Good thing we are quite tired as there is a huge H&M outlet next to our gate! 😉

The staff are very friendly and the island is so beautiful. The waters are crystal clear and we already spotted various tropical fish! A yellow boxfish and a baby shark just casually swam underneath our water villa! The person who was showing us around informed us that they're totally harmless 🙂

Some views from our room before we go book the excursions for the week and soak in the sun:

The weather is super hot... +30 degrees.

In the evening we went for the Lucky Dolphine Sunset cruise. It seems you have a 50-50 chance of seeing dolphins... but we finally did! Dolphins swam and jumped around our boat for more than 30 minutes... it was amazing! The sunset was also spectacular. We were treated to champagne and fruit kebabs on board.

After diving, it was time to relax and sunbathe (or nap). We are already quite suntanned 😊

My fascination with sharks will never end. Today, another baby shark passed by our water villa and Ian felt the need for some background music... 😂 Here is the video:

We ended our day on a very nice note. The management of the resort organised a sunset cocktail party 🍹🍸 for the guests to give them feedback. Sunsets are one of a kind here. The atmosphere was very nice and the food and drinks good as well.

At night, the lights over the water at the dive centre are lit. The lights attract plankton and lots of fish come to the surface to feed on it. On Monday we saw some pretty large fish but today we were lucky enough to see a huge mantaray showing off and some sharks. The mantaray is famous for appearing here during the nights. Here is the video of the mantaray:

We then went to a deserted tropical island, basically consisting of a strip of white sand with some vegetation. The water was crystal clear and simply wonderful. We swam, took some photos and then had a buffet lunch on the boat together with the staff.

Following this, we visited a local island, Guraidhoo, and a local showed us around. We were again very lucky as around fifty dolphins were swimming in the bay and around our boat. It was simply amazing to watch and the guide said that she never saw dolphins there before.

This was one of the islands which was almost wiped out by the tsunami in 2004. The locals live in poverty but seem to be quite happy and strangely enough we did not see a single person working. The temperature was above 46 degrees (yes, you read that right) and it was unbearable. We also visited two local shops, and were advised to haggle for cheaper prices.

We can now be described as roasted humans 😜. Viva aloe vera! 😎

In the evening we watched another beautiful sunset whilst sipping cocktails.

The following photos are of the first area in which we snorkelled:

This is the second beach in which we snorkelled:

Our last sunset at the Maldives:

Ian’s best buddy at Olhuveli, i.e. the Grey Heron:

On one occasion we spent more than 30 minutes waiting for a Grey Heron to fly away so that Ian could capture a photo of it. After all this waiting, a couple passed nearby and it flew away with Ian unable to take a photo without also getting the couple in the picture. Its a love-hate relationship between them now 😂

A brief review on the Olhuveli Beach Resort and Spa:

The service, food and drinks are excellent and the premises are superb. The souvenirs and clothing for sale are quite expensive but that is to be expected. The excursions are also quite expensive especially the diving activities. The all-inclusive package allows for one free excursion only.

The only down side was that most of the bays were covered in algae which was not so nice to swim in. Also, since one of the bays was a bit closed off, the water was a bit stagnant and I got Swimmers' Itch, which include some itchy rash.

However, given the opportunity I would definetely go to this resort again in a heart beat! 😍

Colombo airport is much larger and more modern than the one in Male. It is very nicely decorated for Christmas as well. We met our guide, Mr Bandara, at the arrivals lounge and he immediately gave us a beautiful floral necklace.

Coming out of the airport was another experience altogether. The Sri Lankan people got the highway code, stomped on it, shredded it, and then burnt it 😂 Now I truly believe that the Maltese people are perfect drivers! They manage to turn a two-lane street, barely wide enough for two vehicles, into a three-lane one, without denting each other’s cars or swearing at each other. It comes naturally to them. Horns are constantly used though 😂

Some other random facts which we have learnt so far (quoting Mr Bandara here):

> There are 53 types of banana in Sri Lanka.

> The religions followed in Sri Lanka are Buddhism (70%), Hinduism, Islam and Catholicism.

> Colombo is mainly Catholic, in fact many areas were decorated for Christmas.

> Buddists respect the cow since it provides them with milk and fertiliser, and they also treat it as one of their gods. These are the reasons why they do not eat beef.

> Lion Lager is one of their local beers and Ian approves 🍺

Our hotel for the first night is Jetwing Beach in Negombo. At first I admit that I was quite skeptic, especially after experiencing that high level of luxury in the Maldives. The hotel restaurant leads to the beach with no windows or doors, just a net which can be opened for guests to access the beach (as can be seen from the picture above). In fact, several dogs and cats came into the restaurant and were quickly shooed at by the staff.

The room was awesome and the view of the beach was great. We had some large ants, mosquitoes and other insects as companions but we were told to expect this. Nothing that some insect repellent could not fix! 🙂

The dinner and breakfast buffets were great and the staff very friendly. Highly recommended! 🙂

Our guide informed us that when it is time to start rice harvesting, the farmers dig some large holes to act as water reservoirs. The wild elephants do not notice these reservoirs and fall in them. Those elephants which are saved from these holes (some die) are then put in orphanages across the country.

After the museum, we went to the orphanage and visited the various areas. Areas included the adult males, the baby elephants, the pregnant females, and the rest of the females. A female gives birth after 22 months! 😮

After the orphanage, we visited the Poo Paper shop. In this outlet, locals produce paper from elephant poo! A local woman showed us how they add water and boil the poo to remove all the bacteria and smell, and then treat it through a whole process to produce clean, thin, smooth paper. They have a huge shop with all the different products they produce.

We were advised that around 2pm elephants are moved from the orphanage to the river to have a bath. We went at the lookout point and watch the whole event take place. It was very clear that elephants love to bathe and play in the water! 😍

For our afternoon activity, the guide suggested that we go for a couples massage at Athreya Ayurvedic Hotel and Spa. The spa was made up of several huts and again, we were a bit skeptic when we arrived. However, we definitely do not have any complaints now! The massage was incredible and the attendants were absolute professionals in the treatments offered. We did a full body massage, a head massage with dripping oils and a steam bath 😌

The hotel for our next three nights is Deer Park Hotel.

We then visited the famous Sigiriya Rock. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The area under the Rock is very beautiful as the photos will show, and to get to the top we had to climb 1200 steps in +33 degree heat. The guide knew some people and we skipped some queues and managed to climb to the top and go back to the car in under 2 hours. The views from the top are unbelievable.

Since children are currently on school recess, the place was very crowded and some locals informed us that the other queues were not even moving at all (after hours). Local people also do not know the concept of queueing so that does not help the situation...at all.

We then went for a meal in a hotel restaurant which served a Sri Lankan food buffet. We’re usually sticking to white rice, noodles and some not-spicy meat curry when we are skeptic about the food on offer.

The last excursion of the day was a two-hour jungle safari in Minneriya National Park. The safari was great and we spotted three huge elephants eating and then bathing in the lake, peacocks, pelicans, flamingos, chickens, monkeys, eagles, vultures, deer, iguanas... and treees.

Some random facts (quoting Mr Bandara):

> Locals make bricks out of their red soil. Basically they put soil in the form of a brick and then burn it to solidify it.

> Stray dogs are numerous in Sri Lanka. Strangely enough, all the dogs are of the same breed and the guide informed us that they all belong to someone but enjoy staying in the street to try to get more food from passers by. They are all very thin although some are in better condition than others. They absolutely do not mind cars coming their way.

> Along the roads, the guide pointed to us various fruit and vegetable trees, including green pepper trees, pineapple bushes, coconut trees, rice fields, passion fruit trees, papaya trees, chili trees, rubber trees, and iron trees. The iron tree is the national tree of Sri Lanka.

> Locals providing a service, which we already paid for, constantly ask for tips... and some even ask for extra tips once tips were already given!

> There are approximately 6,500 elephants (both wild and in orphanages) in Sri Lanka. Elephants often cross the roads, which is extremely dangerous for cars and passers by, and locals are quite scared of them. Drivers warn each other that there is an elephant on the road ahead and most stop until the elephant crosses over (which can take some time). We encountered around five on the road uptil now.

Merry Christmas to everyone! ☺️☺️🎄🎁🍾

It is important to note that taking selfies with Buddha is not allowed since that would mean that you stood with your back towards the Buddha, i.e. showing disrespect. We were unaware of this!

An ancient bathroom in the ruins of the King's Palace:

The King’s Audience Hall:

Satmahal Prasada in Polonnaruwa:

Potgul Vehera in Polonnaruwa:

Rankot Vehera in Polonnaruwa:

Palace of King Parakramabahu in Polonnaruwa:

It is truly a monkey kingdom here!

After visiting the city, we went to a Wood Carving Factory where a local worker explained the different types of wood found in the country and how and for what they are used for. Some types of wood are ideal for statues whereas others are used for home furniture or garden furniture. The adjacent shop included thousands of handmade items for sale, all truly beautiful.

We now have a free afternoon to enjoy the hotel and its beautiful surroundings and relax since we are getting quite tired after all the continuous travel. The following are some photos of the Deer Park Hotel where we are staying.

We did not manage to use the pool since both times we planned to take a swim, it started raining heavily.

Deer Park hotel was great on the whole. The surroundings and the room were very nice and the shower and bath in the bathroom were without a roof, separated from the trees by a net, which also nice. However, we quickly realised that this was not very practical when it rained... and when insects wanted to get in.

The only complaint about this hotel was the lack of wifi availability. Rooms do not have wifi access and the wifi at the common area was truly poor! Staff tried to help, however there was little that they could do. This was a bit of a problem for us especially since we were at the hotel on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and we wanted to communicate with our family and friends.

We then proceeded to visit the Dambulla Cave Temples. We climbed a lot of stairs in the very hot temperatures, but it was worth it for the views and the beautiful temples we saw.

We also passed by the Dambulla Golden Temple.

After the temples, the guide took us to a buffet lunch especially prepared for Christmas Day and it was delicious with a nice atmosphere.

We then visited the Luck Grove Spice Garden and it was definetely one of the highlights of this trip. The guide showed us many plants and trees and explained the different types of herbal medicine which can be produced out of each. Some of these included the coffee bean, pineapple, cloves, cinnamon, green pepper and aloe vera. Using the oils and balms mentioned, two professionals also gave us a neck, back and knee massage in just ten minutes, and they were truly great.

They also showed us how they make hair removal cream from herbs and natural oils... and demonstrated it on Ian's foot ☺️

The following is a red pineapple which is only used for medicinal purposes.

The last excursion of the day was a visit to the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy. This temple is very beautiful and important to Sri Lankan history. Many locals and visitors were praying and meditating in the different parts of the temple.

We have now checked into our third hotel in Sri Lanka, Randholee Resort and Spa in Kandy. The view is truly incredible and we have already dipped into the pool.

A rafting activity was next on our agenda. The location of the activity was approximately 2 hours away from Kandy and thus we had quite a bit of travelling to do. However, the trip was well worth it as the scenes from the roads were amazing. Most of the drive was done on narrow winding roads in the hills and mountains, through one continuous jungle, including rice fields and tea plantations.

The rafting activity was held in Kitulgala on River Kwai and was super! We were informed that the water level was quite high today so it was expected to be a great rafting experience 😁... and it certainly was. The views from the water were simply amazing.

To our utter amazement, the locals even used the tuk tuk to carry the boat to the river! 😂

The water was quite cold and the guide kept drenching us throughout the trip since he did not want the boat to get too hot! We had a brain freeze every single time! 🥶 I’m sure he was secretly smirking every time 😋

Our two-night stay at Randholee Resort was great. The service was very good and the food buffets excellent. The pool was lovely and the views truly amazing. The bathroom was a bit oldish and not quite what we expected of such a resort. However, definitely recommend this resort!

Our second stop for the day was at the Ramboda Falls in Nuwara Eliya, a very beautiful waterfall surrounded by amazing scenery.

Our third stop was at the Damro Tea Factory in Nuwara Eliya. Here, the local guide explained the process of producing all three types of tea, i.e. black, white and green teas.

Both visits to the tea factories were very interesting and the aromas of fresh tea leaves were amazing. In both occasions we were also shown how they add flavours to make flavoured teas. It is important to note that everything that is produced in Sri Lanka is organic as no pesticides are used.

The drive from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya, where our hotel Jetwing St. Andrews is located, was quite long however truly scenic.

It is finally nice to announce that we have reached +2000m above sea level and we are feeling cold! 😊 The hotel is very nice, with most of the decoration and appliances made of wood and has a cottage feel. The staff just lit the fireplace in the bar where we are currently updating the blog 😍 It already feels more like Christmastime.

Baker’s Falls are one of the main attractions of the park. They are 20m high.

The yellow-eared bulbul is endemic to the highlands of Sri Lanka:

The Sri Lankan sambar deer only lives in India and Sri Lanka:

Another one of the attractions of the park is Mini World’s End, an amazing viewpoint:

The Sri Lankan junglefowl is endemic to Sri Lanka, and is also the national bird:

The toque macaque monkey which is also endemic to Sri Lanka:

The purple-faced leaf monkey which is also endemic to Sri Lanka:

As soon as we were exiting the National Park in the van we also spotted one of the 16 recorded leopards found in the park! Unfortunately, as soon as the guide stopped the van for us to take a photo, it went down and hid in the grass 😞. However, we were glad that we spotted it and that we were not on foot! 😂

The following are some photos of the views during our drive back to our hotel in Nuwara Eliya:

Tea plantations:

Dairy fields:

Local sellers on the sides of the road, a very common sight:

Pattipola Railway station:

Gregory Lake, a man-made reservoir used for irrigation for the nearby tea plantations:

Oriental magpie robin at our hotel during lunch:

Now we’re relaxing at the bar next to the fireplace, and soon off to dinner. It’s nice to note that Jetwing St. Andrews is the best hotel we’ve stayed in so far in Sri Lanka. The food is delicious, the service is excellent and the hotel is truly beautiful.

Our first class compartment

Once we reached Ella we realised that the town is very popular with tourists. The views of the hills were quite amazing here and the guide took us for lunch in one of the hotels which had the best access to the views.

After lunch we made a quick stop at the Ravana falls, a beautiful waterfall along the main road. There were many visitors, and even some locals bathing.

From Ella we drove towards Yala, to check into our hotel Jetwing Yala. Upon arriving we had a bit of a hiccup since our room was not available and they upgraded us to a safari suite at the hotel Jetwing Safari Camp nearby. Although we were very skeptic, we accepted the room on condition that we change to our original room the following day.

The safari camp was a new experience altogether. The suite consisted of a luxury tent in the safari park. We were informed not to go out alone during nighttime due to various wild animals nearby, including elephants and wild boar. Also, no food could be left in the tent. The tent was quite sealed from the outside and the bathroom, thus there was little access to animals and insects (to our relief). However, the bathroom had an open roof, thus various lizards and other interesting insects visited us in there!

In the afternoon we went for a three-hour jungle safari in the famous Yala National Park. This park is enormous and the safari is very popular since a greater variety of animals live here and are usually seen. The guide informed us that the park normally sees around 200 landrovers a day! The park is also famous for its leopards, which although very rarely spotted, we managed to see three on two different occasions!

Wild Water Buffalo

Spotted Deer

Sri Lankan Elephants

Ruddy Mongoose

Our Landrover 😊

Sri Lankan Crocodile

Black-Headed Ibis

Blue-Tailed Bee-Eater

Spotted Deer

Wild Peacock

Greater Flamingo

Sri Lankan Leopards

Both the safari at Yala National Park and the one we did in Minneriya National Park were great. They are very different from wach other since the terrain and biodiversity differs greatly. We definetely recommend them both!

The hotel staff changed our room back to Jetwing Yala, where we were originally meant to stay. The room was perfect overlooking the beautiful pool. Jetwing Yala is another which we recommend. The food and premises were great and the service was excellent. The staff apologized profusely for the error in booking and provided us with sweets in our room, a complimentary wine bottle at dinner and also decorated our bed as a thank you for our cooperation.

After dinner, we went to the lounge where the New Year's Eve party was just getting started. The band was awesome, playing oldies and new hits with many people dancing on the dancefloor. Around 11pm the staff handed us a bag each, filled with props for photos including hats, masks, balloons, whistles and hawaiian necklaces. A very nice thought indeed!

After wearing the props and drinking some cocktails, we also joined the dancefloor! 🎉

And then the final countdown and the midnight celebrations! 🎉🍾

Truly a great night indeed. Happy New Year 2019 to all! 🎊🎉🍾

However, things started going wrong as soon as we saw our boat. The tour had to start at 6.30am and as soon as we reached the crowded boat we realised that all the best seats were taken. We sat and as soon as the trip started, we went to the front of the boat and started watching out for dolphins or whales. Not much time was needed to see that the sea was going to be rough!

As soon as some dolphins were spotted, people started getting sick. Not much time passed before I fell sick as well. After around two hours into the trip we heard the sound that no one would like to hear... that of the boat engine giving up and stopping.

Passengers started getting worried and the staff started trying to fix the boat. Boats kept on coming to us, thinking that we have spotted whales, and then offering us help but the staff kept on insisting that they will fix the boat. To cut a very long story short, after approximately 2 hours bobbing up and down in the water far out of the shore, with people getting sicker, they managed to start the engine (not working well eh!) and we drifted to shore verrrry slowly.

The above video is when a teeny weeny coast guard boat tried to tow our huge boat... a few moments later the anchor point with which they tied the rope gave out.

What a nightmare! Fighting for a refund got us 1/3 of the cost back but that was not our point at all. Our advice is to never go whale watching with any of the boats at Mirissa in Sri Lanka! We did not have an issue with the boat stopping as these are things that can always happen. However, the way by which the problem was tackled was the issue. I am sure that when the boats are working well the experience is nice, however what every tourist would like to know are the safety measures that will be taken when problems arise!

Now we have reached our final stop in Galle, an all-inclusive resort Riu, to relax and enjoy the New Year celebrations before we go back to Malta. Many preparations are underway for tonight's celebrations and we have high hopes! ☺️☺️

We have just raided a beef burger and dipped into the pool to get rid of our mood and it worked.

Happy New Year 2019 to all! 🎉🎉

The resort staff are extremely friendly here!

In the afternoon, we participated in the daily bingo session and had a blast even though we did not win anything! 😂

After playing bingo, we went down to check out Ahungalla beach, the beach right down from the resort. The beach is beautiful and since we went there during sunset, the view was incredible.

For our dinner we dined at the Italian restaurant La Forchetta, and we can safely say that it felt so good to finally eat good Mediterranean food again! ☺️ The lasagna was devine!

In the evening we went to watch the night show 'Asian Dreams' which mainly consisted of traditional dancing. The show was nice but we expected much better!

We also tried our hand at bingo once again but we did not manage to win!

We stayed in the pool till the late afternoon, when all pools are heated ☺️ and experienced another perfect sunset.