Category: Sri Lanka

Post 28 Last Thoughts!

On By anneandchrisbIn Australia, Bird watching and Nature, Borneo, Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, Dubai, Food and Drink, History and Architecture, India, Japan, Maldives, Museums, Planning and Resources, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Things to do!, Transport, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Winter Paralympics2 Comments

40,214 miles 64,343 kilometres!

25 flights, 11 airlines.. all on time

13 countries

11 different currencies

11 Languages, some indecipherable!

A lot of amazing food, extensive use of chopsticks.

Amazing historical sights, cultural encounters and wonderful scenery and nature.

Being on Christmas Island and Cocos islands was magical.. truly in the middle of nowhere!

A few hitches with delayed luggage, lost passports etc but all were overcome with the help of kind people.

Choose your toilets wisely.

We had just 1 tummy problem and 1 insect bite between us in 12 weeks of travel, despite eating street food and in local cafes, and visiting jungles!

Careful planning, probiotics and good insect repellent pay off!

Everyone asks us these questions so we will answer them here!

Which was your favourite country?

Chris – 1. Vietnam 2. Australia 3. Sri Lanka

Anne – 1. India 2. Vietnam 3. Sri Lanka

Where would you most want to go back to?

Chris – Vietnam, Sri Lanka
Anne – India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and for both of us, always, Australia!

Anywhere you wouldn’t go back to?

Maldives and South Korea.. unless Menna and Jen were winning medals in the Paralympics!

Where was the food best?

Japan, Sri Lanka, India, Borneo

Best single experience

Seeing the Taj Mahal… for both of us!

Seeing Mt Fuji was a close second! Plus nature encounters like Leopard, Orang-utang, Wombat and crabs!!

We pushed our personal boundaries, visiting countries and cultures that were very different to any we had been to before.

Some places where English was a rarity and we had to use imagination in communication.

We were happy driving and navigating in some countries …but we would NEVER consider driving in others… notably Sri Lanka and India!

We were able to successfully master mapping systems, metro systems (including Tokyo), and Menus, and ate virtually everything we were offered, often without knowing what it was!

Japan has the most wonderful toilets in the world and has spoilt us forever more. If only chilly British campsite toilets had hot seats!

We never once felt threatened or unsafe.

Most people are very friendly and helpful.

Our age was not a barrier to anything we did.

Many cultures had experienced periods of violence, war and oppression. Their stories were humbling. But positivity and generosity shone through.

People are proud of their countries and what they have, however humble it may seem to us.

Often, the people with least were the most generous.

That there are many people who overcome enormous barriers in life… every one of those Paralympians deserves a Gold medal in our book!

This was a huge trip, and we know that we are very lucky. But exciting adventures can be had in your own neighbourhood. We marvelled at beautiful temples or a great view. But tiny things were equally special.

For me, the beauty of a shell, or life in a rockpool; for Chris, picking up a coconut on a beach in the Cocos islands, opening it and drinking from it like his dad had done, were really special moments.

For all of us, there are beautiful wonders and scenery within reach of our homes, we just have to make the effort to look for them and appreciate them.

We arrived home on Thursday night.

We spent Friday walking close to home on the Dorset coast path at Durlston near Swanage.

The scenery was as ‘Wow’ as anything we had seen on our trip (ok the weather was colder, but we did bring some sun with us as promised!). We also had another magical ingredient which we did not have on our trip. We were with Peter and Tracy celebrating Peter’s birthday. That made it extra special. This weekend we also get together with the whole family and close friends. No amount of travel can replace them, and we treasure them all.

Will we travel again?

Well, as Chris knows well, he married a nomad … I have planned at least 2 more trips while we were away on this one… closer to home this time, and in Boris!

But we know that the greatest treasures in this world are not things, but people and freedom.

Thank you to everyone who has followed these ramblings, supported us and been interested in what we do.

It has meant a great deal.

Now watch this space for the next trip!!

Bye for now. Anne and Chris x

All the photos in all the blogs are mine, and were taken with my phone, hence the variable quality!

Post 5 Last days in Sri Lanka…chilling!

On By anneandchrisbIn Bird watching and Nature, Food and Drink, History and Architecture, Museums, Sri Lanka, Things to do!, Uncategorized2 Comments

Our last few days in Sri Lanka were spent in 2 contrasting places. We treated ourselves to one night of relaxation at the Turtle Bay Hotel at Kalametiya. Situated on an unspoilt beach, it was very peaceful, topped off by a delicious dinner by candlelight around a twinkling pool! Of course, we can’t sit still for too long, so at dawn we were taken for a punt on a small local boat around the bird reserve. It was stunning. So peaceful. Just us, a multitude of birds, water buffalo and some monkeys!

Then it was off to Galle. A delightful town inside 17th century dutch fortifications. Our hotel, Fort Bliss, was a charming 4 room old colonial house inside the walls. We did the 3km walk around the ramparts with Tissa explaining the Portuguese/Dutch/British history. We were also retracing the steps of Chris’ father, who visited here on his way to his posting on the Cocos Islands in WW2. It is still partly used as a military base, and at 6.30 am a large group of army guys came running past, shouting motivational slogans, Platoon style.

The town is charming, with museums, historic buildings and cafes. We had an excellent meal at Chambers – a Lebanese / Asian fusion of delicious mezze for about £10 pp.

It looked so delicious we ate half of it before we remembered the photo!

4 poster bed Sri Lankan style!

We were intrigued to see Morris minor cars dotted around, in apparently jolly good condition. Turns out the Morris minor repair shop is down the road, making spare parts for them… and sending them to the UK too!

Then to the airport. A sad farewell to Tissa – he has been amazing. We can tell he disapproves of us going to India! He is a Sri Lankan Buddist, so the Indians have always been the Invaders!

We won’t say anything. He is kindly looking after a suitcase for us while we are in India so we can ‘travel light’. We come back to Colombo for a night before Australia… and it turns out that in a complete coincidence, we have booked an air bnb with a good friend of his!

We absolutely loved Sri Lanka, and I really hope we can return.

A few other things we loved… the children in their school uniforms, Post boxes from the British era, and the FOOD!

Breakfast!

Lunch

Dinner

Post 1 48 Hours to go! Aaaagh!

On By anneandchrisbIn Planning and Resources, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Things to do!, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Winter Paralympics6 Comments

too-much-luggage

No matter how organised you think you have been, the last 48 hours before any trip are chaotic. There are just so many jobs that can only be done at the last minute.

The House sitters arrive tomorrow. They are lovely and give us peace of mind as we go away.

But in the meantime – Welcome to excited chaos! Also, to the first ‘Test’ post in our new blog – Two Old Fogeys Unplugged! We love getting comments and messages, so feel free to respond to any of our posts.

We thought we had finished the packing! But because we did it quite a few days ago we are now saying ” I don’t remember seeing the phone charger – are you sure you packed it?” and, “How many pairs of socks did I put in?”

The end result is that we have completely unpacked the bags!

Going away for 3 months with just 1 suitcase each, weighing under 18kg is an interesting challenge, especially to the definition of the word ‘Essential’. Things are easier now because books etc can be carried on Kindle, but I still like to have paper tickets and confirmations. With 23 flights and potentially 50 + different accommodations (we like to keep moving!) that is a lot of paper!

Essential for Chris are his gadgets – head torch, multi torch/mirror/whistle/compass/pouch thingy!

Essential for me are quizzes and puzzles, Hand steriliser and wet wipes, and the wonderful Travel John and Travel Janet devices – google them for more information!

We also have the Rolls Royce of Mosquito nets – more on that in later blogs if we have to use it.

This trip is by far the biggest adventure either of us has ever done. We will be visiting some fascinating places, including Dubai, India, Sri lanka, Maldives, Tasmania, Cocos Islands, Christmas Island, Borneo, Vietnam, South Korea and Japan. A bit more challenging than Australia and New Zealand. Different languages, cultures, food, and Bugs! I still have to be careful not to get bitten on my Lymphoedema arm.

Yesterday was an exciting day. Our daughter Jen is the sighted Guide to Menna Fitzpatrick, a Visually impaired Alpine skier. Yesterday they were selected for the British team to compete in the Winter Paralympic Games in South Korea. hence our visit there! You can follow them on http://www.mennaandjen.co.uk

So – off to do the FINAL pack of the bags, then a nice weekend with family and friends. Settle in the house sitters, and off we go.

We hope you will enjoy reading our blogs. They function as our diary, but we don’t know how easy it will be to find Wifi, so who knows how often we can add to our story!

See you in our next, hopefully warmer, destination xx