Sri Lanka

After a week in the Maldives, Alicia and I set our sights on Sri Lanka. We had heard so many great things from our colleagues about the lush vegetation, the unlimited hiking opportunities, the kind people and the amazing food. We wanted to see the hill country, tea plantations, take a safari and experience local life. That is pretty much what we did. Upon arriving in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, we were greeted by our driver, who had come highly recommended to us and rightfully so. He not only drove us to all the places we wanted to go, he was our photographer, tour guide, translator and body guard. Our first stop was Kandy where we toured a temple and spent most of the day exploring, walking, shopping and spotting wildlife. We tried our first "short eat" which are baked and deep fried goods you can pick-up along the streets for a quick snack. Later in the day we headed Nuwara Eliya. NE is the highhest town in Sri Lanka and surrounded by tea plantations. Sri Lanka is the biggest exporter of tea and so it was only fit that we visit a tea plantation. Mackwoods is the biggest tea plantation in Sri Lanka. It was interesting insight to find out what goes into my daily cup of tea, from picking the fresh tips to packaging it off to the tea auctions in Colombo. The following morning we woke up early to enjoy the sunrise at Horton Plains. The drive before sunrise offered many mystic views of foggy plains with deer appearing from the mist. It was a ten km hike that took us from the plains and forest to World's End. The scenery was breathtaking, well worth the trek. Later that afternoon we took the train from NE to Ella. This train goes up through Sri Lanka's southern hill country, through the tea plantations, into the clouds and then weaves in and out of the many mountain tunnels as it descends to reach Ella. In Ella, we had a Ayurvedic massage , a cooking class and we climbed Little Adam's Peak. The 360 degree views from the top were spectacular, ones I will never forget. After two days in Ella we headed to Uda Walawe National Park. The park is 30,000 acres devoted to elephants and the wildlife that co-exist with them. It was amazing to see so many elephants roaming free and crossing our path just meters from us. After our wildlife experience our driver took us to visit his family. They live in a small town close to Colombo, our final destination. When we arrived, his family greeted us at the door with cheek to cheek smiles. They quickly invited us in and brought us homemade sweets and a freshly cooked meal. They did not speak any English other than the younger brother, who is in his last year of high school. It was a lovely meal accompanied by much laughter. Finally, we headed back to Colombo where we stayed overnight to catch our flight the following morning. Sri Lanka was never a place I had considered visiting and am very glad I did. The beauty, nature, landscape, food and people have made it one of the top destinations I would recommend to all.