It's hard to believe that four weeks ago I was preparing to set out on this journey, filled with wonder, expectations, and frustration at how difficult it was to pack for such a lengthy and cross-climate excursion.

I left home feeling pretty content and looking forward to my adventures, though I was struck with some awful virus in the days leading up to my departure and was, overall, pretty darn miserable. But my thoughts focussed on getting better and were probably a welcome distraction to what would have been thoughts of saddness at leaving home behind!

After three nights and two days of sleeping on airport benches and aircraft, I finally made it to Colombo, Sri Lanka at the ripe hour of 2:30am. The humidity ever present even at that hour, I was taken to meet my friends Primrose, Andrew and Ingrid at their hotel before commencing our three day journey at 5am that morning.

Following hours of bumpy roads and swerving between buses and tuk tuks we made it to a vast elephant orphanage high in the mountains in Pinnawalla. It was amazing to see so many elephants so close-up, interacting, eating, playing. The most amazing part was following them as they all headed down towards the river and watching them clumsily crawl in for their daily soak.

From there, we spent the afternoon in Kandy and visited Sri Dalada Maligawa, the Buddhist Sacred Temple of the Tooth Relic, which is a fine example of the beauty of Sri Lankan architecture and craftsmanship. It was here that I first experienced the wide-eyed stares of few locals who were a bit questioning of my skin colour.......

By that evening we arrived in Kandalama to a fantastic hotel in the middle of (what I call) the jungle with monkeys roaming and playing all around. The next day we visited Sigiriya, witnessing the UNESCO site of an ancient fortress and climbed up the mountain that was once home to a very ambitious and successful king. Somehow I avoided both a sunburn and being blow off the side of this mountain that day....

During our stay in Kandalama we also enjoyed a ride on the back of an elephant named Monika, watched baby monkeys playing and wrestling with each other outside the window every morning at breakfast, and took in the expansive view of the river and mountains around us (the infinity pool was definitely a plus, but I can't say the same about the bird-size wasps.....).

The second half of my time in Sri Lanka was spent in the capital of Colombo. Our apartment overlooked the Indian Ocean, as well as several busy streets full of impatient drivers who couldn't honk their horns enough, it seemed. I had a lovely time visiting with and meeting Primrose's friends and family, taking in experiences of authentic Sri Lankan customs. In the city we visited the Colombo National Museum and Natural History Museum, spent time shopping and of course I couldn't leave without dipping my toes in the Indian Ocean! (Primrose was adamant that you really can't swim there...the waves will take you away forever....but I wished my American surfer plane buddy all the best at the Surfing Worlds qualifiers before we arrived.....)

Sri Lanka is a beautiful country - I really enjoyed learning about its history, traditions, and I loved the tea! It was a funny feeling being so far away from home but the hospitality that greets you there is very comforting.

From Sri Lanka I flew back to London on September 4. We stopped in Male to pick up more passengers and that was definitely a beautiful sight - seeing the Maldives under beaming sun and blue skies was amazing. I wish I could've gotten off the plane! (And I would have if I knew the child sitting next two me was NOT going to cease her continuous shrieking for the rest of the 13 hour flight....)

On September 5 I happily and gratefully arrived in Cork City, excited to be reunited with Irish friends that I haven't seen in many years!

Unfortunately, the flights, change in climates and lack of sleep that accompanied the few days prior caught up with me and that darn virus came back and knocked me off my feet once again. After staying in bed for the next four days, I was finally able to start enjoying being back in the country I love so much with all the people I had missed!

I'm feeling much better and I am now back up to expanding my daily intake of tea and filling up on good books, as is to be expected! My first ten days here were spent in Carrigaline with the Hehirs in their gorgeous country home, and for the last few days I've been staying with my friends Vanessa and Ruairi and their cats Gingersnap and Mr. Moustache in Cork City.

I'm having a great time catching up with everyone, making new friends, and really getting a plan in place for the next couple of months of this leg of the trip!

I'll be updating this journal much more regularly as I travel to more new places. I'm looking forward to going to Dublin this weekend, flying to Brussels next week and meeting Maria in Paris in a couple of weeks.

Hope all is well at home!

Sarah