as everyone thought it magical to celebrate 25 years in such a marvellous place and gave us a round of applause. The whole performance was then repeated for someone’s birthday. I have a very badly taken video of it all, if you are interested. We floated off to our beds euphoric and smiley.
Did not sleep too well, perhaps too euphoric, only had a G&T or was that 2 and half a bottle of wine? There seemed to be a lot of cars toing & froing in the night. But where & who was on the move I have no idea. No wild boars or dogs though.
6.30 start, breakfast, pack, checkout. Still looking like belisha beacons and trying to hide my face behind my hair.
We are now headed to Yala National park in search of Mr. Leopard. The drive is 4 hours long, the roads are even more winding, hairpin bends more bendy, and inclines and descents seem to be steeper than before. Ranjan is on a mission, it is our fault, as we want to get in a safari this afternoon, but still see the waterfall and view from Ella. I think if we do not stop soon I am going to be sick, I have not felt travel sick in years and wonder why now all of a sudden. (Cornflake cake??) We stop at the Viewpoint, which is shrouded in mist so we do not linger. I am dreading getting back in the car but after half an hour we stop again at a magnificent waterfall, take some photo’s and walk off the queasy feeling.
Ranjans sister in law is seriously ill, blood clot in the head. Things are quiet today, she is having an operation this afternoon & there is 50/50 chance she will survive. He has his foot to the floor again; he wants to get to Yala ASAP so he can speak to his wife. We tell him, look you do what you have to do,we can wait & have plenty of time tomorrow for the safari. We also find out how much he earns from doing this job and are horrified that he gets nothing from Aitken Spence, we paid a princely sum to have our own chauffeur. It is also his own car so what did we pay them for?? A phone call to Ranjan to tell him that he had to drive us about the place for 11 days – we are really shocked.
Ranjan still takes time to ensure we see what we have to. He stops where some rice is being harvested and gets us some to look at. The paddyfield is full of Egrets and swallows swoop down to catch the insects that are disturbed by the cutting.
Ranjans sister in law is seriously ill, blood clot in the head. Things are quiet today, she is having an operation this afternoon & there is 50/50 chance she will survive. He has his foot to the floor again; he wants to get to Yala ASAP so he can speak to his wife. We tell him, look you do what you have to do,we can wait & have plenty of time tomorrow for the safari. We also find out how much he earns from doing this job and are horrified that he gets nothing from Aitken Spence, we paid a princely sum to have our own chauffeur. It is also his own car so what did we pay them for?? A phone call to Ranjan to tell him that he had to drive us about the place for 11 days – we are really shocked.
Ranjan still takes time to ensure we see what we have to. He stops where some rice is being harvested and gets us some to look at. The paddyfield is full of Egrets and swallows swoop down to catch the insects that are disturbed by the cutting.
1pm we arrive at Yala, taken to our chalet. You are not allowed to walk on your own from your room to the hotel after dark as animals roam around. The room is fab, huge moisi net clad bed in the middle. A wet room with rain shower very well designed.
We get ready for the safari – cameras, videos, bins, hats, sun cream, deet. We meet Ranjan and he takes us to the luxury jeep we have hired for 3 safaris. This is Ranjans friend, we find out that we would have paid about $40 more if we had arranged it through the hotel and got less time. We had been afraid that we were going to get ripped off as this was a bit like the Kruger. Jeeps hurtling around the place, most people have one thing on their mind to see a Leopard. Now I cannot deny that this is why we are doing this, however I am speechless at the amount of wildlife here, the beauty of the place and the amazing amount of fabulous BIRDS!!!!! Feathered variety of course..
After about 10 mins on a very potholed, rutted and dusty road we reach the tracker station. Sunill is our Safari driver we hand over 15,500 rupees, we seem to be bleeding cash on this holiday, no sooner have we got some than a hand comes out for us to hand it over. Sunill comes back with a tracker, a real person not a GPS silly. We need to tip him, 500 rupees if he is good, but only if he is good. £2.50! We then drive another 2 mins to the entrance to the park. Once inside we stop at a lake, birds everywhere, I do not know where to look first. The tracker is pointing out. Pond Heron, Black headed Ibis, egrets, Redshanks, Greenshanks, Whistling Teal the list goes on. The lake is also very pretty filled with Lotus flowers, lilies and water hyacinths. Water Buffalo are cooling down along the edges, spotted deer graze nearby and a large crocodile cools off by opening his huge mouth and gulps in air.
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| Ranjan |
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| Yala - home |
There is much exchange of chat between the jeep drivers, there are so many jeeps and people here I think to myself, this is a tourist trap & I have as much chance of seeing a Leopard here as I have in our own back garden I resign myself to that fact & just really enjoy the experience. Soon however, Sunhill does a big swerve away from the “jeep train” Mr F looks at me & says off the beaten track hurrah. At times like this we are very antisocial. Many birds are pointed out and other animals. If you are not interested in birds this must be quite boring and I don’t think you would be enamoured by Yala, as animals are few on the ground. There are not many Elephants, and Buffalo, Spotted & Samba deer make up the big mammals. We did see mongoose, fox, blacked necked hare, wild boar, snake.
Drive, Drive, Drive. Bump, bump, crash, thrash, twist. I love being on safari and these seats are great, they hold you in and cushion your side, just perfect although I know I will have a few bruises after this. You don’t worry though - eyes are peeled all the time for any sort of movement of flash of colour. No Leopard. Round the rocks where they favour to snooze, round the edge of the grassland where the Deer graze, no luck. We stop in a place where there are a lot of jeeps parked up. Do we want to stop & get down to stretch our legs? No thanks. I can hear the sea. I did not realise we were so close to the coast. The tracker tells me when the Tsunami hit there were many jeeps parked here 37 people died, very bad, very very bad he says.
We come across a water hole where water buffalo is lying down, the tracker is pointing out a Woolly necked (pronounced neck-ed) stork, when I realise that the buffalo is not snoozing but actually dead. About 8 crocs are chewing upon it; it is covered in flies & maggots. More crocs are moving in I am trying to count them when the jeep lurches back and reverses at speed about 100 yards. Much talking between, Ranjan, Sunill & the tracker. Ian & I are puzzled. Then the tracker say Leopard! Ther there. Where where Ian & I cry. Don’t shout he says, look look by the yellow flowers. We see him BIG YELLOW eyes looking at us from the edge of the scrub, beautifully spotted and golden orange in the evening glow. He slinks off into the Jungle & is gone.
Apparently when we were all looking at the Woolly stork, the Leopard came out not 10 metres away from the jeep. Ranjan spotted him. Fantastic, FANBLOODYTASTIC.
Oops, it is late and despite stopping to see some Hornbills, Sunill says we have to get out of the park. We hurtle at high speed, told to hang on, it is very dark, we catch glimpses of Nightjars resting in the dusty road and make it to the gate just in time. About 3 jeeps including us slow down to give the guards our tickets. I wonder what is the penalty for being late? Locked in??
Back to the hotel, we shower. I am really tired now it is about 7.30; we have not eaten since breakfast. I am wobbly on my feet from all the travelling today. We are very happy & Mr F says over & over. I cant believe we saw that Leopard.
Bird Count 94.
Looking out of our room we see 4 buffalo right by the door, we call reception & the buffalo wallah comes to shoo them away. They have moved further on by the time we come back.
A rubbish curry tonight but heh Bed by 9.30. Alarm wakes us 4.30 am . Clean teeth. Throw on last night’s filthy clothes and soon we are bumping down the track again. We sit out side the tracker station in the pitch dark. Monkeys are leaping overhead and one young one tries to get up the courage to jump from one tree to another. Runs along the branch, braces to spring and .... no. runs away. Runs up again, braces and .... no. He does finally does do it though.
Ok the agenda this morning is another LEOPARD please. More high speed hurtling and new tracker today, we get away from everyone else, but no Leopards.
We turn down a track to where the big rocks are, the snoozing place. Tracker says – Leopard. Where where?? I cant see him. Frantic scrabbling for cameras & binoculars. There he is right in front of us, so close. We were looking further away. There are just Ian, the tracker, & I, Ranjan & Sunill. Big BIG smiles all round. Ranjan is grinning from ear to ear. Apparently this is very special, no one else here & so close. We enjoy a good 10 mins before another jeep thunders in & Mr L slinks off. Our jeep starts up. Sunill gives us another grin, thumbs up and away we go.
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| turn your head down to your left shoulder to see how tilted the jeep is. |
Another highlight is a Black-Necked Stork, very rare, only 6 in the whole park. We also see an Indian Pita, which has migrated all the way from the Himalaya’s. There are lots & lots of butterflies and insects. We see 3 types of Bee Eater & get some fabulous photos, even me! Rushing back to the hotel for breakfast it is now 10am. After that we shower and go for a snooze by the pool. It is roasting hot, I lie in the shade. We both still look like swan vestas. I manage to get Ian to lie with his head in the shade; soon his is sweating like the proverbial… I go for a swim and even Mr F thinks about cooling off in the water. Hold me up before I faint.. The water looks a bit mucky, so I try not to get any near my mouth, just like a long necked stork. Ha ha.
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| Thick Knee |
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| Indian Pitta |
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| Indian Roller |
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| Malabar Hornbill |
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| It's dusty work this safari lark. Another safari in the afternoon did not produce anything new but we get a view of a Leopard asleep in a tree a long way off. We take photos but don’t hold out any hope of them being any good. Well they were better than we thought |
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| Sleeping Leopard |
More curry, beer and packing. Up early again the next day, we move on to Galle. The wares for sale along the side of the road change from fresh fruit & veg to salt and curd. We stop off in Galle and do a bit of shopping. It is really hot and I can feel my skin burning again. We do not linger, but get some good photos of Galle traders.
We also see some stick fishermen. I fear these more of a tourist attraction than the real thing. We did however see the proper fisherman’s sticks further up the coast, but no fishermen. These photo’s turned out quite well though.
We also see some stick fishermen. I fear these more of a tourist attraction than the real thing. We did however see the proper fisherman’s sticks further up the coast, but no fishermen. These photo’s turned out quite well though.
We also see a fish market, fish literally straight out of the sea.
We stop off at Galle Fort, Ranjan gives us the historic talk, it is soooooo hot, I can hardly walk. The view from the fort is right across the cricket ground, another one to add to my list.
We arrive at the hotel, which is very nice, beautiful room, right on the sea front. I cannot help thinking about the Tsunami and how high was the wave? Ranjan does not talk about it much and I cannot draw him on the subject so leave it alone. There are still many ruined properties; some being repaired some left to rot. It is 8 years after the event and the destruction is still very evident.
You look at the tall buildings & wonder how high the wave came up, would it have come into this room etc. etc. morbid I know.
As I said our room was lovely, the bed was so big and high I nearly had to get a ladder to climb in it. The bathroom area was very interesting, walk in dressing area, and sink etc., the toilet & walk in shower had clear glass doors, so if some one was in the loo you had to avert your eyes, we did make a joke out of it but time spent on the lav was very short! Mr F thought it great fun. However not so much laughter when I had to call in the bedroom wallah to find the missing hairdryer whilst he was still in the shower. That was a palaver, the hairdryer was missing, then it did not work. We had people running about all over the place getting things sorted. I have never rung room service so much in my life. Mr F found a robe and flip flops in the wardrobe and then proceeded to do kung Fu impersonations. He actually wore the flip-flops for the rest of the holiday. Normally there is much crying about them hurting his toes.
Our skin is now peeling off and we look like lepers, ok slight exaggeration. I feel an exfoliation treatment coming on! However we plaster on the sun block and go down to the garden to lie in the sun. We share a sandwich and a beer I have a cocktail called a grass skirt. Mostly pineapple with a big kick at the bottom. Ian is soon snoozing. I walk down to the beach for a while and take in the tranquillity of the place. The sea is very strong you are advised not to swim anywhere along this coastline. It makes me think about the wave again & just how powerful it must have been.
Ranjan has taken the opportunity to go home. He catches a bus, as it is cheaper than taking the car. We try to persuade him to take the car as we will see to the cost but he will have none of it. Also the bus journey is 3 hours long. We tell him to leave early as we are not going anywhere, also we do not want to leave until 10am tomorrow. This gives him some good time with his wife & children. He is very happy.
Once changed for dinner & the hairdryer fiasco is over. (I also had to ring room service to open the safe as I managed to lock it with out setting the code. Duh) we check out the various dining options. The Cinnamon lounge has great reviews but it is European food. So we go down to the main restaurant. We have learnt that if you eat off the a la carte menu it is a third of the price of the buffet menu plus you do not end up eating food just because it is there. We choose yes – Curry well we share a Nasi Goreng & a Sri Lankan Prawn curry. We get bread and dips as well. We sit outside it is a lovely warm evening. Afterwards we have a nightcap in the upper bar, it is ornately decorated and is very old. A very pleasant way to finish off the evening.
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| View from our room, yes it is that misty |
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| Giant spider in our room. |
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| Some staircase! |
We are now hurtling towards the end of the holiday. Yesterday & last night was lovely, very relaxing. We did not realise just how tired we have been, it was nice to have a lie in & take our time a bit. Today we move onto the Saman Villas and say goodbye to Ranjan. Firstly however he takes us to a moonstone mine. This is not a big enterprise but a handful of locals digging a flipping great big deep shaft. One man is down the shaft working by candlelight. They have no money & neither does we the only cash we have is 100 rupee notes. 50p to you & me we feel bad, he stares at the notes and then looks away. We are ashamed.
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| Cinnamon oil extraction |
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| Cinnamon drying |
They dig up the Moonstones, sift them out in water then sort them. There is a pile of waste and then the good stones that are taken along the track to the workroom. We are also shown a cinnamon oil extraction place. 2 Men a lot of dead leaves a huge kiln and some sort of distilling plant. The place smelt of freshly steamed Christmas pudding. We went to the Moonstone gem shop & I made a few small purchases. They kept trying to get me to buy bigger rings better stones etc. but they are really not my thing.
Further along the road we come across a memorial to the Tsunami. The railway track runs alongside the road, which is a few metres from the sea. A train was pushed 150 metres inland. everyone aboard died. It took 9 days for them to find the train. This was because they had to wait for the water to retreat; the carriage lay underwater for that whole time. Ranjan talked a bit more about the disaster, he said the Sri Lankans did not know what tsunami was and had never heard of one. Firstly the sea went right out which it never does here. This was a phenomenon and people came down to the coast to see what was happening. Then the wave hit. Terrible terrible he says.
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| Tsunami memorial |
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| Life returns to normal. Dried fish seller opposite memorial |
On a happier note we go to a Turtle sanctuary, shown around by a man who appears to be either in a hurry or pissed of having to show someone else around. We do get to hold a baby turtle though. Only 1 in 10 of he babies will make it to the sea. So many are picked off by birds on their way to the sea. They have to buy the eggs from the local people who otherwise would eat them. They like everyone else here need our money, we hand over the cash.
We arrive at the Saman Villas it is a hot day – overcast but hot. We say goodbye to Ranjan & wish him well. Ayubowan. I feel very sad that I will not see him again.
We are greeted with palm garlands and bottle of sparkling wine. Our room is not ready so we sit and watch the sea for a while & enjoy the wine.
Our room is fantastic; we are on the 2nd floor and overlook the north beach. We have a terrace balcony with chaise lounge. Relaxer chair with the weirdest armrest looks more like something you would give birth in. The living area has a desk, CD player, table & comfy chairs. The bed is massive & raised up on a platform and is decorated with Frangipani flowers. The dressing room area is very spacious has a basin and large vanity unit. The bathroom is splendid indeed open-air rain shower, scooped out stand along bath all raised up. There is water spouting from a bamboo pipe into a marble pool where the shower tray stands. Plenty of huge white towels and lovely toiletries.
We go for a walk & find Mavis & John who invite us in for a beer. Having been here for 4 days already they give us the low down on what is what, where to go to shop & the best tuk tuk driver.
The food and service here is excellent. We share a vegetarian curry platter and Kalle Roti, good Sri Lankan food 5 star style.
We are woken about 6 am by train tooting nearby. Drifted off again but wide-awake around 7. We get up to enjoy the morning as rain is forecast for this afternoon.
Ian has been badly bitten by mosquitos, I have a few bites but he has re-acted badly. The bites on his legs are very angry. I say nothing but I am watching them to make sure they get no worse. He doses up on antihistamines, which does the trick. Breakfasts here are a sumptuous affair. Pulped fruit juices, fruit platters and basically anything you want. No buffets here it’s all served. Ian has egg hoppers and chicken curry, you get veg curry as well with it. He cannot eat it all. There is also a basket of bread and pastries, the banana bread is delicious. All accompanied by the excellent and refreshing tea.
We then have a 5k walk along the beach and meet up with Mavis & John again. Next we take to the sunbeds.
In the afternoon we get Susi the tuk tuk driver to take us into Bentota where Ian buys some Ralph Laren and Tommy Hilfiger Polo shirts. We then get some beers and wine for the room. Later John & Mavis come round for a drink.
There are only 29 rooms here and when I get our itinerary I find that Trailfinders have booked us into the wrong room. Never mind we are happy with what we have got. We watch life go by below us on the beach, holidaymakers walk. Locals swim and fish. The fisherman haul their nets up the beach every other morning & then sell the tiny fish in great big baskets. It is hard work & Mr F gets called to help one morning.
In the evening fruit bats fly past, a whole swarm of Bee-eaters catch the last of the evening flies and a pond heron skulks along the beach stabbing at small white crabs. A chipmunk chirrups loudly as they do most of the time, it is the serenade of Sri Lanka and has taken me 2 weeks to realise it the sound of a Chipmunk not a bird.
If we want a cup of tea we ring room service and a pot of freshly made tea and biscuits is brought to our room. We ring early for the Mosquito wallah, who lights the coils in the bathroom and on the terrace so we can enjoy a pre dinner drink while the sun goes down.
It rains heavily one night which woke us, but it was clear in the morning & we did not hear the train. White throated Kingfishers and bee-eaters sit in the Palm trees whilst I swim in the infinity pool. Ian even managed a wade about in the shallow end, not want to get his shorts wet.
I got a free foot massage and was looking forward to it. Beautiful surrounding peaceful music tinkling, blossoms scattered around in troughs and water running gently through rills, the rooms were open air and the curtains billowed lightly in the warm breeze. The massage begins, it is more like torture, I bite my lip so as not to squeal with the pain. I have no idea what is going on, but it is a reflexology treatment. Huh my reflexes were telling me to get outta there PDQ. Other people who had the same guy said the same thing. However my feet did feel very exhilarated and refreshed after wards. I had to have a Planters punch to recover from the shock of it.
We venture into Bentota again as Ian decides he has not bought enough Polo shirts. Susi is summoned and takes us to a teashop, which was perfect and just what we wanted. Not having much room in the suitcases due to a vast amount of Polo shirts we can only buy a few bits & bobs. We go to a shop as I want some incense sticks they try to charge me 1000 rupees £5.00 they are actually 100 rupees in other place. The shop owner whispers to me she will let me have them for 800. I do not mind giving money to people that need it but dislike being ripped off. Susi shakes his head and takes us to another shop where we pay 100 rupees and buy 3 packs.
Our last evening we pack up for the final time and have a drink whilst watching the most spectacular sunset. The sun is like molten gold dripping out of the sky, then it turns red, orange, yellow, purple. More people turn up to take photos. A truly lovely way to end our holiday.
A taxi picks us up at 8.30. Many Ayubowans are said and people scamper around us to say goodbye and no doubt to collect their well-earned tips.
We drive for about 2 and half hours to the airport.
Ranjan rings us on route to wish us a safe journey and Ayubowan; He has called us 3 times since he left us a few days ago. His sister in law is showing some signs of getting better.
The airport is the usual chaos. We change our money back to GBP and try to buy an upgrade but the plane is full. The journey back is poor and cramped. I am not going to end on that note though. Just the wonderful memories of people we have met, some new friends we have made and the places, animals, birds, landscapes and cultures we have experienced. We will never forget this holiday and just how lucky we are to have had the chance to do it. For we all are very lucky people here in the UK and we should remember it!
I have read & re-read this, taken bits out & added bits in. There is so much more to tell but will just have bore you in person with it. Also lot more photos. These here are mainly my "snaps" to embellish the story. The better ones are on a DVD.
Bird Count 111
1. Rock Pigeon
2. Cattle Egret
3. House Crow
4. Red Vented Bulbul
5. White Rumped Swift
6. Common Myna
7. Indian Shag
8. Great Egret
9. Spotted Dove
10. White throated Kingfisher
11. Cormorant
12. Rose ringed Parakeet
13. Hawk Eagle
14. Crested hawk Eagle (aka Changeable Hawk)
15. Barn Swallow
16. Peacock & hen
17. Roseate Tern
18. Northern Pintail
19. Pheasant Tailed Jacana
20. Red Wattled lapwing
21. Blue tailed Bee Eater
22. Brahminy Kite
23. Tri Coloured Munia
24. Brown headed Barbet
25. Asian Openbilled Stork
26. Grey Heron
27. Black Hooded Oriole
28. Dark Fronted Babbler
29. Pale Billed Flower Pecker (Smallest bird)
30. Jungle Fowl
31. Little Green Bee Eater
32. White Browed Bulbul
33. Yellow Billed Babbler
34. Purple Rumped Sunbird
35. Indian Robin
36. Paddyfield Pipit
37. Asian Paradise Flycatcher
38. Indian pond heron
39. Oriental magpie Robin
40. Small Minivet
41. Bar Winged Flycatcher
42. Common Iora
43. Sri Lankan Grey Hornbill
44. Little Cormorant
45. Black Winged kite
46. Coppersmith Barbet
47. White Bellied Sea Eagle
48. Woolly Necked Stork
49. Blackheaded ibis
50. Sparrow
51. Jackdaw
52. Intermediate Egret
53. Tichells Blue Flycatcher
54. Great Tit
55. Sri Lankan White Eye
56. Oriental White Eye
57. Lotens Sunbird
58. Prinia
59. Cuckoo
60. Pied Bush Chat
61. Grey Wagtail
62. Dusky Blue Flycatcher ( a little stunner)
63. Purple heron
64. Painted Stork
65. Spot Billed Pelican
66. Indian Darter
67. Black Winged Stilt
68. Black Tailed Godwit
69. Lesser Whistling Duck (Teal)
70. Spoonbill
71. Lesser Sand Plover
72. Garganay
73. Greenshank
74. Sanderling
75. Wood Sandpiper
76. Green Sandpiper
77. Kentish Plover
78. Little Stint
79. Marsh Sandpiper
80. Scaley Breasted Munia
81. Pacific Golden Plover
82. Common Sandpiper
83. Common Snipe
84. Common Redshank
85. Orange Breasted Green pigeon
86. White Breasted Waterhen
87. Yellow Wattled Lapwing
88. Gull Billed Tern
89. Brown Shrike
90. Fantailed Flycatcher
91. Crested Serpent Eagle
92. Green Imperial Pigeon
93. Chestnut Headed Bee Eater
94. Crested Tree Swift
95. Indian roller
96. Indian Nightjar
97. Malabar Pied Hornbill
98. Southern Coucal
99. Great thick Knee ( super looking bird)
100. Black Necked Stork (Very rare)
101. Rose coloured Starling
102. Spotted Quail ( Celyon Spurfowl)
103. Indian Pitta ( Another little beauty)
104. Black Rumped Flame back.
105. Baya Weaver Bird
106. Blue Face Malkoha
107. Black Crowned Night Heron
108. Common Kingfisher
109. Purple Swamphen
110. Moorhen
111. Asian Koel
Animals.
Leopard
Mongoose
Land Monitor
Water Monitor
Crocodile
Palm Squirrel
Giant Squirrel
Elephant
Snake (unknown type)
Grasshopper
Butterflies (so many & so big)
Spotted deer
Samba deer
Wild Boar
Water Buffalo
Blacked necked hare
Fox
Langur Monkeys
Red Monkeys
Caméléon Lizard
Jackal
Frog
Spider
