-
Tissamaharama to Tangalle – Tissa to the syllable challenged, and Welcome to the South Coast
Rewarding myself for making it the 7 hours on the train from Kandy, I ditched the originally planned bus ride and splashed out for a taxi from Ella to Tissamaharama (Tissa). It took about 2 hours and honestly I was warming to the idea of paying for a relatively cheap air conditioned taxi instead of…
-
Kandy to Ella – Buddha Lost a Tooth and Tourist Ground Zero
Hailing the mini van in Dambulla and jumping aboard, it was quickly obvious this was not the same as the last van I caught. It was packed, all the auxiliary seating was deployed and at first I didn’t think I even had a seat. Mishee was on a mini ironing board fold out middle seat,…
-
Sigiriya – A Big Rock, Caves, Elephants, and an Ancient City
I was immediately suspicious of the “Lodge” that I had booked for Sigiriya, when I saw that the reviews all ended in 2017, and not a single review for 2018 was listed. Despite this I still went ahead and clicked the Book button and made my way to the bus station. The ride to Dambulla…
-
Anuradhapura Part 2 – When Buddhism Came to Sri Lanka and the First Capitol
I had mentally putting of visiting the Scared City of Anuradhapura. Something in me knew I was leading up for some kind of disappointment. In my head I was imagining either a large archaeological park like at the Angkor Wat, Cambodia. Or temples strewn across town were you can get your Indiana Jones on, like…
-
Anuradhapura Part 1 – Wandering Around and a Bodhi Tree
Another early start after booking the 6:10am ticket instead of the 9:30am, I climbed into reserved seating 2nd class and immediately found the seats far more comfy than the 1st class to Jaffna. Not sure how that works, but overall it was a better experience. Food sellers came by regularly, the carriage doors were left…
-
Jaffna – Where Buddha meets Hindu
A 5:30am start with one of the hotel staff as my tuk-tuk driver (who incidentally slept in his tuk-tuk waiting for me!), we made great time to Colombo Fort Station despite him driving like a actual sane person in the dark and rain. This went counter to what I was expecting as there wasn’t much…
-
Sydney to Colombo – Welcome to Sri Lanka
After arriving at Bangkok airport for a 4 hour layover, one shocking revelation struck me to the core about the flight – there had been no crying babies. The last few flights I’ve have were non-stop hyena babies screaming, but this flight was blessed by the ancient Greek god of aeroplanes, Ares. I had flown…
-
Agadir & Essaouira – Beaches, Calamari, and back to Casa
The bus from Marrakech to Agadir had ugly and cute. It seems bus terminals are just nexus points for poor tempers, and arriving early in the morning there was the parking attendant and an older gentlemen arguing. This went on and off as I waited the hour for the bus to arrive, and slowly but…
-
Marrakech – Dialing Everything up to 11
Waiting for the train in Meknes, I stood without shade expecting the train to be vaguely on time. The previous two trains that had come through while waiting were spot on, and I didn’t think my 7 hour ride to Marrakech would be any different. Pacing back and forward, I’d managed to synchronise my pacing…
-
Meknes – Overcharging and Roman Ruins
The city of Meknes, the brief capitol of the region for half a century back in 1672, is a smaller more relaxed version of Fez. The hustle and bustle are gone, replaced with a decidedly quiet medina and the new town merging with the old town rather than being two distinctive separate areas. After leaving…
The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page