Pamela & Susan
England, March 2017
Our Emirates flights [Economy Class] were good and on time, though the inflight meals were unappetising and the drinks trolley didn't appear till well after meals were served. It might be worth noting that we had very little time to connect with our Birmingham flight and this might be a problem for anyone who isn't swift enough or got lost in such a big airport.
We had to queue for a long time at Immigration, twice! The ETA form we had obtained and paid for in advance was rejected and we had to complete another entry form. Perhaps people should be advised more clearly to fill one in on the aircraft.
We were met by Nihal who had waited for ages and thought we had got lost! What a kind, gentle very nice man he is. He was very helpful and we felt very safe with his driving. He hauled his two elderly ladies up to the top of Sigiriya and Mihintale with great consideration and concern. He is also very good on birds and butterflies.
We enjoyed all the places where we stayed. Fort Bliss was a good base from which to explore Galle and the staff were very nice too. We loved our cabin on stilts at The Other Corner and we particularly enjoyed being able to walk through to Habarana lake and watch its prolific bird life. The meals were disappointing there, really because they attempted to do four courses which were unnecessarily elaborate. Little Paradise [Anuradhapura] was lovely, peaceful, simple, clean accommodation, with very good food.
We enjoyed our train journey from Colombo to Kandy, but it is worth noting that our booked seats had very limited vision because we had a wooden panel next to us. The seats in front of us had a wide window, but their occupants drew the curtain across and went to sleep!
We did find the tipping culture a little difficult to deal with, at times it seemed impossible to ensure that our tips would go to restaurant, kitchen or room staff we intended. We found it useful to buy envelopes to put tips in, rather than handing over notes.
I hope the above is helpful. If there is anything else you would like to know, please get in touch.
It was a great holiday, many thanks for all your help.
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