Sri Lankan Adventures - Part 1

I just returned from an amazing two week holiday in Sri Lanka with my friend Kerryn. It feels like I've been talking about visiting Sri Lanka for years so it was nice to have it become a reality. The country itself is quite small and with winding mountianous roads, it isn't the easiest place to get around. So our two weeks were spent split between the gorgeous southern coast and the mountainous hill country. In truth, it felt like two completely different holidays and now I'm planning to return in January.



Galle

Kerryn and I decided to skip Colombo, the capital, and head straight to the beach. After much haggling and some tricky negotiation, we hopped in a taxi and were on our way. Sri Lanka currently has one highway, that has a toll and runs from outside of Colombo to Galle. The highway was completely empty and brand new and the toll was a couple of dollars. As we would find out later in the trip, the highway was a blessing and well worth the money.

Galle is an old Dutch colony with a beautifully walled in peninsula where most of the tourist trade occurs. Between the quaint little roads and tuk tuks, the place is loaded with charm and was a great introduction to Sri lanka.

Exhausted but happy to be in Sri Lanka.

Crazy kids jumping off this rock into the ocean. Even crazier guys out in the ocean videoing them.

The Galle lighthouse and temple.

The first of many happy photos.

We arrived in the late afternoon, settled into our guest house and went out for a late lunch. We went to a local place with a great view of the ocean and some tasty veggie curries. As we were eating, a crowd formed along the fort wall. Apparently there are a group of Sri Lankan boys that run and jump of the cliff at the edge of Galle and some photographers were out in the ocean filming them. I didn't manage to capture it but it was pretty harrowing to watch.

Wish I could ship a tuk tuk back to the US with me.

We watched a lovely sunset that evening and strolled through town, ending the night with a lovely meal of gluten-free chocolate cake and beer/wine. Not a bad start to a holiday.

Lovely sunset.

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Lion beer, white wine and gluten free chocolate cake....one of our more extravagent dinners.

The next morning, I woke up early for a run around the fort and managed to take some photos too. We had breakfast of hoppers and coconut sambol at a quaint little Dutch tea shop and got our holiday planned by the local proprieter. He suggested we move on to Mirissa and enjoy the lovely beaches there, before making our way down the coast.

So we hired a tuk tuk and headed down the coast.

Those Sri Lankans love their tea.

Quality street art.

A stroll around the fort.

Can't get enough of the tuk tuks.

So many beautiful hidden coves.

Galle from a distance.

The Peace Pagoda

Buddha beneath the Bodhi tree.

Autumn....Lao style

We may not have crisp fall mornings, leaving changing color or pumpkins to carve, but Lao does Autumn in it's own way.

The weather is supposedly cooling down, although I still ride to work in a tank top and spandex and am drenched in sweat and desperate for air con upon arrival.We have dragon boat racing on Oct. 31st rather than pumpkin carving and candy mooching. We carve open young coconuts instead of pumpkins. We surprisingly do have pomegranates, although they're yellow, unripe and not nearly as enticing as those you'd find back home. We don't have a turkey day, although since I'm back on the vegetarian bandwagon that's okay by me. We do have lots of going away parties as friends come and go. And lots of opportunity to travel and lay on sunny beaches. All in all, fall is going well. Training for the half marathon is well underway with 8 miles being my latest accomplishment. I'm off to Sri Lanka on Saturday for two weeks of puttering around with my good friend, Kerryn. Fall is looking up. :)  

Kerryn's goodbye dinner.

A refreshing coconut to rehydrate after some serious paddling on the Dragon boat.

Yellow Lao pomegranate...

Not quite ripe but tasty all the same!

Toasting daiquiris with the guys from ICRC-SFD. It's not all work.

Reliving Bali relaxation.....good thing Sri Lanka is just around the corner.

Haven't seen these in Lao, good thing we stocked up in Bali.

Beach front dining in Bali.

Two of my most favorite people in the world!

Some food shots for Greg. :) Indonesia tasty treats.

Again, for Greg. Yum!

Baliday...like a holiday only better

Back from an amazing holiday in Thailand and Indonesia with Ian, Saleema and Nodira!

Ian and Saleema flew into Thailand on Sunday, Sept 9th after an arduous 30+ hour journey. They spent a couple days at my place, exploring Vientiane, soaking up Lao massages, and trying some tasty local food. They both recovered remarkably well from the jet lag and perked right up after a day or two. I finished work on Tuesday and we headed off to Phuket Thailand to start our beach holiday!!!

Phuket doesn't have a great reputation as a holiday spot but is in on the beach and is an easy transfer point for most of the West coast Thai islands. We had a harrowing minivan ride from the airport. The most disturbing part for me though was how accustomed I've become to the insane driving. I guess it must be a survival technique, learning to accept just how helpless you are as the van driver squeezes between buses and swerves to avoid motorbikes.

View from the rooftop pool.

Two happy travelers

Pretty swanky digs

It's still rainy season in Thailand and Lao, so while we spent the next morning in the pool and sunshine, it wasn't quite the sunny beach holiday we had all been envisioning. The view from the pool on the hotel roof was pretty amazing though.

The next day we hopped on the ferry to Phi Phi island to meet up with Nodira and hopefully find a Thai beach respite. Alas, the rain clouds followed us and were unrelenting. Between downpours we managed some games of frisbee, some tasty meals and some pool lounging. But with sunshine being the priority, so far our vacation was falling flat.

Our cabana

So we gave up on Thailand, caught the ferry off Phi Phi and headed for Bali. Due to the stormy weather, our ferry ride was more than a little harrowing. I spent the trip seasick and losing my breakfast, while the others were mentally preparing an evacuation route, that we luckily never had to utilize.

We arrive in Bali that evening and awoke to an amazingly beautiful sunny day. We spent some hours at the pool lounging and getting our fix of sunshine, then ventured the 10 minute walk to beach to play in the ocean and watch the surfers.

All in all, we spent a week in Bali. Aside from lounging by the pool and at the beach, we managed a day trip to Ubud, the more culturally significant area of Bali and a day trip to Sanur for some snorkeling. We ate lots of tasty meals and ridiculous amounts of fresh seafood, had some pretty amazing drinks and contributed to the local economy with consumption of Bintang beer and banana splits.

Beach lounging at it's finest.

This one's for Greg.

Ian doesn't take direction very well...

Gelato!

Must hydrate, coconut style.

Rice paddies

Monkey forest....i.e. monkey bites waiting to happen.

Home away from home.

Post holiday stupor

Boogie boarding....planning the attack.

Action shot

One more Bintang please..

Too much Rupiah....and maybe too much Bintang.