Author archive
9 May 2003
Flying to Tehran We woke at 0500 and walked downstairs to the bus station and caught the 0550 bus to Dubai International Airport. With our luggage already with the airline, we got to the airport about 1h30 prior to departure. We had a light breakfast at McDonald’s before heading to our gate for our 0745 […]
8 May 2003
Despite a buffet breakfast, I was able to restrain myself a little. We were picked up from the Galle Face Hotel on Colombo’s waterfront at 0845. The ride to the airport of over 30km took about an hour. Security was tight at Colombo Airport just to enter the terminal. With our flight departing at 1255, […]
7 May 2003
Above: Chance encounter with a Vel procession. Look at the hooks on his back and thighs. Today our exploration of Sri Lanka comes to an end as we head back to Colombo. We drove from Nuwara Eliya back to the capital via the bridge where the movie Bridge on the River Kwai was filmed. But […]
6 May 2003
After a good buffet breakfast we drove up to a viewpoint to get a panorama of Kandy Lake, the Temple and the town. We continued to a gem museum. The place wasn’t as flash or polished as in Chiang Mai but they were very informative about different stones. As we emerged from the museum a […]
5 May 2003
Climbing Sigiriya Today is the day I’ve been anticipating, as this is the day we are visiting Sigiriya. It is an ancient fortress built on top of a huge rock. We will visit it on our move to Kandy. We had to wake early and was at breakfast before 0700. Text continues after this gallery. […]
4 May 2003
Visiting Polonnaruwa The air-con had iced-up overnight and stopped cooling. That was our priority before leaving on our excursions this morning. We organised a room change after a breakfast of eggs any style, fruit, toast, jam and coffee/tea. Today we visit Polonnaruwa, the second most ancient kingdom after their invasion of the prior kingdom of […]
3 May 2003
Setting off Our hotel at Negombo beach, near Colombo’s airport, included a buffet breakfast. It was a small spread of food which included a potato curry and a chicken curry. We took a look at Negombo Beach, made use of the hotel pool before getting picked up at 1000. Shortly after starting our […]
3 May 2003
Above: Negombo beach from our hotel near the airport. Flying to Colombo We boarded the Emirates B777-200 bound for Colombo at 0030. The flight had originated in Jakarta. It wasn’t as full as I had expected so we had some spare seats. The delicious rendang meal was served on a full-sized tray with sides by […]
2 May 2003
Killing a day Due to the time difference, I woke at 0430 but dozed till 0630, and then till around 0800. We have the day to kill in the city-state until our flight after midnight tonight. Jess, my step-bro’s girlfriend dropped us off in the city. We priced some electronics at Sim Lim Square and […]
1 May 2003
Singapore’s Changi airport is so efficient that our bags were nearly disappearing having done one circuit of the conveyor when we got there. We were outside within minutes. We went from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1 to the Emirates Airlines office to collect our onward ticket to Colombo and Tehran. This was for our departure […]