We departed Belahoya for our 5 hour drive to the south of Bentota Island. It was a very pleasant and scenic drive, stopping at Ratnapurna where the famous gems of Sri Lanka are mined. It was interesting to see the the mining at first hand after seeing it on a video in Kandy. We were shown the uncut gems, then [….]

Today was an action packed. We actually began our adventure last night when we arrived at Belahoya River Resort, and were shown to our rustic style accommodation set  in an idyllic position on the Belahoya river.  After settling in we decided to explore and wander down to the river for a swim where we met two local men taking  their [….]

​Sri Lanka holds some of the world’s ancient cities spanning together with a  culture enriched with 3 thousand years of knowledge. Fortresses, temples, palaces, exotic water  gardens,  SigiriyaRock  “eight wonder of the world”. Climb the rock, spectacular panoramic  views.  Before boarding our train to Nuraya Ela we visited Sri Lanka’s only botanical gardens. We were surprised at the amount of police at the gardens, but [….]

Departing today for Kandy which was the last Royal capital city, altogether over 2300years Sri Lanka has had 7 capital cities. Kandy is a bustling vibrant city, with crazy congested traffic.  On the way we stopped to taste the local curd and treacle, it was mouthwatering. The drive was pleasant, stopping at a famous spice garden in Matale, which was [….]

Yesterday we visited the Dambulla cave temples which were interesting as they ranged from 2,000 years to 200 and 100 years. There were frescos and tempera paintings but the 100 year old frescos had not adhered as the tradition had been lost since British colonisation.   Visible  from afar is a coloured flat top rock column of Sigiriya formation rising up [….]

Today we visited the Hindu Temple of Shiva which was rebuilt by the Dutch after being destroyed by the Portuguese. Due to a 3 day weekend with the full moon holiday there were many worshippers at the temple which is  precariously situated on rocky outcrop within the old Dutch walls of Fort Frederick. There were many stalls selling, toys, hats, [….]

We departed for the east coastal town of Nirvalli close to the port of Trincomalee commonly known as Trinco. On the way we visited Minintale the first place Buddhism was brought to Sri Lanka. A steep staircase leads to the sacred precinct. We encountered many monkeys seated on the wall munching on seeds that had fallen from above, reaching the [….]

It was a short drive to the beach where we were to depart for Pigeon Island. Our small boat awaited us on the beach, the surf although not big rolled in. Before our departure the driver checked the engine to make sure it was ok, after several attempts it turned over, I am sure he was very relieved as he [….]

We enjoyed a great flight to Sri Lanka 4 seats each from Sydney to KL, we pre booked a 4 hour transit room at KL airport, shower relax, went to pay and the system was down, so the management kindly  waivers  the bill and gave us vouchers for a free buffet breakfast. Again scored 3 seats each from LK to [….]

We began our morning with a visit to the fish markets, seeing an age old tradition handed down for centuries. The fishermen depart in their catamarans at 7pm and return at 5am with their catch for the day, the only day rest is Sunday when they attend church. The markets had a variety of seafood which was 3/4 the price [….]