Travelling to Sri Lanka was a breeze, the older I get the more I tend to worry about things that younger me wouldn’t have thought twice about. The two hour layover in Istanbul was something that I had lost sleep over…. And I learnt quickly that was a waste of lost sleep.
We arrived in Sri Lanka, tired but excited to see a country reknown for its beauty and rich culture.
We hopped into our drivers car, and were both fast asleep within minutes – instantly missing our first views.
The first stop on our tour in this incredible country was Sigriya, home to the famous rock and land of elephants…..
Day one was pretty incredible, fighting no sleep, we managed to fit in the pool, a walk to see the views of the rock (a ruined fortress), and a traditional Sri Lankan pizza……. Traveling with a teen who eats predominantly “beige” is interesting.
It’s always been wildly important to me to see & explore cultures outside of how we live in the UK, so my adventuring head is firmly on….
Sigiriya was beautiful, so different to life back home, exquisitely hot & full of experiences.
Whilst day one was a more sedate day post travelling, day two was the polar opposite.
Up at 5, I and our guide for the two weeks, Ruwan, hit Lions Rock. 1200 steps up towards the heavens to taste what life looked like in the sixth and seventh centuries and some breath taking views at the top.
Having a driver on this trip was one of my better ideas; I’ve been a single parent for over a decade and despite raising exceptionally independent kids, everything still falls to the grown adult to sort and do – and it always surprises me that I am said grown adult.
However, paying to hire a man has been epic…. He drives, I sleep. He pays (I mean; I give him the cash – but no one is perfect.). He always has water, he knows all the places we can source chicken nuggets for the teen, and he has assured me we will not be eaten by a crocodile or flattened by an elephant. He also leaves at our request, and comes back when we message…..
It’s been a long ass time since I was married, but I don’t remember it being as good as this….
Back to Lions rock, my delight was obvious when I realised that as we climbed step by step, monkeys were to be our companions.
I’d been warned to have no food or open bags with me, and I was compliant – which meant my deeply terrible sense of humour was indulged as I watched monkeys leap onto unsuspecting tourists shoulders and retrieve biscuits, sun cream and tissues and dart off into the rocks proudly clutching their treasure.
The views from the top were beautiful, a feast of green mixed in with Temple tops and Buddhist statues.
Back at the hotel, post breakfast, my youngest and I climbed back into the car. Ruwan the driver, was mildly concerned over Libby’s aching hip & her recent full hip replacement so he took us to a “herbal” experience to hopefully soothe some of the pain she was having.
We were clueless and presumed, ignorantly, we were off to buy some tea or ointment.
We were of course, wrong.
Instead we arrived an a scrumptious Sri Lanka herbal spa, where we were both treated to 80 minutes of oils and herbs being massaged into our skin. Followed by a 20 minute natural herbal steam experience.
All for under £75.
We left looking like bacon could be fried on our arms from the amount of oil upon us, but gloriously refreshed and for me, (someone who aches from top to toe) feeling somewhat unsore and rejuvenated for the day.
Next up, Ruwan had taken the liberty of booking us a village tour, and sourced us a free ice cream on the street…
Both wins,
Now what happened next was surprising…
I found myself driving a cow.
Doesn’t massively fit in with my animal rights nature, but it was the start of the tour and meant to show how the locals get around.
So I got off my high horse and got onto my cow down carriage instead…
Bugger me, cows can shift, that was a surprise as we found ourselves galloping along a dusty track with me in charge….
Post cow – I recoated myself in the strong cologne of Mosquito spray and we headed to what Ruwan, the driver, described as a Catamaran.
The last Catamaran I experienced was in Spain and had a free bar…..
This one was propelled by two canoes and could be described as a floating hut…:
No free drinks but I got to paddle, and we didn’t drown nor were we eaten by an Alligator which I was told lived in the river.
So wins all round.
We then learnt to cook Sri Lankan style in a Sri Lankan house. Which is ironic because I have yet to learn to cook in my own house.
Then we feasted on some of the best food I’ve ever eaten.
And still was more to come. A quick ride back via Tuk Tuk to the car and then we went to Minneyard National Park.
2 hours of Elephant gazing, stood inside a jeep. What an experience.
The pair of us were treated to baby elephants, huge elephants, bathing elephants, herds of elephants. These huge solemn creatures paid us no interest whatsoever as they walked past our jeep, giving me some of the happiest times of my life whilst they went about their day.
We also spotted of a Golden Jackal, too many birds to name and a couple of random peacocks to our animal holiday count.
A perfect afternoon, which ended with a Sri Lankan show, which was “interesting”, my musical tastes are not quite in tune with authentic Sri Lanka, but the dancing and gymnastics was pretty cool to observe.
Then dinner (we found nuggets!), a couple of beers and finally bed….
Day two – completed!