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Stepping into the same river twice

They say that once is a mistake. And twice is a choice. With this in mind we found ourselves at Mend. Again. Our very first ice bath was back in January, and here we were, in March, back for more.

If you are a regular reader of this travel blog, you will know that Mend is a relatively new addition to the Margaret River wellness scene. Set up in 2023 it has quickly gained a cult following, offering a range of options, including what we were here for once more, early on a Saturday morning. 

Mend Motions and the ice bath

The “Mend Motions” is a 90 minute session, with a maximum capacity of six guests. The idea is that you cycle the time around the infrared sauna, the ice bath, and the warming plunge pool. Prior to your first session you are sure to do what we inevitably did. Try to calculate how long this meant in each, and how we could possibly fill 90 minutes.

Let me tell you, once you are there, time is the last thing you are thinking of. In fact, on both visits now we could not believe how fast the time went. This is the exact condition that psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi called “flow”. The state you get into when time seems to magically pass.

And pass it does.

Warming up to cool down

With my belly still warm and pleasantly digesting the delicious pain au chocolat we had for breakfast from across the road at Margaret River Bakery, we got into our bathers, showered quickly, and entered the sauna. This morning it looked as though there were only three of us, but we had two others join us later. As everyone usually starts at the same time there is some mental gymnastics trying to work out who gets to move on from the sauna first. Our companion looked like a veteran and kept checking his smartwatch to ensure he had been in the sauna for his regulation time.

We had much less rigour, and I hate regulations, so we decided to head to the ice bath first. A thought that had been giving me mild anxiety since we re-booked our session some weeks before. That anxiety didn’t ease when we saw that the ice bath was literally full of ice. On our first visit the water was a balmy 4.3 degrees. This morning it was hovering around 2 degrees. I am glad one of us has bags of courage. Displaying her courage, Victoria stepped straight into the bath, parting the ice as she sank down into the deep tub. A series of quick sharp intakes of breath and she soon settled into the deep breathing that is required for ice bath immersion.

And breathe

With the clock set for three minutes, I guided Victoria through a visualisation of being sat under a warming sun. Dipping into the ocean in the Maldives. Anything to take her mind off what the near freezing temperature of the water was doing to her fight, flight, and freeze response. As you first enter the cold water your brain senses danger and screams at you to get out. A natural evolutionary reaction, designed to keep you alive. The first battle is over riding that voice and reminding yourself that you are in fact safe and have no need to escape to save your life.

The second battle is with your breathing. Getting it under control. Slowing it right down. Regulating your parasympathetic nervous system. Your “rest and digest” system. Once you have this under control you have your third and final battle. With the clock. Once you have got this far you will be surprised to note that you will be more than half way through the interminable three minutes. Now, you just have to avoid peeping at the digital clock on the wall as the seconds slowly tick by. Thoughts of Maldives and the warming ocean appear to help.

Winning the mental battle

The strange thing is, by the time the clock starts beeping, telling you that you can escape, part of you thinks “I can do longer”. That you have this. Thankfully, this is only a small part and the larger part inside me demands that I get out. Mindfully stepping out of the ice bath you find that you are tingling all over. Your legs have seized up a little. It is important at this point to move slowly. Listen to your body. Do a little stretching before heading to the warm embrace of the plunge pool.

Ah. Just how good does the plunge pool feel after your ice bath immersion? Slowly sinking into the warming waters, noticing the feelings return to your body. Start to feel human again. Realising that you have completed the first of three cycles. As you look at the clock, you do a double take. How has so much time passed? And realising that if you stay in the comfort of the plunge pool for much longer you won’t get to complete all three cycles. That is flow.

At the end of 90 minutes, showering, you do immediately feel the effects of the morning. You feel on a high. Your body feels good. And my thoughts start turning to a walk along the beach and a good coffee.

Will we return for take 3?

A different kind of day

The day after we had time to reflect whilst visiting one of our favourite venues in the South West. Not just for the food, which is AMAZING, also for the wine, which is world class. We first discovered Glenarty Road whilst on a trip from Margaret River to Pemberton. We paid a visit to the lighthouse at Cape Augusta, before heading through Karridale and calling in at “The Farm’.

On that occasion we just had a wine tasting. On several visits since we have always made sure to book ourselves in for lunch. With a philosophy of “paddock to plate”, there is a simple elegance at Glenarty Road that has simply stolen our hearts. Fine dining, in a shed. Being a working farm you also get a chance to see where your produce comes from. The carbon footprint is very low as everything is produced either right there at Glenarty Road, or by one of their neighbours.

Sitting down to eat I am not sure how Victoria felt when the waitress complemented her on the perfume she was wearing.

“Is that Chanel?” she asked.

“Yes”, replied Victoria.

“Oh, i love it. My mum wears it.”

The conversation kind of ended there. Luckily, the food saved the day.

As always when visiting wine country, and in a region as large as the South West of Australia, one of you needs to be the skipper. For this particular trip, Victoria had the car keys. I got to enjoy an extra glass of their excellent 2023 Kinfolk Chardonnay. Oh my!

Thoughts of returning

Glenarty Road is a place that we continue to return to. We will again. And as I sipped my wine I wondered when our next visit to Mend, for the ice bath, would be.

It is a matter of pronunciation

When you tell people you are heading back to Phuket, the responses you get back can be hilarious.

“Oh, is it nice? I have never been to fuck-et”.

Or, someone else will respond, “enjoy. we love poo-ket”.

I am not saying I have the definitive answer to how it should be pronounced, but it has always been pu-ket, to me.

The Changing Face of Phuket

What is generally agreed is that the island in the south of Thailand is a great place to visit. So great in fact that over the last few years it has become a magnet for Russian tourists. Coming in huge numbers, at times you could be forgiven for thinking you were in Russia. All along the coast, the Russian language on restaurant signage is as ubiquitous as Thai.

And they all appear to have the same “uniform”, which is a white hoody, sold at every beach stall and shop on the island. I am told that since Russia invaded the Ukraine, Russians have been flooding into Phuket and snapping up villas. Again, this is very evident by all the real estate signage in Russian.

It is easy to see the appeal. A small island. Great beaches. And a very low cost of living. We last spent a week in Phuket as part of our 2022/23 world travels, and now we were heading back, staying further south in the resort of Kata.

Never Listening to me Again

Even though it only felt like a few weeks since our last trip, to Denmark in Australia’s Great South West, the morning found us jumping in our pre-booked Uber at 4.30am, and we were at Perth airport just 20 minutes later. And this being Perth, really just a big town, the airport was very quiet. Perth international airport has scant options for food and drink so it was a croissant and coffee that got my engines started. 

When we originally booked this trip, I was my frugal self. Ever the Yorkshireman. Looking for the cheapest fare. This turned out to be with AirAsia. This turned out to be a mistake. In the months and weeks leading up to the flight, AirAsia kept rescheduling our flight. I nonchalantly flicked their last email across to Victoria, with a cursory, “just an FYI, no action needed”.

Imagine my surprise when she immediately came back with, “how come we now have 15 hours in Singapore airport and don’t fly to Phuket until the day after?”.

She had me there. I hadn’t really paid any attention to the email from AirAsia. They do say that relationships succeed when they build on each others strengths. Attention to detail is not one of mine.

Complaining that “she would never listen to me again“, Victoria found us an alternative flight and so it was that Singapore Airlines had us away from Perth in good time for our four and half hour flight to Singapore. On the same timezone as Perth we had wheels down in Singapore at around 11.30am.

Changing in Changi

Being slightly concerned that our bags might not have time to meet the connecting flight we visibly slumped when scanning the departures board at Changi airport. Our connecting flight to Phuket was delayed by almost two hours. Our bags would have plenty of time to make the flight and we now wouldn’t land in Phuket, Thailand until 3.30pm, accounting for the loss of one hour time difference. 

Thankfully, we were in a great place to be inconvenienced. Regularly voted the best airport in the world, if you are going to be delayed anywhere, Changi is as good a place as any. Huge, well organised, and blissfully air conditioned, Changi airport has such amenities as sleep pods, a hotel, gardens to explore, and even a cinema. We just needed food.

If you have been to Singapore you will know how expensive it is. Now, if you have been to an airport, you will know how expensive they are. What a perfect storm. An airport in Singapore. After an eye wateringly expensive, and very tasty, lunch and obligatory Tiger beer, served by robots, we were soon in the air. 

Grabbing a ride in Phuket

Arriving at airports in South East Asia is always a little manic. Once you clear customs, which was a lot more hassle in Thailand than it is in Bali, you are out into the throngs of waiting taxi drivers. All seemingly shouting at once, and with the unbearable heat and distinctive smells of Asia suddenly hitting you, it is very easy to get disoriented. I try to minimise this by being as organised as possible for our arrival.

Despite thinking I had sorted everything out in advance, I always seem to have trouble using the esim on the phone when we land somewhere new. And so it was in Thailand. I couldn’t connect to the network and whilst I could order my Grab (Asian Uber) whilst on the airport wifi, when we went out to meet the car I lost the connection. 

And, in what is common when landing at a foreign airport, we have a frantic search for the Grab pick up point. When we finally found it I saw that my phone had dropped off the wifi. With no wifi connection to confirm through the Grab app which car and driver I was looking for, I was thankful that I had the foresight to take a screen shot of my booking. Experience had taught me that little trick. 

Kata Bound

Sat in the comfort of our lounge at home, looking at the little map of Phuket, things never look that far away. After an hour and a half in Thai traffic I was left wondering why we didn’t pick a hotel nearer the airport.  It had been a long travel day and I needed a cold Singha beer.

Even before checking into the hotel I had almost made a big mistake. Almost paying for the Grab ride twice. Still thinking of our extensive use of the app on our travels through South East Asia I thought the app settings still defaulted to “cash”. In places like Cambodia and Vietnam, drivers wouldn’t pick you up if you wanted to pay by card through the app. Cash remains king. 

On arrival at the hotel in Kata beach I was trying to pass over the money for the ride, 1000 baht ($47) to the driver. And in fairness, he looked shocked. I didn’t know why and with me not speaking Thai, and him not speaking English it took me a while to work out that I had already paid. By the bank card linked to my Grab app. Props for his honesty. 

Aurico Kata Resort

For once we arrived at the hotel in daylight. We seem to have acquired this habit over the years of arriving to our hotels just as we should be going to bed. We usually check in, get shown our room, and promptly go to bed. Not so today. We arrived at the Aurico Kata Resort in good time and whilst having a look around the hotel Vik brought some very good news to my attention. At the pool bar, there was a daily happy hour(s) between 5pm and 7pm. And, as luck would have it, we were coming up to 5pm.

We relaxed with a couple of happy hour Singha beers (80 baht each / $3.70) around the pool, taking a moment to breathe at the end of a day that started with the alarm waking us at 4am. The pool area was huge, with a lot of sun loungers and swim up pool bar that we would find ourselves at in the coming days. Our room was by the pool with direct access from our deck.

I had a feeling this was going to be a very good and relaxing week.

Settling into Sri Lanka

Arriving late at night is always a little discombulating. Over the years we have tried our best to arrive in daylight hours, giving us a better chance to get our bearings in a new city. Sometimes, you are at the mercy of flight schedules as was the case with our arrival into Sri Lanka.

Having had a good sleep near the airport, and a very hair raising taxi ride to Sigiriya, we could now slow down, settle into the Sri Lankan rhythm and start exploring. Sigiriya is in central Sri Lanka, north west of Colombo, in a very historic area. An area that is said to have been inhabited since prehistoric times. The main attraction is Lion’s Rock which dominates the skyline. Almost 600 feet high, this massive slab of granite has a rich cultural history. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site it is described as “one of the best preserved examples of ancient urban planning.”

Seeing Sigiriya

As you can see in other parts of the world, notably Machu Picchu in Peru, Sigiriya rock was built to be lived on. Where better place to build your fancy new palace? At the very top, of course. Away from nasty people trying to invade. In what must be one of the world’s greatest conundrums, I gaze in wonder at how they possibly managed to build a palace on top of such a high rock. A rock we would be climbing ourselves during our three days in Sigiriya.

Today was about getting our first taste of Sri Lankan food, and specifically the famed kottu. A dish that I think is specific to Sri Lanka, a kottu is a mixture of cut up roti bread, vegetables and sometimes with chicken and cheese added. The way this dish is made is very distinctive and the sounds can be heard before the delicious smells. On a large grill plate, all the ingredients are bundled together and with two large metal cleaver type utensils, the cook chops up furiously. The metallic clang clang of the utensils on the metal grill can be heard far and wide. A piece of clever marketing I would say.

The result is a delicious plate of food that can be tailored to your level of spice tolerance. It turns out we have a “Sri Lankan” tolerance, something that surprised quite a few locals. Maybe our love of spicy Indian curries has trained our palettes. Little Hut was the venue for our first foray into Sri Lankan food. A small restaurant that wasn’t much bigger than a hut. I am glad that I had eaten before using the solitary toilet. 

A kottu each and a local Lion beer and the bill was 4,290 rupees, approximately $21 AUD. Not very cheap by Asian standards and worth every penny. I think we are going to like Sri Lankan food.

Sigiriya is a small village and it didn’t take long to explore. It has the welcoming feel of a very local community and all the restaurants we passed were small and family run. Usually dad or grandad outside bringing people in, the wife in the kitchen, and kids running around. Sadly, there are way too many people opening restaurants and serving food from the kitchen of their house than there are tourists. The result is a lot of forlorn looking places and not much food being cooked.

Monday dawns in Sigiriya

Monday morning dawned rather portentously, with rain. Something we were to see a lot more of. Our first breakfast at the hotel was great visually, not so good when we started eating. Everything was served cold. As is the norm in many places we had to order our choice the day before. I didn’t realise this was so that they could make it the day before. This is what it felt like when I bit into my omelette. Cold. How about the toast? Cold. The only thing served hot was the tea. Sadly, it was going to become the rule rather than the exception for most of our time in Sri Lanka.

Dambulla and the Cave Temple Complex

With the rain being rather relentless we switched around our plans for the day. Climbing Lion’s Rock could wait until tomorrow and today we will head to Dambulla, home of some of the most well preserved and largest cave temples. In fact, it is the largest cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The Golden Rock Temple among them is declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Being 14 kilometres from Sigiriya we ordered a taxi through the Pick Me app and were soon getting dropped off by the ticket entrance. A steep climb up and the very impressive Dambulla cave temple is revealed. We had to share the path with monkeys. Lots of monkeys. What had become obvious is that Sri Lanka is home to wild monkeys, with hotels warning that doors are always closed and shoes not left outside. I would hate to see a monkey strolling around the village in my Tevas.

Leaving our sandals at the gate, safe from curious monkeys, we got to explore the Royal Cave and its many imposing Buddha statues. The 3,000 rupee entrance fee was rather steep, more than the price of the tuk tuk home. That said, we did get “extra value” on the ride home. When the driver asked where we lived I just went into autopilot. We must get asked this question over a dozen times a day. However, when he fiddled with YouTube on his phone, whilst driving, and we suddenly had the “Australia Top 50 Charts” blasting through the tuk tuk’s speakers I worked out that the driver was on a charm offensive. Probably fishing for tips. The only tip I could offer him was not to play such loud garbage to a middle aged gentleman.

Sri Lankan curry

Lunch was back in Sigiriya and another first. Sri Lankan curry from a great restaurant called Kenoli. It looked deserted when we arrived, something we were getting used to, and over the time we had lunch quite a few travellers called in. I had the chicken curry and a mango juice. And being a Sri Lankan curry it was served in the traditional way, with lots of little bowls holding all the usual Sri Lankan accompaniments. It was delicious. And spicy. With Victoria’s egg fried rice and a Sprite the bill was a princely 3,350 rupees, $16 AUD. What about a cold beer? Not sold at the restaurant so we thought we would call somewhere and pick some up.

Buying alcohol in Sri Lanka

When travelling we usually like to pick up a couple of cold beers in the afternoon to take back to the room whilst having a few rounds of Uno. Curiously, I hadn’t yet seen anywhere that sold alcohol. I was fully expecting to see lots of types of stores that are ubiquitous in Asia. The 7-11s of Thailand. The Family Marts of Tokyo. Yet, here in Sri Lanka, nothing. So I headed over to Google (other search engines are available) to research what was going on.

What was going on was that very few places are licensed to sell alcohol. The places that are, are usually called “Wine Shops” and are marked by a large green sign, something that I learned to spot at a thousand paces. But not in Sigiriya. There wasn’t one shop in the whole village selling alcohol. This, and the fact that only limited places could sell alcohol did mean that for the whole trip we drank a lot less frequently than we might have otherwise done. Not a bad thing. As with the local beer in Bali, Bintang, the Sri Lankan lager, Lion, is not something you would want to drink much of. It takes some getting used to.

What we were getting used to was the rain. Our accommodation was down a lane off the main road and was prone to flooding. At one point it was completely flooded and fortuitously, a tuk tuk passed just at the point where we were wondering how wet we were going to get. The tuk tuk was occupied and Victoria asked if she could jump in for the 10 yards or so of flooded road. The back passenger shuffled over and Victoria jumped in. Only one of us got our feet wet.

Climbing Lion’s Peak in Sigiriya

We both got our feet wet the next day. Our last full day in Sigiriya and so our last opportunity to climb Lion’s Peak. Weather be damned, we are climbing. Not even another cold breakfast could dampen our spirits. Paying a pricey $35 USD, each, to enter the National Park it seems we weren’t the only ones braving the elements. We were in good company with large numbers out to scale the rock. 

Reading somewhere that it could take between one and three hours to climb the peak we were ready for a strenuous morning. Imagine our surprise when less than 30 minutes later we were walking around at the top. The views would have been amazing, if it ever stopped raining. We smiled. We were happy. We were travelling around Sri Lanka and knew we were very privileged. A bit of rain wouldn’t stop these two hardy folk from Yorkshire.

Walking around the top I really did get a feel of Macchu Picchu. The sense of awe I felt when first arriving at the top all those years ago. All this ingenuity. All this history. The felt sense of all those people that were here thousands of years before us. Life really is so much bigger than any of us.

Leaving Sigiriya the following day we reflected on our first impressions of Sri Lanka. I compared it to travelling many years ago. Very friendly locals all trying their best to make a living. Our first stop had been in a traditional village steeped in Sri Lankan history. Tourist numbers were low and I know this will change over the years as the world catches on to the beauty of this country. 

As this happens, and Sri Lanka moves with the times, one of my biggest hopes is that they stop this horrendous practice of chaining up elephants so tourists can gawk, ride, and take photos of them. It broke my heart each day to see the stricken elephant chained in a yard and looking very distressed. What was worse was seeing the very sharp spear the men used to dig into the elephants heels when they refused to walk where they were being directed and hearing the elephants’ harrowing cry.

I understand historically countries have used elephants in their tourist attractions. Livelihoods have been built on elephants. My hope is that many more start following the lead of places such as Mandalao Elephant Conservation in Luang Prabang, Laos, who conserve and protect these beautiful animals. Humans and animals both deserve the same level of respect.

With that thought occupying me I was brought back to the present by the sound of crunching gravel as our taxi pulled up to the hotel. We have a three hour taxi ride today, heading south, to the historical city of Kandy. If only all this rain would let up. Worryingly, it did seem to be getting worse. Has anyone checked the forecast?

Who remembers the pandemic?

As we concluded our travels around Sri Lanka we shared how we enjoyed the South West coast. This led us up to Colombo, the island’s capital where we had the opportunity to stay in the historic Galle Face Hotel and explore the sights of this old colonial city.

Now, we were about to make up for lost time. If you have been reading along for a few years you will know that we packed up our lives in Sydney to head overseas for some travel and adventure. In March 2020. We got as far as Perth and were here for two years. There was a small issue of a pandemic that we were all going through together. Across the globe.

A pandemic that saw us confined to the state of Western Australia. A very big state, mind. And whilst making the most of the beautiful South West we eloped in April 2021 and got married in Boranup Forest. Two witnesses and a celebrant. A perfect day. And being, well, the pandemic, we couldn’t have an official honeymoon. Since then we have always said that one day we would.

Arriving at Male

A short flight from Colombo and we had wheels down at Male International airport in The Maldives. The smallest country in Asia, yet spread over one of the largest geographical areas, Maldives consists of 20 natural atolls, which are ring shaped islands. Islands surrounded by pristine sea and beach. Known to have been inhabited for over 2,500 years, you will no doubt know of it as a luxury holiday destination. And luxury it is.

Not that you would get that impression on arrival in the capital, Male. The queue for immigration was long, the building a little ramshackle, and the process for a visa laborious. Unlike other countries in the world where you can apply for your visa before you leave your home country, The Maldives is a visa on a arrival destination. Meaning we all had to queue, answer questions, complete all the necessary rigmarole before our passports were stamped.

I don’t know, it just wasn’t the arrival I expected when I visualised visiting The Maldives. Once the formalities were complete we were through to arrivals where we were met by a representative of the resort we were staying at. With almost 190 resorts to choose from, scattered across the various atolls, picking the one to book was not a simple, nor quick process.

Our home for our honeymoon

We eventually choose Varu by Atmosphere, and their rep guided us to an outdoor area in the airport whilst we waited for another couple. With no air conditioning the hour we had to wait felt much longer. It was a relief to be walking the short distance to the harbour where our speedboat was waiting for the 50 minute ride to the resort.

Zipping across the water as the sun slowly set in the West, I had a pinch me moment. We were in the Maldives. It had never been that high on my travel bucket list. That was until we got married. Then, it just seemed the right place to be. And once we started planning our Sri Lanka trip, and realized just how close The Maldives were we knew it was happening. It took us a few years to finally get our honeymoon, and now we were here. Greeted on arrival at the island with traditional music and a glass of chilled champagne. These were going to be four very enjoyable days.

We were driven to our over water villa in a small electric golf buggy. Other than bicycles, the only transport we were to see on the island. The villa was amazing. Being all inclusive I shouldn’t have been as excited as I was to see that we had a temperature controlled wine fridge in the villa with a bottle of red and a bottle of white. Across the other side of the room was another small fridge, this one containing local beers, chocolate and soft drinks.

Dining in The Maldives

Having only experienced all inclusive twice before, once celebrating Victoria’s 40th birthday on safari in South Africa, and a second time on a cut price cruise from Lisbon to New York, it always blows my mind that you can drink whatever you feel like and the next day it is all replenished. It is like magic. And that you can rock up to a bar and select any drink you want without having to reach for your phone to pay.

Our villa was huge with a bed that faced the ocean. Double doors opened onto our private deck and plunge pool. With direct access to the warm, inviting sea from our own set of steps, many hours were spent snorkelling. Off the bedroom we had a large bathroom with freestanding bath. It was a lovely surprise to come back to the villa after a (couple of) pina coladas by the beach to see the bath run for us and full of rose petals. Accompanied by a “happy honeymoon” display on the bed. We hadn’t planned to take a bath before dinner, but how could we not pour a glass of wine, climb in and enjoy it?

The resort had a number of restaurants offering different cuisines. We tried almost all of them and the quality of the food was excellent. You may think that after three weeks travelling around Sri Lanka I would be over curries. No. Breakfast, lunch and dinner in The Maldives I started with a curry. Often traditional Maldivian, and sometimes a favourite or two from Sri Lanka. The hard decisions then started. What to eat next. With a literal smorgasbord of offerings I left every meal having eaten too much. And very happy.

On that first evening, strolling back from dinner I decided to call in to the bar and get my customary whisky nightcap. As I was taking it back to the room the bar tender poured it into a takeaway coffee cup. I could tell from the weight that it was a healthy double of the 12 year old Glenfiddich. Little was I to know that each night they would get healthier. By the end of our stay my whisky was poured into the cup with a knowing smile. As it was passed to me it was obvious I was now getting a cup full of whisky so see out my night. Sat out on the deck of the villa, gazing into the very clear night sky, sipping whisky, very grateful for the life we choose to lead.

And it wasn’t just the bar staff. The service right across all the venues on the island was impeccable and the staff so friendly. Even in the short time we were there we felt like we got to know them a little. I smiled one day, returning to the villa to see that they had dropped off a pink lilo for us in the plunge pool. They must have been reading my mind. And that afternoon I spent a leisurely few hours floating on the water, drinking cold beer, wondering where it all went wrong.

All this eating and drinking has consequences. Which is why we live a life of balance. Each day found us in the air conditioned gym keeping up with our daily exercise routine. Time on the treadmill seems to pass so much faster when you have a view of the ocean between the trees. Showered, cooling down from the excesses of the gym, with a cold beer and another round of the Maldivian Uno Classic. Can anybody remember the score?

So hard to say goodbye

It is always hard to leave a great holiday destination. It is even harder to leave The Maldives. Walking around to Lime and Chilli for our final breakfast, a couple of black tipped reef sharks swam in to say goodbye to us. Today, we were headed back to Colombo for a couple of days sightseeing and to close out an amazing trip.

We had two nights booked at our hotel in Colombo, only one of which we will be sleeping. Our flight back home leaves Colombo at 1.45am so we paid for the extra night allowing us to go for dinner and then come back to the room for a nap, to freshen up, and be somewhat ready for travelling at such an ungodly hour.

At least I got to finally try my very first string hoppers for breakfast. I would call that ending on a high.