I am writing this from my gate at the airport where with 40 minutes to take off what I hope is my plane has just arrived and  people are streaming off just starting their holidays. I am very jealous. I have had the most wonderful time and spent at least some of my very efficient…

I can’t believe its almost over. It all seems to have gone by very quickly, but in a way, I suppose that is the difference between going on a “normal” 2 week holiday as opposed to 7 weeks in China. So, we left Kandy yesterday morning to do our final journey into Colombo. I will…

I woke up this morning to a sound a didn’t quite recognise, the sound of rain beating down on the metal roofs of the balconies. Very upsetting. However, as it had been forecast to rain throughout my whole trip I have actually been very lucky. I donned my long trousers, socks and trainers and off…

Today we were leaving the jungle and heading into the hill country (I do love a hill). Kandy was the last capital of the kings and final holdout against colonial rule and even when the British attacked in 1803 they were able to defend their borders. However, in 1815 the Kandayans dissatisfied with their king,…

Anyone who knows me, knows just how much I love getting up in the middle of the night to climb up something. This is not something I do in my regular life, but seems to feature quite often on the type of holidays I choose to do. I must re-evaluate this… So, today at 4.45am…

I am writing this sat beside a pool (in the shade obviously) in our hotel in Dambulla, which is within the national park. Sounds idyllic, yes? No quite, the hotel has two pools, the pool outside our rooms has been invaded by a private party of the owners party complete with loud speaker so I…

We are exactly at the half way point of our tour and today we are having (mostly) a chilled out day. As we were not leaving the hotel until 10am I had time for a walk along the beach, a swim and an extensive breakfast. We started with a visit to the Commonwealth War Cemetary.…

Happy birthday to me! I shall admit to waking with some expectations this morning, having seen the spread laid on for Fiona yesterday, and the hotel and our bus crew again stepped up. Everyone I have met in my time in Sri Lanka has been so lovely and welcoming and really can’t do enough for…

Today is the 31st December and I started the day with a swim in the rain, perhaps ending the year in the spirit I’ve lived it – a suggestion of exercise whilst dealing with British weather? Coincidentally today is also my roommate’s birthday (she has admitted to being slightly older than me), and the hotel…

Today is the 30th December, and I awoke very rested after our busy day yesterday. Reflecting on the sites of Anuradhapura and comparing to my recent trip to China, although there have been some restorations of the various sites, there are no wholescale rebuilding and certainly no theme park experiences which was rather nice. These…