Sri Lanka

We have just had a wonderful three weeks in the wonderful country of Sri Lanka (that's Ceylon for all you oldies who struggle with the country's name change!).

This is a beautiful country with a bit of everything, from the ancient cities and the hill country to the lazy beaches of the south and east. And we have done it all!

We spent our first few days in Sri Lanka cycling around the ancient remains of Anuradhapurna and Polonnaruwa with perfect blue skies, sunshine and the magical experience of an ancient treasure round every corner.

(Mind you our cycling skills are nothing like the locals!)

Larry has a chat with Buddha.

We have climbed Sigiriya rock for sunset and the famous Adam's Peak for sunrise (on a full moon day!).

We thoroughly enjoyed traveling 3rd class in the train through the hill country from Nuwara Eliya to Ella through endless tee plantations worked by the Plantation Tamils brought from India to Sri Lanka by the British and spent some time in Kandy, home to the tooth relic of the Buddha. After two weeks of constant moving with only one or two nights in any one place we were pleased to reach Mirissa beach on the south coast where we stopped for a week and did nothing!

Highlights here have included the incredibly shy friendliness of the local people including a comical moment when we briefly became an exhibit in Colombo National Museum to a group of school children who were definitely showing more interest in us than in their own history (we were surrounded and shyly asked “where you from” - cue mass giggling). Rickshaw drivers take top place for getting your attention in the hopes that you will need their services! It's quite funny when we are just walking along and an auto rickshaw glides up beside us and moves along at walking pace, then the monologue begins “you need taxi, good price, tour 100 rupees, can I help you?.....etc.”. Then there are all the randoms who, as they cycle/drive past, shout “hello! welcome to Sri Lanka!”.

After a brief stop off in the Dutch colonial town of Galle we are now in Colombo, we have exhausted the city sights and are wasting away a day or two in a good coffee shop with good food and free wifi and look forward to our next flight which will take us to Vietnam.