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Met up with some friends in Colombo, one of whom had very kindly brought Chris' surfboard out for him, so you can see what the theme of this trip might be I'm sure! Headed down the coast to Hikkaduwa, a lovely beach resort unfortunately with a very busy road running through it, but we stayed on the beach side of the road to escape the noise. On route here, we could see some of the devastation caused by the 2004 tsunami, and recovery is still a work in progress. Many of the hotels are eerily quiet, which is great as you don't really need to book anything in advance, the beaches are quiet, and everyone is very happy to see you, but obviously it would be nice to see them make more of a living from tourism; their greatest potential asset is the natural beauty here. The white sandy beaches lined with palm trees, and traditional fishing boats on the turquoise water are like you imagine paradise to be, but there are obviously still some problems here. Unfortunately, the political situation is far from stable at the moment, so that is also putting people off from coming here. We have had to change our plans as the British embassy are advising against travel to the Northern and Eastern parts of the country. We have been oblivious to any problems being where we are on the South West coast.
Chris and his friends have enjoyed lots of good surfing waves you would rarely get at home, and there aren't too many people here to hog them! Spent a few days at the near deserted Mirissa, a picture postcard stretch of sandy beach. Stayed in a bungalow a stone's throw away for 7 pounds per night half board with a swimming pool - amazing! I've been running along the beach as early as possible before the sun gets unbearably hot to do anything except lie down in! The waves are sometimes too powerful to relax and swim in so it's good to have a pool, but you can normally find a reef-free spot to take a dip on the beach itself.
Went diving in Hikkaduwa and saw a huge eagle ray about 1.5 metres wide with huge black marble-like eyes, and went inside our first wreck which was dark and a bit scary. There was actually a spot at the top of the upturned hull where you could take your regulator out and breathe and talk normally due to the previous divers air bubbles trapped there, but I was a bit reluctant to experience this first hand!
Also visited a turtle hatchery and released about 30 four day old babies into the sea which was a great experience. All being well they will return to the exact same spot in about 30 years to lay their own eggs. Went to a beautiful spice garden where we sampled several herbs and spices, tried some fresh tea and bought some oils for various ailments!
Back up the coast in the well travelled resort of Unawatuna, it's a very chilled out vibe, and we found another lovely place to stay serving great food, including Sri Lankan curry style breakfasts! I didn't expect the places to be so nice in many ways, so have been very pleasantly surprised. Ended up staying for 9 nights as we were so at home here - even getting a TV and DVD in our room for a week which was a real luxury, with a video hire shop around the corner to catch up on some films! The local gems are the big thing here, as well as wood carvings and leather goods. So, I had a talk from a local jeweler and bought a few small gifts.
We said goodbye to two of our friends who we'd had a lovely time with, then headed south again, stopping at a few different surf breaks along the way to explore a few of the inland attractions. Stopping off for a drink of fresh coconuts or fruits along the way, and of course rice and curry for lunch, made the hot, bumpy journeys much more bearable. We first visited an ancient buddhist rock carving fifty feet high, which was in the middle of some pretty woods with peacocks running around. There was a small temple nearby where some monks lived a very simple life indeed, and we learnt a little about their interesting beliefs. We later learnt that a similar place here has been overrun by red ants, and one of their religious promises is not to hurt other beings, so when we wouldn't think twice about putting down some at powder, or flicking them off our arm, they are not allowed, but I'm intrigued to see how this story develops!
We continued the drive inland moving further north, stopping at the beautiful, and slightly cooler hill town of Ella. Awoke to a warm, misty morning the following day, and went for a sweaty walk up to the top of Ella Rock for the best views around. Along the way, we saw some locals walking along the railway line to school, doing their washing by the side of the wells and streams, picking rice from the paddy fields and tea from the plantations. The impressive landscape is used optimally for all to benefit from here. Went to the small train station and reserved our 1st class tickets to head towards Kandy the next day. At a cost of 2.50 you can go one stop or all the way in an observation carriage facing backwards with big windows, so we were looking forward to more good views of the countryside. Went on a brief excursion first near Ella to one of the any tea factories, where locals who picked the leaves from their land, brought their sacks for weighing and processing. Sri Lanka produces some of the finest ad largest amounts of tea in the world, so much of these will be sold to international buyers at markets, and drunk by you! While this is one of the biggest industries, and therefore employers here, Japanese machines are revolutionising the processing in such factories, therefore I fear that at some stage in the not too distant futures, these employees will be out of a job - or at least sitting behind a computer instead of a big sieve! It was interesting and surprising to learn how much work goes into a tea bag! On the way back, the driver said he would show us a new spa which had opened near our hotel. We were lead into an underground room, and given the sales pitch by the heavily pregnant owner, so we nearly all agreed to try out one of her treatments. Suddenly there were people on hand in every corner to fulfill our desires! Chris, having had a cold for a couple of days, opted for a steam bath, finding that it was a slightly alternative version to what you'd expect at home. The coffin-life structure was akin to a magicians stage box with only a hole for the head, and a door underneath. The lady creaked open the wooden top half, and put a selection of herbs and spices inside, then Chris had to climb in and she whipped his towel away then shut him inside! Gradually, Chris' head (the only part we could see) perspired and he said it felt like there was a fire underneath him. That would be because there was - and it wasn't cooling down in a hurry! He emerged looking rather tired and drained, not to mention sweaty after half an hour steaming like a bowl of rice, but I think it cleared his cold quite well!
From Ella we boarded the train towards Kandy but had been told that it would be quicker to drive, so had booked a taxi for the 5 of us to continue on by road after the most scenic initial two hours of the rail journey. In retrospect I wish we'd stayed on the train as it was really comfortable, and probably just as fast, and great fun looking out of the window watching life go by the whole way. Youngsters hung from the carriages, and when people got off at their stop they just strolled across the tracks, so there obviously aren't many trains or live rails to worry about here! We disembarked at Haputale, a small hill town, and wound our way up further to over 6,000 feet, then all the way down the vast green valleys. Stopped off for fresh strawberries at the pretty colonial town of Nuwara Eliya where there is a horse racing track the locals flock to to escape the heat in April and most weekends. We were here at the wrong time, so we continued on to Kandy, eventually reaching the famous lake mid afternoon, feeling very ready for a cold shower. We treated ourselves to a nice hotel and jumped in the pool asap, then Chris and Steve went to enjoy happy hour at the pub next door.
There wasn't too much to see in Kandy of interest to us so we headed off the next morning (after a brief look at the shops before breakfast, and the purchase of 3 pairs of shoes for under ten pounds - how could I resist?!). We stopped off a few kilometers outside the city for a walk around the botanical gardens, which were really pretty with lots of interesting over-sized trees and a large selection of orchids.
From there, we drove another hour or so to the famous Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage where we paid a hefty (for Sri Lanka) 5 pounds entrance fee. As soon as we walked through the gates we realised it was well worth it though - there were about fifty elephants of varying sizes all milling around with no fences in between us. We were allowed to pose for pictures with a few with the help of the keepers, and watch them shower, eat and play. There were a few very small babies, one only one month old, and they enjoyed the protection of their parents. After half an hour there, they were all herded down to the river, crossing the main road (the only time I saw the traffic stop for anything!), where they had their daily bath! We were allowed to scrub them with coconut shells and wash their backs - a great experience I will remember and recommend!
Said farewell to Steve and Sam, our friends in Colombo again, then went with James for two more days in Hikkaduwa and a final good surf session for them both. I was designated photographer, so they were both competing for waves against all the locals - it was busier than the last time we were here! They were both tired after cramming in early morning and evening surf sessions, but I dragged them along to Mambo's beach bar for our last night, seeing a turtle hatching it's eggs on the way.
We were sad to leave Sri Lanka, so after a week away we decided to come back, having a gap in our itinerary for a week! Got a few thunderstorms, but did a little more surfing and exploring - getting to Hikkaduwa for a few days and Yala National Park, home to the densest population of leopards in the world. We were tipped off that there were two sleeping in a tree, so sped to join the queue of jeeps nearby, and just about made out some brown spots in a dense evergreen tree! Not quite the prowling image I had in my head, but I don't think you're ever going to get a great view of one unless they want you to! This is an interesting national park as it's right on the coast, but was sadly affected by the tsunami in parts. The species here remained largely unaffected though, and there are about 35 leopards and 22 sloth bears. We didn't catch a glimpse of these this time, the rain means lots of animals don't need to come out of the bushes, but we still saw a surprising amount - elephants, deer, sambar, monitor lizards, crocodiles, scorpions, monkeys, and beautiful peacocks and green bee-eater birds, so we weren't disappointed.
All in all Sri Lanka does seem to have something for everyone, and I would definitely rate it highly on my list of favourite places so far...but we have to move on eventually!
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