Daily notes of food, sleep and travels (2)

Days 5 - 7:
We left Mas Villa and Kotmale stopping at the Tea Plantation (see the post Passion, Loos and Laughs) and drove down through the beauty of the Hill Country; waterfalls and misty hills in abundance.

The drive down to the south coast of Sri Lanka is long and difficult with lots of winding roads so it was 8 hours later that we arrived at our next destination feeling somewhat exhausted. On reaching the Tangalla area we turned off onto an unmade road wondering if we had made the correct choice, but as we walked into the Turtle Bay hotel we knew in an instant we had.

The view from the grounds of the hotel was breathtaking. A wild and rough sea crashed over rocks just feet away from the gardens, with our room and balcony overlooking this amazing, ever changing, wonder of the Indian Ocean. I was in heaven!

Turtle Bay is a small boutique hotel which is rustic rather than luxurious but somehow the rustic feel suits the surroundings. The sea is too rough to swim in but the beach is the best we found in Sri Lanka, wide sands that stretch as far as you can see, perfect for an early morning or evening walk when the sun is less burning.

If thinking of booking at Turtle Bay do decide on half board as there is nothing else in the vicinity. The concept at Turtle Bay is that you can eat whenever you wish, so a late breakfast will see you through the day. Dinner was always seafood with the chef showing the morning catch at breakfast and discussing how you would like it cooked at dinner.

On the first night it was lagoon prawns as big as lobsters. On the second night it was a huge red mullet cooked on a charcoal grill which was absolutely delicious.

The hotel itself may not have been the most luxurious we stayed at but the beauty of the location and the unbelievably sweet and attentive staff definitely made up for the slight lack of luxury.

On our last night the staff organised a wonderful surprise evening for Feisal's birthday. All afternoon they were running up and down from the beach, taking tables and chairs down the rocky path so that by the time we arrived ready for an evening meal we were escorted down over the rocks to the beach where we found our table just feet away from the surf. They had transformed the beach into a romantic paradise for us with flame torches to light the area and a BBQ where they cooked prawns, steaks and seafood noodles.

We sat watching the waves by the light of the flames and felt we must be some of the luckiest people on earth. As if that wasn't enough, after we had eaten, the staff and the few other guests (just 8 rooms in the hotel) gathered around waving sparklers and presented a cake to Feisal. The local musician's joined in with their drums and everyone clapped and sang, wishing Feisal the best of birthday's.

One of the staff pointed up into the sky and there, as if on queue we saw the nearly full moon directly overhead with an enormous open halo surrounding it. Never before have we seen the moon in the sky quite like this and on asking around nor had anyone else. We didn't know what it meant but took it as a lucky omen.

Day 8 - 9:
We left Turtle Bay feeling well rested and ready for more exploration of this beautiful island. This time it was a shortish trip along the south coast to Galle Fort.

We had booked into the Colonial style, chic Galle Fort Hotel. On arrival we were greeted by the British manager, Oliver James, who very generously upgraded us to their Grand Apartment number 1 which is so spacious and tastefully furnished, that we again felt truly blessed.

We spent our days in Galle Fort just hanging out; shopping in the trendy little shops, enjoying the quant cafes and sampling the gourmet food at the hotel Amangalla and the Galle Fort Hotel.

Our last day at Galle Fort was Feisal's actual birthday and a Poya Day in Sri Lanka. A Poya Day is the day of the full moon and a public holiday where businesses generally close (some shops/cafes open) and no alcohol can be sold.

We were advised to take a walk around the ramparts of the Fort at sunset and were so pleased we did. There was a wonderful carnival like atmosphere where many Sri Lankan family's had gathered to watch the setting sun.

And so ended our time in Galle Fort but we left with high exceptions of our next stop...

View from our room at Turtle Bay - so beautiful!

Our very own deserted beach at Turtle Bay

A whole Red Mullet for us!

Sunset at Turtle Bay

The Grand Apartment, Galle Fort Hotel

Galle Fort at Sunset on September Poya Day 2012

Moon rising, September Poya Day 2012

The living room in the Grand Apartment, Galle Fort Hotel

Happy Birthday Feisal at Turtle Bay

|Turtle Bay room

Daily notes of food, sleep and travels (1)

Short reviews of our days in Sri Lanka - notice the main focus being food! :)

Day 1:
Checked in at Jetwing Sea, Negombo 9.30am. They made a room available to us even at this early hour, moving us to our booked room at 2pm.

The rooms were basic but for the price acceptable and the beach was literally outside the front window.

We walked 10 minutes up the road to the Jetwing Beach for very pleasant afternoon snacks and drinks at the beach bar there and stayed to watch our first Sri Lankan sunset - beautiful! The photo really doesn't do it justice.

We stayed for a reasonably priced 4 course set meal in which Feisal experienced his first Sri Lankan Rice & Curry - enough food in one portion for at least two people.

Then it was back to the Jetwing Sea, another first - a ride in a tuk tuk (or a three wheeler, as the locals call them).

Breakfast at the 'Sea' was excellent with a huge choice including beautifully fresh fruit prepared to order, every conceivable hot dish including curry, fried fish, pancakes and omelettes cooked to order. The full list is too long to state here but no one could be disappointed with the choice.

Day 2:
After a four hour drive and a day spent at Buddhist sacred sites we arrived at Cinnamon Lodge, Habarana, to a delightful welcome and an upgrade from the standard room we had booked, to a Deluxe Suite which included our very own room boy! The room was luxurious, large, cool and clean.

That night we dined at their Lotus organic, fine dining restaurant where we sampled the most delicious black bread, so soft and tasty that it just couldn't be resisted along with aged balsamic so sweet it was almost like treacle and good olive oil to go alongside.

But I mustn't forget the lunch we had on day 2. Along the way to Anuradhapura and the sacred sites our driver, Sampath, took us to a local Sri Lankan bakery. Salgado bakery was definitely not somewhere we would have ventured into on our own but it turned out to be one of my favourite meals.

Feisal and I shared a vegetable patty which cost only 40 rupees (18p) but was fresh and yummy made with paper thin dough filled with curried vegetables. Following that the three of us shared a portion of chicken fried rice which I couldn't believe any one person could ever manage as there was more than enough for the three of us. The rice was tasty and salty and so very enjoyable not to mention extremely cheap at 190 rupees (85p) for the three of us! Eating local style in Sri Lanka certain makes the money go a long, long way.

Day 3:
Breakfast at Cinnamon Lodge was even more vast than at Jetwing Sea. We discovered that many Sri Lankan's eat Rice and Curry three times a day so a full on Rice and Curry meal was available along with every conceivable English style breakfast item and many other Sri Lankan options including little muffin style cakes called Wandu's. These little cakes are made with coconut and honey and baked in a leaf instead of a paper cup. So sweet!

A word about Sri Lankan Rice and Curry. Don't think it is what we would call curry and rice. In SL the rice is the main event and comes served up on your plate with between 7 and 10 different curries and accompaniments served in small bowls and placed around the table for you to serve yourself. The curries usually include a chicken or fish curry, almost always a portion of Dhal (lentil curry), various different vegetable curries, relishes and crispy fried strips of poppadoms.

To drink we sampled our first taste of King Coconut juice said to be extremely health giving and rehydrating.

In the afternoon we went on an Elephant Safari which was amazing and up close with 45, or was it 46, wild elephants including a two month old baby and other little ones ranging from 1 to 5 years old. Our guide brought along a local pineapple which he prepared for us during a rest break. These local pineapples are so much sweeter than the ones we get in the UK.

Elephant safari

Day 4:
We began our journey south stopping at what turned out to be the most beautiful and touching of the Buddhist sacred sites we visited, Dambulla Royal Rock Temple. This is a series of caves which contain many carved statues of the Buddha.

In our pilgrim clothes after visiting the Rock Temples at Dambulla

Travelling on from Dambulla we arrived in Kandy where we stopped for lunch at a noted local Indian restaurant, Sriram, to satisfy my craving for a Biryani. The portion sizes of rice were hugh, served with raita and crispy popadoms on metal trays instead of plates, all washed down by fresh lime and soda drinks. All this for three people came to a total of just under £10!

Next we visited the famous Buddhist Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. This is said to house a tooth snatched from the flames of the Buddha's funeral pyre in 483 BC and smuggled into Sri Lanka in the 4th century AD hidden in the hair of a princess.

Before entering the temple we took part in a ritual where you make an offering of flowers to a number of Buddha statues around a circular walkway and then having made your offerings you take a container of water around the circle three times walking clockwise. We didn't really understand exactly what we were doing and the elderly gentleman showing us what to do didn't speak hardly any English but we managed and as we left he ran after us and gave us two leaves from the Bodhi tree there. He offered them saying 'You. Good luck!' and absolutely refused to accept any money which is highly unusual in Sri Lanka. We took this very sweet gesture as being meaningful and the leaves will find a new home in our meditation room when we return home.

Leaving Kandy we traveled further south into the hill country stopping overnight at Kotmale in the beautiful boutique hotel, Mas Villa. Here the Angels smiled on us once again and we were upgraded from the standard room we had booked to their top room which was a first floor suite overlooking one of the most outstanding valley and lake view you could ever imagine.

The room was huge and furnished extremely tastefully including a Jacuzzi bath which enabled you to relax in bubbles looking out over the valley :)

Dinner was served in the open air on the veranda as was breakfast where the view was even more spectacular with the morning mists hanging in the valley and surrounding hills.

Breakfast fruit at Jetwing Sea

Our bed at Cinnamon Lodge

Inside a rock temple at Dambulla

Outside the Rock Temples at Dambulla

The Suite at Mas Villa

Sunset at Jetwing Beach, Negombo

Passion, Loos and Laughs

I was going to call this post, Highs, Lows and Laughs but decided Passion, Loos and Laughs probably summed up our first week in Sri Lanka much better.

Passion:
On arrival at the airport you immediately discover what appears to be the two passions of the majority of Sri Lankan's: The Buddha and Cricket!

Buddha statues are abundant: from the one that greets you in the arrivals hall, to the many sacred sites, the temples in every town, to stickers in the cars and three wheelers.

We heard a guide explaining how focusing on the image of the Buddha brings a sense of peace and calm to the viewer. Although I was not aware of the intention I have always felt that peace and calm myself when looking at the Buddhas I've always had around my home. Perhaps give it a go to see if it works for you :)

And then there's Cricket, and do they love their cricket! At the time of writing the World T20 is being held in Sri Lanka so the whole country seems to be watching and talking about it. Even at the airport they had cut outs of their star fast bowler, Malinga.

Sri Lanka is an amazing country of diversity with many different terrains and several weather systems which has satisfied Feisal's passion for green, mountainous vistas and mine for the power of the Ocean.

No words or photos can truly capture the beauty and freshness of the Hill Country with early morning mists hanging over the lush green hills. The air is warm but so clean, fresh and easy to breath. Then there's the totally different beauty of the beach in front of me as I write this post. The sheer power of the sea as it crashes against the rocks along the beach at Turtle Bay, Tangalla. It soothes my soul.

Loos:
Loos have definitely been part of our laughs this first week but some have been too bad to laugh at!

When you're in hotels all is normal UK style but as we've been travelling by road from place to place each day we've had to navigate our way around to meet the call of nature!

Our poor driver, Sampath, has been amazingly patient, having to go out of his way to find an acceptable loo each time 'Madam' wanted to spend a penny!

Often a loo is a hole in the ground with no loo paper available, just a bucket and a water tap. I'll leave the rest to your imagination!

Laughs:
On our 2nd day, Sampath, explained about the different types of monkeys in Sri Lanka. The most memorable being what he called the Thief Monkey.

So there we were on our third morning enjoying a peaceful, healthy breakfast on the veranda of Cinnamon Lodge, Habarana, when suddenly there was a crash that made us jump out of our skins! When we gathered ourselves enough to look, there before us sitting on our table amidst the plates was a prime example of a Thief Monkey who had dropped in from the roof above. In an instant his hand reached out and grabbed Feisal's papaya. And then as quickly as he came he was gone, climbing up onto the veranda roof leaving us shocked and in fits of hysterical laughter!

He certainly got 10 out of 10 for his smash and grab tactics!

Our next laugh was at my expense and comes under the loo category as well as the laugh category.

Our 5th day was spent driving from the beauty of Kothmale in the Hill Country to the South Coast, for two days of rest after all our early sightseeing.

Knowing that the finding of decent loos would be a problem along this six hour drive I deliberately didn't drink much that morning.

However the best laid plans often don't work out the way we expect! Within 20 minutes Sampath was pulling into a Tea Factory where he had arranged a guided tour for us. The lady who took us around was typical of all the people we've met in this amazing country; happy, smiling and very sweet.

Having learnt how the tea is grown, picked, processed and sold we were taken to the restaurant to sample the different types of tea. Not wanting to offend I drunk all the samples offered. Happily they had good loos on the premises which I took advantage of before we left.

Sadly though the urge was upon me again within just 20 minutes along the road. Not daring to mention this I held on until the need just had to be met!

Poor Sampath had to search through three towns but no luck. Eventually fearing an accident might happen he had to stop the car and ask a resident if I could use his toilet.

Being a kindly gentleman he agreed without hesitation and led us down the path and around the back of his house were two separate toilets were housed.

They were both the squat type with water pipe, tap and bucket but at this point I was in no state to be fussy. Great was my relief until I turned on the tap to fill up the bucket and it (the tap) came off in my hand releasing a great gush of brown water which I couldn't stop from flowing all over the floor of the room and out onto the pathway outside.

In horror, I called Feisal to help but he just stood there in amazement and said 'what have you done?!!!'

Now in panic that the dirty brown gushing water was going to flood the small room, we had to call the owner who had so kindly allowed us to use his facilities, completely unsuspecting that I would vandalise his toilet!

He was very sweet and understanding as he saw my horror and embarrassment at what I had done. Happily he was able to fix the problem before too much damage was done. He did however escort us off the premises before we could cause any more problems!

Back in the car we dissolved into fits of laughter causing Sampath to wonder if we had completely lost the plot!

Even today, two days later, we are still laughing about the horror on my face when I called Feisal with broken tap in hand!

Our last little giggle came this morning at Turtle Bay when the sweet little waiter called me 'Mistress Jayne'.

And so ends our first week. Hmm, I think I could get used to certain aspects of this life style :)

Turtle Bay - soothes my soul

Cricket passion - Malinga, ace bowler

From our room at Mas Villa, Kotmale

Entrance to Dambulla Rock Temple

Over the dam at Kotmale

The Buddha greets us at the airport

Sunset at Turtle Bay

The only way to travel

It's been a long held dream to travel business class, so when we decided on this special holiday to celebrate Feisal's 60th birthday it seemed the natural thing to do.

As is his way, Feisal took the task of choosing an airline very seriously and spent hours researching and reading reviews. Eventually Qatar Airways was chosen and booked, the draw being their recently opened lounge at Heathrow and their 2012 award for best airline.

As if that wasn't enough 3 days before our flight they announced the launch of a new Celebrity Chef menu on some routes. Four Michelin star chefs are featured from around the world. If you know us well you will guess that we were wishing and hoping that our flight would be one of the lucky flights so that we could sample the fare.

Our wish was granted and our meal was exquisite, no resemblance to airline food at all:

Vintage champagne

Crispy rice with spicy salmon as a palate tempter

Potted duck and smoked salmon tartar with a basket of warm mixed breads

Poached chicken breast with lemongrass sauce, lemon confit and lemon potato puree (my personal favourite course) with a choice of fine wines

Braburn apple jelly, apple puree with vanilla cream

Choice of coffee or teas served with Godiva chocolates

Then it was a couple of hours sleep on the flatbed before trying to find room for the English afternoon tea with tiny open sandwiches, fresh fruit and freshly baked scones and clotted cream.

All I can say is thank goodness we each lost a stone in weight before this flight, it feels like we've put it all back on already!

Top Tips

The Qatar business lounge at Heathrow far outshines the Doha business lounge. Its small, exclusive, bright and has amazingly relaxing chairs.

Flying business on the Boeing 777-300ER from London to Doha is pure pleasure. You won't want the flight to end!

Flying business on the A321 Airbus from Doha to Colombo is definitely better than economy but definitely not the luxury experience found on the 777.

Here we are getting off to a good start at Heathrow airport Qatar lounge.

2012?

Much has been said about the year 2012 and what will happen in our world. Who knows what the truth is, all I do know is that it's been a tough year for many of us with all manner of challenges...

Tough times are very often a catalyst for change, a prod to question our usual patterns of behaviour or look in a new direction and perhaps it was this wave of energy that made us look towards the East and consider a holiday way out of what is 'normal' for us.

It started, as these things often do, with a chance remark which turned into a major project. We researched flights, hotels, food, drivers, we poured over maps, we read about culture and customs, we talked and talked and talked and talked until finally our holiday of a lifetime was arranged down to the last detail. 

All around us are challenges and difficulties like never before but in the middle of all that Sri Lanka called promising excitement (mingled with fear), adventure, peace, luxury, warmth and 16 days of escape.

Why Sri Lanka? Quite simply, it called to us. I don't know why, perhaps it is the fact that 70% of the people there are Buddhists. Since a teenager I've been drawn to the Buddhist philosophy, the Middle Way. 

"To truly walk the Middle Way is to traverse this world in the knowledge that we are already enlightened - we just have to enlighten ourselves to who we really are!"

Although not Buddhists both Feisal and I have practiced meditation for many years and live in the understanding that we all have a spark of divinity within us just waiting for the right conditions to enable us to blossom into who we truly are. 

We wonder, will 2012 be that year?