Sri Lanka-The Pearl Of the Indian Ocean

[RB]

I have posted review of Hikkaduwa hotel here:
http://www.australianfrequentflyer....iews/hotel-blue-note-hikkaduwa-sri-37791.html

Around Hikkaduwa
We are located mid section of the holiday rentals & it is more rocky out front.-we later see 2 tourists rescued from the surf by board riders & they just wander off with little show of appreciation. We walk & locate a better spot for swimming (it is more for board riders out front) to come back to. All day we only encounter 4 virtually apologetic hawkers wandering the beach so we wonder about complaints we had read about aggressive, pesky sellers.
The street is lined with shops between the accommodation spots - roti shops, internet cafes, clothing shops (knockoffs of Colombia etc & all the surfing names) of varying quality and wood carving. There is an ATM here & there are 2 grog shops near us , one with a huge range of wine and bubbly.
The southern end back towards Galle is best for beach walking & we head there for a long, fast walk before breakfast- probably only 20 people along the whole area & this is supposed to be peak time. The surf here can be swum and there is a long walk out to the waters edge. The better calm swimming spot (northern end away from Galle) is near where the glass bottom boats leave from & also attracts the street sellers as it is at the end of a run, still there are no hassles & the water is nice & clean. Even further along near the Coral Sands resort there is a roped off calm water area-this seems to attract a bigger crowd of hawkers.
We use a tuk tuk to visit Galle. It is an easy 30 minute ride sitting on 40km/hr. The Fort area is impressive in its expanse & we roam around several areas to get good views. There are no divers into the shallow waters while we are there. There are a few meek hawkers & a couple of quiet beggars that have no impact on our visit.
We get a good view of the cricket ground - no work being done for the upcoming test with the Poms & also score a few photos of the fish just bought into the harbour. Mrs RB gets a good traffic video from the back of the tuk tuk on the way back.
There is a marked absence of birdlife around Hikkaduwa - this is the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] place we haven’t woken to the sound of birds. Food overall has descent variety available & we enjoy Neela’s & Budd’s. Last night was a Sat night & there was a late night party at Mambos a few doors down - with the fan & air con on there was no impact on sleep except for a short burst of 11pm fireworks to announce the party.

Surfers outside our hotel
Sunset from hotel
Detail on breakfast that costs less than $4
Galle cricket ground taken from Fort
Uncrowded morning walk

 

[RB]

Hikkaduwa To Negombo
We organised this 3hr transfer through Hotel Blue Note. Suzuki van with air con for 7000lkr. Driver was on time, spoke a little English & wasn’t a bad driver (see later note). We had to stop to check tyres & also the driver did a quick stop at his temple to drop in his contribution & a short prayer! We travelled north along the coast for a way & saw some areas that were devastated by the tsunami. We then cut across to the new expressway- we passed some moonstone mines at Meetiyagoda, & some cinnamon growing areas. The new expressway is a great surface and was carrying very little traffic. The 2 lanes each way with 100km/hr limit are currently still a challenge to some of the locals - our driver started nodding off after 30 minutes - not the action and concentration he is used to, so we kept up the conversation level. We saw a couple of dogs who obviously had also failed to adapt to the new speeds. Being a Sunday, the traffic around Colombo apparently wasn’t as bad as normal & didn’t seem any worse than other spots we had encountered.

Part of the Negombo fishing fleet
Nets laid out to dry & be repaired


Colombo Airport CMB-Bandaranaike

Busy. A bit chaotic for a vehicle to find a spot to pull up & unload although there was a person assisting. Lines ended up on the footpath as there is a security check just inside the doors - straightforward once you get to the scanner. The situation is not helped by the big number of locals just hanging around (reminded me of Mumbai in that respect) Then a walk & change currency back - cannot take Sri Lankan currency out, banks open 24hrs, my choice had no small $Au notes so to avoid any hassles I opted for $US. Then to check-in (Air Asia had included the return flight when we did online check-in to leave Aust over 3 weeks ago). No one in the online check-in line & bags taken and cabin bags weighed & tagged. Then through migration without a wait & up to the Lotus Club (via Priority Pass 3 free trip a yr). Club is very good - quiet at this time, only 4 others, clean facilities, plenty of choice of hot food (mainly Asian & not very hot), some computers, wi-fi. Bar was self-serve, scotch was JW Red, JW Black, Chivas & there was a sparkling. Flight was right on time.

 

[RB]

Air Asia Colombo To KL LCCT
We had row 14 again, designated as a hot seat which gave priority boarding. Plane fairly new & lightly loaded (plenty of Chinese who took ages to sit in designated seats!) & seats are very comfortable for Y. We ended up with 3 seats each in exit rows & the 6 seats opposite were empty & cabin crew announced (and ensured compliance) that unless hot seats were purchased they were not available to sit in. Flight departed on time & landed a few minutes early. We disembarked down stairs & it was a long walk to the terminal but 99% under cover. No immigration form, received a stamp, some bags were already taken off the carousel by the time we arrived to collect! We then walked straight out of the airport - no checks seemed be happening.


LCCT to Berjaya Times Square Hotel
We opted for the combined bus/transit train to Sentral & then monorail & purchased bus/train ticket on the way out of airport. Found the bus ok & then a 20 odd minute ride to Selak Tinggi Station for the transit train- very quiet & we were there about 15 minutes before the train arrived. Train was modern & clean, plenty of room for bags but no racks. Arrived at Sentral & had to make a bit longer walk around to monorail as there were building works going on. Purchased tickets for monorail (get a blue token) & did the quick 4 stop trip to the station that is linked to the hotel. The connections all worked well although the reality was it was 2hrs from touchdown until we walked in the hotel door.

Link to review of Berjaya Times Square Hotel

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....s/berjaya-times-square-hotel-kuala-37883.html


Around Kuala Lumpur
It was 20 odd years since we were last in KL-much has changed & it now has a very modern façade. We used the monorail to visit Lot 10 & Pavillion shopping centres. Lot 10 is undergoing a refurb but still heaps of variety of stores. Pavillion was hosting a launch of a Japanese exhibition & also had a mass of stores. We ended up having lunch in the basement of Lot 10 where there was a big cluster of local food stalls- cheap & great food. Our return to Berjaya convinced us that we need not have ventured out for shopping- a massive multi-storeyed shopping centre-I am not a shopper but there was an impressive variety of shopping to be had.


KL TO KLIA
We used the monorail then express train to the international airport. We figured it was worth it for the experience & the 28 minute direct trip out to the airport was impressive for its on schedule running, luggage racks & comfortable seats. At the airport we checked our bags at opening time, caught the frequent train to the satellite terminal & then sought out the Priority Pass lounge. The Plaza Premium Lounge was a good lounge, plenty of space, showers, self serve beer but no wine, heaps of computers & wifi, view of an apron & a fair food choice of food- apparently access can be purchased for less than $100 Aust yr.

 

[RB]

KLIA to SIN –SQ117 A330-300
Scheduled to leave from the satellite terminal at 6.50pm & arrive into Terminal 3 at Singapore. This flight was much fuller than the flight up at the start of our holiday & appeared to be a run of workers who had finished for the day. Despite assurances that we would be away on time, the very orderly loading (separate door for J-very well patronised new seats, other status passengers through the other door & then row sequences from the back) was late starting & finishing. With a 50 minute connection in SIN we were getting edgy. The announcement we were expecting came on, with congestion meaning we were put back to 7.20 pushback & there was to be no service with the seatbelts signs to be left on. A FA tried to reassure us that SQ221 would likely to be held & we would be met by ground staff. A further 9 minute (closely watching flight path on screen by that time) delay with holding pattern just out of SIN sealed our fate. Despite being in and out of T3 the ground staff quickly told us the SYD flight was not being held & we were directed to a transit desk. Having paid $50 to secure Y exit row seats on the upper deck of the 380, our worry was that those seats would not be available on the next flight.

SIN-SYD SQ231 A380 71H & 71K
We were first in line at the transit desk & we were able to get row 71 whereas our original booking had been 81- if anything a slightly better spot on this flight with no babes in the bassinet row & the toilet at the back of J was not a hassle. We were given $20 each for dinner & despatched to wait the extra 4hrs. We ate at Subway (wanted something plain & easy) and then ventured to the Priority Pass lounge of T3-Ambassador Transit Lounge which was a total waste of a visit. Despite the fanfare at the entrance proclaiming victories in “lounge of the year” this was very ordinary-cramped, pay for alcohol of dubious quality & choice, pay to shower, noise from the cramped gym etc all made us regret we didn’t just enjoy the public facilities of SIN. The 0045am departure finally loomed & we found the gate lounge pretty orderly & boarding was well organised & policed. While we waited we were able to complete the Aussie customs form we were given when entering the gate lounge. We were early to board the upper deck Y (these exit rows have extremely limited overhead storage) & it emerged other than us & 71A the seats in this row hadn’t justified the extra money in the eyes of our fellow travellers. Mrs RB moved to 72G that left me with the task of best using 2 pillows & 2 blankets for max comfort! I selected a chicken wrap off the supper menu & enjoyed a few cold tiger beers & a few JW red. Breakfast meant an early lights on & then a cruise in to an arrival that was 20 minutes early. Unloading was extremely slow with the J curtain held in place until well after straggling business passengers slowly got off-we still blended with Y from downstairs! A quick stop at duty free to top up the home bar & get ciggies for the neighbours was followed by a quick stop through immigration via smart gate & then a very long wait at the baggage carousel-obviously our bags had been loaded very early. We were declaring some wood based souvenirs & the roaming customs officer made notes as we waited for bags-from bag arrival to final clearance through the airport was actually very quick.

I averaged my calculations around the $Aust being worth approx 120 rupees. It was around 114 at one stage of our planning, I note today it is nudging 136!

Summary of Thoughts on our trip & Sri Lanka
If flying Y, the row 71 & 81 on the 380 of SQ are great value to ensure extra legroom-important to me
Air Asia- certainly did the job for us from KL to CMB-comfortable seats, smooth flights & on time
Sri Lankan people-outgoing friendly people who are polite, always have a greeting and are keen to learn
Monuments- some superb temples, murals & historical sites from BC years
Animals & landscape- most of the animals are protected. There are approx 400 bird species and many examples on show. There is a super variety of drylands, highlands & beach locations that provide a lot of variety for a holiday. The weather followed the patterns we were expecting other than 1 day so there was very little rain
Hiring a driver & vehicle- was an excellent choice for the initial part of our trip. Lucky was a great help as driver & guide who was a great communicator & his experience was invaluable.-happy to provide his details to anyone who is interested
Guesthouses-as presented on the net & no real surprises. Generally good quality for the price, half-board was fine for the initial part of the trip & then we appreciated the many choices of food outlets available at our coastal stops.
Food- was all reasonable, very cheap and enough variety to keep us happy.
Drinks- beer is available everywhere, cold enough & cheap. Wine purchased duty free at the airport & then at bottle shops was all Ok-the guesthouses & bars generally were selling poor quality and no choice despite the better stuff being available. Spirits-plenty of choice at airport duty free at good prices & we didn’t purchase elsewhere so I can’t reliably comment.

Photos below are birds and animals we enjoyed seeing during our trip. I hope people have enjoyed reading the summary (it was fun to look back on the trip as I put the report together) and it provides a different style of trip to consider.

 

[drron]

Really good TR.Enjoyed it and once again just as I think I am whittling away at the bucket list something else is added.