Chillin' by the Indian Ocean

Well, we haven't done a hell of lot over the last 5-6 days. We moved from Yala to a resort on the Indian Ocean with not much to do except lay by the pool. Even though it was on the Ocean, people were discouraged from entering the water. Probably because the Sri Lankan's aren't exactly known for their swimming capability and they don't want to take the responsibility for people swimming. Fair enough I guess since apparently an Italian guy did die in the ocean last week. Just a couple of pics to show what we got up to.

Check out the jumbo lagoon prawns.

The only thing we ventured out for was to check out the turtle hatchery. During the night turtles come on to the beach and lay eggs and the next morning the fisherman dig them up and hand them to the hatchery to make sure they survive. They pay the fisherman more than what they would get at the market. Turtle omelette anyone? They were slippery, slimy little critters.

On the way we saw another fishing troop pulling in the net. Guess what they had in there - a turtle. Not surprising given they are fishing where they let turtles out to sea. It was a happy ending for this turtle though.

..and looking the other way. Definitely had the idyllic postcard look. The beaches down south were some of the nicest beaches I have seen.

Our last stop was Colombo for the last couple of days.

On the way there though, we made another visit to Krishni's relatives place. This time her grandmothers old place just outside the main city centre of Colombo. This is where Krishni started life. Our driver, Rangin wanted to knock on the door while Krishni was trying to explain to him that her grandmother no longer lives there!

We didn't have many plans here either except to chill out at the Galle Face Hotel. The oldest hotel in Sri Lanka, first built in 1864. It's a nice place to chill out and have a drink. We were even treated to some more Sri Lankan dancing during dinner as there was a photo exhibition on while we were there.

So that winds up Sri Lanka. Some last thoughts about our trip.

1. Glad we navigated the Sri Lankan roads and lived to tell about it. It was never relaxing travelling between destinations. Just hold on and pray.

2. It wasn't all smooth sailing but in the end we got what we came for. A chance to see where Krishni's roots lie and get an appreciation of life in Sri Lanka.

3. Sri Lanka really does have a lot to offer. Beautiful beaches, beautiful highlands and very tropical fauna. Just a pity travelling between places is so hard.

4. Never seen so many people smile - you always get a huge grin if you even remotely look in someone's direction (with the exception of big city Colombo).

Keep Smiling - till next time.