Day 8 in Sri Lanka

Last night we were woken by barking dogs, and a downpour.  In the morning, after breakfast, which went on longer than we anticipated, we set off for Polonnaruwa.  My wife and I had been there in the past, back when we had some here for our honeymoon.  It has been a long time since then and some things have changed.

The day was cloudy at times and sunny at other times.  But by the time we got there, it was raining, lots.  We did get to see some of the ancient city and learn about history, but the rain prevented us from seeing as much as we wanted.  And when I say rain, I mean a downpour.  We did get to see how the ancient city was built to deal with these deluges.  Hopefully we will return in a few years to appreciate this properly then.

Day 6 & 7 in Sri Lanka

We have begun our tour of Sri Lanka.

Thanks to the favourite cousin of my wife, we have been able to travel to the Amaya Lake Hotel.  It looked amazing.  It was a long journey to the hotel, but it was worth it.  Calm, tranquil and relaxing, as we were being taken to our villa, we got to see a monkey stealing a pineapple.  However, on our arrival to our room, there was no bed for my son to sleep in and the bath in the bathroom was not as clean as any hotel guest would expect.  We rang them to be assured that this would be sorted when we got back from dinner.  Dinner there was good, but the cakes they had at the buffet were terrible, tasting stale.  Other than that, it was great to eat there.  But on arrival back at our room, my son still had no place to sleep.  We rang and were told that this would be sorted out shortly.  But shortly came and went and was replaced by an irate wife who got things sorted out after speaking to the hotel manager.  But despite making a bed for my son, we lacked pillows.  And that required more hassle to sort out.  But it ended up all right in the end.

Some the morning, we swam after a great breakfast and checked out (late, but the staff were understanding about this) before having lunch and drove to our next destination the Habarana Village by Cinnamon.  We decided to drive back though after dropping off our luggage, heading to Sigiriya (or Sinhagiri).  I have been to Sri Lanka before, but never got the chance to visit here and this year I got to see it and some of the history around it with my own eyes.  I did not get the chance to climb up it as it was getting late and wet, so this is something I will want to return to do.  After a trip for supplies, it was back to the hotel were we unpacked, rested for a few minutes and then had dinner.  The choice of food here is better than we had yesterday and while I would say it is better overall, yesterday was still good.

Anyway, time for bed as tomorrow we hope to rise early to take in more history.

Chess

Just a quick update on this.

I have been trying to keep active with chess, but I am finding this hard as I do not have as much time as I would like to contemplate my moves.

Since I last posted, the following tournaments have been completed.

37th Chess.com Quick Knockouts 1401-1600
Speed King #222 - Very Fast Players 5(1)->2 U1500
We Love Groot II

Day five in Sri Lanka

Today, we watched The Last Jedi.  The kids loved it, as did my wife and I.  My son needed a toilet break half way through the film, and we found out a minute after getting back to our seats, that cinemas in Sri Lanka have intervals!  They also have chilli popcorn.

After enjoying the film, we went to The Kingsbury to have high tea with an aunt and uncle of my wife which we enjoyed and later visited another.

Day four in Sri Lanka

We got back late last night which meant that I did not get to post my update on day four.

My parents in law had their golden wedding anniversary last night.  That with the trip to the temple was the reason that the children had to be taken out of school so early.

During the day, I helped a small amount with the organisation, not as much as others, but a little bit.  After lunch, while my wife and daughter went to have their hair done with my mother in law, my son and I relaxed in our room.  Well he had a shower, I told him a story while rubbing cream into his skin, then fell asleep and showered.  We had a few scares while getting ready with me breaking the screen of my wife's laptop which she needed to type her fathers speech and amend hers, along with realising that some of the things we had thought we had brought are still in Colchester. 

When we arrived at Galle Face Hotel, we then found that the table plan that my wife had handed over before had been lost by the staff who had made their own one.  A panicked reorganisation took place which was going well until some relatives arrived and wanted to help, initially making things a bit worse before it was all sorted out in the end.  After that was sorted out, I cannot fault the staff who were otherwise excellent and a tribute to the hotel.  The food looked amazing and was good, but not as fantastic as it appeared.

Being the only daughter, my wife made a amazing speech before my father-in-law made one as well.  During the meal, there was also a video of the marriage and anniversaries from before as well as some dancing, this being the Waltz and the Jive.

When it came to us dancing, my wife and I took to the floor after her parents had been dancing to show everyone how not to do it, as I forgot the steps.  I did recover, but later, when we tried to waltz again, I missed out on my steps.  Sadly, my son did not dance, but my daughter did and loved it, though she was a bit unnerved when men came up to dance with her.  Two of her aunts, sisters of her Grandmother, took to the dance floor with gusto and really enjoyed themselves, and inspiration I think to my daughter.

And afterwards, it was back to the hotel, and sleep.

I missed out on some politics

While I do love being on holiday in Sri Lanka, tho two down sides were that I missed the Facebook live chat that Jeremy Hunt did (I would have been one of the trolls as apparently anyone who is not a fan of him is one), and also Any Questions, a show I listen to almost every Friday night, and often tweet about, was in Colchester.

Day three in Sri Lanka

We were woken early today after our late night last night.  My wife had to go with her mother to collect somethings, but ended up waiting around for an hour and a half before she left.  She was of the accurate impression that she could have waited in bed!  But when she got back, we got to meet more of her family, many who have only seen our children in photo's and some who I have never met before.  All were welcoming and friendly and loved our two children.

Later, we had to help her parents again, not a major issue, but we went to have lunch first at The Lagoon restaurant at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel.  I was a bit nervous at first as they had very fresh fish on display, and I tend not to like fish.  But, I do love fish when it is fresh, and this was very fresh.  I have to say that this might be the best fish meal I have had, and considering the quality of the fish we ate at one restaurant in Devon, this is of a very high standard.  We had tea afterwards in the lobby of the restaurant, my wife and children having macaroons which they loved.

After helping her parents out (a minor detour for us), we returned to the hotel for a trip to a temple for a blessing.  This is one of the reasons why we came here and the journey there was a long one where it started to rain a lot.  The downpour when we arrived continued only abating once we left.

Anyway, the children are in bed now having eaten at the hotel.  Good night all!