During this spring break period I travelled to Kiev one weekend and around Sri Lanka for another longer weekend-- leaving Thursday, returning on Monday.
My friend Monia is an architect here in Dubai, we met in Arabic class. She is an Italian chick, very fun and good to travel with!
We arrived around 8p.m. in Colombo and spent one night at a beach resort in Negombo, a short drive from the airport. The Jetwing Lagoon Resort was lovely! We had an outdoor bathroom, which is so nice! Here is a selfie I snapped after a bath with the sound rain falling... It looks like a proper ceiling, but it is just a small part, all four sides of the bathroom are open air with rock floor to drain off the rain. The benefit is fresh air and bird noises while you shower and brush your teeth!
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| Open air bathrooms are a big thing in Southeast Asia. |
Among many great things about the Jetwing Lagoon is the al fresco dining, beach access, Sri Lanka's longest pool and luxurious spa offerings. Monia and I had massages before our long and exciting car ride to the next location.
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| Sri Lanka's longest pool. |
Our next spot was Heritance Kandalama Hotel in Dambulla, about 3 hours from Negombo. We arranged a car and driver with the Jetwings concierge and were lucky to have such a friendly and skilled driver to introduce us to the terrifying roads and traffic up into the mountains. He pointed out the coconut plantations and rice paddies, things I wouldn't have noticed on my own.
The drive was well worth the risk of the roads because the eco-resort we were to spend the next two nights was absolutely amazing... This having views from every spot, even from the bathtub.
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| View from the bathroom at Kandalama Hotel. |
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| Fresh air. |
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This monkey on our balcony knocked some things off the side,
which were saved by hotel staff. |
The design is such that the resort is built right into the mountainside jungle, disrupting nature as little as possible. There were monkeys in the groves right outside our room and several wanted to come in and visit with us.
I have a library coworker who is from Sri Lanka and he directed me to this hotel and I very much appreciate it! The place is heaven on earth and wasn't expensive. There are two pools with awesome views, one pool is built right into the natural rock. There are two or three restaurants and bars, all with a nice atmosphere. A full spa with these breathtaking views.. The hotel also easily arranged our tours and transportation, they know what they are doing at the Kandalama Hotel. More about the tours in a minute.
Probably my favorite part of any trip is meeting new people and finding out about their food. Kind of like reading a cultural encyclopedia, but in 3-D. The people of Sri Lanka are very kind and their food is very tasty! It is fresh fresh fresh and plentiful! I love lots of spice and flavor and they have it.. Here are a few things that my coworker told me to try: hoppers? I was worried it was going to be alive or something, but it is pretty much a crepe with an egg and spicy chutney inside. I had one for breakfast and wish I could eat this everyday for breakfast. A pancake and an egg in one!
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| Hopper: crepe, egg and chutney. |
Another thing I loved was also breakfast food, the "Herbal Porridge." Sort of split pea soup, with other green vegetables broth and some grains, probably rice. A very nutritious way to start the day. I imagine that people will soon become hip to this concoction and it will be as popular as the kale craze... I'm going to try to make it at home.
The fish curry was everywhere too, so fresh and delicious. I must have eaten some sort of grilled spicy fish at every meal. Yum!
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| Grilled fish in there. |
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| Breakfast soup. |
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| Monkey momma. |
On to the main event! Hiking Sigiriya. We arranged for an 8a.m. pick up time and were at the base of the mountain by 8:30a.m. Our driver even packed cold water and cold cloths for after the trek. Our driver put us in touch with a knowledgable guide who explained all the history we were laying eyes on along the way.
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| Beginning of the hike. |
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| Our hiking destination. Sigirya from the hotel pool. |
Sigirya means Lion Rock and it is an ancient fortress with an irrigation system complete with reflecting pools and historically a fantastic lion mouth entrance. We have a picture by one of the remaining lion paws.. It was quite a climb up... I cannot imagine how amazing the polished granite mirror walls would be to the people seeing this 3000 years ago, if they could even make their way in... I took us a couple hours to get up and down and no one was trying to keep us out.
End of "part one."
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| At the foot of the steep ascent. |
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| The last scramble to the pinnacle. |
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