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Elephants, tea and temples

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  • Trip start
    March 28, 2013
    Work Less Travel MoreElephants, tea and templesTraveler

    A short hop on a long trip

    March 28, 2013 in France ⋅ ❄️ 7 °C

    For reasons of cheaper flights we had decided (ok, Paul had decided) that we would book our flights from Paris to Colombo and so we needed to make the short hop from London to Paris. We decided to travel the night before in order to be sure of making the connection as the first morning flight would only have given us a couple of hours. We would find out the next day that our onward flight from Paris was delayed two hours so our careful planning was in vain ... more of that later.

    Our flight to Paris was delayed (I detect a theme here) and so we rolled into Paris CDG around 2245 and headed via the longest airport terminal I have ever encountered and the automated shuttle train to the Ibis CDG. Aside from the long walk this hotel is very conveniently located in the middle of the airport.

    Time for bed!    Read more

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    Too much time in the airport

    March 29, 2013 in France ⋅ ☀️ 6 °C

    After a rapid petit dejeuner we headed back to the airport terminal we had left some 9 hours earlier. A queue has gathered at the Royal Jordanian counter and although the opening time for check-in has passed the few staff do not seem keen to start processing passengers. Then we see flight delayed appear on the screens. Merde ... the flight is delayed by 2 hours. Double merde .... we will miss our connecting flight from Amman to Colombo. Next one is 24 hours later.

    Alison is stressed at the thought of missing a day of holiday but Paul sees this as a challenge to be solved. He skypes the Royal Jordanian customer service team in Amman ... we'll investigate and call you back shortly. Batting aside some scepticism that a call will come, sure enough 15 minutes or so later we get the call. We can reroute you via Delhi ...... hmmmmm, any other options. We agree on RJ to Dubai and then Emirates which will get us into Colombo only 8 hours later than planned; a much better result than 24 hours. Fair play to Royal Jordanian for sorting this out (although I'll be happier when we have got to where we're going).

    The big downside of this delay is not the late arrival but the opportunity for the girls to go shopping ..... my wallet takes another hit with a bag (do you really need more bags) and some maccaroons (what are they anyway).

    Hopefully, we'll be on a plane shortly.    Read more

  • Work Less Travel MoreElephants, tea and templesTraveler

    Its Saturday so it must be Colombo; nope

    March 30, 2013 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    It is now roughly 0210 Saturday UK time and we should by now have been safely landed in Colombo. Indeed the plane we should have travelled on probably IS safely landed in Colombo. However, our late departure from Paris and consequent late arrival into Amman meant that we have been been rerouted via Amman and Dubai. As we left our plane by bus the Colombo flight took off in front of us.

    Jordanian were the model of efficiency in Amman rushing us through the airport for our connecting flight .... only for that to be delayed by around 20 minutes due to awaiting luggage (probably our luggage to be fair).

    So we have had a lengthy stopover in Dubai between flights - 5 hours - and managed to grab a few zzzzs on rather comfy chairs. Dubai airport at 3am is like Oxford Street on a busy Saturday so far from quiet.

    Off to the gate now to board our last flight. If the journey is all part of the holiday we are certainly well into our holiday now!    Read more

  • Work Less Travel MoreElephants, tea and templesTraveler

    Sri Lanka at last

    March 30, 2013 in Sri Lanka ⋅ 🌧 31 °C

    Finally touched down in Colombo at 1330, around 8 hours later than planned but at least we had had a nice snooze at Dubai Airport and on the plane. Unfortunately we still were not back on track as our luggage had not made the journey to Colombo with us. Cue further delay whilst we logged our lost luggage for tracing.

    Stepping outside the airport we met our driver for the next few days touring, Erik.

    A 100km drive ahead of us we knew that driving speeds were slower because of the narrow roads but it wasn't until 5 hours later we rolled into the hotel car park to check in with a quick stop en route to buy a change of clothes - you've got to love the baggage handling guys!!

    Hotel is a Eco - friendly lodge which has a magnificent view of the rock - but not for us to see till the morning.

    After such a lengthy trip it was all we could manage to wander across to the dining room for dinner and then crash out in the room. 8am start tomorrow .... oh dear.    Read more

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    Sigiriya Rock

    March 31, 2013 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    An 8am start to ensure we got to Sigiriya Rock before it got too hot. Our hotel was only 5 minutes away from the Rock so we are there with our tickets well before 8.30. There are relatively few people around at this time.

    The guidebook states there are two things to remember about visiting the rock do it early am or late evening and not at the weekend. We were ok on this front. The path to the Rock proper is through some excavated gardens that date back to the time it was used as a fort and palace. This is the flat, easy going bit.

    Sigiriya Rock dominates the landscape around but is "only" 200m high. However, this equates to about 1200 steps to the top; some sections of steps up are rather precarious to say the least. Before we were even a quarter of the way up we were puffing and consuming huge amounts of water.

    Lots and lots of stops and we managed to get half way up to the area called Lion's Paw. At this point Emma and Alison wussed out of the climb and the steep metals steps cut into the rock that takes people to the top of the Rock. Paul strode, or rather wheezed, manfully up to the top for a look at the stunning views and the remains of the village on top of the Rock.

    While at the half way point Alison and Emma found many mums and daughters who stopped at this point so they didn't feel left out. They managed to see a few monkeys who were looking for some scraps of food too and a lovely Chinese lady obliged with chocolate and he nearly took her hand off as well.

    Some rock history - it dates back to 455 BC so is very very old and was the palace of the King Dhatusena This king apparently had 500 wives but only 2 sons - believe that if you will!! It does house very good ruins of the water gardens, boulder gardens and some frescos - which you have to climb up the face of the rock by a spiral staircase (needless to say that was Paul's job). As you walk up there is also a mirror wall which was originally highly polished. As the king walked up to the top he would see the sun shine on the wall and see lots of graffiti.

    On the way down ...which was in itself good news...... we had more good news - our bags had arrived in Colombo and should be on the way to the hotel by taxi soon. Via the steps to the bottom of the rock you see many boulders - one of which had broken in two and formed a cobra hood. Very impressive.

    After a short drive into the village we stopped and had a very welcome drink before meeting Sita our 29 year old elephant who was going to take us on a ride. It was a very good job there was a ladder to get you to the top and sit on her - but Paul still found it amusing to see Alison find her seat. We had a 50 min trip on Sita through the jungle and ending up at a lake which overlooked the rock - very picturesque.

    Off to lunch after that to a buffet style Sri Lankan restaurant called the ACME Transit hotel (they watch too much Road Runner I think). Chicken, Poppadoms and salad for the careful eaters (me and Emma) and curry for Alison.

    After lunch we were off to a elephant safari. Hurulu Eco park is a vast park which is very good to spot Herds of elephants - if the season is right. We were very fortunate and had a good day elephant spotting - coming within 1m of a fairly young one. A great afternoon where we saw elephants in their natural setting. The pictures tell a very good story better than words.

    We returned to our hotel - hot and sweaty and in need of some clean clothes - to be greeted by a man from Sri Lankan Airways with our luggage. Hurray!!!! Clean clothes have never felt so good.

    Fab first day of our tour - looking forwards to our other days.    Read more

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    Another huge climb and spices

    April 1, 2013 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    Today's trip was to the Rock Caves at Dambulla, the Spice Gardens of Matale and Sri Lankan traditional dancing.

    What more could you want the day after Sigiriya Rock but to climb another 650 steps to see another temple!! Once again though we had made an early start and though it was hot it was bearable. At the top of the hill you hand in your shoes and walk bare foot to visit 6 caves which hold huge numbers of Buddha figures and temples dating 500 years or more. All of these are carved out if the rock from the hill; incredible.

    We then started to make our way to Kandy on the way stopping at a woodcarving factory and and a herb garden. Alison loved the herb and spice garden - all the natural stuff to heal your aches and pains. On leaving our driver stopped at a roadside seller and bought a King Coconut which the seller hacked open so that we could drink the coconut water. To be honest it just tasted like slightly warm water although Alison polished most of it off. In any case it cost 40 rupees which is around 3 pence. Food for thought - if the seller had sold all of the coconuts she had on the stall she would have made around 25p for a day's work. Hard to understand how that constitutes enough money to live on.

    We arrived at our hotel mid afternoon - The Mansion - an old colonial house which has 10 rooms and Makes you feel like you are back in the days of the Raj. Ghandi and Gregory Peck have also been guests of the former owner who was governor of the local region. The hotel is around 12km outside Kandy so much quieter but it does make for a bit too much backwards and forwards driving though. A fantastic place to stay even so.

    After a quick swim we went into Kandy to see some traditional Kandian dancing which is accompanied by loud drumming and which was followed by several of the dance troupe doing fire eating and walking on hot coals - rather them than me.

    Exhausted we headed back to the Mansion for dinner and sleep.    Read more

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    Awww more elephants

    April 2, 2013 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Pinnewale Elephant Orphanage, Peradeniya Botanical Gardens and the Temple Of The Tooth

    A very early start for us this morning 6.30 up bright and breezy ( well not quite ) but we wanted to see the elephants so we had to!!

    A 1.5 hours drive and we got to the orphanage and bought our tickets. Luckily Emma got the last one for feeding. Yay.

    There are 88 elephants which are a mixture of born in the orphanage or rescued. All are very cute including the lovely babies. Emma fed milk to one of them and was so happy. After seeing feeding we walked down to the river and sat in a lovely restaurant which had a view of the river. A cold coke In hand we waited for the 40 elephants to come charging down the small road for bath time. What a treat. We could have stayed there all day:-). Lonely Planet says "you can sit in a restaurant with a view and have an 'expensive' drink". In our view £1.50 for a coke with this view is a bargain.

    Back towards Kandy we had the Botanical Gardens to see. Dating back to 1371 it a beautiful collection of trees, plants, orchids and gardens. So beautiful and green considering this country is only 1 degree north of the equator. We had lunch in the cafe and felt very colonial sitting in the verandah with a light breeze blowing across the gardens,

    After the gardens and a drive (crawl) through rush hour in Kandy town we visited the Temple of the Tooth. A very old Buddhist temple dating back to 1500's which is also home to the old kings' palace. Again some beautiful Buddhas, inscriptions and carvings all around 500 years old. There is a procession of the priests every evening but we chose to miss this as it would have meant a very late dinner back at the hotel.

    Back to hotel in time for a lovely well earned swim and drinks by the pool. Probably our first couple of hours relaxing all week so far.    Read more

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    Up into the hills by train

    April 3, 2013 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Today we are moving on again. This time from Kandy up to the hill country town of Nuwara Eliya. We are making the journey by way of a train on the British built Sri Lankan railway. Some trains run from Kandy but our train started from Colombo and stopped at Peradeniya Junction which is where we boarded. Although the trains in Sri Lanka are government run a couple of private companies are allowed to run tourist coaches attached to normal trains. Overall, though, there is a distinct air of 1960s british railways complete with semaphore signals.

    The train takes a slow run up from Peradeniya Junction via a relentless procession of curves and inclines to gain height eventually reaching Nanu Oya at 1600m altitude. Nanu Oya is also the closest station to our overnight stopping point of Nuwara Eliya and so we alighted here to meet our driver who had made the trip by road with our luggage.

    Nuwara Eliya is also known as Little England due to its origin as a hill retreat for the British and the range of english style houses there. This, however, is a little overplayed as there aren't that many english style houses; there is, however, a very english park - Victoria Park - and a lake with rowing boats for hire. Otherwise the majority of the town is very Sri Lankan in construction (or partial construction in some cases). The climate at this altitude is much cooler and refreshing yet still warm and sunny.

    We stopped for a late lunch by the boating lake, Lake Gregory. This and the cooler climate made us feel like we were lunching in the lake district. After lunch we visited the Pedro tea plantation factory where we were led through the factory explaining the production process which seems to have changed little in 100 years. Certainly many of the machines in use are of considerable vintage. At the end of the tour we get the chance to taste some tea. Tea, as we now know, is divided into grades from the best (Orange Pekoe) to the lowest (Fanning - used for tea bags). Freshly produced tea is certainly a big improvement on supermarket tea bags.

    By now it was time to head off to our hotel for the night. Our driver thoughtfully took us to the poshest hotel in town - the Grand - for a quick preview. It was very plush with beautifully maintained gardens and a lawn for afternoon tea. We were worried how our hotel would compare with this. We needn't have worried (too much); although far less plush Heaven Seven is perfectly clean, tidy and pleasant. Being quite high up it has a view over part of the town and the climate meant we could open a window to let fresh air in without boiling in the heat.

    Dinner here was very basic - fish or grilled chicken - but basic was fine for this evening. A glass of red wine washed it down nicely anyway.    Read more

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    Down from the hills to the beach

    April 4, 2013 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Tea factory, Rafting. Beach

    We started the morning by breathing in some fresh hill air - Nuwara Eliya is 6500 ft above sea level so whilst it wasn't cold it was definately more chilly than we had been used to. The view from our hotel window was over the tea plantations and surrounding hills and was quite beautiful. Our hotel was a refurbished 'Columbo Dockyards Resting House' - somewhere for the workers to come and relax !!

    We had got a long journey ahead of us as we needed to travel to the beach which on google maps said it was only 170km away and should take 2.5hours. They obviously weren't taking in the very windy roads coming down from the hills and Sri Lankan driving.

    We packed ourselves into our car for the last day and our first stop was the Mackwoods tea plantation. Established in 1841 they are another tea house who have acres upon acres of tea fields which are plucked, prepared and dried and then shipped off to the tea auction houses of Columbo and sold to the likes of Tetley, PG Tips etc etc to be blended into tea bags. We were served with tea on the terrace (free of charge) to sample their blend of Orange Pekoe - a light tea which you drink without milk. Definitely a much nicer taste than your average builders tea - but maybe that could have been the setting. We have bought some to bring back home so will certainly tell when we brew it on home turf.

    Winding down the hills we also stopped off at the Rothschild tea plantation to walk through the fields - beautiful, and Ramboda Falls - a waterfall which is surrounded again by beautiful scenery,

    Our driver had said if we wanted too we could do some white water rafting on our way to the beach - to be honest I thought he had forgotten as we drove slowly down from the hills for about 2 hours until he pointed out the place we could do this. Emma was very keen I twisted Paul's arm to join her. We were now in the jungle and the temperature had definately warmed up. Paul and Emma kitted themselves out and then walked down some very precarious steps to get to the river. The boat followed by them down by zip wire - I looked on quite scared but I think Paul was a bit more apprehensive than he was making out. They went off on their first little rapid and I was driven to the Plantation Hotel 3.5km to meet them. The river comes from Adams Peak down to the sea in Colombo. They were certainly rapids but not especially white water. However, it was a fun and easy introduction to rafting for Emma. Both Paul and Emma jumped into the water for the last rapid at the suggestion of the guide; after that it was impossible to get Emma back out of the water.

    Lunch over we then made our way to the beach - 3 hours later on some very scary roads we reached our hotel. The Blue Water .... as we entered reception tired and hot we were greeted with cold towels and fresh juice - Heaven!    Read more

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    Lazy days

    April 8, 2013 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    It has been 4 days of lazing by the pool since arriving from Nuwara Eliya. Although the 5 days touring round were exhausting we saw lots of fascinating sights and got to see a few different parts of Sri Lanka.

    This hotel well deserves its 5 star rating. The room is large, cool (rather than icy as it was until we worked out the aircon) and spotlessly clean. The staff are unfailingly polite and helpful and there is a good range of food for breakfast , lunch and dinner from local Sri Lankan dishes to those more familiar to western palates.

    This hotel, does seem to host a lot of relatively short stay guests. Our guess is people stopping off before or after a stay in the Maldives. A fair number of people seem to use the coast hotels as a base for a few day trips into the centre of the country. This approach must involve an unbelievably early start (we heard somebody at Pinnewala mention being picked up by coach at 0300!) and vast amounts of driving. We are very glad we took the tour approach as although it involved lots of driving at least we were not going up and down the same roads.

    So handy hint no. 1 = A 3-5 day tour is better than day trips if you can put up with changing hotels every day or two.

    Paul is getting itchy feet after four days of doing nothing so will be taking a train trip to Colombo tomorrow. Let's hope he makes it back safely to do another trip update.    Read more

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    3rd class to Colombo and back

    April 9, 2013 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Four days by the pool is enough for Paul but Alison and Emma were not tempted by a train trip so a solo trip to Colombo for Paul.

    The nearest station to the hotel is Pinwatte, around 1.9km away. This is only served by local (i.e. slow) trains but the additional time it would take to get to Panadura where the express stops offsets any journey benefit. A quick check on google maps satellite view showed there was a path all the way from the hotel to Pinwatte running alongside the railway; no concern over trespass here - many people seem to use the railway track as a footpath, shortcut or convenient shady spot.

    A 15 minute stroll and I was at the station. Even such a tiny halt like this has a ticket office and for the princely sum of 60 rupees (about 30p / 50c) I had a 3rd class return to Colombo. The Sri Lankan railways website showed a train at 1106 and the ticket seller confirmed this. Sure enough at 1106 in rolled the train and I climbed up on board. Still some seats available. No aircon but all of the windows are wide open, as are the doors, so whilst the train is moving there's enough of a breeze.

    The railway line hugs the sea shore for much of the journey and even where it doesn't there are only two or three dwellings between the track and the sea. Most of these dwellings are very basic - made of wood or breeze blocks with corrugated tin roofs. Families are sitting outside in the shade watching the world, or at least the trains, go by. Only much closer into Colombo do the buildings become bigger, more modern and sometimes better maintained. We arrive into Colombo Fort on time at 1205; Colombo Fort feels like a provincial British station and must once have been much busier than it is now. I'd guess at about 8-10 trains an hour pass through today.

    I leave the station and walk along the main street towards the bus station. There is a cacophony of traffic, horns blasting and music from some of the shops. It is very sweaty and people throng the pavement and into the road. A market is in full force and many vendors have set up stall or laid out their wares on the side of the road. The market sells clothes (collared shirts for �1), fruit, veg, toys, electronics and who knows what else. A bit too busy and hot for me to browse too long but I pause to buy some grapes.

    I take a brief wander round the bus station, another state institution a little past its best I fear, and buy a Sprite to top up my liquid levels.

    The main sights and shops are a bit too far to walk in this heat and this crowd so I wander back to the station for the return train and sit for a while watching trains arrive and depart. Seeing passengers board the train from the track rather than the platform in order to beat the crowds to a seat is not something I've seen before.

    I take an earlier train than planned back harbouring a sneaking suspicion that this will terminate at Panadura which it does. The next train that takes me the last 2km back to Pinwatte arrives about 20 minutes later just behind an express train which I am glad I don't need to catch as around people are desperately clinging on the outside of the train at each doorway, unable to fit inside the carriage. That's a bit precarious at 60km/h !

    A 15 minute walk and time for a swim and a drink. Gasp!    Read more

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    Homeward bound

    April 13, 2013 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    The cost saving exercise of taking an indirect flight rather loses its appeal when we head off to the airport at midnight for our flight home at 0530. But we keep telling ourselves it was a BIG saving. Let's hope the return flights run more smoothly than the outbound. The flight from Colombo to Amman is on time so that's a start.

    Colombo airport is a bit of a scrum. There's a security barrier before check-in which you can't get through until your flight is shown for check-in, in our case 2 hours 55 minutes before departure. We'd arrived earlier hoping to get some extra time in the lounge to have a nap. Eventually we make it to the lounge at 3.30 am only to find the TV blaring news of some Indian event at which some military people are shouting. We hope instead for comfy seats on the plane to get a good 5 hours or so of sleep.

    Our luggage is checked all the way through to London. Let's see if it will make it ..... if it doesn't it will save Alison a lot of washing!

    Putting aside the hassle of travelling Sri Lanka has been a great holiday. We've seen some of the historical sights, some of the animals - none of us have ever seen elephants in the wild before - and some of the living conditions that people in this country have to bear.

    We would definitely come back here, perhaps for a tour of the southern part of the country and some more R&R by the beach.    Read more

    Trip end
    April 13, 2013
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