Sri Lanka (Part 1)
Hi!
Recently, I have been on holiday in Sri Lanka so I thought that I would blog about what things I did on each day. My trip was quite long so I will split it into two blog posts like I did last year when describing my trip to Italy. I will also include fun facts and tips for anyone who is thinking of going to Sri Lanka. I'm going to start with describing Sri Lanka. It is a beautiful country to visit as it is full of lots of activities and things to visit. Whether you like culture, animals, history or cricket, there is something for everyone to enjoy in Sri Lanka. The food varies from the mild samosa to the furiously hot curry but I always found something that I liked and I am not one for really spicy food.
Day 1
On my first day in Sri Lanka, I awoke to the sound of waves as we were staying in Negombo which is on the coast. We set off straight away up the country to a lovely hotel called Kassapa Lion. On the journey, we made a few stops. One of which was to try a Sri Lankan treat- buffalo curd and honey. It was really nice and refreshing. The small shop where we got this from also sold other products made from Sri Lankan honey and buffalo milk so we decided to buy some honey and sesame seed sweets and also some buffalo toffee.
Top tip: In Sri Lanka if you want to buy things from little stores, if you have a driver with you ask him to buy it for you because it will be cheaper for a Sri Lankan person!
Day 2
Day 2 was quite a busy day! We climbed a famous rock called Sigiriya. Although it was quite tiring, the interesting story behind the rock and the stunning views from the top made it well worth the climb! Legend has it, that Sigiriya used to have a palace on top. All I can say is that I feel sorry for the slaves that, I am told, had to carry the king all the way to the top! After the climb, we set off to explore the ancient site of Polonnaruwa where we visited plenty of temples and saw lots of beautiful statues of the Buddha. But that wasn't it for the day! Afterwards we enjoyed a Safari, where I saw lots and lots of elephants!
Top tip: When visiting temples in Sri Lanka you are expected to remove your shoes. The stone is burning hot so make sure to wear thick socks!
Day 3
On day 3, we left our hotel and drove up to our next one in Trincomalee which, again, is by the sea! We were staying in a little hut which was literally built on the beach. The sea was warm and the rest of that day was spent swimming! One of my highlights was eating dinner on the beach in the dark!
Fun fact: Seafood is common in Sri Lanka and Seer Fish is one of their favourites. It was served in almost every place we went to.
Day 4
On this day, we embarked on a boat trip to Pigeon Island, a small place just 5 minutes away from where I was staying. On this pretty little island, we went snorkelling in the sea. I didn't expect to see much but I was wrong! There was part of the island designated for swimming and under the water were hundreds of fish. There was such an amazing array of shapes, sizes and colours. They were beautiful and you could get really close up to the fish. That was one of my favourite days.
Top tip: Be very careful when swimming amongst the rocks and coral because some people got seriously injured on the sharp parts and I managed to get a painful splinter!
Day 5
On day 5, we headed back down the country to a place called Kandy and visited a spice garden. On this day, we didn't do anything else because it was quite a long journey but on the way to Kandy we enjoyed a whole mango each bought from a small store. I would really recommend the mangos in Sri Lanka because they taste amazing and are much more fresh than the ones in England.
Fun fact: In Sri Lanka, they are very welcoming. At every hotel, we received a welcome drink. The things we had were: a sugary rose drink, pineapple juice, watermelon juice, cinnamon tea, tea and mixed fruit juice.
Day 6
On day 6, we explored Kandy and visited many different places. The first was the botanical gardens where we enjoyed ourselves walking around the gardens and looking at different plants and flowers. After that, we visited the temple of the tooth. This was a beautiful place and in one of the temples was a casket with supposedly a tooth in it! Our next visit was to a gemstone factory where we learned about how gems are mined in Sri Lanka. An interesting fact that I picked up was that rubies are actually red sapphires but they have been given a special name. Following the factory, we sat down for an amazing cultural show where I saw some amazing traditional Sri Lankan dances accompanied my live music. The final act was an unbelievable show of fire walking which involved man walking on burning coals. It looked impossible but they threw on a liquid that made the whole thing go up in flames and the heat assured us that it was in fact real! Afterwards, our driver entertained us with a tale of a group of tourists that decided to give the fire walking a go. They ended up in hospital!
Fun fact: The botanical gardens are a popular location for wedding photos and sure enough, we saw quite a few brides decked out in magnificent saris.
Day 7
On day 7 we went to the train station to go down to Ella. We could have gone in the car but we were told that taking the train rewards you with beautiful views and scenery. The train journey was beautiful and we saw many tea plantations. When we arrived at Ella, we were amazed by our hotel. It was high up in the hills and overlooking a huge hill/rock which we were told was called Ella Rock. Our room had a balcony with a hammock that I made good use of whilst looking out over the beautiful location.
Top tip: If you get travel sick I wouldn't go to Ella because the roads there are very twisty.
That's it for this blog post but look out for 'Sri Lanka (Part 2)' which will come soon and 'Photo Gallery of Sri Lanka'.
Bye!
Recently, I have been on holiday in Sri Lanka so I thought that I would blog about what things I did on each day. My trip was quite long so I will split it into two blog posts like I did last year when describing my trip to Italy. I will also include fun facts and tips for anyone who is thinking of going to Sri Lanka. I'm going to start with describing Sri Lanka. It is a beautiful country to visit as it is full of lots of activities and things to visit. Whether you like culture, animals, history or cricket, there is something for everyone to enjoy in Sri Lanka. The food varies from the mild samosa to the furiously hot curry but I always found something that I liked and I am not one for really spicy food.
Day 1
On my first day in Sri Lanka, I awoke to the sound of waves as we were staying in Negombo which is on the coast. We set off straight away up the country to a lovely hotel called Kassapa Lion. On the journey, we made a few stops. One of which was to try a Sri Lankan treat- buffalo curd and honey. It was really nice and refreshing. The small shop where we got this from also sold other products made from Sri Lankan honey and buffalo milk so we decided to buy some honey and sesame seed sweets and also some buffalo toffee.
Top tip: In Sri Lanka if you want to buy things from little stores, if you have a driver with you ask him to buy it for you because it will be cheaper for a Sri Lankan person!
Day 2
Day 2 was quite a busy day! We climbed a famous rock called Sigiriya. Although it was quite tiring, the interesting story behind the rock and the stunning views from the top made it well worth the climb! Legend has it, that Sigiriya used to have a palace on top. All I can say is that I feel sorry for the slaves that, I am told, had to carry the king all the way to the top! After the climb, we set off to explore the ancient site of Polonnaruwa where we visited plenty of temples and saw lots of beautiful statues of the Buddha. But that wasn't it for the day! Afterwards we enjoyed a Safari, where I saw lots and lots of elephants!
Top tip: When visiting temples in Sri Lanka you are expected to remove your shoes. The stone is burning hot so make sure to wear thick socks!
Day 3
On day 3, we left our hotel and drove up to our next one in Trincomalee which, again, is by the sea! We were staying in a little hut which was literally built on the beach. The sea was warm and the rest of that day was spent swimming! One of my highlights was eating dinner on the beach in the dark!
Fun fact: Seafood is common in Sri Lanka and Seer Fish is one of their favourites. It was served in almost every place we went to.
Day 4
On this day, we embarked on a boat trip to Pigeon Island, a small place just 5 minutes away from where I was staying. On this pretty little island, we went snorkelling in the sea. I didn't expect to see much but I was wrong! There was part of the island designated for swimming and under the water were hundreds of fish. There was such an amazing array of shapes, sizes and colours. They were beautiful and you could get really close up to the fish. That was one of my favourite days.
Top tip: Be very careful when swimming amongst the rocks and coral because some people got seriously injured on the sharp parts and I managed to get a painful splinter!
Day 5
On day 5, we headed back down the country to a place called Kandy and visited a spice garden. On this day, we didn't do anything else because it was quite a long journey but on the way to Kandy we enjoyed a whole mango each bought from a small store. I would really recommend the mangos in Sri Lanka because they taste amazing and are much more fresh than the ones in England.
Fun fact: In Sri Lanka, they are very welcoming. At every hotel, we received a welcome drink. The things we had were: a sugary rose drink, pineapple juice, watermelon juice, cinnamon tea, tea and mixed fruit juice.
Day 6
On day 6, we explored Kandy and visited many different places. The first was the botanical gardens where we enjoyed ourselves walking around the gardens and looking at different plants and flowers. After that, we visited the temple of the tooth. This was a beautiful place and in one of the temples was a casket with supposedly a tooth in it! Our next visit was to a gemstone factory where we learned about how gems are mined in Sri Lanka. An interesting fact that I picked up was that rubies are actually red sapphires but they have been given a special name. Following the factory, we sat down for an amazing cultural show where I saw some amazing traditional Sri Lankan dances accompanied my live music. The final act was an unbelievable show of fire walking which involved man walking on burning coals. It looked impossible but they threw on a liquid that made the whole thing go up in flames and the heat assured us that it was in fact real! Afterwards, our driver entertained us with a tale of a group of tourists that decided to give the fire walking a go. They ended up in hospital!
Fun fact: The botanical gardens are a popular location for wedding photos and sure enough, we saw quite a few brides decked out in magnificent saris.
Day 7
On day 7 we went to the train station to go down to Ella. We could have gone in the car but we were told that taking the train rewards you with beautiful views and scenery. The train journey was beautiful and we saw many tea plantations. When we arrived at Ella, we were amazed by our hotel. It was high up in the hills and overlooking a huge hill/rock which we were told was called Ella Rock. Our room had a balcony with a hammock that I made good use of whilst looking out over the beautiful location.
Top tip: If you get travel sick I wouldn't go to Ella because the roads there are very twisty.
That's it for this blog post but look out for 'Sri Lanka (Part 2)' which will come soon and 'Photo Gallery of Sri Lanka'.
Bye!
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