Month: June 2018

I guess I’m raving too much about this beautiful, elegant place we’re staying. We keep having to pinch ourselves that we landed so well on our feet. We sat up and watched the waves roll in as we had the best brekky EVER. It was eggs Benedict Sri Lankan style and so delicious. I must admit that not having curry, samosas and coconut pancakes for brekky has been a welcome relief.

After brekky we set off on a little excursion to a nearby blowhole that blew a little but certainly didn’t blow its head off. We went by Tuk Tuk and he waited for us while we waited for a number of blows. Then he took us to a nearby harbour where masses of fishing boats were unloading the catch for the day. I loved that, I love the colour and the excitement and all the fish, the weighing and selling, the noise and the slosh. Anyway, he then took us back to near our hotel so we could walk into town around the waterfront. That was lovely for a while but it got more and more deserted and for the very first time in Sri Lanka a weird guy sort of stalked us on his motorbike. He looked very dodgy and followed us, then stopped by the side of the road and waited for us. It is the only time we have felt unsafe so we headed up for the main road as quickly as we could.

Rose had found some place for us to go for lunch and we got in a Tuk Tuk to take us there. He took us off the beaten track, down by the beach through an area that in the high season would be bopping with hotels, beaches etc but now is deserted and definitely uninspiring. We got to where we wanted to go and it was no longer there so we paid the driver to take us back…a Tuk Tuk ride for absolutely nothing!!

He dropped us back in town and we went to find the Wine Shop/ Dive for some beers and a little bottle of Gin for our G&Ts at Happy Hour. Did I tell you that this place isn’t licensed to sell alcohol but they are happy for us to buy our own and bring it in. And they do supply some under the table like our lovely bottle of wine with dinner last night. For our Happy Hour they supply the Tonic, a lime and ice and we have our little hip flask of gin. FYI Sri Lanka has a law that says women are not allowed to buy alcohol…can you believe it!! Doesn’t seem to apply to white women though.

Anyway by this time we had chased a few red herrings and had firmly decided that our place was the very best place to be…by our very own pool in our very own colonial mansion. So back we came and that’s what we did…spent the afternoon plopping in and out of the pool having a delicious sandwich and the odd G&T while we watched a family of monkeys playing in the tree next to the pool. Yesterday a large Monitor sauntered past the pool. We had seen them swimming in the lake in Kandy and Rose was worried in case this one decided to take a swim!!

They have dinner planned for us …fresh calamari followed by fish for me. They are planning on getting me a lobster for tomorrow night!! The charge for the meal is $30 each. Hugely expensive for Sri Lanka but for us…3 courses for $30 is amazing. We are indulging ourselves for 3 nights. Its back to homestay in Galle after this. No pool and no gourmet food!! Though we understand there are lots of lovely restaurants and shops to explore.

Now its bed time, another divine dinner has been demolished although we are worried about our chef who has a very painful foot following a cut. Hope he lasts the distance for us!! Tomorrow is another day and our last in paradise!! In the distance there is what sounds very like the Call to Prayer but I understand it is the Buddhist version…I find it very soothing whatever the religion. My bed is covered in Frangipani and Bougainvillea petals.

We were supposed to have a relaxing morning and then make our leisurely way down to Tangalle but we were both up and going very early and Rose got impatient, so after our last enormous and delicious breakfast with our hovering hosts, we asked for our driver to come early and he arrived at 10.30 in a tiny car that was just one step above a Tuk Tuk. We had said no air con because it’s cheaper but this was ridiculous. Our cases occupied the front seat and we jammed in the back. Rose had a seat belt this time but none on my side.!! These drives are definitely not for the faint hearted, but we both have steely hearts that are getting steelier each time we set out.

We came down to the coast to Tangalle. Now this is the hotel we changed at the last minute after feedback that the seas are rough and monsoonal so we decided we wanted a pool to make sure we got a few swims in before returning to winter. So we booked into the Coco Tangalle. Our compromise because it was more expensive was to only book one room.

But WOW, it is a fantastic old colonial home and we soon discovered we are the only people here so we asked about getting a second room at a discounted price. So…we now have a room each, the second at half price. My room is the ‘king coco suite’ which is MASSIVE with my own gorgeous balcony overlooking the pool and the ocean ( which is indeed thundering), My bathroom is the same size again with a palm tree growing out the roof in the middle of it…I’ll send a photo or you won’t believe it.

The first thing we did, of course, was don the bathers and head for the pool. A few swims and a drink and some wedges by the pool set the world right (not that it’s been wrong). I’m now sitting out on my balcony while Rose is luxuriating in a shower.

Our little bottle of gin has come in handy as we got some tonic and enjoyed our time watching the waves roll in and the monkeys (monkey actually) eating fruit from the ? mango tree just in front of us. We are now waiting to go in for dinner. We’re starving and the smells emanating from the kitchen are pretty good. It will cost us but its hard to avoid when you’re staying in a place like this!!

We are now just back from our most amazing and delicious meal. I had beautiful fresh tuna and Rose chicken, both cooked to perfection and utterly lovely. There is no doubt that this is our best effort yet. And to top it off they provided a complementary bottle of really nice white wine (when you know how much wine cost us in this country that is exceptional).

After a most yummy meal back to our rooms to find our beds covered in frangipani petals and the bed prepared for the night. They just can’t do enough for us…now we start to worry about what we should tip them…It’s off to bed now. I just need to remove my petals!

Up at 5am and off on Safari at 5.30am. The moral of this story is to keep your expectations low and maybe, just maybe you will be delighted. And such was the case.

Now, Safari Sri Lankan style is never going to be the Serengeti with its overwhelming and diverse array of grand African animals, but we had a fantastic safari for the elephants, crocodiles and bird life. We had spoken with other tourists on our way down here who described seeing maybe 4 or 5 single elephants. So when we saw herd after herd of up to 14 elephants with their babies we couldn’t have been more thrilled.

The other lovely thing is that we came across herds and we were the only people there sometimes for ages. The elephants were right by the jeep, sometimes a meter or less from us…Rose at one point thought one was going to try to kiss her and she leapt out of her seat!! Another time we saw a large herd bathing in a dam and playing with the very little ones, having a ball. Sometimes we’d find a herd and other jeeps would join us in a bit of a bustle but other times we had it all to ourselves. The driver was great and just turned off the engine for us to sit quietly amongst it. It really was a delight.

Incidental animals included Jackals, huge Monitors, Mongoose, Crocodiles and Water Buffalo. And especially for Hammy I made big effort to remember the names of the birds we saw which were another highlight of the trip…a Serpent Eagle, White Throated Kingfisher (superb), Green Bee Eater, Malabar Pied Hornbill (incredible, like a double-beaked toucan) and a truck load of Peacocks and Peahens. Our guide was very knowledgeable about different sorts of Sri Lankan birds and had a bird book on hand at all times so we knew exactly what we were looking at.

We were there for 5 hours and when we arrived back the guesthouse we had a huge breakfast waiting for us – samosas, stuffed rotti, friend lentil patties, dhal, hoppers, eggs, honey and coconut wraps!! etc. The other exciting thing for me was that I climbed up into the back of the truck, and back down without too much indignity!!

We were at a bit of a loss about what to do when we got back. The only other think around here is the Elephant Transit Home. Baby orphan elephants are kept here until they can cope back in the National Park. We got in a Tuk Tuk and went there for 12md feeding time. We weren’t going to go there but it was lovely to see all these baby elephants being fed. One elephant (that wasn’t a baby) had lost a leg and had a prosthesis. Rose was particularly intrigued by this.

We came back and went into the little town and got supplies of wine and beer and came back here to hang around for a couple of hours. Then we went to the poshest resort in the area for a drink, and walked back (a life threatening exercise with buses and tuktuks storming past) to await the meal supplied by our guest house. I must say, for my part, that you really can get sick of ‘curry and rice’!!! But they do it very well here.

After another delicious, massive meal cooked by our hosts its back and time for bed.

I have a friendly gecko living behind my toilet and during our meal fruits bats were flying around us…Rose wasn’t too keen on that idea. There is now something on the roof…probably a monkey or a squirrel.

A leisurely breakfast this morning as our driver wasn’t coming until 11.30 to take us to Udawalawe. So we sat on our balcony (we moved to one balcony so they could clean a room). Plowed our way through yet another huge Sri Lankan breakfast, then paid our bill and went to meet the driver they had arranged.

My god if he was over 15 (and I assume he was), he didn’t look it. Rose naively asked where the latch for the seatbelt was…uhhhh no seatbelt, but then again we’re used to this. Today is the Festival of the Full Moon so a holiday here…no alcohol and no meat allowed, all shops closed other than a few selling street food stuff and the roads were PACKED!! In every town people were lined up in long queues to donate money and receive food so there was chaos in every single town we passed through. Drivers playing chicken with each other all the way there and people stopped everywhere to picnic, particularly when we got near the national park. Our driver wasn’t bad but it is always a relief when you get to your destination. We paid our $65 and off we went.

We are staying in the town at a place called Bright Sun Safari. There are 2 safari huts (in the town mind you) and we have one each. Another over-attentive host who stands on guard over us and is always rubbing my arm (there’s something about Sri Lankans and older people). We went into town to buy a bit of food and found some rather dodgy looking roti filled with curried vegetables which actually tasted delicious but fingers crossed!!!

We had our little bottle of gin bought yesterday but of course couldn’t find Tonic and somehow Gin and Lemonade isn’t quite the same!! Nonetheless we sat outside on our verandahs and waited for the accommodation to produce dinner. Again a dinner with the host hovering over us…but a delicious meal nonetheless.

Tomorrow we are being picked up at 5.30am to go safari’ing. Its true that once you’ve been to the Serengeti everything else is likely to pale but we’ll see. Goodnight for now.

Firstly we just love our accommodation, Ella Grand View. We each have a spacious room and bathroom with the most fantastic view from the balcony and squirrels playing around us. This morning they served us what seems to be the norm, a massive breakfast of fresh fruit, eggs, toast, spicy dal and coconut, sweet pancakes and rotti. Amazing!! The hotel guy advised on places to see about the place and off we set after brekky, along the railway track to see the Nine Arches Bridges. It is 2 and a half kms along the railway through lush tropical forest area. We got to the bridge and joined the throng of tourists waiting to see the train come. Which we did!!

In the meantime we wanted to go to an iconic restaurant in the hills called 98 Acres, that overlooks Adam’s Peak which you can climb should you feel so disposed. There is a short route from the 9 Arches Bridge but it is a small, treacherous path up over the mountain. Rose scouted ahead and decided it wasn’t for me. The alternative is a circuitous Tuk Tuk ride down massively steep, winding roads that goes for about 10 kms instead of the 1.5 or so if you climb over the mountain…we paid for the privilege and Tuk Tukked.

So it was a light lunch in an amazing setting of mountains as far as the eye can see and Adam’s peak perched in front of us. We decided not to climb the peak, although I did try to persuade Rose to go by herself, fearing that I was holding her back from doing things she would normally do if it weren’t for me…but no, she was fine to admire the view from where we were.

We came back to our guesthouse wanting to just enjoy some downtime in our lovely accommodation. We sat on the balcony and had a drink and are now about to set out along the train track once again to go into town for an early tea so we can get back along the tracks before it gets dark.

Later: We’ve been in to town, pounding the tracks once again with (in my case) the utmost concentration. Every time I lift my head to greet someone I’m in jeopardy. But nonetheless we got in without misadventure. We had to go to a bank and then back to the same cafe which does seem to be the best one in town. We can get a drink there and I had a yummy curry although I can never eat it all and Rose was able to get a burger. We decided that as we’re moving on tomorrow to a very small place near the National Park, that we’d buy a small bottle of gin so we could have a G & T. Again we had to run the gauntlet of a dark, dingy cave full of men…we look so out of place…female, white tourists! Anyway we have a small hip flask of gin for our alcohol free venues.

Anyway mission accomplished and it was hit the train tracks again….always much harder after dinner I find but here we are back again. We’ve had another long chat on the balcony with our British neighbours here, who were advising us yesterday…and we are quite satisfied with our itinerary when we compare it to what others have been doing.

Now its shower time. We have a driver taking us to Udawalawe tomorrow…as always a relative of the manager. We’ll leave around 11.30…next stop a safari lodge. Ella has been great.

Its been a long day but here we sit on our balcony surrounded by hills, a waterfall as our view with a wine and a beer…and at days end we’re happy!!

First thing this morning we were to be picked up at 7.30am by our Tuk Tuk driver, Janaka, but we couldn’t sneak out without the ceremonial breakfast and farewell which included photos and pledges to tell everyone how wonderful they were. And honestly by this stage we were used to them and they were used to us, including the fact of an old lady travelling with her young daughter. Nonetheless we were relieved when the Tuk Tuk huffed and puffed its way up their driveway with us and our luggage.

So…We are now in Ella after the really lovely train trip through magnificent tea plantations. It was a 6 hour train trip and after 6 hours even the most lush, beautiful scenery can become repetitive. But certainly you don’t get many more fantastic train voyages.

We got here and are staying in a great place overlooking a waterfall. We have a not-too-difficult trek into town along the railway line (Rose said she felt like she was in the film ‘Stand by Me’) and we headed straight into town to find a place for a drink and a bite to eat, the former taking precedence. It is a very backpacker oriented town, very trendy and the most geared to tourists we have come across to date. We had a meal and the walked back home along the train tracks, scrambling to get off the tracks to give the train right of way before we were killed.

But here we are now on our balcony with a most splendid view drinking the supplies we bought in town as priority one, as we understand there is a public holiday tomorrow and that no one is allowed to sell us any alcohol! We must endeavour to ensure we are strict in our rations!

A big morning was planned with our Tuk Tuk driver Janaka, but first we had to get through breakfast with Mrs De Silva hovering over us wanting us to eat. She had changed things a bit to entice us with the food and we did improve our performance somewhat. We hit upon the bright idea that we would tell her we wanted to take the huge plate of fruit out with us. Brilliant solution to our dilemma…then we could ditch it at our leisure. She still talked to Rose about me as if I wasn’t in the room. Such a strange feeling.

Anyway Janaka came and whisked us away. We went first to the Commonwealth War Graves site which, as always, was beautifully kept and told yet another part of the WWII story…the defence of Sri Lanka.

Then off we went on a long, long rise out to a monastery about 15km out of town, the Lankathilaka Temple, perched on a giant rock in the hills. It was divine, in a magnificent setting, with lovely frescoes and carvings. It is a world heritage site and its easy to see why. Then we drove back through this lush tropical countryside with rice paddy’s, fruit stalls and chaotic roads, interspersed with busy, bustling little towns.

Next stop was a Tea Factory where we were taken through the process of tea making. That was quite fun but I actually think I’m nonethewiser after the tour which culminated in a free cup of tea and the expectation to buy. Which of course we did…really??? What are we going to do with a large bag of tea??

Then to the Kandy Botanical Gardens where he dropped us for 2 hours while he went home for lunch. I must admit that they were lovely but foreigners have to pay $15 each to get in which hurt a bit…free for Sri Lankans!!! Sadly its not hard to tell the difference. So we wandered through the gardens which did not disappoint. The orchids were to die for.

We were picked up and we wanted to do some shopping in preparation for tomorrows train journey and we wanted some alcohol. I tell you in this country you feel like a criminal. Our driver took us to a place to go to the supermarket that had an alcohol section underneath. The only people buying alcohol are dodgy looking men, its all behind barriers and your Tuk Tuk driver is looking at you with disappointment in his eyes.

We came home and now have hours to wait until we have our sacrificial meal cooked by Mrs Regini De Silva. What can we say, the homestay set up doesn’t suit us!!!

Back from our homestay meal and we both have to say that the food was fantastic. One of the best curries we’ve had, they sat with us talked but the hubsand (a dentist Dr Sena De Silva) is interesting and informed and I have to say Rose lifted to the occasion and was the life of the party. So we’ve paid, we have our Tuk Tuk coming at 7.30 in the am for the train to Ella. Kandy has been a great city.

For now goodnight!!

A bit of a lazier day today which is something of a relief really. But first we had to get through breakfast with the strange woman who just won’t leave us alone. She had prepared a massive breakfast that we had no way of even getting half way through and sat just talking like this….now, remembering that I am sitting last the table and I’m conscious, awake and generally talk more or less sense, she’d say to Rose “that’s a very comfortable dress your mother has on”, or “you are booking accommodation in Tangalle, you’ll have to make sure it’s very comfortable and convenient for your mother”. It is hilarious really and in fact the things Sri Lankans say to us could be my next theme…they just come out with things that are so out of context.

Today at lunch the owner of the restaurant just popped out to Rose “You look like a kick boxer”. I nearly inhaled what was in my mouth it was so funny. Rose just looked up and said “what do you mean?” with a flash of the black-eyed look. To which he mimed a strong arm body builder pose! He’s lucky to be alive in fact.

Last night when I said our host had bailed Rose up on her way to bed it was to say will her mother call out if she needs something in the night…or no, better she calls you and you will call us…..what??????

Anyway I digress. We got through breakfast. (She is virtually forcing us to have an evening meal with her tomorrow night. Something we look forward to with dread!! ) We had asked our lovely Tuk Tuk man to come for us at 9.30 and he arrived promptly to take us off to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth. That was Buddhist chaos. Off with the shoes and join the throngs, and I mean throngs, of Buddhists come to pay homage to Buddhas tooth. Climbing the stairs being jostled on all sides by worshippers who just see us and all the foreigners, as being in their way. There is no polite standing back here, you were hemmed in on all sides and pushed and jostled as people tried to get past. That took some time to manage and the bare feet don’t take too kindly to it all.

(The call to prayer has just started up as I write. Not many Muslims in the town but they are certainly a ‘presence’.)

Anyway keep on track and back to the Buddhists. We finally got out of there after going through a second, new, shrine and a small museum. We then went off walking partially around the lake that sits in the centre of this town. These massive iguana type lizards swim in the lake and live around it which kept us fascinated for a while.

Then off to find some shops to potter in but not too much by way of tourist infrastructure means that there aren’t many cute shops to keep you entertained. It was starting to rain so we went to get a coffee in one of those touristy shops. Then off for lunch at the Old Empire Cafe which is a quirky/ trendy little cafe. Whilst I said Sri Lanka was not huge on the tourist infra- structure there are definitely more tourists in Kandy than in other towns so there are some of those creature comforts we all come to know and love e.g. coffee.

Back to the lunch experience. I do seem to be all over the place today. Rose is always so meticulous about what she orders and worries about me ordering potentially life threatening things like salads. So she ordered a burger and I ordered a salad (we both need a break from Chicken curry and rice every now and again). Half way through her extra-safe-to -eat burger Rose pulls a massive black hair out of her mouth. She nearly vomited and lunch was all over red rover for her. I told our man about the hair and he was mortified…didn’t charge us and kept bringing more food to replace it. That turned out hilariously too as he brought Rose some roasted cashews that she didn’t want, but she had to pretend she was eating them so she found a piece of wrapper in her bag and started to transfer the nuts into the bag…this didn’t go smoothly with nuts splaying all over the place. Maybe only funny at the time but it was hilarious.
We finally extracted ourselves from the restaurant and wandered off through the market area. We found one of those dodgy dives behind bars that sell alcohol and bought some beer and even some wine at a reasonable price. With this surreptitiously stored in a bag we got in a Tuk Tuk to take us home up the hill. By some miracle he nearly found the place. We only had to walk a short distance at the end.

A couple of hours rest now. This ‘homestay’ experience has put the wind up us and we are busily changing/ upgrading our accommodation. Also in response to feedback along the way that has alerted us to the beaches/ocean down south in Tangalle being still in Monsoonal mode so not very swimmable. We cancelled our booking and found a place with a pool so that at least we can get a swim or two in one way or the other.

We’re now off to meet Bob from Bendigo for a Kandy experience from the perspective of a lovable alcoholic. That promises to be fun…I’ll fill you in soon!!

We’re back and yes we did have a lovely evening. We’ve both fallen for Bob, he’s a lovely man with such a well of loneliness. Anyhow that aside we met him back at the Royal Bar and had a drink. I was the sensible one tonight. No bottles of wine, that was definitely not sustainable. I had a G&T. Then we moved on to the Queens Hotel…definitely THE Raj hotel of Sri Lanka. At least it was once, it is now tired and rather worn looking but it still had that feel about it. Every hotel has the World Cup playing on the big screen…in this case projected from a little, old telly through a projector onto the screen…some genius had worked that one out! Then Bob took us to his favourite Indian Restaurant and we had a delicious meal. Then next door to that is Bob’s other favourite pub, the Victory so he and Rose raced in there for the final night-cap while I fixed up the bill (Bob had paid the rest of the night) and then went in to meet them and drag Rose away to meet our waiting Tuk Tuk driver. We were really sad to say goodbye to him.

While all this was happening we didn’t even realise (having dinner) that the heavens had opened so we had to charge through the rain to the meeting point. And then a very dark, very wet and very hairy Tuk Tuk ride back up the hill. It did occur to me that our number might be up this time…but obviously it wasn’t.

Our Tuk Tuk driver is taking us for a half day tour outside Kandy tomorrow for the mandatory $25. But that will be another story.

Well what a day this has been. Definitely a day of highs and lows so best I start at the beginning. Up this morning for breakfast, pack up and be picked up by Sanjana at 9am. This time he had a jeep to load us into and off we set. The itinerary was Kandy via Dambulla and the cave temples, some other sites along the way and then on to Kandy.

First stop Dambulla for the Cave Temples….bloody hell!! We hiked up to the ticket office and then we hiked and hiked and hiked up and up these giant, uneven steps which were fine for half the trip as there was a stone wall to hold on to and landings between reasonable sets of steps. So far so good!! In fact I was even feeling cocky that my pilates was really paying off. Then, as is the way, bingo, bango and all opportunities to hang on to anything at all vanished just as the steps got steeper and more uneven…then the man selling T shirts along the way cheerfully told us we were half way….HALF FUCKING WAY!!!!!!! Jesus, Mary, Joseph and Buddha!!!!

I stuck with it though and fortunately my own personal Buddha was endlessly patient and acted as an anchor when needed. I have to add to this story that a Dutch woman in our Guesthouse last night told us it was ‘a little bit up’….I just do not know where these European mountains goats are coming from. I think they just like to see us suffer. Anyway we made it up to the Temple Caves and it was really worth the effort. They were gorgeous, filled with massive buddhas and impressive rock art. There are 5 of them in a row and they are really magnificent.

Then on we went to the next stop which was a C1 temple with lovely stone carvings in what is supposed to be the true centre of Sri Lanka. I don’t know the name and Rose has LPG in her room but it was very nice as I write this.

Next stop a Herb and Spice Garden. A ‘guide’ leapt on us on arrival and took us around for ‘free’. He was a herbalist with a daughter studying in Melbourne. He went through many herbs and spices and their powders, tablets, creams and oils, all of which he spread all over us. This ointment for Rose’s red skin(not really red), these tablets for me to lose weight…in fact if he mentioned that one more time I was going to punch him in the nose. No charge for all this except if we wanted to buy the products at the end. The tablets that were going to save my life (lower my cholesterol that isn’t up, cure my heart that is actually fine, and make me immedately lose weight – probably can’t argue with that one) were $130 for 2 weeks supply…guess I just have to die quietly!! We bought the cheapest things we could find…creams to improve both our skins and Citronella to try and keep the mozzies away.

On we went to Kandy and here our woes started. The traffic was horrible and the trip was taking ages. We then plug in the address for our ‘homestay’ (a fact that we hadn’t realised when we booked) into Sanjana’s GPS and we enter these backroads…climbing, climbing, climbing and seemingly miles away from Kandy. We took ages to find it after wrong turns and dead ends. Anyway we eventually got here and were dropped off by a very relieved Sanjana who couldn’t wait to get rid of his responsibilities. We said we thought we might have made a mistake and he just said ‘Yes’!! We paid him extra for his day so it cost $130….probably fair!!

We found our hosts and this place is weird as!! The woman is just hard to describe and the kindest reason for her weirdness would be that she was dementing. Once again I had to endure comments such as whether the two of us could fit into a Tuk Tuk!!! She kept asking Rose questions about me as if I wasn’t there and popping out to ambush us whenever we’re near. A very strange woman and by this time we both were totally despondent…this was definitely a mistake. We agreed we needed a drink…pronto…and ordered a Tuk Tuk to take us into town….an expensive ride compared to what we’re used to.

But then, as is the way with travel the worm turned once again. Rose picked out a pub from LPG … a lovely relic of the colonial era and we sat on a lovely balcony and ordered our wine and beer. Now here is the next discrimination for the wine drinker. You can’t buy a glass in Kandy (in the pub I mean) and have to buy a bottle…the price of a bottle $33 !! I asked if I could take the bottle away if I didn’t drink it and the answer was no, they have to have the empty bottle to demonstrate to the govt that it has been drunk on the premises….well shit!!!

In the midst of all this we met Bob from Bendigo who has been living in Kandy since his beloved wife of 50 yrs died 2 years ago. Bob most assuredly had the alcoholic shakes but we both loved Bob immediately. He encouraged me to take on the bottle of wine as a challenge.

So I had a couple of glasses and told them to keep it for me while we went off walking and we’d come back for a meal. They happily did this. In the meantime Bob had gone off on his pub crawl of the old Colonial Pubs in Kandy….impressive!! We went off for a walk around town and when we arrived back to eat Bob had come back ( I think he loves us too….he’s very lonely). So we ate and it was predictably easy to finish off the bottle of wine with our meal. We have arranged to meet up with Bob tomorrow night and he will take us around to his pubs and to the restaurant he likes to eat at. I think we’ve made a friend for life!!

Our Tuk Tuk driver came back to pick us up as pre-arranged….God knows how anyone would know how to get here other than this driver who lives down the road.

Rose came back to my room and as she was leaving to go to her room the mad woman popped her head out of the window and accosted her. I quietly locked my door with a self satisfied grin which soon left my face when I realised I couldn’t get hot water out of the shower…..What a day!!!

Today we set off again with Sanjana to explore the sites that were not covered by the $30 ticket we bought yesterday to visit the archaeological park area. And really we thought it was a much better day and the sites we went to were lovely. We started in the Royal Pleasure Gardens and they were indeed a pleasure. They had two swimming pools, one for the king and one for the queen. Around one of the pools were some beautiful carvings of elephants which I particularly liked. Just an aside as I sit outside on the verandah writing this a rat just ran across the roof…great. Anyway these gardens sit in the side a large lake so the setting is lovely and monkeys play in the forest which is a treat for me and a massive pain for Rose. The other thing is that at all these sites there are ‘wild’ dogs, but not actually wild, nonetheless you wouldn’t like one of them to take a bite of you. Fortunately they are generally not in the least bit interested in you.

On to the next site which was my favourite was a place where the Indian monks worshipped when they came over from India and needed a secluded spot as they didn’t fit into the prevailing society. It is the Vessagiriya Cave Monastery. The area consists of massive boulders that make a cave. The overhang of which is inscribed with Indian lettering, etched thousands of years ago and there is the faint remains of a beautiful cave painting of a dancing woman. Also bowls ground into the rock where they ground up the spices to give to the gods. It overlooked lush fields and forest area. We walked over the massive boulders and it felt like a lot of areas in Northern Australia with similarities to early evidence of Aboriginal customs. It was very special.

Then we saw a very, very large Buddha in a monastery area with Buddhist monks all over the place in their bright, bright orange robes. This was on the way to the Sri Maha Bodhi, the sacred Bodhi tree grown from a cutting and brought across from India. It’s supposed to be over 2000 years old (authenticated by an uninterrupted succession of guardians)!! This is the most holy of holy places with much praying, chanting and laying of flowers before the tree.

Near there is the Ruvanvelisaya Dagoba which is a very spectacular white dome surrounded by elephant friezes. Now, the thing is that you have to take off your hat and your shoes when you go anywhere near these sacred places. Western (at least our) feet are nothing like as tough as Sri Lankan feet so generally I have to hobble along but today went to another dimension when we literally burnt the soles of our feet as we fled across the concrete. It was a trial by fire!! It had already been a long walk into this Dagoba and then my poor feet had to endure this. Earlier in the day the bandage had fallen off my big toe which has a small skin tear so the poor driver had to go back into town to a pharmacy for us to get some more tape as we hadn’t brought it with us…I’m such a disaster area!!!

By the way, just for my record rather than to entertain anyone, we passed the Lowamahapaya (Brazen Palace) on the way to the Dagoba. The remains consist of 1600 columns that used to be a massive pavilion of 9 storeys to accommodate 1000 monks.

Then lastly for today we went to the Thuparama Dagoba which was a smaller version of the previous one with the barefoot dance continuing on red hot and pebbled stones that play havoc with soft feet. This Dagoba is said to enshrine the right collarbone of Buddha just in case you were wondering where that had got to.

Our tour with Sanjana was then over, it had cost us $25 for each day all up ($12.50 a person per day) and we had seen everything we wanted to see…and more. So we were satisfied when we went back to Lievi’s, our slightly grotty but rather loveable, ‘guesthouse’. But it wasn’t long before we had to set out again for a late lunch. This time we headed to Milanos Tourist Rest, none too flash and deserted by tourists at this time of year so not too exciting.

Then it was back again to sit on our verandah. And as the sun goes down the mosquitoes smell blood and descend determinedly. We are dining here tonight for a first time experience.

We have arranged for Sanjana to drive us down to Kandy tomorrow stopping in Dambulla on the way to see the Cave Temples. It is costing us $100 but it is an easy way to do the trip rather than a crowded bus. The budget travellers around us are a bit bemused but there you go!!

Later: The dinner here was a delightful Sri Lankan chicken curry and rice. Really one of the best meals we’ve had. Its no alcohol for me at the moment. It’s annoying that you can get beer anywhere but anything else is like hen’s teeth!! Goodnight all.