It's fair to say we're not exactly the religious types, so scaling over 5000 steps in order to reach a sacred rock wasn't high up (excuse the pun) on our agenda. That being said, Amelia and I like to challenge ourselves, especially if its free! To reach 'Adam's Peak', a 2,243m mountain, tourists and pilgrims alike base themselves at 'Dalhousie'. From Kandy we travelled by bus (via Hatton) to reach the 'base camp'. I like to...

There was no direct bus from Sigiriya to Kandy, but it would only require one change in Dambulla. As Chris and I waited patiently on the main road through Sigiryia we were approached by a tuk tuk. This was nothing out of the ordinary as tuk tuks were always trying to gain our fare, however the bus is incredibly cheap and we were never in a rush to get anywhere, making us difficult customers for them! Nevertheless it came to light that this tuk tuk driver was head...

Travelling by public bus in Sri Lanka is not for the faint hearted. More often than not the buses are overcrowded, stuffy and driven by religious nuts - believing they can drive however they like as they've venerated the local shrine!From 'Dambulla' it was just half an hour on a packed bus to reach 'Sigiriya'. The main attraction in Sigiriya is essentially a giant rock rising 370m above the surrounding plains. The 'rock' was formed by ...

The bus journey was much quicker than Chris and I expected. Maybe because I was chatting to a Portuguese girl the entire way, and Chris for a change couldn't keep his eyes open! It's normally me asleep! Unexpectedly, just as we left the main town the driver pulled over and the ticket conductor jumped off quickly to pray to a roadside shrine. I could only assume it was to pray for a safe journey - slightly nerving from our point of view. Or as it came to l...

Amelia and I splurged for 2nd class tickets on our first rail journey in Sri Lanka. With our 450 rupee (£2.25) reserved seat tickets we boarded a train at Colombo's central station and gladly left the pollution behind. Compared to the trains we experienced throughout SEA this particular one felt quite modern and speedy! We arrived 200 kms north of Colombo in about four hours. Even though Anuradhapura is known for its ancient temples we were there for a compl...