Sri Lanka

After our excitement in Kandy and our unplanned night in Negombo (in a room with the grottiest bathroom and the most dodgy wiring we had seen so far in Sri Lanka), on Thursday all we wanted to do was get to Kandy and make up for lost time.

The original plan had been to take the train for what is supposed to be a truly picturesque journey up through the mountains, but getting the train from Negombo was getting so complicated we decided to get a bus instead.

The bus journey took just over three hours and cost about a pound for three seats - one each for us and one for the bags. We were exhausted by the time we arrived - any road journey is an experience in Sri Lanka but bus drivers are notorious for their constant daredevil overtaking and sounding of their horns. They seem to have different horns for different purposes, a short sharp beep to say 'Get out of my way', a musical one to say 'Hiya mate, see you later for a beer' and a really loud one that they sound over and over and over again. I think this one was specially designed to really annoy all the tourists on the bus and give them a headache. The buses are also filthy and you get off with black dust all over your hands, your face and up your nose. Despite all this, the views were spectacular as the bus climbed higher and higher up the steep twisting road, although it paid not to have a seat right next to the window, especially if you didn't have a head for heights.

I'd read in the guidebook that Kandy's considered to be the only city in Sri Lanka, other than Colombo. Our only experience of Colombo had been the night before, when our van had overheated and broken down at the edge of the road in rush hour traffic. Everything looked grey and I had nearly choked to death from the fumes from all the traffic. Kandy was totally different - lush green vegetation and loads of colour and pleasantly cool (I have decided hot countries aren't really my thing) after the sweltering heat of the South. It was hectic and as we got off the bus with rucksacks on our back, trying to look in the guide book as discreetly as possible to find our way to the hotel we'd booked, it was the usual onslaught of locals offering us tuk-tuk rides and everything they were selling, except about a hundred times harder. There were shops, stalls and people sitting on the pavement selling just about anything you could ask for. In fact the only thing we didn't see was a hostess trolley.

We eventually got our bearings and found our hotel, the Olde Empire and indeed it was old, Gareth does believe that the owner dated back to the Raj. Our room was a bit dark and dingy but opened onto a lovely balcony with loads of comfy chairs and a view of Kandy Lake. While we were there we met Kate from Bristol, doing a couple of months of volunteering in Sri Lanka before meeting up with her boyfriend in India for another few months. It was so nice to meet someone that we could have an easy conversation with. Kate had already been in Kandy for a week and worked out the local scams, best places to eat and fastest internet connections (believe me we have found some slow ones!). She also introduced us to our first proper bar, called The Pub. It had the best toilets we'd seen since Changi airport, with a tiger print toilet seat and toilet paper. To make sure we got as much use as possible out of these gloriously clean toilets we had a few Lion lagers (and went back the next night for a few more!).

With only two days left in Sri Lanka we still hadn't seen any elephants so on Friday we decided a trip to Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage was in order. This involved another filthy trip on the bus and changing buses at some random junction but we found it alright and it was definitely worth it. The Orphanage opened in 1975 with seven elephants and there are now more than eighty elephants, with various deformities. One has lost an ear, some have wonky or missing tails and there was one with only three legs, who we nicknamed Tripod. He didn't move much. When we first arrived we passed two huge old elephants and were encouraged to approach them by the Sri Lankans working there, who also took our camera and snapped us with Raja, the oldest elephant in the Orphanage.

When we got the camera back this guy started saying 'Tip, tip' so Gareth took a 10 rupee note out of his pocket and this guy said 'No' and what sounded like 'Coins'. The coins are in such tiny denominations they're worth barely anything so Gareth went to give him a handful - and he replied "No, one hundred'. So Gareth told him to bugger off because we could take our own photos for that much. It's not a bad photo anyway...

After spending a bit of time watching them roam we followed them down to the river to see them being bathed. I have been quite restrained with the photos up until now but when I got back to the hotel I counted that we had taken 56 photos of elephants. We've shrunk this down to thirty-something now but you'll all be pleased to know that unfortunately we don't have enough of an allowance to put them all up here. You can see the rest of them when we get home!!!!

We had planned to get loads done on Saturday as it was our last day before flying to Bangkok. Best laid plans and all that. We got up early so I could try a Sri Lankan breakfast but I couldn't face fish curry first thing so we just had some bananas. We also planned to get an Ayurvedic massage and steam bath to flush out some of the dirt in our systems after those bus journeys, but the place was closed so we stayed grubby. Instead we visited the Temple of the Sacred Tooth, or Sri Dalada Maligawa, where the Buddha's tooth is supposedly enshrined. Nobody knows whether it's really there or not but I think Gareth and I both know the answer. It was an impressive building anyway.

The Temple is busy all day with locals visiting with offerings and we managed to time our visit to coincide with a service. There were hundreds of people milling about with flower offerings and me and Gareth looking a bit lost, wearing MP3 players giving us the history of the temple in English. We always try to blend in.

So our time in Sri Lanka is up and we have both really enjoyed although it has been trying at times. It's a great place to visit but not without its challenges, dirtiness being one of them. It will take me a long time to forget the filthy stinking toilet I visited in a seemingly clean cafe, after eating some short eats there.

We have seen some funny things, people walking through knee-deep puddles of muddy water in bare feet but wearing a plastic bag on their head to avoid the rain. Cyclists carrying open umbrellas as they pedal down the road. Many, many dogs, who all bore some resemblance to either Maddie or Jess. I'm sure we'll come back one day but it will be with a big bottle of Dettol and lots of wet wipes.

Aayu-bowan from Sri Lanka for now!

We have had a few complaints that we've been a bit slow with the blog - give us a chance - this is our first week! Anyway we now have lots to report so get yourselves a cup of tea and if you fancy it, a cherry bakewell too.

Our journey to Sri Lanka was long and boring. Slight hitch with a cancelled train from Swansea but we made it to Heathrow with plenty of time and met up with Fi for a quick gossip before check-in.

When we got to Singapore we spent the best fiver of our lives (before we got to Sri Lanka) on a shower which left us feeling a bit more human again and then it was back on the plane for the four hour flight to Colombo. Coming in to land, Gareth's trusty watch broke and I've persuaded him that this is a sign that time is not important to us now. Except when we need to catch trains, planes and buses of course. As we touched down on the runway (only minutes away from Friday the Thirteenth) it was drizzling with rain. Once we'd picked up our luggage and got ourselves some rupees we met our taxi to the hotel and settled back in our reclining chairs for the journey ahead, a 2 hour drive down the coast to Hikkaduwa. The further we went, the heavier the rain got, and eventually turned into a thunderstorm that made your brain rattle. Sri Lankan driving is something else, lots of tooting, constant overtaking and our driver dodged knee-deep puddles, tuk-tuk drivers and wandering dogs all the way. I nodded off to sleep as I guessed that Gareth was stressed enough for the both of us. We eventually reached our hotel more than an hour late, at about quarter to four in the morning and climbed into bed for some much needed sleep.

Next day we woke up late (unusual for me some might say) and did a bit of exploring. Hikkaduwa is a small town which is based around the coast road that runs from Colombo to Galle. As you drive south, there is jungle on your left and the sea on your right - and the road is lined both sides by a seemingly neverending supply of places to eat, stay or shop. We stopped at Rita's, a guesthouse and restaurant on the beach side and had our first taste of Sri Lankan food, fried rice. We both had portions that would easily have fed three and it cost about 200 rupees - about a pound. The food prices here are unbelieveable - bottles of Coke 40 rupees (20p), 80 rupees for a big pot of tea (40p) and all sorts of mini-snacks (called short eats) starting at about 8p. Best of all, Lion lager in 600ml bottles for 120 rupees (60p for those of you who haven't worked out the conversion yet). We've had a few of those I can tell you!

There's not much to do in Hikkaduwa except relax really, and it didn't take too long before we realised how easy it would be to spend our whole ten days there on the beach. Everyone is friendly and easy-going and you feel at home there very quickly.

On Saturday, Gareth hired a board and hit the surf while I did a bit more relaxing at Rita's with a pot of tea. I did try to get photos of him but was being a bit hassled by two dogs who seemed to live in the restaurant so I only managed to get one of him halfway there. I'm sure I'll improve though.

The hotel Gareth had booked for us (the Amaya Reef) was great - air-con, balcony, miniature toiletries and hot water - but after our first two nights was up we thought we needed to get a bit more into the backpacker spirit so we found a place a few doors down, Blue Note, where we got a cute little cabana on the edge of the beach with none of the lovely features of the Amaya Reef. We had to use the mossie net, pegless washing line and universal travel plug but it only cost us 1500 rupees (you can work it out, cheap). Found some little bug in the bathroom in the evening but at least it wasn't a cockroach......

On Monday morning we organised for a tuk-tuk (a three-wheeler vehicle, a bit like a cable car with wheels and without all the safety features) to take us to Galle. Galle was a Dutch fortress town and we got dropped off by our driver inside the fort, armed with our Lonely Planet guide and a list of potential guesthouses. The first was no longer a guesthouse, the second was revolting and the third was Mrs Wijenayake's. We checked in for two nights at the princely sum of 900 rupees a night.

Well this is our view of Galle - there is not much to see or do. Once you have looked at the cricket ground (ruined by the tsunami) and walked around the fort you might as well leave. We were hassled all the time inside the fort by people who latch on to you and won't bugger off again. On Tuesday we got a tuk-tuk to Unawatuna, about 15 minutes along the coast and spent a lovely day there on the beach.

The water is clean and calm and supposedly very good for snorkelling. We were approached by a guy wearing nothing but swimming trunks and a snorkel and he said something that I didn't quite hear - I guessed he'd asked if we wanted to hire snorkelling kit. Gareth said 'No, we're not interested' and pulled me away but this guy persisted. I thought Gareth was being unnecessarily rude to this poor chap so I said 'Maybe later!' and Gareth grabbed hold of my arm and said 'Sarah, he just offered us drugs!'. I must get my ears syringed....

Wednesday was going to be our last day in Galle - we planned to get the train to Kandy in the afternoon. We both woke up early and were lying in bed when we heard an almighty bang that seemed to shake the roof. Then there was another one. And another one. I thought maybe it was thunder, there had been a lot but it didn't really sound the same. Next came the rat-tat-tat-tat of machine gunfire - and Gareth got out of bed to see what was going on. Turned out the Tamil Tigers had sent three suicide bombers disguised as fishing boats to attack the Navy Military Base on the edge of the fort - about 200 yards away. Pretty scary. Under these pleasant circumstances we met the rest of the lodgers at the guesthouse, and most of Mrs Wijenayake's extended family. I thought that 'tea and toast' was a very British response to crisis but they do it in Sri Lanka too. A curfew was imposed on Galle so we were stuck inside the house and our plans for getting the train to Kandy squashed. A good point was that I finally finished this book I've been struggling to read for ages! At about 3.30pm a van arrived to collect Yvonne, a Dutch girl who was also lodging there. Yvonne had been doing some voluntary work and the coordinator had arranged the van. We hopped in too and were taken to Negombo, north of the airport. It was another nightmare journey which lasted 6 hours in baking heat and included a breakdown on the edge of the road in Colombo in rush hour traffic, but at least we were out of Galle.

So all in all it has been a fun first week. We've left Negombo and are now in Kandy in the hills, where it's raining but lovely and cool. But that will be another story...........