Day eleven in Sri Lanka. On the road.

We are now in Bentota.  It was a bit of a journey to get here from Kandy, the trip taking us through traffic jam after traffic jam.  One thing is apparent, which is that the driving here has got worse compared to two years ago.  Back then, my wife and I would have been happy to drive as we were surprised then to see how everyone obeyed the traffic laws.  Now they appear to be more advisory again.  And neither of us would be happy to drive here now.

I am hoping to relax by the pool and go for walks along the beach over the next few days.

Day ten in Sri Lanka. Shopping.

Today was not just about shopping.  After breakfast with the family of my wife’s cousin, we met up in the hotel playground.  My son was eager to play and look after their two sons.  While my daughter wanted to swim, she also helped to play and look after them.

Their mother went for a walk while her husband and I talked while making sure my kids looked after his properly.  We talked about a range of issues, including our children and of course, I got the chance to say how amazing both mine are.  My son loves being an older brother to the two younger boys and my daughter enjoyed mocking after and playing with them.

Later we went into Kandy to eat in the food court and then some of us had a go on the virtual reality machines.  My kids loved the one they went on and later, after eating some ice cream, I went on the other.  And it was terrifying.  When it comes to rides, the thing that scares me most is the g-force as you accelerate to the ground.  And this machine terrified me.  My daughter had a laugh watching me on it as well as apparently, I screamed.  Which I am sure that I did not do.  Afterwards it was a shop for some clothes and then later we split up.

My daughter wanted to swim in the pool, but her chest has been an issue as she has a cold.  While the air was warm when we got back, it was not hot enough for her to swim while I’ll, so instead I packed for the next leg of our journey.  My wife and son continued to shop and had both good and bad experiences doing so.

Day nine in Sri Lanka. A sunny Christmas.

Christmas in the sun is an experience the family enjoy.  And we did.  Breakfast came with a glass of bubbly for my wife and I then afterwards, while my wife caught up on sleep, the children and I went to swim in the pool.

It was amazing to get into a pool and dry off using the heat of the sun.  It was not just me that noticed this, both kids did, and later, thanks to the relaxation that we had, my daughter said that this was the best day so far of the holiday.  I am not sure I agree, but a day where we could just do nothing was certainly appreciated.

As it started to drizzle, we returned to our room and read and relaxed there while waiting for a cousin of my wife to join us.  When he did, it was great to see his wife and children and when they had to go into Kandy for some items, my children and I joined them.

It took some time to get into the centre of Kandy and get back for dinner but we did and enjoyed a meal together.  And this allowed us to catch up on how his two sons are doing as well as chat to his lovely wife.

Tomorrow may invoke some shopping or walking about, but essentially we have the option to do nothing as well.

And the last picture is of some art on the wall of our room while the first is the view from our balcony.

Day eight in Sri Lanka. Attack of the monkey!

Today required an early morning start as we were to return to the Safari Park.  When we had done this two years ago, we were further out from the park and required a longer drive to it.  Here it was much shorter, and while in Yala, there was a huge queue of vehicles to enter, the wait here was far quicker.

We entered the park soon after dawn and saw peacocks and hens in trees, which was surprising as I had assumed that they could not fly.  We also saw some buffalo, some more deer and the jungle fowl, the national bird of Sri Lanka.  And then our driver was told about a leopard sighting.  Sadly there was no leopard, and we stopped by one of the parks many lakes for lunch.  My wife did not feel too confident getting out of our vehicle, not being as sure footed as our children who love to climb at every opportunity.  So she and my son stayed on board and as I went to attend a call of nature, they started on lunch.

As this was the place in the park where tourists could get down and walk about, there were numerous monkeys about, waiting to be fed.  My wife warned the children not to feed the monkeys as she knew that this would just attract more.  But one decided to attack my son.  As it charged him, murder in its eyes, he threw the only weapon he had at it.  A banana.  The monkey stoped in its tracks, obviously fearful of the wrath of my son, and instead took the banana.  But his meant, that for some strange reason, that the other monkeys felt that they would be fed as well!

I returned to find them under siege.  Fortunately the monkeys listened to me telling them off.  Well most did.  One youngster kept jumping onto the roof and even got into the interior on one occasion.  But while I had no chance of catching it, it did not was to tangle with me and instead fled each time it tried to steal food.  Two mothers also considered jumping onto the vehicle but thought better of it after I told them off.

Later, once the food was put away, my daughter and I went down to the lake and I tried to climb a tree, but did not do that much.  While my daughter called me a coward for not going further, I did more than she did!

The journey back to our tent was serene as we went past more beautiful sights, but then we were lucky to see a leopard walking along the dirt track we were using.  Quickly, there was a queue of vehicles trying to get pictures and the leopard was kind enough to stop and pose for us.  This was closer than we had been before and we had a much better view.  And while we also saw a warthog, which we had not seen on the island before this was the reason that we had come.

Afterwards, we returned to our tent and set off for Kandy where are to rest for a few nights.  The hotel here is amazing and the room fantastic.  They were kind enough to upgrade us, just as had happened when we went to the camp.

Dinner was a Christmas buffet, with non-Christmas items also available.  My daughter, being tired, retired early with my wife who escorted her, while my son, who wanted to know the outcome of the raffle, and I stayed.  First there was a prize raffle for the best table.  But by the time this was carried out, many people had retired to bed, for the tables had been abducted by aliens (I preferred this explanation).  But the prize raffle was drawn later and we were excited when the first two numbers matched our room, only for the last one to be two numbers down the corridor from where we are staying!

Any, time for bed and the last sleep before Christmas!

Day seven in Sri Lanka. Wilpattu National Park

In the morning we bid good day to our generous and kind hosts and journeyed to Wilpattu National Park.  Two years ago, when in Sri Lanka, we had been on a tour of Yala National Park.  On our first day we saw an elephant as we were leaving the park, but no leopard was seen on either of the two days that we visited it.

This time it looked to be worse,  we saw some amazing birds, including peacocks and pea hens, but after several hours, no leopard.  They hunt nocturnally and do not like the rain, and it had been drizzling over this time.  While being in the park was amazing, there was a tinge of disappointment as we had not seen any of the big attractions.  And then, before we left, a leopard was spotted.  It did not look fully grown, but it was amazing to see it.

And considering we are to wake early tomorrow, we may even get to see more!

Day six in Sri Lanka. Nainativu

Our host took us to Islands of the north of Sri Lanka.  The drive took us along some poorly maintained roads, but nothing too bad.  Being Sinhalese, Buddhist and having connections from his previous job where his ability took him far, we got to meet a senior priest in the Buddhist temple on Nainativu after we had been shown around.  My son, daughter and I also went to the Hindu temple, but as he was expected to take his top off to enter, he declined so instead my daughter and I entered, me with no top and a reminder of my beer belly.

Afterwards we were taken to a small fort and shown around it, including the cells which were of use until the end of the civil war.  Atrocities were committed on both sides and the use of torture was not discussed, so I have so idea if this also took place on the island in addition to being held in cramped cells.

On the journey back to our base, we stopped at a Buddhist temple devoted to the landing of Sanghamitta on the Island.  My daughter and I went along for that tour and then it was back to rest, and then later an evening function.

Day five in Sri Lanka. Jaffna.

An early start to the day for the children meant having eaten and getting on our way by 1000.  We are in the care of three welcoming hosts and they took us into Jaffna.  We got to see the library (from a distance) and explored the fort.  Also we heard about it’s more recent history, from when it was involved in the Civil war.

I have learned a lot about this from the Tamil side, but it was interesting and moving hearing the Sinhalese side of things.  Bear in mind that during our trip we also saw victims of the war.  Seeing amputees begging is a remnant of the war that cost too many Sri Lankan lives.  Yes, this cost was mostly Tamil, but the murder of civilians is never right, be that in the Sri Lankan civil war or on the streets of London when terrorists kill civilians in ‘revenge’ attacks.