India Awaits: Sri Lanka - Negombo and Pinnawalla

After promising to never stay in India for another Diwali, we were very quick to book our trip for 5 days in Sri Lanka. A place that was definitely on our bucket list from the first day we arrived India, so I had researched fairly well to determine the short list of places we wanted to see. Sri Lanka is a small island but it takes a while to get around with very bad traffic, road conditions and the weather, we had to limit the number of places to visit.

The trip did not start off at all well, with the worst traffic I have ever seen in Bangalore (and that is saying something) which meant that the one hour trip to the airport was over TWO hours !! Anthony definitely had to get a wriggle on and he impressed us all with his rally driving skills getting us to the airport with minutes to spare. We made a very quick dash to the checkin desk and managed to get on and get through security with only a few minutes to spare. There was no time for a drink or dinner at the airport, which made for some cranky travellers (well 'I' was stressed and cranky.......) but luckily it is a quick flight to Columbo and we were there in no time.

Our guide, Seelan, met us at the airport for a short trip to our first hotel - it was very late but the boys and I spied the pool and planned for an early swim. The remainder of the group managed to find the bar for a nightcap before turning in - a common thread for our trip :)

Our morning walk on the beach was lovely and, in comparison to India, we weren't harassed by people to buy necklaces, bags or sarees - just to go for a ride in their boat !! We sadly declined and headed to the buffet for breakfast and then for a swim in the lovely pool before having to leave. We really like the beaches in Sri Lanka - hoping to get back there again one day.

We were staying in Negombo which is a lovely area renowned for its fishing, catholic churches and its Dutch heritage. It was lovely to check out the fish market - albeit very very smelly !! After a quick trip around town, we started our loooonnnggg drive to the Pinnawalla Elephant Orphanage. As commercial as this place may become, the elephants were free to roam around and seemed to be very happy in the area provided. With poaching still a big issue and the elephant numbers dwindling in Sri Lanka, it is nice to see the elephants have a place to live safely. Carol and mum were happy to have their first upclose elephant experience and Jack got to feed a baby elephant with a bottle of milk, and we loved seeing them all free to roam around the fields.

Twice a day the elephants get to go down to the local river for a swim - they are allowed to wander through the streets without any boundaries, except for a mahout with a stick for guidance. It was amazing to see them walk down the steep village path to the water. We were having lunch whilst overlooking the river watching the elephants play. After lunch, we then had the road trip from hell - a very long, crazy drive to Dambulla, with a 20 minute roadwork stop which made the main road a complete carpark. We finally made it through and headed to Dambulla and to our Eco hotel.

After such a long day we were all looking forward to a nice dinner and a cold drink of the alcoholic variety........ but NO, it was a dry day for Diwali !!! We couldn't believe it - no alcohol served anywhere ! We did manage to convince the hotel staff to bring a couple of beers to the room, and we made an early night of it. We knew we were heading up Sigiriya rock the next day, so some sleep would be needed.

Sri Lanka was delivering on all fronts on Day 1.