Ivor, Jennifer, David & Dawn
England, April 2016
What did you like most about Sri Lanka?
People, colours, food, wildlife.
What did you like least about Sri Lanka?
Humidity.
What is your opinion of your accommodation in Sri Lanka?
Overall very good.
[Villa] Talangama [Colombo] – A beautiful place to start (and finish) our stay. Excellent food and service (although at times a little too attentive, everyone’s plates immediately refilled after each item finished broke up our conversation somewhat). Still a lovely oasis of calm and great bird viewing across road and in garden.
Kandy – Hanthana House – As we had asked Niro to take side road to visit villages for pineapples and cashews we arrived in Kandy too late to tour and the hike out to Hanthana House made us wish we had stayed in town although the views from Hanthana were lovely, good birding. Meal however was so so and we felt Pathi ripped us off for drinks 5200 rupees for 3 beers and 3 G and Ts when he doesn’t have a licence. After negotiation he dropped this to 2500 which we thought was about right. Would not stop there again.
Gal Oya [Gal Oya Lodge] – Lovely camp [rustic bungalows and villas, not tents], excellent food and lovely pool. Damien proved a very knowledgeable guide. Very good walk on first evening to local lake, good birding. Gal Oya lake trip very good with one swimming elephant and lots of birds. Interesting afternoon park safari. Shame the transit times for each were around 40 min but that’s a given. The walk uphill from some of the ‘huts’ [bungalows] was quite taxing in the heat and may not be suitable for older guests.
Nuwara Eliya [Hill Cottage] – Great tour of tea factory (Lover’s Leap). Afternoon visit to Victoria Park spoilt by masses of school kids, saw very little [bird life]. Hill House [Cottage] provided a good accommodation but evening meal poor (we suspected it was a takeaway brought in), staff looked as if they had just walked in off the street, bomber jackets, baseball lids on. Wished it had been B&B as town had good choice of eateries.
Uda Walawe – Kalu’s Hideaway – Nice hotel, with comfortable rooms. Staff a little disorganised for early breakfast (blame manager!) but very helpful. Nice swimming pool. Some good birding in grounds and around river bank. Bit of a schlepp to reach park gates but good variety of wildlife with lots of elephants.
Yala [Kulu Safaris] – Great camp, luxurious tents and good view to lake. Arrived for lunch and the safari, we were puzzled that we travelled back to block 5 20 km along the bumpy road we had just come in on but guide said much fewer vehicles there and he was right. Had some good sightings, three leopards! Food very good and liberal drinks. Manjou [Manjula] excellent guide.
Talalla Retreat [Tangalle] – Our first real contact with other white people (all of whom seemed disgustingly lithe and fit and made us feel very old!).Room lovely and good restaurant with very efficient waiters. Excellent pool.
Trip to Kalametiya [Bird Sanctuary] was a waste of time in hindsight (wed seen loads of water birds at previous venues and it was not the season for the migrant birds). Lake is suffering from extensive pollution by human waste, the smell is awful! Strong wind blew our pontoon down lake quickly but with one local to punt no way we could have got back if Niro and us in rotation had not poled as well. Would not recommend this to anyone! [Kalametiya Bird Sanctuary has been removed from our list of visits until the situation there improves.]
Sinharaja [The Rainforest Ecolodge] – Lovely place, there for [Sri Lankan] New Year [14 April], lovely buffet and probably the cheapest wine in Sri Lanka at GB£11 a bottle! Very difficult for bird spotting due to canopy. Afternoon walk in forest was in colossal humidity and accompanied by leeches, interesting but exhausting. This walk would not be suitable for anyone with limited mobility, clambering over tree trunks etc. Leech problems and one Czech guy who was bitten was on Warfarin and he bled a lot! Manager was an interesting man who we did not think was using full potential of resort (bird hides would be a good addition). However he is determined to keep the operation small and low key.
Mirissa – Imagine Villa [Hotel] – Lovely hotel and pool. Strange that the swimming pool was cleaned each day but he pond in the entrance containing Koi Carp and two terrapins had not been cleaned for some time, not a good sight for nature lovers! Strangely soulless place to us but very good for honeymooners. Ate out both nights in town, meal at Palm Villa hotel overlooking the beach was very good. Great whale watching trip on professionally run boat. Saw nothing for first 2.5 hours but then 15 sperm whales. Pod of around 50 spinner dolphins on way back. Skipper extended the trip for viewing and made sure both sides of the boat got equal sightings. Excellent!
All accommodation had very comfortable beds (so important on a touring/safari type of holiday) and were clean and comfortable. Food generally excellent (two exceptions already mentioned), varied and in large quantities!
What is your opinion of your chauffeur guide in Sri Lanka?
Niro is an excellent man who taught us a lot about Sri Lankan ways of life, introducing us to Short Food [‘Short Eats’], pineapple with chilli salt etc. Very safe driver with extensive religious knowledge, good sense of humour and very accommodating re photo stops.
What is your opinion of your flights to and from Sri Lanka?
Very good. [SriLankan Airlines]
Any other comments?
Hope this info is useful John. We both agreed that we had enjoyed Sri Lanka immensely and our guide gave us really great memories. Now considering a return under less humid conditions to explore further north and eastern coasts!
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