Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Travel”
Continued from Galle Colombo has the typical features of large Asian cities: the traffic, street sellers mixed in between grand buildings, the smells, the throngs on the sidewalks… Estimates of the number of people vary but it seems there are around 2 million in the greater Colombo area. The Sri Lankan capital has its fair share of religious and memorial …
Continued from Central Highlands From Ella, we descended the highlands to the southern plains, stopping for coconut water refreshments and a visit to an elephant orphanage (some just a few months old; could there be a cuter experience?). The role of Buddhism is ever-present, though Hinduism, Christianity and Islam are well-represented. “Old Galle” is enclosed by the Portuguese-Dutch fort dating …
Continued from Spices and Kandy From Kandy you can take a train trip into the central highlands of Sri Lanka. It lasts two to four hours depending on how far you intend to travel. The area is surprisingly densely populated with the train stopping at several major towns. The train trip is largely for commuters and locals, but of course …
Continued from Sri Lanka – Northern Monuments Kandy is hilly, with slopes covered by vivid green palms and other tropical plants. The town central feature is the lake. However, the botanical gardens are the must-see sight, with thousands of visitors including school children in uniform and families picnicking along with international visitors. During our tour we wanted to stay in …
Continued from Sri Lanka – Negombo Much of the ancient history of Sri Lanka is concentrated in the north, in particular at Anuradhapura, Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa and Dambulla. Some of the sites date from the 3rd century BC, with astounding quality and sophistication in the construction and carvings. Buddism dominates the monuments and that may explain the ethereal atmosphere as …
Many visitors to Sri Lanka will start their trip at Negombo. It is only 20 minutes’ drive from the international airport, while Colombo is 40 minutes away. We would be taking a 12 day clockwise tour from Negombo to Colombo. For comparison, the island has an area of 65,610 km²; the area of Tasmania is 68,401 km². This map is from …
This continues on from Canada – Ottawa, Toronto, Niagara! We would have eight days in the western side of the continent, visiting Seattle, Victoria and Vancouver. The main reason for the visits was to catch up with others working with Rhonda on her piano keyboard project. But there would be plenty of time to look around. The Seattle, Victoria and …
This continues on from Canada – Quebec City & Montreal! Four of Canada’s largest cities are within eight hours drive of each other. Population estimates vary depending on what they attempt to measure, but estimates are as follows: Quebec City, around 0.7 million Montreal, 4.0 million Ottawa and environs, around 1.3 million Toronto, around 5.0 million However, there are many …
This continues on from Canada – Three Recipe Ideas! After the Maritime Provinces, our goal was to meet up with several piano contacts in the cities of Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. We had also seen those cities a long time ago and were keen to return. We would only have short stays in each, barely enough time to see …
This continues on from Canada – Maritime Provinces! We had spent 11 days in the Maritime Provinces. It is worth a detour if you are fanatical about fresh seafood. We had excellent examples of lobster, clams, mussels and local fishes (mainly halibut and haddock). We came across three interesting recipes to try when we were back home. Pasta with Preserved …
