Category Archives: Sri Lanka

We started our day early 9am ( that is early for us haha!! ) but if you can start earlier it would be better so the climb to Sigiraya will not be hard because of the heat.  We were also luck that morning that the sun was hiding so it made it easier for us to climb.

 View from our hotel!!  BEAUTIFUL!!

1,200 Steps up the Sigiraya Rock Fortress – A fortress with double moats for a king who had 200 wives and killed his father to get the throne. – Sigiriya, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the most dramatic, inspiring and beautiful historical locations in the world. A mythical past of feuding dynasties brings alive Sigiriya’s striking setting. It was built in 5th century AD by King Kasyapa, as a fortress-palace. Worthy of being called the “8th wonder of the world”, Sigiriya is Sri Lanka’s answer to the Taj Mahal and will astonish anyone with its outstandingly beautiful views, staggering engineering and peerless design. #sigirayarockfortress#sigiraya #srilankrew
 We went to the museum to learn more about Sigiraya.  No pictures inside the museum.When I take photos I edit them a bit….. but this is really the sign 🙂 🙂I noticed in Sri Lanka, they seem to want to keep their sights as they are and not really clean them up or try to touch them.  I do not know if that is intentional or they maybe do not have fund to maintain them.  So expect many of them to be like these.  To me personally I still see beauty in it     This trees are very rare but in Sri Lanka I saw several!
Friends you will meet along the way 🙂Very small letterings for the signs :-O
Because it was a Sunday and it was Independence day- there was traffic climbing the rock.  Our tour guide told us that he has never seen the crowd like this before.  It was barely moving! It is a good thing our tour guide knows the place and he took us to a different route 🙂   There are some caves as well in between You will encounter monkeys 🙂  They are harmless but just do not show your food or look at them eye to eye! 🙂We skipped some traffic but still had to go through this.  It was here that had a bit of delay because of the artwork on the walls
 This is the stairs after that gate and these stairs lead to the artworks on the rock which you are not allowed to take photos of Again strict rules to preserve their monuments OMG! 🙂 It is good that they are very strict in preserving their historical sightsAgain another sign about the Lion Staircase.  I think they need to make their letterings bigger – it is very hard to read There are rest stops in between so even if you think you cannot climb, you can!  You can rest in between and take your time.  Since we did not have time, we could not rest! haha!!  But this is my favourite rest stop which has a view of another hike right across.  That one looked really rough!  So we did not even bother to ask what that was haha!!  You can only see this view of the top of Sigiraya from a helicopter or a drone.  ( Photo from an online source ) #Sigiraya #srilankrew #srilankanstyle #h2hphotographyWe were hoping to take a drone shot from the top of Sigiraya but it’s not allowed 🙁  6 months in prison if you are caught – it’s a good thing Chut @chutster didn’t get caught :-O  They stopped him right on time as he was setting up with bodyguard and wife Kim! haha!!
 This was a sign by the ticket booth.  It is a pity because it is really beautiful up there and you cannot see the fortress properly unless through a drone or from a helicopter or something from up there!WE MADE IT!!  I did not bing anything but my phone and this!!  You have to hydrate and since I cannot carry 10 bottles, Izumio is the best because in this one small pack, you are hydrated 100 X more !  BELIEVE ME!

Welcome dinner at Heritance Kandalama Hotel – beautiful outdoor sitdown dinner with traditional Sri Lankan drummers and dances #srilankrew#srilankanlifestyle #heritancekandalama

Four 4×4 jeeps of #srilankrew travelled to Minneriya National Park which is close to Polonnaruwa. This small but convenient wildlife park of 90 sq kms consists of a lake which attracts herds of up to 150 elephants. A jeep safari early morning or at dusk will ensure sightings of wild elephants feeding and washing. What an amazing afternoon. We saw around 60 elephants, several Peacocks, White Bellied fish eagles, Water buffalos and more. Beautiful sunset on the way back to camp. Truly beautiful ! #srilankanstyle#h2hanimals #minneriyanationalpark

Our driver and guide Chandana who has been doing this for 12 years at the Minneriya National Park ! He says he loves his job – everyday taking people to see the elephants. He had one elephant encounter / accident where the elephant charged at him from the front of the jeep. He just stayed calm and did not move. Thankfully no one was hurt. #minneriyanationalpark#srilankrew #h2hpeople

February 4, Sri Lanka celebrated their 70th year of Independence from the British!   Spotted with #srilankrewTahnee @tahneesy

 and Jose @jlm747 in our hotel Heritance Kandalama #srilankanlifestyleLots of security in the hotel and Steve 🙂 also stalking haha!!  In our hotel Heritance Kandalama – awaiting the flag ceremony in the morning
 By the Galle Face Hotel

As soon s we arrived it was lunch time 🙂

Lunch buffet at Kanchana  of Heritance Kandalama Hotel #heritancekandalama#srilankanstyle #srilankrew

Nice idea to put leaves to cover the food and the holder for the serving utensils 

Welcome drinks at Heritance Kandalama hotel

Love the dancing glasses #heritancekandalamahotel #srilankrew#srilankanlifestyle

5 hour drive from Negombo to Kandalama. Home for 2 nights- Heritance Kandalama Hotel by Geoffrey Bawa, Sri Lanka’s famous architecture guru. He built around the forest so you will be surrounded by boulders, trees and views from every angle. It’s 1 kilometer long with 360 rooms. #heritancekandalama #srilankrew#srilankanlifestyle

We just got the regular room
 Bathroom and shower in Heritance Kandalama Hotel. There’s nothing across you except the view but when i showered i closed the lights because I’m shy 🙂 and so i can’t be seen in case. On the second day i found out theres a curtain you can pull down haha!!  Beautiful view from the room

For our group of 13 #srilankrew we had a 45 seater bus.  6 other people joined us later on.    I do not know how much our bus costs since it was a package cost.  But just to give you an idea, I heard from other friends who have been to Sri Lanka that they hired their own car and driver for $ 500.00 for 6 days and from another friend, he paid US$ 500.00 per person for 6 days – not including entrance fees to the sights – for everything already including transpo and hotels.  So I guess it will really depend on how you plan your adventure but it is very cheap in Sri LankaAs Marco says, our bus is like our home more than any hotel we stayed in.  We spent a lot of time in the bus going from one place to the other and so we are happy we had 2 rows each haha!!  with Jayaweera and our driver Priyantha. 5 hour road trip!  We have wifi, charging stations in our bus ( very important 🙂 )

bottled water and even toilet paper when we have restroom stops. All these little details are important #srilankainstyleAnd most importantly we need snacks!!  Brought by Kai
 And me! haha!!Make sure to stop by for some roasted cashew
and sweet fresh red king coconuts.  It costs around P 5.00

First batch of #srilankrewcame from 3 different flights – CX team – SQ team and TG team

 When you arrive in the airport there are local telecom companies you can get for your cellphone requirements And banks to change money.  They say the exchange rate is better in the airport than in the hotel.  And it is probably more convenient to do it already in the airport  As soon as we arrived we were greeted by our super nice tourguide Ajith with a welcome kit   All flight arrive very late in the evening so we stayed at Negombo which is 30 minutes away from the airport.  We just stayed overnight in Heritance Negombo before starting our trip Typical Sri Lankan breakfast – Hoppers  – Yum ! Eat it freshly cooked and crispy !  You can even have it with egg – and cheese 🙂   Another Sri Lankan breakfast is String Hopper – same concept as the hoppers but the base is noodles.  I prefer the crepe like hopper