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Back from Sri Lanka

 We just got back from Sri Lanka, and what an amazing trip it was. We started with an Intrepid tour - they have an 'active' option, so as well as doing cultural things we hiked and camped and bicycled and kayaked. 

It was a great group of people, and a really fun way to do the things that can be a bit tricky to organise, like camping in the Knuckles National Park.

The bicycling was through tea fields, and I was glad to have a guide on Sri Lankas crazy roads, but it was really fun and such a pleasure to be riding for something other than commuting.

After the tour was over we went to Tangelle beach and spent four nights staying in a tree house - which was essentially a floor and a roof and a bed with mosquito nets. Our first night there there was a massive thunderstorm right on top of us, which was terrifying. Other than that it was very relaxing, we did some more kayaking and went to a temple. Mainly we ate, drank, swam and I took lots of photos of palm trees.

Then we headed to historic Galle Forte. While we weren't sure what we were going to do there, we got to do a tour of the only lowlands teafield and factory, which was fascinating. On our final day we went to a traditional handweaving factory, which was incredible. they dye their own cotton, over a wood fire and then weave it on large floor looms. 

Highlights included the food - just delicious and fresh, everything from very local roadside restaurants  to fancy tourist places were delicious.

The animals - not so much the 'jeep safari' we did, where we got to see elephants, but there were dozens of jeeps chasing elephants around a National Park. 



There were stray dogs everywhere, but they were mainly not manky and would just hang out with us.

 When we went of a 16 km hike, a dog decided to come with us, and did the entire hike. 

There were also peacocks, newts, geckos, monitor lizards and the occasional monkey. 

water buffalo hanging about it water and so many birds! 

Sri Lanka was an easy country to travel - the locals were friendly and proud of their country, tuk-tuks are cheap and you can order them on an app. The weather was truly tropical - rarely more than 30 degrees in the day, but not below 28 at night. We really enjoyed our trip. 

Come back tomorrow and I'll tell you about what I read while I was away, and what I'm reading now. 




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Comments

  1. Marg12 May, 2025

    We are going to Sri Lanka later this year and I am really looking forward to it!

    Thanks for sharing your photos!

    ReplyDelete

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