Beautiful Sri Lanka

Hi Guys!

So I had this sudden urge to write about my trip to fabulous Sri Lanka.

Initially, when I planned this trip with a friend of mine - yet another opportunity for a girly getaway - we thought of Sri Lanka because it was close to the UAE as well as easy on the wallet. Only later did I come to find out what a gem of a destination it is. Many people say it is like a mix of Goa and Kerala, though I haven’t been to both these gorgeous Indian cities, I’ve heard they are beautiful. Don’t worry; i shall get there soon enough and tell you all about it! ;)

Coming back to the Wonder of Asia as it’s called, we landed in Colombo and headed straight to Bentota which is about an hours’ drive away from the airport. We hired a car and a driver, which was way cheaper and faster than any other way to get around Sri Lanka. We booked both through a great place we found online called “Indigo Ocean Travels.” The plus side was that we got a tour guide for free - he had such a great knowledge of the country and culture and its history.

BENTOTA;

Well when it comes to travelling in style, I am famously known for trying to fit in a 5 star hotel in every destination, 4 stars are not a close second. It is only reluctantly, when I check my bank account and it isn’t very happy with me, do I settle for less. Teehee.

Taj Vivanta is located in Bentota, which is a sparsely populated beach in the Galle district, South of Colombo. From the minute we entered, the experience was wonderful, beautifully decorated entrance and the staff was super friendly. It was early morning so we headed straight to the breakfast buffet - starving, of course, unless you are one of those who enjoy flight meals. That is when I knew what love at first bite meant! Hot curries, made to order dosas and Uttapams (South Indian breakfast items) and a wonderful omelet station, baked beans, massive fruit spread, made the start perfect. Infact, food is a very very big thumbs up from my side - even the room service we ordered was lip smackingly dee-lish.

The rooms were spacious, beautiful yet simple and modern, white furniture, large windows and a rather scrumptious welcome basket. I suggest trying the Superior Room with Sea View. They do have an amazing pool and wasn’t crowded when we went so it felt like an extremely oversized bath tub with all the silly things we were doing there and amount of selfies we managed to take without people gawking.

And the “Jiva Spa” - WOW. It looked like they have made a spa in the middle of a beautiful rainforest and when we went for our massage it was drizzling; totally enjoyed their open air relaxation spaces. Raindrops keep falling on my head *sang that song in my head at the time* :D

From the hotel we made our journey to see the popular attractions of Galle - the Old Town, lighthouse and a popular photo op sea view; but unfortunately it was a public holiday so a lot of places were closed off. However, I have to tell you there was a really interesting clothes shop on our way to the Old Town, we entered to discover big brands at less than half the price! Next, Zara, Gap, Marks&Spencer, the works. We over loaded on everything and still ended up paying a quarter of the amount we would have in the stores. Travellers’ Tip - Go and Shop there.

KANDY;

It was time to pack our bags and head to the ever famous Kandy.

On the way, we stopped at the “Elephant Orphanage” to play, swim and hang out with the beauties as well as feed them - boy they do love their bananas! After that, we headed on to the spice market and met up with this amazing man who gave is a tour of all the pants and herbs and spices. He had the wordly knowledge when it came to pain relieving herbal medication and also explained what they mix for what problem. For example, arthritis, weight issues, heart conditions. I bought a bottle of Red Massage Oil for my mother’s knee pain, and, had to ask a friend to get two more when they went for a visit. It was THAT good.

After the wonderful day, we arrived at our hotel, Earl’s Regency, which was so regal looking and had such stunning vistas surrounding it - even the ride from Bentota to Kandy was breathtaking. Plus, it started raining to make it all the more lovely. Great pool, beautifully decorated antique looking rooms, clean and spacious with a balcony overlooking green mountains. Food here was above average - nothing to write home about though. But other plus points make it worth a stay.

From Kandy, we went to a really lovely Tea Plantation close to Nuwara Eliya. Learnt everything there was about the tea making process in the factory, with the help of the lovely tour guides. Also loaded up on a lot of tea packages, with different flavors and textures. It’s a good idea to buy some for giving away to friends and family back home.

Colombo;

For our last day, we decided to spend some time in Colombo, have a good lunch and shop a bit. Which is exactly what we ended up doing; after a scrumptious lunch of prawn curry and rice we went to a mall called ODEL. They had a rather extensive and great collection of snake skin handbags there - which we ended up splurging on. Apart from that, there’s lots of cute stuff there and I ended up buying some really fun beach bags - not expensive at all. And as all girls usually do - shopping made us lose track of time but we did end up making in time for our flight to the airport.

I hope my blog has helped you plan a trip to Sri Lanka, or at least motivated you to do so :D

Till my next memoirs of an adventure,

Cheerios & Happy Travelling!