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Britan and SriLanka
  • Mick Sherriff
  • Mick Sherriff

Britan and SriLanka

A 24-day adventure by Mick Read more
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  • Trip start
    May 24, 2023
    Mick SherriffBritan and SriLankaTraveler
    Launnie aiportFlight info

    Day 1

    May 24, 2023 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    Waiting for flight UL 605. (Sri lankan airlines) ......
    Now on flight,still 7 hrs to columbo. The flight is packed. Im in a middle seat near the back of the plane and the infotainment screen doest have any sound. Im watching bollywood films with english subtitles turned on.

     Some small kids in the row behind yelling and kicking the back of my seat. I lost my noise cancelling headphones somewhere....bugger...it might be a long trip. On the plus side the food is great...for airline food.

    Had a great birthday meal at nancy and rics' last night. Helen, Shane and Freya came around. Food was great as usual.got to bed at 11.30 after a bit of a party. Jon and Ric stayed up till 2 am. Night owls! Ric looked a little rusty this morning and said driving up from Hobart the previous day made him feel tired.

    7 hrs in to the flight. Its really shit

    Nearly got some sleep. A little baby starts crying.

    ....i swear i will never loose my headphones ever again    Read more

  • Mick SherriffBritan and SriLankaTraveler
    Sri Lankan airlines flight UL 605
    Classic bus1The wonderful Vivenda hotelAnother packed flight, this time in a window seat

    Day 2. Columbo to Heathrow

    May 25, 2023 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Sri Lankan Airlines sent Jon an email offering hotel accommodation. We arrived at columbo airport at 11 pm. We got to the hotel about 1 am after navigating a series of bored beaurocrats at the airport to determine which hotel we were going to and how we where going to get there. Once through immigration we shortly arrived at the Vivenda hotel. It was luxury! Prob a $300/night hotel in australia. The breakfast buffet was full of great sri lankan food; sambals and curries etc, very spicey, a good sample of what we might find on our way back. So many staff you never need to open a door!

    At bandakaratne international airport waiting for next leg to depart. Just met an indian man called 'Ram' who was in sri lanka to procure gems as he was gem dealer from kerala. Jon said 'thats interesting' and fetched a small black bag from his satchel. Jon then tipped out three killicrankie diamonds, each the size of a pea. Rams eyes almost popped out of his head. He looked at them closely and declared that they were, in fact sapphires. Then to our suprise we discovered that were were surrounded by more gem dealers and much bartering and haggling insued. Ram showed us the gems he had collected in sri lanka and they were all the size of match heads. We quickly excused ourselves....

    Now waiting for plane to depart to Heathrow....

    On plane now. Approx 4 hrs in. Window seat this time. A young man, member of the cabin crew has been feeding us with whiskey and dry ginger ale. Turns out he is into cricket so i have been talking about great Sri lankan cricketers. Jon has been chatting to him about cooking and music.... He will give us contact numbers etc for people/things to do when we come back through. So far a much more comfortable flight than the first one.

    Jon must be quite relaxed now, he's really letting them rip!

    Ok made it to london. Just settled into our hotel, went to the bar and had a proper english beer.    Read more

  • Mick SherriffBritan and SriLankaTraveler
    1
    1Looks like the british museum found my headphones2Jon and i enjoying a good laughThe british museum1Had a wander around the theatre district.1The underground trains

    Day 3 - london to thirsk

    May 26, 2023 in England ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Stayed last night in the Premier Inn, Heathrow terminal 4. Good nights sleep. Todays mission is to get to Jon's sister Jill's place.!

    Took the underground to Kings Cross Station. There was a queue of people lining up to get their photo taken next to a brick wall. Platform 9 and 3/4, like Harry Potter.

    Went to the british museum. It was great. Wandered around London for a while before catching the train to Thirsk.    Read more

  • Mick SherriffBritan and SriLankaTraveler
    Jill's house, Hambleton Lodge
    HelmsleyThe ruin of Helmsley castleEach horse stall has signs showing the horses name, breeding and owner

    Day 4 - the best of british

    May 27, 2023 in England ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Staying with Jon's sister Jill near the village of Thirsk. She and her family run a thoroughbred horse training setup. They have over 120 horses. Its on the edge of the north Yorkshire Moors national park.

    Went for a lovely walk then visited the village of Helmsley, very old timey and beautiful.    Read more

  • Mick SherriffBritan and SriLankaTraveler
    Gormire lake
    1Railway bridge near the Cumbria/yorkshire boarderMile upon mile of stone walls across the moors.A 2 million pound horse. Could be 10 million as a stud if it wins a race this year!2A graphical interpretation of the greatest view in England...

    Day 5. Yorkshire to Cumbria

    May 28, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Travelled from Yorkshire to Cumbria to visit Jon's sister Jane and her husband bernard. They have visited Flinders a few times and i have met them before.

    We took the backroads as much as possible. We bought a road atlas. I drove and jon navigated. After leaving Thirsk we had driven for about an hour only to realise we were only 7 miles from where we started.....Read more

  • Mick SherriffBritan and SriLankaTraveler
    Our hotel in Hexham
    KeswickOur ride. A volvo borrowed from Jill (Jons sister) and KevinJane and BernardPenninesLake windemere in lake distrctCattle at Long Megg stone circleWhere the cattle have been rubbing on a stoneCastlerigg stone circleCastleriggCastleriggJon with long megg1Me at castlerigg3HexhamLake Windemere

    Day 7 - Circling around

    May 30, 2023 in England ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Left Jane and Bernards' in Holme and headed through the Lake District, over the Penines and through to Hexham.

    The terrain was incredibly varied and the weather has been quite beautiful for the whole trip.

    The lake district has been a holiday. destination for posh folk since Victorian times. Beautiful hills and lakes. Lately there has been protest about raw sewage going into the lakes. Apperently Steve Coogan's not happy.....i dont blame him.

    From there we went to Keswick, where we pencil museum (!). And them to castlerigg stone circle. A mini stonehenge, built 4500 years before present. I think i felt a small jolt when i touched a stone.

    We ventured further north to Penrith where we visited another stone circle called ' long megg'. This one was much larger and was in a cow paddock. We were the only people there.

    Northward through the Pennines a mountainous and barren area. Still lots of stone walls but the villages are spaced further apart than in the more productive areas. I cant comprehend how many miles of stone walls there are. They are everywhere. Millions of tons of rock moved by human hands over who knows how long.

    After dropping down from the heights of the pennines we arrived at Hexham to stay from the night.

    Jon has finally crashed    Read more

  • Mick SherriffBritan and SriLankaTraveler
    21

    Day 8 -pt2. Beyond the wall

    May 31, 2023 in Scotland ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    On to Scotland, past Glasgow to Lochgoilhead, visiting the village where Jon and Alison met!

    Very beautiful and still very warm weather. But the midges! Tiny flies will just eat you alive!

  • Mick SherriffBritan and SriLankaTraveler
    Oxford uni
    Our trusty rental vanOxford university

    Leaving england

    June 7, 2023 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Left yorkshire via a visit to jons sister near oxford. Was cheaper to rent a van for two days than it was to get a train!

  • Mick SherriffBritan and SriLankaTraveler
    21Jon, when he realised he had to get up at five the next morning to do the safari tour

    Galle to Tissa

    June 11, 2023 in Sri Lanka ⋅ 🌧 32 °C

    Travelled along south coast with our driver 'D'. Yes we have a driver, its a long story but we soon realised that we had no idea how to do anything here. He will show us the sights, take us to good places to eat and get us to the airport on time.. (hopefully)

    We visited a buddhist temple and drove around the south coast.very hot. The climate is incredibly diverse over short distances.    Read more

  • Mick SherriffBritan and SriLankaTraveler
    Buffalo kurd with sweet syrup made from coconut flowers
    Road side fruit stalls everywhere. Different varieties of mangoes, jackfruit, tasty little bananas..Yummy buffulo kurdJackfruit treeConcrete outdoor seatingLump rice- curry dish served wrapped in banana leaf

    Some foody bits so far

    June 12, 2023 in Sri Lanka ⋅ 🌧 30 °C

    Our experience with food has been hit and miss so far.... When asking for sri lankan food we often get looks of disbelief and told we should have the mixed grill.

    The curries are often quite sweet and not that hot. Perhaps they tame in down for us. But really good vege dishes usually.

    The street food we have tried has been good. My favourite was a flatbread roll, filled with curry and toasted on a grill.

    A special suprise was water buffalo curd. You buy it on roadsides, usually from a little old lady, who makes it daily in clay pots. A little like yoghurt    Read more

  • Mick SherriffBritan and SriLankaTraveler
    1

    Kandy to airport - the last day

    June 14, 2023 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Went the temple of the tooth, to see where buddha's actual tooth is encased within a gold case.

    From there north to Surigiya, to see a fortress palace, where in the year 450 AD, a rival prince to the kingdom , established a stronghold, containing 400 concubines. Sounded by a moat, packed with crocodiles it contained water gardens, swimming pools...

    Then to probably our best meal of the trip. Dimuthu took us to another mates restaurant. We didnt think we were hungry but were soon proved otherwise.

     Ow back at airport awaiting checkin    Read more

    Trip end
    June 16, 2023