We though the journey to Kalkudah would be ok as when we arrived at the Trincomalee bus station you bought a ticket before getting on and had specific seats! Little did we know the journey would still be hellish - people piled in until the bus was packed with people sitting and standing and it was swelteringly hot. It didn't help that I was feeling slightly dodgy and delirious at this point as well as tired and achy. Although we both kept falling asleep it was lu...

Our mini van dropped at a few guest houses which were either full or too exspensive. We ended up staying at French Garden - which was right on the beach. Our rooms were pretty basic but the location was amazing. Beautiful clear blue water and a large beach with lots of seating amongst the palm trees. Perfect. We went snorkelling in the afternoon with our new American friend- Lauren. The snorkelling was pretty average - the coral reefs were mostly dead but it was...

So after Sigiriya we got a tuktuk to Polonnaruwa - another medieval capital of Sri Lanka. On the way we saw a large monitor lizard strolling across the road. In Polonnaruwa we stayed in a little guest house called Samudra. After some hassel trying to find a bank that would accept mastercard and not visa we rented some bikes from the guesthouse and cycled around the ruins for the rest of the day. Polonnaruwas is 4k square site and bikes were a great way to get ar...

So since arriving in Sri Lanka we stayed the first night in Negombo - a seaside town with a large Christian community. Star beach hotel - the place we stayed was nice and clean with a good bathroom and was right on the windy beach. Here we had our first Sri Lankan Rice and Curry and also sampled the local Lion lager. The next day we headed to Dambulla - a dusty town spread put on the main road. The attraction here is the Rock Temple - a series of caves beautiful...

At Dambulla we stayed in Oasis Tourist welfare centre - a crumbling guesthouse run a lovely cheerful old lady who made us tea. At 900 rupees - £4.39 for the two of us, it was also the cheapest room we've had in Sri Lanka. The room was pretty much a box with a double bed built into it but it was so colouful and there was a strong fan to cool us down. Her dog tuttut was also very cute and playful. The living area was beautiful and had lots of family photos and we ...