Sri Lanka

On 21.01 we arrived in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. We were greeted by a lot of hustle and bustle and immediately took the train to Kandy. The train ride was beautiful, as we could open the doors between the carriages and experience the incredible views of tea plantations, rice fields, and waterfalls up close.

In Kandy, we visited a tea factory and a temple with a view point.

Since we didn't like Kandy very much, we quickly made our way to Nuwara Eliya and then to Ella (of course by train).

Ella was the first place in Sri Lanka that we really liked, but all the other places were worth it just because of the great train ride.

In Ella, we climbed Little Adams Peak. At first, we walked through tea plantations, then the path became steeper. When we reached the top, we had to catch our breath. After that, we were blown away by an incredible view.

Our hike continued to the Nine Arches Bridge, where our expectations were exceeded once again.

We then took a bus ride through the mountains, which pushed us to our physical limits, and continued to Udawalawe, where there is a national park with many elephants and other animals.

After a few days on the mainland, we finally headed towards the sea to Tangalle.

We had a great accommodation here with a cute local family. On one side was the sea, on the other side was a lake with mangroves. In the garden, we were greeted by a monitor lizard and fascinating birds. A few days later, we were able to experience a huge troop of monkeys up close, playing and raiding coconuts.

In Tangalle, Eike also started his first attempts at surfing. While swimming, we saw a turtle and even a small shark.

On the same day, we also had the luck to encounter a snake in the wild.

During a canoe tour on the lake, we met many different and extraordinary birds and monkeys.

Our further journey took us to Unawatuna. Here we made one of the best decisions of our entire trip and decided to get a diving license. After what felt like swallowing 3 liters of chlorine and 5 liters of saltwater and three days of learning, we finally held our PADI Open Water Diver certificate in our hands. At this point, a big thank you to our enchanting and patient diving instructor Marion.

It is also worth mentioning the accommodation we stayed at in Unawatuna. One of the walls was a huge rock, an unusual but beautiful sight. The owner, Andrea, took care of us here and we rarely felt so well looked after.

In addition, we really liked the historic old town of Galle - Fort. It was built by the Dutch and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Our last stop in Sri Lanka was the town of Hikkaduwa, which offers the most beautiful beach out of all the beaches we saw in Sri Lanka. Golden sand and huge waves, simply a dream with a lot of fun in the water.

Afterwards, we took a bus to the airport in Colombo. It took us about six hours to cover the total distance of 143 km, but we saw a lot of the country and also made a very funny acquaintance: A man next to us in the bus really wanted to talk to us, but his English was not that good, so he called his wife and we talked to her on the phone. When he got off the bus, he quickly provided us with banana muffins and water through the window. Just incredibly nice and likeable!

From the airport, we continued to the Philippines.

Sri Lanka left us with many different impressions: the unique wildlife, which we will never encounter again, the breathtaking landscapes, and many nice, charming, but also really strange people.