When we went on our world trip from October 2022 to July 2023, it was not the itinerary that we had hoped for; Covid restrictions in Japan and Taiwan, and the economic situation in Sri Lanka made it impossible to visit these countries.  This trip was designed to fill in the gaps.

We finally arrived into Colombo last night after a long journey.  We boarded our Air India flight from Heathrow to Delhi on Monday afternoon; our business class seats were classed as suites but they were more of a cubicle, although it was nice to have a sliding door for more privacy and blocking out other passengers’ lights and TVs.  The seat transformed into a nice long comfortable bed; service was outstanding and food delicious.  After an 8 1/2 hour flight we arrived into Delhi at 3.30 am local time and had pre-booked a room at the Holiday Inn Transit Hotel a few steps away from the gates where we would board our flight to Colombo at midday on Tuesday.  

All was going well with the flight to Colombo - we taxied out to the runway and the engines roared in preparation for take off but then the engines died.  The pilot came over the tannoy to advise that “we have left a passenger behind at the gate and need to go back for them”.  I don’t know who the “we” was that he referred to but we were astounded that a plane would turn round and go back to the gate (and we’ve been victims on more than one occasion where we’ve missed a flight even though the plane hasn’t left the gate).  It turned out to be an old lady in a wheelchair that needed the lift up into the aircraft.  Once she had boarded, the plane then had to re-fuel and more than a dozen ground crew were in and out of the cockpit with clipboards until we eventually got under way nearly two hours later.

At Colombo Airport there were no other planes landed so we were through immigration at the speed of light and our luggage had been fast tracked and was already waiting for us in the baggage claim.  After an hour’s taxi journey we arrived at the Galle Face Hotel for our two night stay.  Our train tickets for the next two legs of our travels had been delivered to the hotel.

This morning we had a delicious breakfast overlooking the sea (hoppers - a sort of crispy bowl-shaped pancake with a fried egg inside, and idli’s - rice patties that you dip into a curry sauce).

We ventured out for a walk along the seafront when we were caught up by one of the chefs in the hotel restaurant who recognised us from earlier who was on his way to the railway station.  He recommended going to the Gangaramaya Temple as it was a special occasion being full moon.  He asked a nearby tuk tuk driver to take us and before we knew it we were being whisked away round the streets of Colombo.  

The temple was impressive with more Buddha statues than you could shake a stick at.  The tuk tuk driver then drove past The White House - the local government offices which is an imitation of the White House in Washington.  Then on to a large park.  Whilst walking around the park one of the gardeners spoke to us (and proudly announced he studied at Kew Gardens 30 years ago) and showed us the local trees etc.

We then asked the driver to drop us at a local Mall where we found somewhere to have lunch before walking back along the seafront to the hotel.

 

 

Galle Face Hotel

Yesterday morning we boarded the train from Colombo to Kandy for a journey of a little over two hours.  We had booked seats in the observation car at the back of the train which had large windows to the rear for maximum visibility.  It took about half hour to finally leave Colombo behind and the familiar sight of the Lotus Tower which looked far more impressive by night when it was lit up than it does in the photo.  As we climbed up towards Kandy the views got better and better.

We arrived into Kandy and checked into the Queens Hotel on a busy road by the lake before heading out to a local eatery for a masala dosa (crispy lentil pancake filled with potato curry served with pickles).

We have had a couple of days around Kandy, climbing up to the Big Buddha (not that far but incredibly steep) but the views from the top were worthwhile and climbing up to another viewpoint the other side of the lake, again short but steep.  It seemed obligatory to do a circuit of the lake which is about 3 km.  it was surprisingly full of wildlife, mainly birds but also monitor lizards and what looked like a family of turtles trying to exit the lake but hindered by a pelican blocking the way.

Anuradhapura 19 January 2025

At 4.45 am Paul sat bolt upright in bed.  Rain was coming through the roof of the hotel and through our ceiling and the bed was soaking wet.   There was no reply from reception so Sue went down and the security guard had to wake the receptionist who allocated us another room along the corridor.   We checked it was dry before moving all our stuff.   The receptionist was very apologetic and said it was a very old building.   Queen Victoria stayed here but doubt she had water coming through the ceiling. 

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Kandy. 20 January 2025

Last night at Anuradhapura our iPad died.  So when we arrived back in Kandy this afternoon,  we went to various electronic shops and to a repair shop, all of whom told us it's "very old" and if we wanted it repaired it would take a few days, which we didn't have.   The price of a new iPad here is astronomical so we opted to buy a Galaxy tablet.  Updating the website has been challenging but we're getting the hang of it.

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Ella, Sri Lanka. 24 January 2025

On Tuesday at 11.45 am we boarded the train from Kandy to Ella, another hill country town, which would take 7 hours.  The train was very comfortable and we settled in for the journey armed with Marmite rolls and slices of cake. 

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Yala National Park, Sri Lanka. 27 January 2025

We arrived at our hotel in Tissamaharama from where we would go on safari in nearby Yala National Park.   However,  when we arrived and presented our booking confirmation from Agoda,  we were told they hadn't received the booking and didn't have any rooms available because they were expecting a large group.  We suspected they blew us off rather than lose a group booking.   So we had to look for another hotel which wasn't easy as it's high season here, but eventually found one which turned out to be better than the original one and located directly on the beach within spitting distance of the Park entrance.   Our room was lovely and overlooked the beach so we went to sleep to the sound of crashing waves.

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We arrived at our hotel booked with Agoda, only to be told they didn't have our booking and had no rooms available as a large group was expected.  We suspected they blew us off rather than lose a group booking.   We had to hurriedly find a hotel,  many of which were full but we found one which turned out to be better than the original located directly on the beach, the photo below is from our balcony. The staff were amazing and the restaurant manager tailored menus to our choosing,  4 courses each evening and a huge packed breakfast to take on safari each morning. On our last evening she offered to make us authentic Sri Lankan curry which turned out to be 3 curries and a mountain of rice.   So delicious! 

We had a  full day safari on Sunday and a half day safari yesterday.   Both were excellent with all the expected wildlife.  We saw a leopard each day,  both times in trees so difficult to get a photo,  but wonderful to see.

Mirissa and Galle Fort, Sri Lanka 2nd February 2025

Since our last post,  we have travelled further round the south coast,  first stopping at Mirissa,  a beach town,   We stayed at a hotel 10 minutes walk from the town and beach and were taken aback when we arrived to see that reception was up 2 steep staircases although we could see a "cable car" at the side.   Our luggage and us were loaded into the car which made a very slow ascent to reception.   However each time we went out and returned to the hotel we took the steps,  pausing for breath along the way.   The good news about being so high were the views from both the room, the restaurant and the rooftop pool,   Although the monkeys found it easy to swing from the trees to the balconies and were adept at trying the door handle to gain entry. 

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Bathala Island, Maldives. 12th February 2025

We left Sri Lanka on 4th February and took a short 1 hour 10 minute flight across to Male,  the capital of the Maldives.  As our flight arrived late afternoon,  it was too late to get across to Bathala as the seaplanes don't fly after a certain time so we had booked a hotel for the night with a view to flying early next day.   We were contacted by Bathala to advise we were booked for the 8 am seaplane and needed to be back at the airport for 7.15 am next day.  It was 20 minutes by seaplane and we were dropped off on a pontoon resembling a large raft, from where we were picked up by boat for a 20 minute ride to the island. It was still early morning and we expected to be hanging about until afternoon check in.

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Hua Hin, Thailand 16th February 2025

We travelled down to Hua Hin by bus from Bangkok Airport and have been here a couple of days to catch up on laundry but more importantly to buy a suit for Paul which he'll need for our cruise next month,  but because of baggage restrictions on the Maldives seaplane he was unable to bring from home.   Although Hua Hin doesn't have much going for it (and we both agreed it is a bit of a sleazy beach town), there are two big shopping malls and Paul is now in possession of a black suit (the sales assistant even altered the trousers for length while we continued shopping).  We did visit the evening market last night and ate one of the only veggie options we could find- tofu and vegetable fried rice with pineapple. 

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Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, 1st March 2025

We've just finished 2 weeks volunteering and now back in Hua Hin for a few days. Our first week was at the rescue centre of Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT) where there were around 60 to 70 volunteers, most of whom were in the 18 to 25 age range, from mainly European countries plus a few Thai people who were part of the veterinary team and a small number from the US. We were split into either wildlife volunteers or elephant volunteers. There were also more than 100 staff, mainly Thai. Caring for between 800 and 900 animals. 

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Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, Part 2

Having been keen to update the website after a two week break whilst we were working (a six day working week from 6.20 am to 5.00 pm - if you were lucky enough to finish on time), we have since reflected and want to add a little more flavour of our experience. 

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Hong Kong, 9th March 2025

We have been in Hong Kong for two days, staying in a 28th floor apartment on Hong Kong Island (see right).  It was a bit of a shock arriving into 20 degrees after the mid-thirties heat of Thailand.  Not much of a view from the apartment other than other high rise blocks.  It looks better at night. 

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Taipei, Taiwan 12th March 2025

On Monday we checked out of our apartment in Hong Kong at 11 am and got a taxi to the cruise terminal expecting to sit around for three hours until the official embarkation time of 2 pm. But we were greeted by cruise staff who immediately tagged our bags and after completing a brief health questionnaire, we were able to check in and by 12.30 we were sitting in a lounge on the ship with a glass of champagne. The whole process was seamless. 

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Busan, South Korea, 18th March 2025

After a relaxing sea day yesterday we were out on the dock by 8.30 this morning and boarding our bus for the morning excursion. It's been cold in South Korea and it was around 7 degrees this morning. After a short drive we arrived at the Oryukdo Skywalk where we had to don soft overshoes to walk on the glass overhang for views of the sea and around. There are 6 small islands visible and on a clear day it's possible to see across to Japan, but it wasn't quite clear enough today. We ventured up to an even higher viewpoint with banks of daffodils and looked down towards the Skywalk. 

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Fukuoka, Japan 19th March 2025

This morning we docked in Fukuoka, having left Busan at 10 pm last night. The captain (Captain Limoncello - that's what it sounds like) warned last night that there were predicted 4 metre high waves overnight but we both slept soundly without noticing).

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Hiroshima, Japan 20th March 2025

We docked in the port of Hiroshima early this morning and were on our tour bus by 8.45 am. It was a short drive to the ferry terminal where we boarded the ferry for a ten minute crossing to Miyajima Island.

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Shimizu, Japan 25th March 2025

Shimizu was our last cruise ship destination and we had a warm sunny day. Our excursion wasn't the best because we kept losing our elderly tour guide, plus we had some guests who weren't the fastest when it came to walking. 

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End of Cruise 26th March 2025

Today was disembarkation in Tokyo. We'd been given the choice of times to disembark and provided with coloured luggage tags and we were called to the gangway by colour and the whole process was seamless. We were in no rush as our domestic flight back to Osaka wasn't until 2 pm.

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Kyoto, Japan (Part 1) 28th March 2025

We're currently in Kyoto where we are staying for four days. On our first day, having been sitting around at the airport and then on a bus journey from Osaka Airport, we felt the need to stretch our legs so we walked to the Imperial Palace which took about 40 minutes. The grounds were extensive and due to the warmer weather, the cherry trees were in blossom. We spent a couple of hours ambling around the grounds and then visited the Palace complex itself.  

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Kyoto, Japan (Part 2) 31st March 2025

On Saturday we visited Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. To get there we had to take the subway and a train; there are several railway lines but they're all separate so you need to buy separate tickets. We were a bit confused trying to work out how to use the ticket machine; an elderly Japanese man leant across and showed us what do; it was much easier after he pointed out the English button. 

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