Tag: Asia

Our most cherished memory of our visit to Sri Lanka

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Nothing or nobody could have prepared us for what was our most cherished moment, the amazing experience we had in Sri Lanka… The day we will remember with love for the rest of our lives.
On driving from the airport on our arrival in Sri Lanka we were full of excitement. We told Suminda our guide, driver and travel companion, how excited we were to be going to what had been described as a family run guest house. It had been recommended to us on another blog which stated that we would be made to feel like one of the family. We explained to Suminda that we thought it would be a great way to start to understand the cultural way Sri Lankans live and we couldn’t wait to meet the family who owned and run this guest house. Suminda did say that although he didn’t know the guest house he had spoken to the owner, in preparation for our arrival, and she hadn’t sounded very Sri Lankan. But nothing really prepared us for being greeted by Brenda and Ron from Kent in the UK who owned the guest house…… they were a lovely couple and the Guest house was equally nice but they certainly weren’t Sri Lankan neither were we about to be submerged into a Sri Lankan family home with all its traditions.
Sensing our disappointment Suminda suggested he took us out, the next day, on a canal and lagoon boat trip, instead of us just staying at the guest house as we had planned. We readily agreed.
Two days later we were going on a guided tour of the sights of Colombo with Suminda. The day before he had casually asked if we would like to have lunch at his home. We had thought, what a lovely offer and gratefully accepted.
His home was just 20 km south of Colombo in a village called Kesbewa within the local government area of Piliyandala. We stopped on the way for Suminda to pick up a cake, it transpired that it was his eldest son, Methika’s 19th birthday. I asked him to also stop at a florist where I got a small bunch of flowers for Disna his wife.
On arriving at his home we were greeted by Disna, Methika – the birthday boy, Minuka – the 16 year old second son and Senithi -the youngest 10 year old daughter. We were also introduced to Disna’s parents, Grace and Stanley and Suminda’s mother. We were gifted a superb sculpture of an Asian elephant and a little note book which came in very useful for jotting names of birds down in. We exchanged these gifts with the flowers and a small compact with a magnifying and ordinary mirror- I had bought in England thinking we would gift the guest house owners.
We were sat down and given welcome drinks. Then ushered to the table which had a most magnificent spread of curries on it… wow. There were only two place settings at the table but I said we couldn’t possibly eat on our own so Suminda came to join us. We tried all the curries which Disna and Grace had prepared. They were unbelievable… not too spicy hot but tasty spicy… perfect for our taste buds… The two jackfruit curries, one with the sweet flesh and the other with the dry nutty tasting seeds were my favourite along with the dhal, potato curry, chicken curry, bean curry, boiled and fried rice … wow we really didn’t do it justice but it was certainly by far the best curry we had all holiday.

We were absolutely full to over flowing, when Disna brought out the desserts. A huge array of different fruits… the pomegranate seeds were really lovely and we also tried some Buffalo curd.. which I loved and ate several more times during our holiday.

After lunch we all took photos of the family and us with the family.

Then it was time to sing the ‘Birthday Boy’, Methika , Happy Birthday… we all sang it in English. Methika cut a piece of cake and he took it to his Mother and Father and then to John and the rest of the family to take a bite from the same piece. Disna got him to then cut another piece for John and me to take a bite from. I declined, I now wish I hadn’t as it probably seemed disrespectful, but I did it automatically as I very rarely eat cake as I am diabetic and never have cake after a meal when my blood sugar would already be high…, but afterwards I thought I should have had a mouthful and I hoped I hadn’t caused offence because my refusal certainly wasn’t meant to.

We felt totally and utterly privileged to be part of Methika’s birthday celebration. We said goodbye to a wonderful loving family. I thanked Disna profusely for the wonderful meal and the massive effort they had all gone to In providing it and welcoming us into their home. We felt really honoured. On the way back to the guest house Suminda told us it was the first time his children had ever met any foreigners and the first time foreigners had ever been to his home. We not only felt honoured but also humbled.

This day will live with us forever. The kindness, warmth, effort, love which was bestowed upon us is something we will never forget… THANK YOU SUMINDA.

15 Top tips when visiting Sri Lanka

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Having got home from Sr Lanka a few days ago we decide a Top Tips blog would help those thinking of going to Sri Lanka to maximise there enjoyment and not make some of the mistakes we did. 

1. Apply for your e-visa, ETA online prior to going. It’s easy and saves you queuing and waiting to do it on arrivals, it’s also cheaper. Make certain you apply for it on the official website so that you are not overcharged. You don’t get a paper ETA but you receive a message saying it’s been granted and it’s automatically attached to your passport number. We did print off the email saying it had been granted but we didn’t need it. We did it through the link on https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/sri-lanka/entry-requirements

2.  Once your ETA has been granted the email allows you to fill out an online entry form…..oh how I wish I had done this…when you arrive if you’ve already done this you walk straight through to a set of immigration booths and straight out…those who had done it were out in moments. The rest of us queued to fill in the form online only to find the machines not working, we then queued for a paper form, then queued for a space to fill in one for each of us. Then the final queue was about 100 people going through 3 immigration booths one at a time..it seemed to take forever…all because I couldn’t be bothered to spend 10 minutes filling in the online form prior to arrival.

3. Once you’ve passed through immigration and customs you come into a large hall with Foreign Exchange booths prior to the next section where the guides, drivers etc wait. We strongly recommend you change money here. The Thomas Cook booth offered the best exchange on both US$ and £. Change enough for your trip, because we didn’t see another exchange booth throughout our trip. Ask them for small denominations because they like to give you LKR5000 notes and no porter, tuk-tuk driver or waiter will be able to give you change for LKR5000, so ask for quite a few 100’s and 500’s. Some hotels and shops will change US$. We had to change in a fabric shop in Kandy and didn’t get a great exchange rate. You also need to keep some US$ because some attractions have international visitors entrance fees in $ although I think you can pay in LKR ( Sri Lankan Rupees) ours was all paid as part of our holiday.

4. If you are being met by a guide or driver they will be holding a placard with your name on. PLEASE make certain it’s the right person….we instantly saw a placard with Jackson  on it, so we greeted the driver and started going with him, when I asked if he was going to be our driver for the whole trip. He responded that he was just taking us to our hotel in Colombo…..hang on!!!!! Our hotel was in Negombo…..it seemed there were two Jackson’s on the incoming flight…so back we went. We quickly found our guide and driver Suminda, who also had a placard with Jackson on it!! He greeted us with a warm welcome and a garland of orchids each…and yes he was our companion for all of our vacation….phew just missed a catastrophe!!

5. At the back of the arrivals hall are the telecom sales booths. We carry a Huawei router when we travel so that we have portable WiFi . We had been recommended either Dialog or SLT Mobitel. We went for the SLT Mobitel the data SIM card was US$13 for 60gb. This lasted us our entire trip and we WhatsApp every day to UK , surfed the internet and used Facebook, uploaded our blog and photos to Flickr. We usually used our own internet rather than the poor signals we so often had in hotels. Once again it’s easiest to buy it at the airport…they’ll even fit it and check it’s working. 

6. Try and go to a supermarket on the way to your accommodation. We really recommend that you purchase an electric plug in mosquito repellent. Not all places have them and they really work…we didn’t just have it on at night we left it on all the time. The other purchase is “Kick” Citronella Spray… a big bottle you can spray on ankles, feet, arms etc…I used it twice a day  but you could probably get away with just in the evenings…even my husband used it when he noticed a lot of bites on his legs. 

7. When using a tuk-tuk  agree the price before you get in. Try and ascertain the rough price from your hotel or restaurant…but if you can’t ask the price and then the best price which is usually about half the original price. 

8. Try and only book Bed & Breakfast. We found half board in some places, gave you no choice or only a choice of two mains and the protein portions were very meagre. In one hotel it was just fried rice with very little tasty additions and a chicken drumstick, the chicken must of died from anorexia!! Having said this the half board  at The Beach & Bliss 4* hotel was superb. But if you just book B&B you can choose from the menu or choose to eat at an alternative restaurant.

9. Some UK bank cards don’t seem to work in the ATM machines and we didn’t really find out why. My husbands Santander card worked. It only allowed a maximum of LKR50,000 a day which is approx £135. My NatWest card got declined twice at 2 different locations, I was too afraid to try a 3rd time..we don’t know why. So make certain you have enough cash to see you through ……credit cards aren’t always accepted. The Commercial Bank didn’t charge for ATM transactions. The HNB charged LKR800 about £2. 

10. If you plan to do the train journey from Kandy to Ella you need to book in advance 1st Class air conditioned reserved seats are the best….loads say 2nd class reserved seat are good…but people open the windows and it gets very hot…in 1st class you can still walk through the carriages and look out of the open window. Tickets are difficult to get so contact an agent like Jetwing travel well before you go and ask them to get you tickets. There’s no point turning up on the day and expecting to get a reserved seat ticket.

11. If you go to Ella you need to prebook accommodation and a restaurant …it’s very busy….the recommended best restaurant is The White Rabbit…which we had our hotel  prebook..when we arrived every table was full and people were being sent away…the food was superb.

12. If you decide to stay at Sea World Botique, Mirissa make certain you state you want a sea-view room. They are divine and the road side are small, noisy and not so great. 

13. The food at Beach & Bliss, Mirissa is superb. The restaurant SALT or perhaps it’s SOLT, Mirissa is a real experience…sitting at the waters edge, selecting your own fish having it cooked and served to you under the star….wonderful experience. 

14. If you do pay by credit card be warned that they add 3 or 4% for the privilege.

15. If you are attempting to climb either Dambulla Cave temple ( 364 steps) or Sigiriya Rock Fortress(1200steps) you need to do it in the early morning before it gets too hot and crowded.

Day 24-28th February 2024- Our Last day -Farewell Sri Lanka, hello home UK.

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The alarm rudely awakened us at 6.15 am… the last bits and pieces squeezed into the cases. We had a packed lunch to eat in the car… At 7.00 Suminda arrived and away we sped to the Airport along the expressway which had a toll of LKR 550 about £1.50 local LKR cash only.

9.00am saw us at the airport loading our bags on to a trolly and bidding a very sad farewell to Suminda. He really had been a gem.
We soon booked our bags in and very quickly passed through emigration. The departure lounge has some nice duty free shops and a few food outlets. We wandered down to gate 9 with plenty of time to find lots of people already going through. At this point our hand baggage and ourselves were scanned again for the 3rd time and you’re only allowed 100m of liquid. We only had to wait at the gate a short while before our seat numbers were called. Sri Lankan Airlines very sensibly fill from the back. The flight was a few minutes late taking off. Once again the meals and entertainment were good. 11 hours 45 minutes later we landed at Heathrow. We were quite quickly through the immigration e-gates and our baggage soon arrived. We gave Stuart, our driver, a call and 10 minutes later he picked us up…. Even with the road works we were home by 10.00pm……. What a great adventure we had had…. Thank you Sri Lanka you are a beautiful country… Thanks to Rosie Price at Dialaflight. – UK tel no. 0161-841-8179 or rosie.price@dialaflight.co.uk – and to Jetwing Travel for sorting out all the on the ground details of our trip and most of all thank you to Suminda who made our trip exciting and was a good fun travelling companion. His details are Suminda Dissanayake he can be contacted at Suminda711@gmail.com. or what’s app/ phone number is + 94772279050
When we finish the unpacking etc we will post a final blog on Sri Lanka with a few tips to help enhance your holiday. In the meantime thank you to those of you who have followed us.

Our Actual Sri Lanka holiday itinerary/plan & cost

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The price of our holiday went up slightly from our original plan due to us not being able to make the reservations we wanted at the hotels we originally wanted and the fact that obtaining train tickets at the original base rate price is near on impossible you have to buy from people who have already brought …in other word ticket touts… Also by the time we came to book the airfares had gone up or what they were advertised at was not what they were being sold at….So we decided to book with Rosie Price at DialaFlight as the price was the best by several hundred £’s and we also had the security of paying our money to a well known, reputable, professional company. – contactable at rosie.price@dialaflight.co.uk or UK tel no. 0161-841-8179

Dialaflight used Jetwing Travels as their on the ground facilitator in Sri Lanka….although there were a couple of hiccups with accommodation these were sorted out by our guide/driver, Suminda, and the company and it allowed us a relaxing holiday. Our driver/ guide and companion was … Suminda Dissanayake he can be contacted at Suminda711@gmail.com. or what’s app/ phone number is + 94772279050

Including direct flights with Sri Lanka Airways for the two of us the total price was £5849.00


24-Day Tailor – Made Tour of Sri Lanka
Full Tour Itinerary
Day 1: Colombo – Negombo
Your tour begins as you’re met on arrival at Bandaranaike International Airport and transferred to Negombo, a drive of around 35 minutes. Here you’ll stay at Ayubowan Guest House, on a bed-and-breakfast basis. After checking in, you’ll have the rest of the day at leisure to enjoy the hotel facilities.
Day 2: Negombo
You have a full day at leisure today at Ayubowan Guest House. You may like to simply relax in the lush gardens and take a dip in the outdoor pool, or join a Sri Lankan cooking class, enjoy a yoga session or take a guided nature walk. You’ll again stay here overnight.
Day 3: Negombo
Today you’ll take a tour of Colombo. You’ll drive through the city, taking in the busy commercial areas, as well as the tree-lined residential districts. You’ll visit the Fort, the former British administrative centre and military garrison, as well as the goldsmiths’ area of Sea Street, the bazaar, a Hindu temple and the Dutch Church of Wolfendhal, which dates back to 1749. If time permits, you may also see the replica of Avukana Buddha and Independence Square.
Afterwards you’ll return to Ayubowan Guest House, where you’ll have the rest of the day at leisure.
Day 4: Wilpattu
You’ll check out after breakfast this morning for the transfer to Wilpattu, a journey of around 3.5 hours. Here you’ll check in at Cloud Nine Lanka Resort, where you’ll stay on a bed-and-breakfast basis, then will have the rest of the day at leisure.
Day 5: Wilpattu
You’ll start early this morning, as you’re picked up at 5.30, with a packed breakfast, for a full-day safari in Wilpattu National Park. Wilpattu was declared a National Park in 1938, and spans 131,694 hectares. It is home to a huge array of wildlife, which flocks to the large number of villus (lakes), including spotted deer, sambar deer, barking deer, wild boar, wild buffalo, sloth bear, mongooses, crocodiles and peacocks, but the true highlights are the leopards and wild elephants.
Afterwards you’ll return to Cloud Nine Lanka Resort for overnight.
Day 6: Anuradhapura
After breakfast this morning you will proceed to Anuradhapura, a journey of around 2.5 hours. En route you will visit the Sacred City of Anuradhapura. As you explore the ancient ruins of this UNESCO World Heritage-listed site, the first ancient kingdom and capital of Sri Lanka, be sure to take in the magnificent 13-metre-high statue of Lord Buddha carved out of solid granite, and the relic of the Bodhi Tree under which Buddha was believed to have attained enlightenment, grown from a branch transported from India.
Afterwards you’ll check into Hotel 4 U Saliya Garden, where you’ll stay on a bed-and-breakfast basis, and will spend the rest of the day enjoying the hotel facilities.
Day 7: Sigiriya
You’ll check out after breakfast today for the transfer to Sigiriya. En route, you will be taken to climb Sigiriya Rock Fortress. One of Sri Lanka’s major attractions, this UNESCO World Heritage site was built by King Kashyapa (477-495 AD) to protect him from his rivals.
Afterwards you will be taken to visit Polonnaruwa. This medieval city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, known for its huge man-made reservoirs, the most famous of which is the Parakrama Samudra, or the Sea of Parakrama, larger in size than Colombo harbour. Here you’ll visit the Royal Palace complex, including the King’s Palace and Audience Hall, the Quadrangle, and the spectacular Gal Vihare complex of four massive images of the Buddha, cut from a single slab of granite.
Finally you’ll check in at The Lavendish Wild , where you’ll stay on a bed-and-breakfast basis.
Day 8: Sigiriya – Wasgamuwa – Sigiriya
You’ll rise early this morning and set off at 5.30 with a packed breakfast for a full-day safari in Wasgamuwa National Park. The park spans over 36,900 hectares, and is bordered by the River Mahaweli Ganga and the River Amban Ganga to the east and west. The altitude varies from over 500m at the Sudu Kanda hill to just 76m along the Mahaweli Ganga. The combination of a number of small reservoirs and the Sudu Kanda mountain range affords fine trekking opportunities for keen hikers.
After your safari you’ll return to The Lavendish Wild to relax and enjoy the hotel’s facilities.
Day 9: Dambulla – Kandy
You’ll set off after breakfast this morning for your transfer Kandy, a total journey time of around three hours. En route you will visit Dambulla Cave Temple. Also known as the ‘Golden Temple’, this ancient complex, another UNESCO World Heritage site, was initially established in the third century BC, and is the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The temples are home to numerous religious and cultural paintings and sculptures.
On arrival in Kandy you’ll check in at Elegant Hotel, where you’ll stay on a bed-and-breakfast basis, and will have the rest of the day at leisure.
Day 10: Kandy
After a morning at leisure, this afternoon you will be taken to visit the Temple of the Tooth Relic, Sri Dalada Maligawa. This is an important shrine for Buddhists as it holds the tooth relic of Lord Buddha, and is the most sacred temple in the whole of Sri Lanka. Since this is a religious site, footwear should be removed before entering, although you can wear socks if you wish. Light-coloured clothing with sleeves, and trousers or skirts below the knee, are recommended.
Afterwards you will enjoy a cultural dance show, then you will be taken for a night food walk. You’ll start at the iconic Royal Bar, where you’ll try out the local arrack and bites to set the tone before heading out for egg rotis, fresh hoppers and the best kothu. Your charismatic host will regale you with stories about Kandy while you indulge in the many food options on the walk.
You’ll return to Elegant Hotel for overnight.
Day 11: Ella
After breakfast this morning you’ll take the scenic train ride to Ella, a journey of around seven hours, past forests, villages, waterfalls and tea estates. You’ll be met on arrival in Ella and taken to the Eminence Shire Ella, where you’ll stay on a bed-and-breakfast basis. En route you’ll visit Nine Arch Bridge, also known as the ‘Bridge in the Sky’. It was constructed by connecting two mountains during the construction of the Badulla-Colombo railway and is one of the best examples of colonial-era railway construction in the country.
Day 12: Yala
After breakfast this morning you’ll proceed to Yala, a journey of around 2.5 hours. On arrival you’ll check in at Tringa Villas Yala, where you’ll stay on a bed-and-breakfast basis, then will have the rest of the day at leisure.
Day 13: Yala
You’ll set off at 5.30 this morning, after a cup of tea, with a packed breakfast from the hotel, for a full-day safari in Yala National Park. The park is known for its elephants, leopards, bears, crocodiles and wild boar, and is believed to be home to the world’s highest concentration of leopards per square kilometre.
Afterwards you’ll return to Tringa Villas Yala, for some time at leisure and overnight.
Day 14: Yala
Once again you’ll head out at 5.30 this morning for another thrilling full-day safari in Yala National Park. You’ll again stay overnight at Tringa Villas Yala.
Day 15: Yala – Udawalawe – Yala
You’ll again set out at 5.30 this morning, this time for a full-day safari in Udawalawe National Park.
Spanning over 30,821 hectares, the park is an ideal place to view elephants at close range. You will also have the opportunity to witness wildlife such as sambar deer, wild buffalo, mongoose, bandicoots, fox, water monitor lizards, crocodiles, sloth bears and the occasional leopard. There are also around 30 varieties of snake and an abundance of birdlife.
You’ll again return to Tringa Villas Yala for overnight.
Day 16: Mirissa
You’ll depart after breakfast this morning for the transfer to Mirissa, a journey of around two hours. Here you’ll check in at Sea World Boutique, where you’ll stay on a bed-and-breakfast basis, and will have the rest of the day at leisure.
Day 17: Mirissa
You have two full days at leisure at Sea World Boutique. You may like to simply relax on the beach, or enjoy activities such as yoga, whale-watching trips, watersports or spa treatments.
Day 18: Mirissa
You have two full days at leisure at Sea World Boutique. You may like to simply relax on the beach, or enjoy activities such as yoga, whale-watching trips, watersports or spa treatments.
Day 19: Mirissa
You’ll set off at 6am this morning with a packed breakfast, after a quick cup of tea, for a whale-watching excursion on a shared boat. The naturalist on board will be a fount of incredible facts about local marine life, and hopefully you will encounter the mighty giants of the sea: blue whales, sperm whales and killer whales.
You’ll then return to Sea World Boutique for some time at leisure and overnight.
Day 20: Hikkaduwa
You set off for Hikkaduwa after breakfast this morning, a journey of around 2.5 hours. En route you will be taken to Weligama to see the local stilt fishermen as they perch on a crossbar off a single pole planted into the seabed just a few metres offshore. Afterwards you’ll visit Galle, home to the fort called ‘Santa Cruz’, listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The fort was initially built by the Portuguese in 1619, then expanded and further developed by the Dutch and the British. Galle was once Sri Lanka’s main seaport, and still handles shipping and cruising yachts.
During your tour of Galle, you will have the opportunity to visit Galle Fort and the Old Dutch Church, and to walk along the ramparts.

Following this you will visit the Victor Hasselblad turtle research and conservation centre in Kosgoda.
At the hatchery, fishermen are paid for rescuing the vulnerable eggs, which they collect at night, along the sandy beach. Visitors can witness them hatching, or see tanks filled with newborn hatchlings. The baby turtles are returned to the sea at between two and four days old. Once placed on the beach, most baby sea turtles start moving towards the water, flapping their tiny flippers. On arrival in Hikkaduwa you’ll check in at Sapphire Seas Beachfront Hotel, where you’ll stay on a bed-and-breakfast basis.
Day 21: Hikkaduwa
You have three full days at leisure at Sapphire Seas Beachfront Hotel. You may like to spend your time in the pool watching the sea or simply relaxing on the hotel deck or beach. This part of the coast looks idyllic however it has strong undercurrents and the recommendation is not to swim, snorkle or surf here. However a short distance toward Hikkaduwa there is a public beach where it is considered safe for these activities.
Day 22: Hikkaduwa
You have three full days at leisure at Sapphire Seas Beachfront Hotel. You may like to spend your time in the pool, watching the sea or simply relaxing on the beach.
Day 23: Hikkaduwa
You have three full days at leisure at Sapphire Seas Beachfront Hotel. You may like to spend your time in the pool, watching the sea and relaxing.
Day 24: Departure
Your tour comes to an end today as you’re transferred to the airport for your departure flight.

Day 18 – 22nd February – Lazy Thursday – Mirissa

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Reception had told us yesterday that breakfast started at 8.30 so it would have been rude to harass them earlier…so we hatched a plan to have a lie-in…….All holiday we’ve been listening out for the sound of Beethoven played out of a loud speaker on the front of a tuk-tuk selling bread…… Yes! honestly! …. We became aware of it while watching Xander Armstrong’s 3 part series on Sri Lanka…. We did hear it once and Suminda stopped the car for John to get a photo but we were coming back late from somewhere and didn’t really appreciate it……..well! The lack of appreciation occurred again today …….we are quite certain that in 1810 when Beethoven was composing “Fur Elise” that he would not of expected it to be blasting out of a bakers delivery tuk-tuk in Sri Lanka in 2024……but there we were rudely awakened by “Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor” directly below our bedroom window at 5.30 am !!!! So much for a lie in.
We eventually went down the 4 flights of stairs for breakfast at about 9.30am. Another lovely breakfast…fresh mixed fruit drink ( we heard the blender) a lovely plate of fruit, toast and jam and we opted out of an egg but had the sausage and bacon ..when it arrived we both said at the same time “ no rude comments” !!

After breakfast we returned to our room, sorted the dirty washing, donned our swim attire and once again descended the escaliers. With the washing deposited with reception ( returned later at a cost of £20) we took up residency on a pair of Sun loungers under a large green parasol and spent the day watching Sri Lankan sea activities…small boats fishing, tour boats toing and froing, young men rod fishing, one even caught a fish and a very old man taking more time smoking and loading bait on his line than fishing. He would totter out to rod fish for a few minutes and scurry back when the waves almost knocked him flying and repeated this several times before wandering off.

We interspersed our “watching the world go by” with several dips in the pool and a light sandwich for lunch. Eventually the early wake up call got the better of us and we decided to return to our air conditioned room for a siesta.


We stayed in the hotel for supper, choosing to have grilled King Prawns, rice and salad. Followed by banana fritters and ice cream for me and John had fruit salad and ice cream. An early night was required as we have a 6.00 am start tomorrow….. what a nice sun drenched day we had .