Hello all,

(this is a long one!)

We left India on the 24th of November and flew into Colombo via Mumbai.

Our last few nights in Goa were nice, just chilling on the beach, but we had a bit of a nightmare leaving the place. As check in for our flight to Mumbai was at 4.30am and it took 2 hours to get to the airport, we decided it wasn't worth getting accommodation that night, and instead thought we would go to the airport and wait over night. However upon arriving at the airport at 12 having been told by numerous locals that the airport was open 24 hours, we got there to find it shut, with our cab having left, and nowhere else around, we had no choice but to sit and wait. Lucky for us there was a friendly Indian guy, who suggested we sleep in the ATM room until the airport opened at 4.30, we even had our own security guard sleeping in there with us.

So we arrived in Colombo at about 6pm and decided after no sleep we would get ourselves a decent hotel which we booked at the airport. We got a fairly cheap hotel in Negombo, a beach resort not far from the airport and it looked pretty nice. We were looking forward to a good nights sleep but the place had Middle age Sri Lankan rave going on. The music was so loud, it was even louder than most clubs!!! We had a bit food and decided to hit the sack. However before doing so we happened to look under our pillows and discovered we were not alone! There was a community of bed bugs sharing the bed. Obviously we didnt want to sleep there, so after telling the management who didn't have a clue what bed bugs were, we managed to get a bug free room. Unfortunately the music was even louder in this room, the windows were rattling, but we still managed to fall asleep straight away.

Next morning we set off to Kandy via the Pinewala Elephant orphanage. This was a great place, probably the most elephants you can see in one place, and be able to get so close to them. We watched them being fed and then they were taken down to the river to be washed, something that we were able to join in with.

Then it was onwards to Kandy in central Sri Lanka, where we spent three nights. Apparently Sri Lankans think of Kandy as their second and only true city after Colombo, but it was more like the size of Uxbridge, but obviously nicer! We sttayed at a very nice guest house with a lovely view over the Lake in the centre of the city. We did the usual touristy things, walked round the lake, visited the botanical gardens and finally visted the Temple of the Tooth, which supposedly contains one of Buddha's teeth, and is very important to the buddhist's of Sri Lanka and around the world, we felt like proper grown ups!!!

We left Kandy and headed for a village in the heart of Sri Lankas hill country called Ella. Getting there involved taking a train, this turned out to in fact be one of the worlds slowest trains, it took six and a half hours to get there, although the scenery was beautiful.

Ella itself was a small village 1000 ft above sea level, surrounded by tea plantations, with lovely scenery. We did a lot of walking more than weve done for the last year in England!! We walked to a lovely waterfall called Dunhindra Falls, it was a bit of a trek but worth it! We also walked to a hill called Little Adams Peak which had a lovely view of the hills, and also visited one of the many tea factories in the area, which was a bit crap. We didnt even get offered any tea!!

The area was really quiet, having once been far busier with tourists, the hotel we stayed in was virtually empty and had once employed ten people from the local community, now though it only employed two and the poor sods had to do everything, from cleaning to cooking, and being the waiter at the same time. According to the locals this is due to what they call the second tsunami, where foriegn countries are warning their residents to avoid going to Sri Lanka due to the politcal situation and the associated risks. Its really very sad as people in previously tourist areas are now desperate for money.

After Ella we thought it was time to catch some rays again and so headed south to the beaches. We got a bus from Ella to Tangalla, the bus took four and a half hours, the driver was a maniac and Ben had to stand the whole way!! I luckily was offered to sit next to the driver on the engine/gearbox thing, it was hot but better than hanging on for dear life, it was a nightmare but we found iy hysterical!

Tangalla was so beautiful, much more like the tropical paradise we were hoping for , and ten times nicer than any beach in Goa. The area was hit hard by the tsunami and everyone you spoke to had a story to tell and had lost family and friends.

The area is slowly being rebuilt and there are not many tourists there at all. On our last night i think we were the only ones stayin there. There wasnt much to do except lounge on the beautiful beaches. On our last night we went on a turtle watch. It is off season for turtles visiting the beaches in the area, and so we were told to not be too hopeful of seeing one. We waited a while and then our luck was in as one of the turtle patrol guys found one along the beach. It was an amazing site watching as it made a nest and buried its eggs, they are huge!! Over a metre long and about 60 years old, it was a great experience.

We have since moved on to a beach called Unawatuna which is again beautiful, and is busier with more things to do. The sea is beautiful, warm and clear. We went snorkelling this morning and Bens back is now burnt to b*****y.

Well done if youve read all this!!

Will let you know when the next blog is ready to take up some more of your time!!