For the first time on our trip we decided to a) travel by bus b) not book the transport in advance c) not book a hotel in advance. As usual Jan was pretty relaxed about all of this. Unusually though, I too was happy enough with the travel plan. We knew Trincomalee was about 100km from Anuradhapura and we'd been told that it would take about 2 hours. We turned up a little early at the bus station to ensure we got a seat as Sri Lankan buses get very busy very quick...

The 5 hour train journey took us northeast of Negombo to Anuradhapura, an ancient Buddhist city and UNESCO world heritage site. The journey was pretty uncomfortable, the train seats were as hard as concrete and were covered in plastic which ensured we sweated profusely. We were accompanied by an extended family of cockroaches, who were charming and largely kept themselves to themselves, with one exception when a small one climbed up Jan's trouser leg and gave her...

Our flight from Mumbai to Colombo, Sri Lanka was a comfortable one although at a ridiculous time (3.10am). Interestingly, we were able to take liquids, gels and pastes without any problems. Immigration and customs etc was a breeze and we were at our hotel in Negombo by 6.30am. We'd now been awake for 24 hours and we were desperate for sleep. As we lay in the bed, staring at the dubious pink and white Battenburg ceiling, we dozed off. Once refreshed, we went for...