Saturday, 3 August:
A 4 hour stopover in Dubai airport... just staying in Terminal and walking to stay occupied. The whole terminal appeared relatively quiet when we arrived but then became increasingly busy (read heaving!) by the time we left at 2:40am. A huge, incredibly busy airport.
Smooth flight and arrived in Columbo at 7:30am (local time), no problems at all being processed through immigration. We got an Uber to take us to our Intrepid Travel tour meeting hotel, quite chaotic traffic although usually just 2 people per motorbike. Simple road rules which appear to rotate around the size of your vehicle, the bigger you are the more right of way you have! :)
Dropped our bags at the hotel and went for a walk.... it's hot!... 28-30 C plus very dry. Walked a bit of beach, very littered with plastic and rubbish in the areas that have no neighbouring resort complexes. The beach side resorts obviously rake their beach fronts!. Found an ATM and withdrew some cash... 100 rupees equivalent to $NZ 1.20.
Lunched at a local restaurant, this whole area is quite touristy... lots of places to stay and supporting restaurants etc. Got back to hotel about 12:45, had to wait around for our room to be ready by the 2pm check-in. They did let us in earlier so did some chores, laundry and a relax (should that read sleep!).
Met up for the tour briefing at 5:30pm, seems like it should be a good group:
4 NZ - Judy and Greg (Te Anau) and us
3 UK - Matthew, Matt, Izzy
6 Aussie - Cath and Mike, Terry, Martin, Julie, Kat
After the briefing we all, except the Te Anau couple who had prior arrangements, bussed along the road for dinner. It was the same restaurant we actually had lunch at... what are the chances!
Sunday, 4 August:
6:30am breakfast and on the road by 7:30am. It's hot!... so we think the plan is to finish by lunchtime.
The lead guide is Ku, supported by Cou-son (bike mechanic), Saram (truck) and Heyman (bus driver)
Biked from Negombo, winding our way through quiet residential streets, some bigger houses behind fences, then followed along close to the shoreline. We stopped at a monument to victims of the 2004 Tsunami which impacted this whole area heavily.
Stopped for snacks on the shore. Mike (Michael) has his 69th birthday today which the guides had researched... so cake was produced and shared by all... a lovely touch.
More coastal riding, lots of empty stalls which would be selling fish any other day of the week. There was the odd one that was open for business however... selling fish, fruit and vege, coconuts etc.
Biked through a town to our stopping point at the end of a town called Chilaw, lunching at a small café there... started with fresh coconut water, then dishes 2x rice, curries, salads and a dessert thing which was perhaps buffalo milk based, similar to a junket thing?. The bikes then loaded onto the truck and us into the bus for us to drive around 1.5 hours to a lovely resort hotel outside the city of Anuradhapura.
On the drive we saw rice fields, a few cattle, banana and coconut plantations and a few trucks full of coconuts presumably heading to Colombo. Market stalls of meat (beef?). Rivers and lakes... but to be honest we are both struggling to stay awake so missed a bit of scenery too!
Sri Lanka used to be known as Ceylon during British colonial times... the name officially changed in 1972, following earlier independence 1948, first to "Lanka" (island) and then a couple of years later the "Sri" (paradise) was added, so Island of Paradise. The bikes seem quite good although a bit tight in gears... new equipment! At this stage the group is pretty even paced/speed although the 3 older Aussies are a bit more professional ... further and faster types. One of the (2) e-bikes is the slowest at this point although everyone is still getting used to the different gearing/bikes so time will tell. A lot of, current or ex, teachers in the group... 7.
Did some washing in our room although can't hang it outside as there are monkeys about who are prone to thieving! Did lay it out on the tiled verandah and it did dry OK... no sun but the tiles are hot just due to the temperature. Went for a quick walk to look at the lake opposite the resort then to the hotel pool which the rest of the group had already found. Bit late for a swim but time for a chat with some of the others in the group.
Dinner was in the township of Anuradhapura, travel by bus both directions. A BYO restaurant so we all trooped over to a bottle store across the road to buy our beers first. Ku ordered our meal for us: Roti (flatbread) which is chopped finely (and noisily) then added curry sauces. Hoppers... a bowl shaped crisp rice flour crepe, along with an egg cooked inside it. The food is all lovely albeit spicey and hot on the lips.
Back to the hotel for an early night, although Noel ventured out with the rest of the group to the hotel bar for a couple of beers.
Monday, 5 August:
Hot... 33 but feels like 40+ C. A riding loop today leaving the hotel at 7:30am and biked through to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Anuradhapura.
Our first stop is the Abhayagiriya museum. Just to look at photographs and artifacts that have been found on the sites:
figures, pottery, coins, jewellery
Then a look around the grounds and a walk around the temple itself. Abhayagiri Dogoba is an ancient stupa made of terracotta tiles.. with no entrance and is believed to contain treasures.
The whole Abhayagiri Vihara refers to the complex of monastic buildings and a fraternity of Buddhist monks. Founded in the 2nd century BC it had grown to become an international institution by 1st century AD. This area was a place of learning for scholars: huge village complexes with they believe to be 3-6 storey buildings along with bathhouses etc around the area.
The area was abandoned mid 13th century because of South Indian invasions and was left for the jungle to reclaim. It was re-discovered in the 19th century and some of the excavations are reasonably recent up to the last 40 years or so. The Stupa itself was fully restored and unveiled 2015. There is still scaffolding on it now but we guess maintenance is ongoing.
We then moved on and had a walk around the Bodhi Tree Shrine.. where a branch of a Bodhi tree (a symbol of Buddhism, the Buddhas Fig Tree) was planted in 288 BC!!, a branch of which remains living. Quite amazing.
The area is a place of pilgrimage for practicing Buddhists, so there were prayers happening all around the shrine and people offering gifts of flowers, rice... also at the Jetavenamaya Stupa. It was a full time job by staff dumping all the offerings into rubbish bins to keep the tables clear for more offerings... a seemingly pointless exercise to us, but ours is not to reason why!
Continued biking on, past a 2nd terracotta Stupa, Abhayagiri and stopped to look at the monastery baths, of which there are a few.
After lunching at a café, including buffalo yoghurt which was actually quite nice, it was then a 6km ride back to our hotel. Very, very hot...
A shower and some washing done, a relax whilst a huge thunderstorm rolled through. Meant we missed a swim in the pool however, but reports from the rest of the crew is that it isn't that nice a pool anyway. The 3 Stupa's visited today are Jethawanariena, Ruwanwalisaya and Abeygiri. The first of which was a monastery believed to have housed 10,000 Buddhist monks at its peak.
During our riding today we saw rice drying on the roads, however is it mechanically harvested. Lots of dogs everywhere. Monkeys around the hotel and the temples. Bats in the trees and also spotted an Eagle in the trees.
Drinks and Dinner at the hotel this evening.
Tuesday, 6 August:
Away from the hotel by 6:30am with a banana and a biscuit to fuel us initially. Our first stop after 20km of riding on flat ground meant we averaged 25 km/hour.
Breakfast by a lake, a pre-packed breakfast...our egg sandwich was an omelette filling, what a great idea!
It was then another 9-10km until a break stop. Starting to get very hot... stopped to regroup, quick drink etc then it was a section of "go as fast as you like", then another 15km till a stop at a shop veranda. Egg rolls, cup of tea... nice. After another 15km the crew made us lime mocktails... ice, mint leaf, cinnamon and lime syrup... amazing!!
Another 11km to the finish (a total of 70km for the day) where the bikes were loaded on truck whilst we lunched at a persons house. Absolutely sweating heaps when we stop, not sure of the temperatures but it'll be in the 30's C when the sun is shining.
A 1.5 hour bus ride to the town of Polonnaruwa. A shower, swim and relax before a trip to the temples. On the road we saw a lot of dogs, quite a few skinny dogs, some of which run out barking and snarling so a little disconcerting.
Lots of school kids, must have been riding over their lunchtime or else they are inattentive in class.. yelling and waving at us.
Animal spotting, we saw goats, cattle (singular tied up, and some mobs) and water buffalo. Some signs for Elephant crossing warnings, although we didn't spot any actual Elephants. Lots of rice fields, coconut trees, banana trees and the obligatory road side stalls selling fruit and veg.
A bit of climbing for the day, but nothing too serious. On the bus ride it was obviously a tourist area, a lot of safari trucks and accommodation providers as we drove past a National Park area.
Arrived at our accommodation at about 2:30pm, after a great shower we had a swim in the pool before regrouping 4:30pm to go on tour. Bussed to an area that was to become the new Imperial Palace residences and surrounds when Anuradhapura was abandoned in AD 993 .There was more intact ruins and it had obviously been a huge complex. The area had been abandoned and left to the jungle to reclaim in the 12th century, only excavated and rediscovered from the 1960's on.
Also within the area was a stone quarry where the building materials had come from that now had remaining 3 huge buddha figures carved out. Lots and lots of outbuildings about too.
We then bussed to dinner in an open air, under cover, place that overlooked paddy fields. We were served an enormous range of food, curries, poppadum's, dough baskets, fried coconut balls, fried dishes etc. Then desserts of fruit, fried this and that, and buffalo curd. A huge meal which was a set price, must have been a huge amount of leftovers.
Back to the hotel for a well earned rest.
Wednesday, 7 August:
A more relaxed start at 8:30 after a bus trip to an ATM. A slower bike ride around a damned reservoir, which is a lovely looking lake with rice fields on the far side.
Followed a canal/river channel and stopped at the 19km mark where the canal inlet is, quite a comprehensive canal system to shift the water to where it is needed. Morning tea break there which was much appreciated, then 20 minutes later we stopped at a cluster of houses to pick up our, pre-ordered, lunch. Given little round berries/plums and roasted sweet corn as a snack.. yum.
It is getting very hot. The last section of 15km was a bit of a slog so that we find ourselves at the back of the bunch again. Lunch by the side of the road then onto the bus to retrace some of our steps from yesterday to get to Minneriya National Park. Transferred onto Safari Trucks and off on an elephant "hunt".
The park has a large lake, formed by damning in the 3rd century, so lots of birdlife... including peacocks, a mongoose, a water monitor (very large lizard type creature), some water buffalo, some cattle... and finally some elephants. 2 single ones initially before finding mobs of them. Along with mobs of safari vehicles jostling for position to watch/photograph them.
A huge number of elephants really, lots of little ones including one very new tiny one... exceptionally cute.
A railway runs through areas near the park and apparently 200 plus elephants are killed by train strike annually. They are also a problem for farmers as the rice fields prior to harvest are very tasty!... which is why there is tree houses in and around the rice fields for patrol purposes. They attempt to scare the elephants away with fire crackers... or more cruelly blown up by eating melon and pumpkin that have been deliberately filled with explosives!. It is illegal to kill elephants but it is a well known fact that this happens.
Got to our hotel about 7:30pm, a very flash resort at Dambulla but we are leaving early tomorrow so a very brief stay.
Thursday, 8 August:
Out of bed at 4:30am this morning for a 5am departure in order to climb Sigiriya (Lion) Rock pre sun-rise. A 15 minute bus ride, joined by an awful lot of other tourists walking/climbing up. It was just light enough as we started. Lots of steps, to join a whole lot more tourists that were already up the top.
A lovely viewpoint. Lion Rock is an ancient rock fortress 180m high. The fortress was built for King Kashyapa AD 477-495. The whole rock was originally painted... a few of these rock paintings still exist, mainly seem to be images of topless women to an untrained eye ?!!
The palace itself was abandoned after the Kings death, although used as a Buddhist monastery until the 14th century. It is now an UNESCO World Heritage site. It is thought that it is likely there are more town ruins in the surrounding jungle to the east of the main site, that are yet to be discovered and explored.
We biked from there for about 27km, 8 of which was on gravel which slowed many of the troop down... some obviously not used to riding on non sealed smooth surfaces. Rolled into the city of Dambulla, about 9:30am, and that is our riding over for the day. Ku arranged that we could use one of the local hotel pools... so a swim and shower which was a lovely, and welcome, surprise.
From there we had a brief walk through a vegetable auction house, seemed quite chaotic! We had lunch at a farm, mango's being the star product. Presented with a flower on arrival, a lovely sheltered spot, wine glasses, cutlery and plates. 5-7 staff to serve food and drinks, lovely curries, a very nice meal. Started to rain (thunder) as we left.
Drove by bus to Kandy, about 2 hours, passing some impressive rock mountains amongst a very green area to arrive about 5:30pm. Out to a nearby restaurant for dinner at 7pm. Hotel instructions are not to leave balcony doors open or anything on it as monkeys are about... and we are on the 4th storey!.
En-route to Kandy we stopped at a spice farm... a very quirky guide... the whole thing was basically a sales pitch but quite fun at the same time. Bonus that we got a bit of a neck/head massage at the end. Among their products appears to be lots of "miracle cures"... apparently... Oil of Ulay, Sandlewood oil, Jubaba Oil and Aloe Vera gel ....yeh right!??
Friday, 9 August:
Kandy is the Buddhist capital of the world... well, maybe not, but it is a world renowned place of Buddhist worship as it has the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. The Left canine tooth of Gantama Buddha is enshrined, and the area is a Heritage UNESCO site also.
From tomorrow, 10 August, for the following 10 days it is the Kandy Esala Perahera... also known as the festival of the tooth of Lord Buddha. Thousands of people gather over the 10 days with music, drums, dance, jugglers and a parade of elephants dressed in glittering finery . One of the elephants is carrying a vessel carrying a replica of the tooth... the real tooth remains in a tomb in Sri Dalada Maligawe - the temple of the tooth.
As the temple is going to be heaving with visitors we went early arriving before 8:30am... there were already lines of school children, each child carrying a flower to put on the tooth tomb. We were also each given a flower each to place on the tomb. There was a team of workers immediately scooping up the flowers and chucking them in a rubbish skip!!!
From the temple we bussed to a tea plantation factory where a guide led us through and explained the process. A bit of a struggle to hear all she said due to a combination of machinery, her quiet voice and her lack of enthusiasm for presenting the subject (don't think she was in love with her job!). Tea is picked, dried, cut, sorted into the various varieties. A presentation of a free tea tasting at the end of the tour with the expectation that purchases would be made.
From there it was on to a gem/jewellery manufacturer/store... a lot of different gems from all around the world in addition to the many from Sri Lanka... sapphire, ruby, moonstone etc. Presentation followed by a real hard sell at the end. One only had to glimpse at a display and the sales folk would swoop. A couple of our group showed some interest but we don't think any money changed hands.
A brief walking tour of the centre of Kandy, which is very busy due to the imminent festival including huge numbers of police, navy and army personnel massing. Ended up at a food court for lunch, but we choose to opt out and went and found a nearby supermarket/bakery instead and ate by the lake. We made our way back to our hotel by walking around the lake, interesting to see the preparations for the festival including the navy unloading a boat into the lake for patrol purposes... so much security evident.
Group met again at 4:30pm and went to a cultural dance, music performance which included fire breathing and fire walking. It was very good (somewhat surprisingly as at times these types of presentations to mass numbers of tourists can seem a bit clunky).
Onward to a family home where we were shown how to cook some of the traditional Sri Lanka meal ingredients. A lovely meal served, not heaps of curry but 3 types plus Dahl and other accompaniments along with rice, all very nice.
Overall a great day but obviously a good time to be leaving Kandy as it will be crazy busy....more crazy busy than today!!We saw a couple of elephants being transported on trucks, obviously coming in for the festival daily parades.
Saturday, 10 August:
Departed 7:45am and bus to the train station for our Kandy to Hatton journey. A very scenic train ride grinding our way up to a high point before dropping again with lots of tight turns (for a train anyway!). Very steep hillside country, firstly covered with trees, some forestry plantations, and then as we headed toward Hatton more and more tea plantations and factories. Amazing how steep it is and how the tea is all hand picked, we saw a handful of pickers in a couple of different spots but perhaps not the right season to see large picking occurring.
A spectacular train journey with open windows and doorways for people to hang out of and get photo's of each other.... instagrammers delight!
Once in Hatton it was into our bike gear and onto the bikes just as it started to rain... initially hectic town traffic then a mostly downhill 8km section to reach a restaurant for lunch amongst tea plantations. From there it was mostly downhill although got caught in a major downpour, took shelter in a bus shelter with a couple of bemused locals. Although we got quite wet not too big a problem as it is not cold.
Stunning riding, zig zagging down amongst tea plantations as the weather cleared for us to mostly dry out. Stopped at a lake for a breather then it was mostly climbing for 21km, over a dam and up past a second lake where we received another downpour along with another handily located bus shelter complete with bemused locals. Some rough sealed road in places but a great cycle meander. There appeared to be holiday homes/retreats overlooking the second lake.
The last 6km was on a very busy road, lots of buses, and although drivers are generally courteous it remains a bit hairy with a bus coming one way whilst a car overtakes a tuk-tuk the other way!
Made it back to Hatton (a circular ride today) where we are staying for the night. The hotel in a high state of excitement along with a whole lot of police/army present because the Sri Lanka president is visiting for a meeting this afternoon. Although initially not going to let us in, after a bit of intense negotiation by Ku we were able to park our bikes and get into our rooms... as long as we didn't come down to the meeting area. We were unable to retrieve our backpacks/phones off bus however until this evening... luckily our larger bags had been dropped off earlier by the support truck.
We therefore didn't get to meet the president in our bedraggled state (Very, as we were all quite wet!), and had strict orders to stay in our rooms and to pre-order our dinner. However word filtered back once he had departed that we could congregate in the hotel bar and eat there, and also retrieve our backpacks. All quite surreal as some of the group saw snipers on the rooftops etc... so a bit of excitement for the day.
Sunday, 11 August:
Departed 7:30am and retraced our ride of yesterday for the first 4-5km, downhill this time so a bonus. Stopped at a viewpoint looking across the lake we rode around yesterday. Stopped again to look at some bats in trees. Izzy took a bad fall when her bike hit the wet road markings and some clay on top when braking. Although she is OK with a few grazes it was impressive to see how quickly the guides, and some nearby locals, attended to her .
Downhill riding for a bit more then up, all the time amongst scenic tea plantations, water channels etc. 8km riding then stop in a town for a cup of tea and some savoury food. From there another 10-11km with steeper bits although it wasn't too bad, the locals we pass all friendly as always.
A steep drop from the highpoint, a stop for snacks, and then more downhill... rough road surface and a downpour which entailed a brief stop at a bus shelter to wait out the worst of the rain. Continued down on the rough road then small ups and after some roadworks it was onto a lovely new section of long downhill. Smooth road, sweeping corners and not much traffic made for a fun ride... and enough wind to dry out somewhat. Although another downpour came with 4km to go so we were all completely soaked by the time we got to the bus. 21km up and 21km down... an excellent day of riding amongst stunning scenery.
Onto the bus and a bit of quick changing into some drier clothes of sorts. 20 minute drive to a hotel and able to completely change into dry clothes ... which was brilliant!! Chicken fried rice lunch at a busy local lunch spot.
A 3 hour drive from there to our accommodation at Tissamaharama tonight, at first a slow descent on narrow roads then faster on a more main road. Saw monkeys, buffalo, and a black snake along the way. Lots of Lotus flower and rice fields. Arrived at resort about 5:30pm, a lovely spot with our room looking out at Tissa Lake. A lovely buffet meal for dinner, steamed vege and potatoes.... perfect! But a whole lot of other options too. We have 2 nights here so hopefully the same again tomorrow.
Monday, 12 August:
7:30am departure to ride to a temple. A stop to look at bats, and also some weaver birds making nests. Clever, they catch fire-fly's to put inside their nests to light up at night!! Although not 100% certain that Ku isn't just pulling our leg.
A couple of stops in-between arriving at the Buddhist/Hindu temple which covered a large area. Ruhunu Maha Kutaragema Dewalaya. Not a particularly fancy temple although we all got blessed as we walked through the entrance... hopefully for good luck... even though we were not carrying fruit offerings like all the locals were. Half the group biked very fast back to the hotel, the rest of us opted for the bus.... too hot for such shenanigans.
Back at the hotel it was time for a swim and an hours relax which was very much appreciated. After lunch at the hotel we were bussed to Yala National Park for a safari. Spotted monitor lizards, monkeys. big scorpion, deer, crocodiles (one eating a fish), lots of water buffalo, wild buffalo, elephants in the distance and one close up (along with a dozen other safari jeeps attempting to get close for a photo). Lots of different birds, a jackal type animal in the distance but no leopards. But a great trip, the water holes are looking decidedly dry but it is September before the rain come.
Back to the hotel about 7pm, drinks, dinner, bed!!
Tuesday, 13 August:
Last day on the bikes today (last day biking of our 3 months of biking holiday!)
Departed 7:30am by cycling through paddy fields, some quite smart housing areas. We stopped in a driveway to fix a tyre, whilst there a friendly lady came out to offer us all a plum type fruit. People are very nice and offer food or help all the time, lovely!
A mostly flat stretch on sealed road beside a lake before onto a gravel track to ride through Bundala National Park. The park has lots of lakes and waterways so lots of birds and saw a crocodile cruising along, also some monkeys and sign of elephant (poop!). Once out of the park we rode along main roads, mostly flat so easy riding although quite a fast pace was set (puff puff).
Finished our riding by the beach in Hambantota around 10am, 40kms riding for the morning and the cycle bit of tour Sri Lanka over. All great, although Noel had a bit of a low blood pressure episode right at the end... obligatory rest got him right again..
Bikes dismantled and packed into the truck, a celebratory beer had by most in the group. Onto the bus and a 20 minute ride before stopping at a bakery for an early lunch. From there a 2 hour bus ride to arrive at Mirissa, a well known beach area in Sri Lanka... quite touristy. Our hotel is a lovely resort overlooking the main beach, lovely room with our one looking our over the main sea which although a windy spot is a stunning view.
Lots of container ships passing by out at sea and when it is dark there are lots of fishing boats out there. Time for some washing catch up, with a breeze it should dry although it is a damp sea breeze so??.
Wandered down to the main beach around 3pm and walked along to Coconut point. Couldn't quite figure out how to get up onto the point until we watched someone else do it but by that time we were on our way back. As we had already twice walked by, and declined offers from, a turtle trip salesman we didn't bother turning back again. A lovely although steep beach with strong surf. Very noticeable that quite a few of the buildings have never been repaired after the tsunami... we guess ownership is doubtful as people likely died in the tragedy.
Thought we would seek out a bar on the beach as we returned, which we did. Sitting on a sofa gazing out to sea when we were rushed under cover by the staff as rain was threatening. It didn't come to much although the sky was very dark and ominous. A nice spot to stop and have a beer.
By the time we had our drink any sign of rain had gone and it was now dark. Made our way back to the bar/restaurant that Ku had recommended, just below our hotel. All the others from the group were there, some had already ordered whilst others had not. A lovely meal.
Tomorrow is free until 3pm, not sure yet what we will do yet.
Wednesday, 14 August:
Although we could have a slower start we were still up at a reasonable time and had a lovely breakfast at the hotel.
Walked to "Secret Beach"... not so secret with an endless stream of tuk-tuks passing us as we walked. More or less the next bay over from our hotel, but entails a bit of a steep climb up and over to reach it (or a tuk-tuk). Much smaller beach than expected with a small pool area protected by large rocks. No swim for us but a nice place to have a drink and do some people watching.
Walked back up and over the hill and into town to find a cash machine, then back to the accommodation via a beach restaurant for lunch. A quick dip in the hotel pool and it is 3pm already.
Bus ride for about an hour to the city of Galle and a visit to the Dutch Fort. It was very busy with tourists and school groups. The fort was built in the bay of Galle in 1588 by the Portuguese who used Galle as a trading post, buying local goods (spices) and selling to the world. The Portuguese favoured Colombo as their main trading port which left Galle only lightly protected, it was attacked and taken over by a Sri Lankan tribal king...who then joined with the Dutch to oust the Portuguese completely. It was extensively fortified by the Dutch in the 17th century from 1649 onwards... they destroyed a lot of the surrounding coral reefs to build the walls. The complex is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The British took control in 1796 and it remained a British Colony formally until 1948 when Sri Lanka (Ceylon) established its independence.
Galle was one of the worst hit areas of Sri Lanka from the 2004 Boxing day tsunami. Sri Lanka recorded at least 40,000 people dead and 2.5 million people displaced.
From the Fort we were looking down on Galle International Stadium....renowned cricket grounds, considered to be one of the most picturesque grounds in the world being an esplanade with the Indian Ocean on two sides of it. ( which also explains some of tsunami devastation!).
With it being extremely hot and full sun, and although the town had an interesting history it was challenging to keep the groups attention...all of us holding out for ice-cream or cold drinks! Once we had partaken in the same we felt somewhat revived and wandered around the ramparts and the shops before meeting up for dinner.
The buildings within the walls of the fort are now shops and restaurants for the tourists and it retains a not too polished, relaxed, vibe to it. After dinner in the Fort area it was back to our hotel about 9pm. Bit of a panic as Noel discovered he has mislaid his phone, thinking it might have slipped out of his pocket on the bus (hopefully!!!).
Thursday, 15 August:
Early start for us to try and get the message out about the lost phone (too hard last night with no phone and everyone away to bed!). Down to breakfast and dawdled until someone turned up, Terry was coming back from a walk so intercepted him and borrowed his phone to message Ku. A very impressive chain of events put in place so that Hayman soon found the phone down beside the seat on the bus... relief!
Leisurely rest of morning, packing bags etc. Left hotel 11am and after winding our way through busy back streets the bus found the toll road all the way to Colombo.
Passing through hilly fields of bananas, coconuts, palms for oil and probably mangos. It's all so green and lush looking. Stopped at a highway service stop for lunch then continued on.
Drove into the city via the new parliament grounds, seems surrounded by water, past cricket grounds and stopped at the independence pavilion which commemorates Sri Lanka independence of 1948. Stopped at a Fair Trading area, very nice fabrics and goods... didn't buy anything, maybe tomorrow. Final drive past the old parliament buildings noticeable with armed guards to reach our hotel which is located in a busy/new construction area.
A lovely hotel, which is under renovation so quite smart.We are on the 6th floor. We said goodbye to our bus driver in a packed lobby so not the ideal farewell spot.
Went for a walk but we obviously chose the wrong way as couldn't find our way down some streets. A local advised us not to go one way as there was a large police station there with a few guards dotted around. Back for a 6pm dinner and a farewell and thank you to the team. A quick rooftop bar drink before 4 Aussies left for airport, and the Te Anau pair headed out with friends before departing in the morning, as is Matt... so it's all over!
Hoping to do a wee bit of shopping tomorrow, we have transport booked for 7pm to the airport and a late checkout from hotel at 2pm which is helpful.
Colombo is a modern city, lots of high rise buildings, sealed, wide streets etc. Greg and Jodie from Te Anau met up with some friends they are heading to the Maldives with. Interestingly the friends had stayed in Kandy for 3 nights during the festival that we had just missed... they were advised not to go down to the city as it was crazy busy, and were not allowed alcohol for the duration so ended up pretty much isolated in their hotel!
Sri Lanka has been a very enjoyable country to visit. The people, the scenery, the temples, the beaches, the wildlife and the history have all been fascinating but we've barely scratched the surface.!! The political unrest of the past is still simmering but we felt completely safe. The biking has been fun but rather hot at times! The Intrepid crew looking after us were brilliant and it was an absolute marvel how Ku could find changing facilities when we were unexpectedly rained on or a swimming pool to use after a ride ....and always a mass of tasty dishes for our sustenance. It's been fabulous!!!!
Friday, 16 August - Saturday, 17 August: travel days!
Breakfast on the rooftop bar with the remaining group and then goodbyes again. Heavy rain forecast for today but it has rained overnight so that might do it.
There is a wee bit of shopping to be done, we walked down to the new One Galle Face Mall, which is set in near the beach front. Sat for a little while on the beach front until the mall opened at 10am. A lovely modern complex with lots of expensive looking shops... managed to fill in our time until 12:30pm. Went back to the hotel for final pack and shower etc, checked out by 2pm but they are looking after our bags until this evening.
Decided easiest thing to do was head back to the air conditioned mall, grab some lunch there and just dawdle... although it has a movie theatre there was not much of interest showing at the right times. Wandered along the beachfront a little too, some sort of voluntary beach clean up being done by a sports team? The creek leading to the beach has a "turtle reserve" sign so perhaps the reason for the clean up?.
Had a very slow beer/coke at the hotel beside our own and then sat in the foyer to await our transport that Ku had organised. As we loaded into the van (3 of us, as we are sharing with Terry who is leaving on same flight to Singapore) thunder could be heard.... then it rained... absolutely poured down with lightening and thunder all the way to the airport. Not sure if we have been in a rain storm so strong, there were cars aquaplaning, hitting walls, just stopping as they got mechanicals flooded etc. A nervy trip but our driver was amazing, compared to the way some others were driving as if it was just a normal day, so an extra tip went his way!
We had a 5 hour wait until our plane left at 1am. The flight to Singapore 3hours 50 mins, so not much time to sleep. With changing time zones our arrival was 7:15am, so a slow sort of coffee and muffin once we arrived. Swapped terminals and then passed through immigration, down into the basement of Terminal 2 to find the bus hub...
Used the very efficient, and highly affordable, bus service to head towards the city slightly and to a beach side park area for our catch up with Karla and Jono (Caro's niece and partner). There is a huge number of ships anchored in the bay, and lots and lots and lots of people, large number of families, out enjoying their Saturday... walking, biking, play-grounding etc.
Had a most enjoyable lunch/brunch catch up with the guys, although the service/ordering was all a bit chaotic (and that was mainly from the chap who was obviously the owner... not quite Faulty Towers!).
We got the bus back to the airport (Karla couldn't believe we had bussed, they just use Uber everywhere). More people going that way, quite a few travellers coming from the city area with their bags heading to their flights. A bit of waiting around in the terminal as our flight is not until 6pm... couldn't even find a TV screen showing the All Blacks test that was on so no sports fix. We have more or less completely missed the Olympics that have been on whilst we have been travelling, only seeing the result headlines from last week. So, it's time to take a bit more notice of what is going on around the place!
Arrived into Auckland at 7:30am to rain, after getting some sleep on the flight over. No problems getting through customs, although they were interested in our tent they soon lost interest when they realised it had not been unpacked for the 3 months!
We had 2 hours to spare so walked over to an "off airport" café near the Ibis hotel, figuring the walk would do us good (and Caro thinking it will help the fat ankles she seems to have developed on the flights).
Down to Queenstown OK although both of us struggling to stay awake. Welcomed to 6C temperature at 2pm'ish. Logan picked us up, in our car as he had borrowed it for the previous week, and after dropping him back at his place we headed home via a quick grocery shop. We are sure prices have gone up, particularly butter, in the time we have been away. House is all fine, if somewhat cold... the fire was cranked up pretty quickly.
Keiran and Kirsty, our house sitters, have already departed apart from some of their gear still in cottage that they will collect over coming days. They have done a great job of keeping an eye on the place and just being around as an "occupied look" presence.
So that's it ...the end of our 3 month odyssey.....a trip that has exceeded our expectations at every turn!!! ....and now back to reality for a while at least !!!
