Ella, Sri Lanka

Unable to secure a train to Ella , we resorted to our driver that we used before.  We stopped at a Hindu temple as well as another tea plantation/factory.

A  view of Ella Gap from our room. The drive here with a stop at  a Hindu Temple took about  6 hours for only about 95 km.  The roads were extremely narrow and twisty as we got into the mountains and so the driving was a bit slow.  But it was much more comfortable than our local bus ride that we took from Polonaruwa to Kandy that took 4.5 hours in an overcrowded ride.  The rains continue for a few breaks and so we cancelled our hike this morning since the hillsides are very slippery.  

Hidden Gem

Although it is raining off and on, we managed to get an hour by the pool and lounging on the deck.  Bird watching here is a treat.  Frank as usual, did some research and discovered a restaurant not too far from our hotel that sounded interesting.

The owner opened this restaurant only a year ago - Jaga Restaurant.  It is down a little dirt path at his farm and 60% of all vegetables come from his farm.  All organic he says.  It was a great meal and our entertainment was the Water Monitors - giant lizards.  There were 3 just outside the sitting area by the stream.  There was a one foot high fence of bamboo sticks to keep them from joining us.

By afternoon the rains started again and so we passed on visiting the ruins near by.  The afternoon was spent napping and watching the amazing variety of birds outside our window. 

Elephants to view

There have been some heavy rains but whenever we left our vehicle to view a site we had a bit of sunshine.  Lucky us.  Yesterday on our drive to Polonnaruwa we stopped at some caves with Buddhist  paintings as well as the 'largest' Buddhist statue in the world (so it says).

The caves were stunning.  Every inch of the ceiling and walls are painted.  At first I thought they were cloth covered because the rock is not smooth or straight.

You can see how the interior is painted.  We climbed a few hundred stairs to arrive at the caves.  Good thing since I have been eating too much.

Outside the caves.

We arrived at The Lake Resort mid afternoon.  A nice 50s style lodge at the edge of a small lake close to the National Park.  Again there are monkeys everywhere.  A few climbed up on the roof and looked in our open window.  Frank noticed and quickly closed it so that camera and things would not be taken.  Despite the cloudy weather, I took a late afternoon swim.

View from our window with the pool in the foreground.  There are bikes here and so today we may bike a few km to some ruins and then tomorrow take a jeep safari to see some of the animals.  We can see elephants from our room.  They roam freely here and usually come to the lake in the afternoon.

Kandy

Elephants are a common motif in Sri Lanka.  Yesterday we saw an elephant on the side of the road pulling logs.  To break up our trip to Kandy we stopped at a tea plantation and saw how Ceylon teas are processed. Afterwards we were treated to a cup of Orange Pekoe tea along with a piece of coconut sugar.

a view from the sitting area outside our room.

Our excellent tea.

Our room is simple but comfortable.  The rain has started and the cool air is a lovely change for us.  We ate dinner at our place - The Nature Walk Hotel.  We woke up to heavy rain and low clouds over the hills.

Breakfast consisted of milk rice with a hot curry paste, fresh papaya juice, a bowl of fresh fruit, toast, egg and coffee.  While enjoying breakfast we watched around 8 monkeys running up and down the roof next to us and on a short walk we got to see them up close. I quickly put my iPhone in my pocket and 'frank wrapped his camera close to him.  The monkeys will sometimes grab things from you. The original pick pocket.

We wandered around the town and the rain stopped briefly.  The one thing we noticed about folks here is a relentless to sell you something and when you do buy something they try to sell you more. It gets a bit weary after a while.  We picked up a brass elephant knocker for when we get home - a good luck symbol for visitors and a pillow cover with again an elephant motif.  I guess that's it for elephant items.  

A morning through town

WE had a few hours before our driver was picking us up and so we took a Tuk Tuk to see some sights.

What me, you want me to drive?

Here is Frank with our Tuk tuk driver - 900rupies for 2 hours - about $6.

We stopped at a Buddhist temple .

 

Along the way we encountered a 'games' day at one of the girls' schools.

A fish market was next.  Some of the fishermen were having trouble mooring their boat and so Frank decided to help.

The sailing boats were quite unique.  The sails are a very heavy cotton.

By 1:30 we hired a driver to take us to Kandy.  We shared the ride with a Chinese family who were also going there.  A great way to share the cost.

Negambo, Sri Lanka

It was a long day yesterday as we left HCMC, had one stopover in Kuala Lumpur and arrived around 10:00pm in Colombo.  Our host picked us up at the airport after a very long wait at immigration.  It was a slow process requiring special visas which we acquired before leaving but it still did not help speed up the process.  We are staying in a modest hotel about a 20 minute drive outside of the airport. The room is sparse but it has a comfortable and clean bed.  $37US/breakfast included.
We woke up after about 5 hours sleep to the soft smells of incense and a lovey breakfast which included some of the local flavours - Dahl and  spicey chutney as well as the pancakes rolled around course coconut and honey. The wife told us that they tone down the spices for tourist.

A large shrine with incense outside the sitting area

Lovely dark wood everywhere.

The sitting area outside our room.

WE are going to explore this little town before sharing a car with another guest to go to Kandy - about 3 hour drive.  We were going to go by train but unless you reserve in person ahead of time you can only access 2nd and 3rd class spots - I am going to pass on that today.  Not feeling like sitting on wooden benches for 6 hours.  Call me a whimp.

Tet holiday

Yeah, another holiday!  today was our last day at school.  Yesterday the school hosted many activities celebrating the New Year Vietnamese style.

Many of the students wore traditional clothing.

 Some of the games are the same as what we often see at home

 

There were some beautiful performances as well.  The children continue to learn and practise traditional dances and folktales.

 So now we are getting ready for our trip to Sri Lanka.  We fly out Sunday and look forward cooler air (looks like it is rainy for now).

getting ready for Tet (New Years)

The week of January 9-14th saw the city start to decorate.  Blossom trees and red lanterns are everywhere.  There are so many lights on arches over the streets that the city should be visible from outer space.

Friday evening we went downtown for dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant.  Frank had a truffle infused pasta and I had gnocchi in a rich pesto sauce.  Dessert of course and a a few glasses of Sicilian wine.  Saturday was interview day at work and in the late afternoon back home we had a thunder storm roll through.  It has not rained in a while and so it was a refreshing break.

On our patio with afternoon tapas while the sky was our entertainment.  Tomorrow we have a belated Christmas party at the principals' (2 of them - not a typo) place - Turkey and fixings and bring a bathing suit.

More decorations 

Vung Tau

Back to work this week and ended the week in the (small) city of Vung Tau.  A colleague of mine located a stain glass maker who 10 years ago did some work in her house.  She found out that he now works part time in Vietnam and has his own factory.  He is Vietnamese and also lives in Canada.  Lois organized a trip to his shop.

We also learned of a great way to get to Vung Tau - a VIP luxury Limo that seats 8.

$7US  per person each way for a speedy 1 1/2 hour trip.  Josehep Truong showed us his factory and then took us for lunch at a great spot along the river.  The restaurant wound along the river and so the servers each had segue to dash around with trays of food.  I am sure they loved their job.

We also stopped at one of the local churches where he did all the windows.

Then it was off to see one of the many tunnels that were used during the war.  He liked to joke that they have expanded some of the tunnels to accommodate the 'large' tourists.  We did not go in this time as this one was closed for the day.

We eventually convinced him to take us to our hotel since he was eager to keep being a guide late into the night.  We stayed at a modest place and chose to spend our cash on a fine little French restaurant that we discovered last time we were here.  Next morning we were back at the French Bistro for breakfast and then off to the beach.  There is a very large beach in Vung Tau with lawn chairs and umbrellas to rent - this beach is not tree lined with palms.  There were some huge waves so we splashed around a bit until it was time to shower and take our limo back home.  A great get away from the heat and congestion of Ho Chi Minh.  As we drove home we read that it was -10 in Toronto and another pile up of cars outside Bowmanville due to icing.  Feeling pretty smug here.

Back to work tomorrow

We had a slow start to the day.  Frank has developed a bad cold but is not letting it slow him down too much.  We did a bit of local market shopping and sent Jenna and Scott downtown.  We planned to meet them around 4:30 for cocktails on the roof top of the Pullman Hotel.

We watched as the city lit up.

After some lovely tapas and too many drinks we went down into the town and found a local Pho place where we were the only non locals - great Pho. Then back home and we went for a quick dip in our pool even though it was after hours.  We were feeling a little rebellious.  Back to work tomorrow so that we can continue this ride. 

last week the year

Jenna and Scott arrived Wednesday, Dec. 28th.  Early the next morning we caught our bus to Mui Ne, a resort town we visited before.

The ocean was quite wavy and we were unable to swim that afternoon but enjoyed the town.  The next morning we were able to enjoy the sea.  In the afternoon we found a sailing school and booked a laser with a knowledgable skipper who took us out for an hour.  The winds were good and we had a great sail.  Scott and Jenna went into the town and found a really 'cool' bar with a great 'vibe' as Scott would say.  We sat on the patio and watched the sun set over the fishing village.(first picture)

The next day we took a jeep ride to the sand dunes. (24km ride)

That is Scott, Jenna and me leaping.  In the second picture you can get a sense of the size of the dunes in comparison to the tiny jeep at the top of one of the dunes.  After we sipped a fresh coconut.

Here is the guy chopping the end off of the coconut and putting a straw in.  We then stopped at a site called the Fairy Walk.  It is a fresh water stream ending in a waterfall.  People just walk along it and there are red and white cliffs along the way as well as table and chairs set up right in the water serving snacks.

In the afternoon the owners of the small resort invited all the guests for snacks and bubbly.  We ended the day with a meal out (which was not that good) and called it a night by 10pm - did not make it to midnight.

A great way to end 2016.