Brett and Bernii

We flew into Colombo at around 10:00PM. After making our way through border control, we caught a taxi to our accommodation in the Fort area. We stayed at the Fairway Colombo Hotel (AU$104.49 per night), which was perfectly located across the road from the Dutch Hospital Shopping Precinct.

The first full day in Colombo was Madin Full Moon Poya Day, a public holiday which unfortunately meant that the sale of alcohol was prohibited, and many restaurants were closed. It was poor planning on my part, and we would have been better off arriving on that day.

The following day we joined a walking tour of the central Colombo area where we learnt about the colonial history of Colombo and visited some of the historical buildings and the Pettah Market. We also joined our tour guide for a beer at the Dutch Burgher Union of Ceylon, before making our way back to our hotel and the nearby Dutch Pub.

On our last night at the Fairway Colombo Hotel, the nearby Dutch Pub hosted a traditional dancing night with local musicians and dancers performing in the street. It was followed by live music and made for a very enjoyable evening.

After spending five nights at the Fairway Hotel, we moved hotel to the Morven Hotel Colombo where we joined the 14 day G Adventures Sri Lanka Encompassed tour. The tour group consisted of 13 people from Australia, Singapore, Canada and the UK.

The next morning we explored more of Colombo, then caught a bus to Negombo, a beachside city about an hour’s drive north of Colombo. We stayed at the Golden Star Beach Hotel. In the afternoon we took a boat ride along the Dutch canal to the Negombo Lagoon.

The following morning we departed Negombo and drove to Sigiriya, stopping at the Dambulla cave temples on the way.

We stayed at the Iora Resort and woke early the next morning to visit the Sigiriya Rock Fortress which involved a >1,200 step climb to the top of the Lion Rock.

The next day we caught the bus to Kandy where we visited the Temple of the Tooth. On the way there, we visited a spice plantation. We stayed at the Ganga Addara Hotel.

After Kandy, we took a short drive to Digana where we stayed at the Oruthota Chalets. We walked through a small village and had a herbal tea at a local house before returning to our accommodation for a few drinks and dinner.

The next day we took the bus to Nuwara Eliya, stopping at a tea plantation on the way where we were able to sample a few of the locally grown teas. We then stayed at the Top Rich Hotel Nuwara Eliya.

The following morning I woke at 4:30AM to catch a van to the Horton Plains National Park where I hiked the 8.5km circular trail, visiting Baker’s Falls, Mini World’s End lookout and the World’s End lookout – a 870m sheer drop!

Upon returning to Nuwara Eliya we caught the train from Ambewela to Ella. It was fairly scenic; however the atmosphere was ruined by tourists constantly hanging out the doors trying to get the perfect photo.

We spent two nights in Ella, staying at the Ella Flower Garden Resort. Ella was a busy town with a good nightlife. On the second day, I had an early start to climb to the top of Ella Rock – a scenic lookout which offered panoramic views of Ella town and the surrounding hills and tea plantations. Upon returning, I caught up with the rest of the group who had hiked to Little Adam’s Rock and we visited the popular Nine Arch Bridge.

The next day we caught the bus to Yala National Park where we camped in tents at the Big Game Camp. In the afternoon, we went on a safari in Yala National Park, where we saw elephants, buffalo, deer, crocodiles, peacocks, rabbits and lots of birdlife. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see any leopards this trip, however I’m certain that our luck will change in a few weeks when we return to Thailand, where we will see many leopards, elephants and tigers (yes, that’s a beer joke).

We then made our way to the final stop on the G Adventures tour: Mirissa. We spent three nights at the Olu Ayurveda Resort, which was a 20 minute walk from Mirissa Beach (or a 500LKR tuk tuk ride).

On the second last day we travelled to Galle to visit the Dutch Fort. That evening we had our final group dinner before returning to Mirissa and saying our goodbyes.

Bernii and I then changed hotel to the Nava B&B (AU$108.51 per night) where we spent three more nights. The afternoons were spent visiting the restaurants and bars along the beach.

Eventually it was time to leave Mirissa and return to Negombo where we spent our final three nights at the Hotel J Negombo (AU$96.13 per night). Negombo was a lot less bustling as Mirissa with only a handful of beach restaurants or bars near our hotel.

After a fantastic three and a half weeks, we departed Sri Lanka. Bernii headed to the Philippines and I returned to Nepal. Check back in a few weeks to read our separate reports of our adventures.