I love the feeling stepping off a plane in a new country… excitement mixed with a little anxiety of what might lie ahead….. Arriving in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo was easy peasy. There were no crowds, the building was air conditioned, a very pleasant man greeted me at immigration and any worker I passed by smiled and said hello. I’m off to a good start! As you make your way to baggage reclaim there’s a duty free shopping area on one side and on the other a row of electrical shops selling TVs and washing machines.. quite bizarre!
Day 1 of the tour is the arrival day and as I arrive late I just about make our welcome meeting, have a quick look at the beach and hotel and then head to bed in the hope of a good nights sleep. In reception a wedding couple were having some photos taken:
Day 2: Our tour group is 14 mostly Australian and British (Welsh in fact) and we have two main guides with extra drivers and support team. Everyone seems lovely so far. Our first day starts with a cycle to the beach beside the fish market. The market is closed on Sundays but you can see all the dried fish laid out… delightful smell as you can imagine!
Leaving Negombo we cycle 42 km to a town called Chilaw. It’s a pretty cycle with some parts by the beach and some through nice neighborhoods by the Dutch canal.
Our lunch stop is at a huge home with traditional Sri Lankan food – namely curry, rice and veg followed by pineapple and banana.
From here we take the bus to Anuradhapura and get some chill out time at the hotel. Time for a dip in the pool, a beverage and some mingling with my new friends!
Later we went to a local hole in the wall restaurant and although the place was really basic (and there was no alcohol) the food was amazing. We had hoppers along with curry, rice and veg.
Day 2 we set off at 8am to explore the ancient city and UNESCO World Heritage Site of Anuradhapura. It’s a vast area like visiting the Angkor temples but not as splendid (I think I’ve been spoiled) it has a very different style and many ruins. Cycling is definitely the best way to get around and it feels great with the wind blowing as we whizz around.
The first stop is at the huge Ruwanwelisaya stupa surrounded by elephants:
We walk barefoot around the stupa (clockwise of course) and make our way, still barefoot to the bodhi tree temple to see the sacred old bo tree which is 2,000 years old and the oldest tree on record in the world. It’s a fig tree and said to be where Buddha attained enlightenment. We get a blessing from the family who are the original keepers of the tree.
I’m not a fan of walking barefoot when there’s gravel and sand, have you ever seen me on a beach?!! I’m slowly tip toeing my way between sites which suits me fine as there are monkeys everywhere to see. Lots of baby ones playing in the trees:
And bigger ones sitting in our pathway:
On the way back to the starting point and toward our shoes (thank God!) a young local girl approaches me in an attempt to try out her English. She asks where I’m from and what I’m doing here and giggles when she hears I’m by myself (well I’m kinda by myself … at this stage there’s thirteen others waiting on me further ahead) and wants to know if she could have my email so we could be pen pals or email pals I suppose. I gladly give it to her… hopefully she’ll drop me a note and try out her English, which by the way was excellent.
Lunch was an outdoor picnic by an ancient bridge with more delicious curry, this time with jackfruit, beetroot, aubergine and of course rice. Followed yet again my pineapple and banana. The cook also gave us fresh lime juice which was delicious.
In the afternoon we visit other parts of Anuradhapura including the museum and Abhayagiri stupa
After a busy day some pool time was on the cards and another enjoyable meal and drinks was had.
odohertyelaine 