Yes, honeymoon had finally arrived. I had taken charge of organising the wedding and Mark took charge of organising the honeymoon. Besides knowing where we were going (Sri Lanka and the Maldives), I knew very little else, other than I was very much looking forward to the honeymoon surprise (and a much needed break).
The taxi arrived early that dull and grey Saturday morning to get us to the airport on time. We arrived at the airport and things were pretty much stress free. Before we knew it we were off on our 11 or so hour day flight to Sri Lanka. We arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka's capital city just after 2am (local time), found our transfer driver and made for the taxi outside. Once outside, we were hit with 25 degree heat...yes at 2am in the morning... and I quickly shed my only jersey I had brought with (finally getting it right for once, as I didn't wear it again until our flight back to London). Our 30 min journey from Columbo airport to Negombo was pretty dark and uneventful, and we couldn't quite tell what would be in store for us, over the next few days.
Experience Sri Lanka...
The next day we woke up probably about midday Sri Lankan time and were treated to a normal 'English' type breakfast with the most delicious fresh papaya juice (one of the many fruits, we would discover over the next week, that was grown locally).
Stepping out from our accommodation, our first experience of Sri Lanka, besides for the unbelievable heat, was one of simple, urban life, with every second shop being a little tourist curio shop or a sleepy, run-down type of corner cafe (for the much needed water). The locals were extremely friendly always smiling and greeting you (something that takes some getting used to after living in London for so long). The road however was anything but sleepy, with 100s of tuk tuks driving up and down the streets, making use of their most prized possession...their HOOTER.
aka Pamela...
I soon became the fascination of many a local (men, woman and children) and didn't quite know whether to be flattered or insulted by the constant (and blatant ,outright) staring and attention. So it didn't take long before Mark decided to rename me...Pamela.
First stop the beach....
We were less than 2 min away from the beach, and the first sight of it, is one I will not forget in a hurry. The beach was pretty rough and rugged, however the palm trees created the most idyllic setting you could ever imagine. The temperatures were in the high 30s and we couldn't wait for our first dip in the ocean – or should I say the 'world’s biggest outside bath'...the water was ridiculously warm, yet still somehow managed to be refreshing!
Negombo...
The second day we arranged for a private driver, who would drive us around over the next few days while we explored the different cities of Sri Lanka. Job for the day done...we headed back to the beach and made use of the hotel pool, where the water was even warmer than the sea! That day was a Sri Lankan public holiday, and the locals were out celebrating ‘something’. There was a festival of sorts in Columbo, however still feeling a little jet-lagged we decided to give it a skip and instead we went out for dinner to a place called Bisho (as recommended by the friendly accommodation owner, as well as the Lonely Planet Travel Guide Book). Being in a new country ,we had to try their local cuisine of course... CURRY...and we weren’t disappointed. Mark did however spot the guy at the next table eating what looked like a divine piece of steak and made a mental note. Being a public holiday no alcohol was allowed to be served/bought anywhere, apart from ordering it and drinking it in your room, which we did whilst playing Rummy and Sh*thead, which I am pleased to say I was champion of both games that night.
Let the adventure begin...
The next morning we were up early, to meet with our driver/guide, Dennis and set off on our next adventure. Still not having quite
adjusted as yet to the new time zone, we thought we could have a little 'kip' in the car (a minivan all to ourselves) on the 3 to 4 hours drive to Kandy. Little did we know the real Sri Lankan experience was about to kick in (before we had time to doze off)! Those 100s of tuk tuks I mentioned earlier now turned into what seemed like 1000s, together with other cars, buses, trucks and not to mention the motorbikes (with 3 to 4 people on them, where only the driver - mainly the Dad - wears the helmet, whilst the wife and kids go without). Sri Lanka has no robots (traffic lights), stop streets, circles, it’s all just go, go, go. The only rule it seemed, was to use your hooter as much as possible...and which meant various things... warning people you are behind them, you want to overtake them (on left or right hand side of the road, didn’t matter), warning people you are coming round a blind corner, warning people walking on the road that you were coming and to move over, and then just for fun too! Now to add to my already frazzled nerves, the were numerous stray/street dogs, who just lie on the edge of the road...how they manage to survive is beyond me with all the swerving on and off the roads whilst over taking. Yet somehow it all seems to work, with us, obviously still around to tell the story.Kandy, the hilly city...
En route to Kandy we stopped off at a Spice Garden, where I was much intrigued...with all the natural herbs, spices and not to mention fruit and veg that Sri Lanka produces get put to good use in some herbal medicines. I probably would have bought the whole shop, had they not actually been quite expensive (a first so far) and instead settled with only 3 kinds of products. We also stopped at one of the many tea factories for a tour, after all Sri Lanka is known as the Ceylon valley...and who would have guessed how much work went into making tea! Needless to say I made a purchase here too, this time limiting myself to just 1 product...some natural ginger tea.
We arrived in Kandy, and went straight to drop our things off at the B&B, which happened to be at the top of possibly one of the highest and windiest roads, which can only fit in 1 car, yet still happened to be a 2 way road for traffic...so the hooter once again came in very handy. We were only in Kandy for 1 night and put this time to good use, by seeing a cultural dancing/singing show, the Temple of the Tooth, exclusive dining (as in we were the only ones there) at a Sri Lankan restaurant as well as silk shopping and gem shopping (I got one of these too!).
Sigiriya Rock and Kandalama...The next day we headed off for Sigiriya, where the famous Sigiriya Rock is. Our driver very kindly called ahead to the fancy Kandalama hotel where we were booked to stay and managed to get us Honeymooners upgraded to a suite! Very very nice! This hotel was just amazing! It is 1km long and is built into the side of rock. There were 3 pools, one being an infinity pool, overlooking the lake, the second a natural rock pool and the 3rd a normal, but huge pool, right on the otherside of the hotel. Our suite was huge, with 2 balconies, a lounge, bedroom and bathroom, and our view was of the amazing Sigirya Rock and some of the hotel’s beautiful gardens.
The next day we set out to climb Sigiriya Rock, which has about 2000 stairs, some of which are extremely narrow. Our guide (not Dennis – takes people up about 2 or 3 times a day...once was definitely enough for us and we had to make numerous resting stops along the way) impressed us with the story of the 18 year old king who built his castle on this rock, not much of it remains unfortunately, apart from some artwork on the rock walls.
While in Sigiriya we enjoyed some fine dining, hotel entertainment and lots and lots of swimming. We also went on an elephant safari and we saw at least 50 or more elephants, which are a bit smaller than the African elephants, and have smaller ears, in their natural environment!
Back to Negombo...
Nearing the end of our Sri Lankan adventure, we headed back to Negombo for another day or so of relaxing and yet more eating. We went back to the Bisho restaurant, so Mark could have his much dreamt about steak and he wasn’t disappointed. We enjoyed a few more ‘baths’ in the world’s biggest bath, and before we knew it, the week was up and it was time to pack up and get ready for our trip back to Columbo airport.
All in all...Sri Lanka was beautiful, yet dirty in parts and absolutely amazing with all its many (natural) commodities it has to offer. Definitely an experience to remember and one we’d happily do again!
Next stop the Maldives....
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