Gallivanting the globe 2019 - RTW and then some

[JohnM]

Lucky in the gallery! 'No photos' was closely supervised when I was there

The fresco pic I pinched from Wikipedia. It was OK to take pics of the mirror wall.

 

[JohnM]

A last look at Lion Rock as we pulled out the next day to move on a little further before ditching the van for some bikes for several hours leisurely riding some back roads and stopping to help make curry for lunch at a home in a traditional village.



Cannonball tree.

 

[JohnM]

Drying rice and blowing bubbles from a natural source.



Then it was time for a cool coconut drink and to make curry for lunch.

 

[JohnM]

Delish! Then it was on to our hotel overlooking the large man-made Giritale Tank.

 

[kookaburra75]

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Delish! Then it was on to our hotel overlooking the large man-made Giritale Tank.

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Curry and Rice - that was one of the highlights of our trip to Sri Lanka. Great flavours, cheap as chips and left you wanting for more

 

[JohnM]

Moving on next morning to the ancient Sinhalese capital of Polonnaruwa (Polonnaruwa - Wikipedia). It’s an extensive site.



In other words, no selfies with statues allowed – common in Sri Lanka.

 

[JohnM]

Shoes off and cover legs when entering sites of religious significance. We bought saris at the Buddhist cave temples early in the tour and kept them at hand.



Huge stupa.



It was getting hot.

 

[JohnM]

Next stop was Kandy for a couple of days. It’s a picturesque city surrounding a lake and is the location of the Temple of the Tooth, which houses Sri Lanka’s most important Buddhist relic (Temple of the Tooth - Wikipedia).



The stuffed remains of Rajah, the Maligawa tusker or main parade-leading elephant that died in 1988. This one was particularly large and revered.

 

[JohnM]

Then a walk through the large park and botanic garden.

 

[JohnM]

Strolling around the lake before dinner at the classic Queens Hotel.



A walk around the lake at about noon the next day was perfect timing for getting the sun reflecting off the Temple of the Tooth roof and onto the water.

 

[JohnM]

That evening we went to the famed and bizarre Dali- & Gaudi-esque Helga’s Folly hotel/art gallery (Helga's Folly) for a drink before dinner. A place not to be missed when in Kandy.

 

[JohnM]

And a couple of views from a hill above as we left Kandy the next morning.

 

[JohnM]

Some rice production scenes during our morning drive to Kitulgala (Kitulgala - Wikipedia), one of the wettest places in Sri Lanka, and a walk in the hills followed by a white water rafting excursion near the location where the famous 1957 film ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’ (The Bridge on the River Kwai - Wikipedia) was made.



We took the local ferry across the river for our walk in the hills.



Peppercorns.

 

[JohnM]

And back across the suspension bridge upstream to come out near the rafting base. The rafting was a blast and we went past the remnants of the bridge foundations for the movie (the bridge was blown up in the film.)

The boys abandoned the raft after the fairly decent rapids and we drifted the last few hundred metres. Sue had a waterproof camera and got a couple of shots.



The hotel where the cast of the film stayed has some displays on the wall.

And a stop at a tea house in the tea-growing region for afternoon tea.

 

[JohnM]

We continued driving higher into the tea country to stay at the old colonial hillstation of Nuwara Eliya. Wandered around in the morning and checked out the Grand Hotel. Returned that evening for billiards and dinner.

 

[JohnM]

Up into the tea plantations in the afternoon. The top three leaves are what is picked. Photos were not permitted further along the process.

 

[JohnM]

Next morning, we left early to get to WH-listed Horton Plains National Park, a protected cloud-forest area in the central highland of Sri Lanka (Horton Plains National Park - Wikipedia), for a hike.

Mongoose, deer, birdlife, plantlife, scenic topography.



But mostly clouded out at Little World’s End.

 

[JohnM]

Even more so at World’s End.



Then to the nearby station to take the train to our next overnight stop, and final destination in the highlands, at Bandarawela.



As it turned out, the train went through about two stations then inexplicably stopped at the third. There was apparently some incident further along the track. After a while, it was clear we were going nowhere, so our tour leader arranged for a local to take us the rest of the way in his - how shall we say - rural 4WD. We were travelling light as the van had gone on ahead with our luggage after dropping us at Horton Plains.

It ended up being a bit of fun as we ‘adopted’ a couple of German young women backpackers who were also on the train and crammed into the ‘commandeered’ 4WD for a slightly hair-raising drive on steep and wet back roads, only to come across a tree that fallen across the road. A group effort, some axe work by other travellers and a rope-haul by a small truck soon had it cleared.

 

[JohnM]

Next day we descended from the central highlands to the southern coastal lowlands, stopping at a roadside stall to sample jackfruit.



The main road cut across the NW corner of Yala National Park and some of the big bull elephants act as bushrangers and hold up vehicles seeking treats. The truck driver yielded – both right of way and gave food.

 

[JohnM]

That afternoon we did a game drive in the park.