Philippines – Bohol – Reefs and Turtles

2 Feb 2019

Our adventure continues in beautiful Bohol, an island just a quick 90 min speed ferry ride away from Oslob, Cebu. Bohol has many beautiful sights to offer, next to the stunning chocolate hills (a rock formation on the inland) and a tarsier sanctuary (both best reached by renting a scooter) it also boasts with picture perfect beaches and a colourful diverse marine life.

We took said speed ferry from Oslob and arrived on Momo beach which was a short tuk tuk ride away from our first accommodation Isla Divina Inn. We opted in to stay here for Christmas and New Years since travel between the years can be hard as many locals are off enjoying time with their families and the public transport is somehow more minimalized. Isla Divina Inn comprises of multiple double bedrooms with private bathrooms and a shared kitchen located around 2 km from the famous Alona Beach (that makes it either a 30 min walk or a 100 peso quick tuk tuk ride away). Even though our room was lovely the accommodation itself was a little disappointing in some aspects, for example the water in the shower was actually salt water (as the pluming has not been done correctly and they ran out of fresh water), the pool had no filtration and was just to the brim full of chlorine and the shared kitchen could have really done with a thorough clean. We stayed at Isla Divina for a while and then opted in for a much cheaper accommodation near the beach which was an open air hostel called Alona Hammocks. This very simplified and yes, open air, accommodation has bunks and beds in a (for the lack of better words) tree house – even though we were a little skeptical at first, the owners, staff and other guests were so welcoming and friendly that we felt at home straight away. They offer free (hot and cold) drinking water, (cold but fresh water) showers and a nice breakfast included in the price! We haggled them down from their normal 300 pesos per person per night to 250 pesos (4,20 Euro) and (even though there is not much privacy to speak of) we really enjoyed our stay and can’t recommend the place enough (especially if you’re on a budget)!

Alona Beach itself is really beautiful with palm trees lining a nice stretch of white sand and all the restaurants, bars and shops your heart desires. You need to note though that just like El Nido on Palawan these days, its beauty made it so popular that it really is very busy. Granted we were there during holiday season so it might be less crowded during off season but you can tell just by the average prices of food and drink that it is very much a full on tourist destination. On the plus side this meant that we could enjoy all the food we desired during Christmas and treat ourselves to some home comforts. Plus you certainly don’t have to tuck in at 10 pm since the party scene is vibrant with bars for every taste, from the chilled Reggae bar, the live music beach bar, the dance club open at all hours to the fancy cocktail bars in the posh resorts.

So we certainly did not go hungry or bored over Christmas and New Year’s.
Our highlight in Bohol was our snorkelling trip to Balicasag Island, which is a tiny, basically uninhabited island in the midst of a marine conservation area. You can book tours from any of the guys on the beach (you will get asked approximately a million times during your stay) and after a bit of haggling we agreed on just under 12 Euros per person for the half day trip.

A spot of attempted dolphin watching on the way (we caught a glimpse of one!) makes the short boat ride even more entertaining. When you arrive at Balicasag island you will get a snorkel guide assigned that takes you to the different snorkelling sights in his little boat, once you’re there you can roam free (just keep an eye on the boat) and if you’re not a confident swimmer you can just stay holding on to the boat and let yourself be guided.
You will not regret going on the trip, Balicasag’s marine life is really breath-taking, from a beautiful reef boasting colonies of different types of corals to all the colourful and diverse fish you will not want to leave. The highlight of our trip was seeing three turtles in the wild, of which one even made a little show for us coming up for air (watch our video here: Turtle in Bohol!) and two of which we saw cuddle each other!

If you want some creature comforts and don’t mind a busy beach, Alona Beach is the location for you. We enjoyed our stay and all the great people (and turtles) we’ve met but decided after the “touristy” overload we need something more relaxing and off the beaten track – meet us next time on the tiny island of Siquijor, the “Island of fire”!

Philippines – Cebu – Whale sharks and Waterfalls

30 Dec 2018

Just like Thailand advertises with it being “the land of smiles”, the Philippines has their own tourism slogan: “It’s always more fun in the Philippines” – and let me tell you, they are absolutely right!

We fell in love with this beautiful island nation three years ago when we were on holiday with my brother and sister and we’ve wanted to come back ever since! The second we stepped foot into the country we couldn’t have felt more welcome – the Filipinos are really one of a kind and we fell in love with the country and its people all over again.

Manila

We booked a flight with (you guessed it) Air Asia from Langkawi over Kuala Lumpur to Manila which all went smoothly (only 3.5 hours from KL to Manila) and arrived in the middle of the night. Manila is one of those cities that never sleeps however and we had no issues at all getting a Grab taxi (we use the app which works great in cities) from the airport to our accommodation in Makati (the business district of Manila) for a reasonable price.

We stayed in a lovely new hotel called Zen Rooms Marvelle Studios which was super clean, comfy and had great staff.

We only had a few nights in Manila since we’ve already done the “touristy” bits a few years ago and came to Manila mainly to extend our tourist visa. On entry you’ll receive a 30 day visa for free (for sure German and British nationals do) and you can then extend your visa in any bureau of immigration. We extended for an additional 29 days and opted in for the express visa (meaning you’ll get it on the same day) which costs around 60 US $ per person. It took around three hours from start to finish and was pretty hassle free (but be aware that they only take cash so come with the right funds).

New visa in hand we enjoyed a crazy night out on Burgos street with its many karaoke bars and more surreal entertainment such as the Ringside bar which presents foxy boxing and midget boxing – but be aware that this is also partly a red light district and (especially when travelling in an all-male group) you’ll get hassled quite a bit.

From Manila we took a short flight into Cebu city!

Cebu

Whale Sharks

Cebu city is the most developed city in the Philippines after Manila and just like Manila the traffic is horrendous! We booked a place in a little town called Santander down the coast and even though it is only 150 km away from the airport it took us a good five hours to get there even though we opted in for a private driver (for around 48 Euro), it took a good three hours just getting out of the city!

Our accommodation was a charmingly rustic little place called MDF Beach Resort, owners and staff were very welcoming, helpful and friendly and with a very open and chilled atmosphere we quickly got to know the other guests and fellow travellers and made some great friends. There is also a great government protected marine sanctuary a short walk down the road with great snorkelling at high tide (for free!).

Here we also had our first experience of renting out a scooter, which was absolutely terrifying at first but after a while actually quite nice – Cebu is pretty easy to get around since there is just one very long main road circling the island along the coast, so all you need to know is if to turn left or right and you’ll get to your destination eventually. Be careful with the overtaking buses and lorries (some absolutely crazy driving!), take your time and go a speed you’re comfortable with and you’ll be fine.

If you go to Cebu the one thing you cannot miss are the whale sharks! The place to go for this is Oslob (which was around a 25min drive on a scooter from Santander). Best time to go is from 6am to 11am, apparently the earlier you go the more whale sharks you see but you’ll also have more crowds, we went around 8.30am and met three of these gentle giants with not too much of a crowd. Go straight to the actual place to get tickets (called Briefing) and don’t get hassled by the guys trying to pull you in and make you pay more, it is 1000 pesos per person (just under 17 Euro) and 10 pesos if you want to park your scooter (you shouldn’t be paying more than that).

Now at this point I have to say that even though these whale sharks are wild they are in Oslob all year around because the locals are feeding them. There is controversy around this mainly because some of the whale sharks have stopped migrating which they should do naturally and because the locals only feed them krill (so just one type of food) rather than the varied diet they’re supposed to have. The whale sharks are there by choice but researchers are worried that they are getting too comfortable having this food readily available. However the Philippines are investing a lot of funds (especially from the income of the whale shark tourists) into marine research and protecting their marine life so we hope that if it concludes that this type of tourism is actually harmful, they will decide to stop it – just like they’re one of the very few Asian countries that has very heavy sentences for dynamite fishing and is actively working on marine conservation.

That being said, you will be on one boat of many forming a half circle around the whale sharks, you’ll have to stay in the water at your boat and wait for them to come to you. There are strict rules on the required distance to keep and absolutely no touching which you’ll get briefed on before you set out.
But oh my! Meeting them was soooo amazing! It’s been our dream for such a long time and every previous snorkelling trip trying to spot them in the wild ended in failure, so we felt so very privileged to finally meet them!

At first they seem a little imposing, I think not many of us have experiences being in the water so close to such a large fish but once they come close you can just feel their gentle nature and you get comfortable watching them. They are making their rounds in their own time and you get to be in the water with them for around 30 min. It was such a great experience we didn’t want to get out of the water when the time was up and we were still excited about it days after. We fell in love with these gentle giants and will never forget this part of our adventure!

Waterfalls

Cebu island also boasts an abundance of waterfalls which impress travellers with their natural beauty time and time again.
The most famous one is Kawasan Falls which offers canyoneering trips or you can just go to the actual end of the waterfall for a swim, we heard the canyoneering is definitely a great experience and worthwhile doing.

However being a little short on time and the weather not always playing ball we personally opted in for the small version and went to see Aguinid Falls (which we could reach from our accommodation by foot in around one hour). You’ll have to pay 60 Pesos (1 Euro) entrance fee and will be given two guides that help you navigate through the different levels of the waterfall, in the end you should tip the guides as they are not being paid from the entrance fee (it goes to the conservation of the place), we gave them 100 Pesos each and they seemed very happy with that.

Aguinid Falls has stunning blue water, a cool spot for cliff diving and impresses with its natural beauty all around. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and would recommend it if you’re short on time and/or short on budget.

For Christmas and New Year’s we’re staying on the beautiful island of Bohol, watch this space for our next adventure! Spoiler alert! There will be turtles!!!

Malaysia – Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi

18 Dec 2018

Kuala Lumpur

We flew from Colombo to Kuala Lumpur which takes around 4.5 hours, Air Asia has some great cheap fares, and even though they are a budget airline, the flight was smooth and comfortable.

Within Malaysia you can use the Grab app to book taxis which works very well (it’s basically like Uber), it gives you a standard price based on distance in advance so you don’t have to negotiate and it’s usually cheaper than the taxi drivers that try to pull you in their car for a premium fee. One thing we noticed straight away to our surprise was that there don’t seem to be any tuk tuk’s in Malaysia! We also noted that the roads are very well developed and the drive from the airport was very smooth. We considered taking the train but it turned out to be cheaper taking a Grab for two travellers – single travellers should compare prices before making this decision.

Unfortunately we didn’t have a great stay at our hostel (Hostel Summer Suites), let’s just say the management has some strange views on micro-managing their guests and what they call security (and we would call 24h surveillance) hence we didn’t feel very welcome.
But our accommodation aside Kuala Lumpur has certainly a lot to offer, we particularly enjoyed the night food market Jalan Alor with all the delicious options! We couldn’t stop eating but still didn’t blow our budget (as far as we could tell here you can also get the cheapest beer in the city). Around the corner you can also find lots of bars for every taste from Reggae to Techno and ladies are drinking for free on ladies night!!

When in Kuala Lumpur you must also visit the famous Petronas Towers – if you’re on a budget like us, go in the evening around 8pm to the little lake by the towers to enjoy a water and light show with music for around 15-20min (for free every night) – if you have more cash to burn you can also book tickets online to go up the towers and take in the views.

All in all Kuala Lumpur is very clean and has accommodation as well as restaurants for most budgets, however note that alcohol is pretty expensive (due to the high tax) across the whole city. It is overall cheaper than Singapore but certainly up there when it comes to expensive cities in South East Asia. We thought a few days was enough to get an impression and decided to spend some time in Langkawi for some relaxing beach time.

Langkawi

From Kuala Lumpur you fly around one hour to Langkawi (again super cheap fares with our favourite Air Asia), it is located up the west coast and is said to have a more relaxed vibe compared to super touristic Penang hence why we decided to go here.
We stayed at two different accommodations near the main beach Pantai Cenang, firstly in Gecko Guest House which has a lovely rustic chilled vibe (with lots of cute cats) and secondly we stayed in Kampung Guest House due to cheaper rates which is basic but well worth it for the deal we haggled out.

Not having been to Penang I cannot say if Langkawi is more relaxed or not, but Langkawi is certainly pretty busy. On the beach you’re being hustled for tours and any water sport you can think of at not super budget friendly options, but if you decline politely they are not too much bother and let you get on with your tanning and relaxing.

The beach itself is sandy albeit not super white sand as you might have experienced in Thailand or Philippines and there is unfortunately (big important topic for everyone right now) a lot of plastic on the beach and in the water – we were often busy running back and forth to the bin with plastic we found in the water and one night when just going for a walk filled up two bags full with rubbish after only 50 metres of walking. Langkawi does try to protect the environment with motions such as no plastic cup tops and straws in fast food restaurants and no plastic bag in shops on Mondays and Tuesday, but unfortunately it is no use since the shop owners don’t want to risk losing customers and to our regret many tourists don’t seem to care either and instead of bringing reusable bags with them demand plastic bags for every tiny little purchase, quiet disappointing really.

The water on the beach is also quiet murky so you definitely cannot snorkel as you will have no visibility and we heard rumours that box jelly fish have been spotted around the area which sat a little uncomfortable with us.
There are however plenty of activities in Langkawi, from visiting the Underwater world, zip lining through the jungle, island hopping, horseback riding, Crocodile farm, cable cars to the mountain peak, marine park excursion, all the way to a swim in the Seven Wells waterfalls you can certainly keep yourself very busy (if you have the budget).
We opted in for the Seven Wells Waterfalls where you can swim in the waterfall, as well as in the pools above the waterfall and can also climb the peak without a tour all by yourself. This budget friendly (if not sore muscle friendly) option will take the best part of a day if you decide to hike all the way to the top.

When reaching the first platform above the waterfall it states that it takes two hours from that point to reach the peak – us being super confident from our hiking experiences in Sri Lanka thought that was surely an over exaggeration and most likely the time frame for a slow hiker – but oh boy, we were so wrong!
It took us just under two and a half hours to reach the top and we nearly gave up multiple times. It is not just a nice hike to the top, nope, to reach the 701 meter summit you need to actually climb very steep inclines with the help of a rope and it stretches on and on and is seemingly never ending, towards the end we expected the peak after every turn just to find another super steep rope climb. Even worse was the climb down as it started to rain and the ground became slippery with mud which made it very treacherous.

Not many people attempt the climb to the peak (we only met five people in total on our way up and down) which makes the hike and the climb itself quiet an experience, you are literally alone with nature and we certainly enjoyed that a lot and if you do finally make it up to the top, the views speak for themselves!

Another noteworthy fact about Langkawi is that the island is actually duty free, meaning that you don’t have to pay tax on booze and cigarettes, like with all good things there are limits here (per month per person max 5 litres of spirits and 62 cans of beer) but we certainly made good use from it and enjoyed the local party scene on the beach. Note that you can buy beer also from little shops everywhere (without counting towards your tax free allowance) but spirits only from the duty free shops (and you need to bring your passport).

Overall we felt like we needed some downtime and stay in a place more than just a week at a time and Langkawi was a great option for us. We plan to be back in Malaysia to visit the east coast which is currently in Monsoon season (mid-October till the end of March).

But we are now ready for new adventures – meet us in the Philippines next where we’ll spend Christmas and New Year’s!

Sri Lanka – Kandy – Mythical Jungles and Ancient Caves

25 Nov 2018

How did we get there?

Well, how did we get from Ella to Kandy? If you’ve ever travelled in Sri Lanka before you know that the train line Ella – Kandy/ Kandy- Ella is considered one of the most beautiful ones and is actually a tourist attraction in itself! We booked 3rd class tickets for the 6.5h journey (everything else was already sold out two days in advance, so book early) for 440 Rupees (around 2,30 Euro) each, super bargain!

Don’t miss out on the amazing train journey

We were a little apprehensive having seen wooden seats and overcrowded carriages in 3rd class in trains running from Colombo, but were actually pleasantly surprised with not super spacious but comfy seats and a pleasant journey. We ended up sitting opposite a super nice couple from Melbourne and after chatting and swapping travel tips for locations around the globe half the journey had already flown by! And let me tell you, it really was the most beautiful train journey we’ve ever been on, but see for yourself!

Where did we stay?

We stayed in a lovely hostel called The Best Hostel, even though we thought that sounded a little big headed, it actually was the best hostel we stayed in during our time in Sri Lanka! The owner and staff were super nice and welcoming, the guests were super chill, we could help ourselves to free coffee and tea, our private room was spacious and had a wonderful view, we could use the kitchen at no extra cost and the owner was super helpful with planning trips and advice. Oh and the location is also really good, being in a quiet road just outside the city centre.

Kandy – Things to do

Kandy itself is maybe a little boring if you compare it to funky Ella. There is certainly no night life scene at all and everything seems a little stricter, I believe this is due to Kandy being a very religious city which is said to be holding an actual tooth of buddha – you can see the artefact in the adequately named tooth temple which is in the heart of the city. There is also a nice central lake which you can stroll around and take some nice pics of the royal bath house and some local wildlife. In addition if it tickles your fancy you can also go see the traditional Kandy dancers every night around 5pm. The streets and little alley ways are lined with little shops selling trinkets, fruit, veg and all sorts. But to be honest that’s about all t here is to do in central Kandy and you could easily manage it in a day.

The reason we came to Kandy is what lurks nearby – a mysterious rock fortress in the mountains, a secret hidden in a deep cave and a temple seemingly made of gold!
I’m talking of course about Sigiriya, Dambulla Cave temple and the Hindu temple Sri Muthumariamman!

Our hostel owner managed to arrange a tour to see all three in one day with a (super nice) private driver for 5600 Rupees (around 30 Euros) for the ride and additional entries to be paid at the sights, but we thought it was well worth it!

Hindu temple Sri Muthumariamma is very imposing, especially in the sun light with its seemingly endless gleaming statues decorating the roof all the way up – you can probably stare at it for hours and you’d still wouldn’t have seen all the different little gods, goddesses and saints. The inside is also beautiful with frescos and even more statues but for us personally we preferred the artful arrangement on the outside (and note you only need to pay to get in, not to walk around it).

The Dambulla Cave temple is set on top of a mountain in (yes, you guessed it) a cave – the 15 to 20min climb up the mountain to the entry is a little strenuous, especially in the mid-day heat, but it’s manageable, just make sure you bring water! Great views from the top! Make sure you don’t turn your back to the buddha statues when taking pictures, it’s considered rude (this is actually a general rule when it comes to buddha statues in Sri Lanka) – so no selfies!
Our highlight on this trip and our time in Kandy however was Sigiriya!

Sigiriya is an ancient rock fortress towering 200 meters higher than the surrounding jungle.
We actually opted in to climb Pidurangala Rock next to Sigiriya to have a view of Sigiriya rather than from Sigiriya (is this getting confusing?). The locals often refer to Pidurangala Rock as Little Rock, even though Little Rock is said to only be 1 meter shorter, some harsh naming conventions here… Entrance to Little Rock is priced at a bargain 500 Rupees (around 2,60 Euro) per person, while Sigiriya is asking for a whopping 27 Euro per person! We hear that Sigiriya can also get quiet crowded while Little Rock is pretty quiet and tranquil with only a few tourists and locals making the climb even on the weekends. So keep this in mind when making your decision.

On your climb up through the jungle you will find steep steps, ancient wall drawings, a beautiful sleeping buddha statue and absolutely amazing views! The last part to reach the top is actually quite a climb (not just a hike), you’ll have to clamber over, under and in-between huge rock formations which made us feel very much like India Jones! We love climbing so for us this was great but for the faint hearted it might not be the ideal end to an already demanding hike.

Everything around Little Rock and Sigiriya seemed very mythical, from the ancient surrounding jungle to the surreal beautiful view from the top, it somehow felt other-worldly and we were almost expecting a dragon swooping down on us at some points (unfortunately that didn’t happen, maybe it was just a symptom of GoT withdrawal or our vivid imaginations), we met a little Gecko on the way down though (almost a dragon!).
It was certainly a beautiful trip and Little Rock is one of our top three highlights during our time in Sri Lanka (Ella Rock and wild turtles in Hikkaduwa being the other two).
Next we’re flying out of Sri Lanka to Malaysia – meet us in Kuala Lumpur!

No crowds to mess with our view of Sigiriya

Sri Lanka – Ella – Reaching new heights (literally)

18 Nov 2018

How did we get there?

Unfortunately our previous location Mirissa is not on one of the main train lines and even though the neighbouring towns do have a direct connection, the line does not go inland but only back to Colombo which made our travel to Ella a little more complicated. After some negotiations we persuaded the son of our guest house “mum” to take us for around 60 Euros. The distance between Mirissa and Ella is around 180 km and takes about four and a half hours because some of the roads are very steep, this makes 60 Euros sound completely reasonable but being used to super cheap transport on the train it stung a little bit.

But we really wanted to see what the hill-regions in inland Sri Lanka have to offer and we were so glad that we did!

Where did we stay?

Ella is located in the middle of the Uva Province hill region. After driving up and up and up along windy mountain roads for hours to finally reach the small town, it really hits home when you notice you’re much quicker out of breath because it’s situated in the hills at around 1000 meters above sea level.
We stayed at a little guest house called Why Not located a short walk from the town’s busy main street in a quiet area with lovely views of a tea planation. Our private room with private bathroom was a little rustic but again it was quiet a bargain – we noticed after we arrived that you could also stay in a tent at the back of the property, which actually looked super comfy!

Ella – Hiking paradise

Compared to the coastal regions Ella is much cooler, especially the nights can almost be chilly, which makes a nice change and the hiking and sleeping a lot more comfortable – it also has the added bonus of a lot less mosquitos! Hurray!
Strolling down Ella’s busy main road you’ll certainly won’t struggle to find a café, bar or restaurant – you might struggle to make a decision though as they are just so many of them. You’ll also certainly won’t struggle to find a tuk tuk or taxi or private van that will repeatedly be offered to you to take you places you actually don’t want to go. Let’s just say it’s been the most touristic place we’ve been to so far and it certainly shows in the locals a little more pushy ways. Even though with its little shops and rooftops bars Ella should have a nice bohemian feel to it, it somehow seems a little forced at times.
We heard rumours that you can basically go out whenever and there will be a bar serving booze at any hour, even though we found that after happy hour the town quickly becomes fairly empty and yes, even though there were bars open very late, it was a little bit of a ghost town by midnight.
But Ella town aside we were blown away by the beauty of the region, it is just simply breath taking (potentially also because of the altitude). You can go for so many hikes around Ella town and will not be disappointed!

When standing at the main entrance of Ella station you can follow the train tracks to the left to find your way to Ella Rock or to the right to check out the famous Nine Arch bridge – and yes, it does sound silly to walk down train tracks, but keep in mind this is not the London Underground and there are really only a handful of trains arriving on a daily basis, driving only at 15 km/h and constantly sounding their horn when approaching to warn tourists and locals alike.

Rawana Falls is a little bit further from town and we would recommend taking a bus or a tuk tuk there, hiking might be just that little too far. We stopped on our way up to Ella town since we had private transport and were glad we made the stop – the water crashing down the mountains in the rainforest setting is really something worth taking your time to appreciate. The local vendors have fruit, nuts and drinks for sale, buy at your own risk, there is a hoard of monkeys that might just want to snatch it away and they’ll certainly won’t give it back.

To find your way to Ella Rock from Ella station is actually not that hard, it’s a roughly 10km round trip but will take you some time as it involves a very steep climb at the end of it, we made it there and back in around three hours. Best time to go is in the morning before the clouds come in around lunch time.
We heard that some of the locals are actually painting over the signs leading to Ella Rock and telling tourists they’re going the wrong way when in fact they were on the right path, they do this in order to then sell you a guide that can swoop in and save the day for around 1000 to 2000 Rupees. We were not impressed by this kind of strategic misleading for profit and opted in to read up on directions on some hiking blogs (super easy to find with a google search) which worked a treat and got us to Ella Rock in a jiffy.

The last stretch is really the hardest, with Ella Rock standing tall at 2000 meters above sea level don’t forget that you’re climbing one kilometre upwards! So take your time catching your breath which can be challenging in the altitude and don’t rush, there is really no need and you might end up slipping and hurting yourself.
Despite the good directions we found in the blog we did manage to get lost once when already heading for the summit, we somehow didn’t see the little trek in the forest and ended up going the wrong way – note to self: If you’re climbing a mountain and trying to reach the top (even though tempting and much easier) downhill is generally the wrong way!

Anyways, after some course correction and a leech incident (yes, be careful they’re waiting in the streams) we finally made it to the top and I can honestly say I haven’t quiet seen anything like it! The views are absolutely stunning, you are basically on the same level as the clouds and you’re so high up that you can’t even see the bottom of the valley – it was really rather overwhelming and I had to step away from the edge for a moment to avoid vertigo and process the sheer beauty of the view.

Ella Rock was certainly one of the highlights of our trip and we can only recommend climbing it yourself one day!

Next time we’ll report on our time in Kandy after making the famous Ella to Kandy train journey – catch you guys then!

Sri Lanka – Mirissa – Secrets and Fireflies

15 Nov 2018

How did we get there?

We opted in for the cheaper yet a little less comfy tuk tuk ride from Hikkaduwa to Merissa – at around two hours total travel time with traffic around Galle, we thought at 2200 Rupees (around 11,50 Euro) it was a bargain. The only point to consider though is that Mirissa is not on a train line and even though the neighbouring town Matara does have a direct connection, the trains are only running back towards Colombo up the West coast and not inland – which made our onwards travel a little tricky, but more on that later.

Where did we stay?

We stayed in a little guest house called Jumera Villa Mirissa, at off season prices our little comfy private room with double bed and private bathroom was a bargain at around 55 Euro total for 7 nights including a simple breakfast.
In Sri Lanka, often when the accommodation states to be a guest house (or really anything other than a hotel), it means that the hosts (mostly the owners) also live at the property and rent out their spare rooms, thusly it is also often referred to as a home stay.
Don’t be apprehensive about it, it sounds a lot less private than it is, if you don’t feel sociable you don’t have to interact with the hosts the whole time, even though they’re generally (so far in our experience) so nice that you can’t help yourself anyways. Our host “mum” was very courteous and we could use her kitchen to cook- we just paid a little extra when we also used her laundry service since we were using her gas for cooking but we thought that was only fair. Oh and at night you might get lucky and spot some fire flies in the garden! You can actually spot fire flies all around town when you walk off the beaten tracks away from the beach in the evenings – super cool!

What’s Mirissa like?

Mirissa has a little harbour where you can check out the fish market in the early mornings, albeit note that it is the fish market for the traders – meaning the traders buy the fish from here and then take it to the local customer facing fish market to sell on their stalls or to take it to local restaurants. If you find the right fisherman though you might be able to haggle out a cheap deal for a not so official sale of a small fish if you’re willing to gut and cook it yourself.

Mirissa’s main beach is stretching along a big bay, depending on weather, tides and time of day you can surf, body board or do a little snorkelling. Note though that the snorkelling is only worthwhile (and do watch out for the tides!) around the big rock to the left of the main beach- to the right of it a little trickier (watch out for sea urchins at low tide! Don’t get impaled!) but to the left of it fairly easy if you’re a good enough swimmer. We saw a handful of colourful Wrasses and Angel fish and a huge never-ending shoal of fish that swam around us, under us, above us but never actually touched us – it was pretty magical (personally I was waiting for them to form one big fish and start talking to me like in Finding Nemo, rest assured though that that only happened in my imagination).

You can also climb the big rock, just watch your step on the way to the top, the view is pretty nice though and worth the tiny climb.

You can find quite a few different bars/ restaurants along the beach, even though most of them have a similar set up – beer and cocktails cheap in happy hour, fresh fish and sea food in the evening and a few stable classics on the menu for the non-fish-eaters – there are however a few fine differences that you should note when making your decision on where to eat and have a drink: Check the happy hour times (obviously the longer the better), check if they have a service charge or tax on top of their displayed prices (this can be between 10%-15%) and lastly (if you’re into fish and seafood) we also found some differences on the freshness of the fish and the way it appeared to be stored (check for clear budging eyes and pink/ red gills before making your choice).

One of our highlights was the Secret Beach – Even though not so super-secret since the owner of the Secret Bar (located, yes you guessed it, on the Secret Beach) put up signs for everyone to follow as he had to admit that the most beautiful location isn’t viable for business if it’s so secret that no one can find it.

The little hike to the Secret Beach is really not very hard, just a bit of uphill and downhill, if it has rained heavily prior to your visit maybe put on trainers rather than flip flops though as the trek might be a little slippery when its muddy. You might spot some local wild life on your way, we met a little water dragon and after following some strange sounds even found a beautiful peacock! The Secret Beach itself is a little bay well tugged away from all the hustle and bustle of the main beach, with some rock pools to explore and a few good snorkel spots (if you catch the right tide) you can certainly keep yourself busy. If you do want some refreshments note that the Secret Bar is not the cheapest (being so secret and all…) but we really did enjoy having a few beers under the shady trees looking out onto the bay (even though they were a little pricy).
Mirissa is also a prime spot for whale watching tours, you are however less likely to spot them during off season and hearing from a few other travellers that they spend quite a bit of their budget to sit on a boat for four hours to not spot any made us decide not to invest our funds into this endeavour at this time.

Oh, the booze…

One thing to note when in Sri Lanka is that you can only buy alcohol in wine shops (basically the equivalent of the Australian bottle shops).

The local (and most cost effective) beer is Lion which comes in strength normal (at 4.8%) and strong (at 8.8%) – while the strong version is not exactly tasty, it certainly sets you up for an evening out if you want to spend less in the bars and save a few Rupees. The local spirit is called Arack and while all the Sri Lankan’s refer to it as Whiskey you definitely cannot compare it to a Scotch or Bourbon, but it is certainly a spirit at 28% and drinkable (more so after the second glass) when you mix it with Coke. A quick with a knowledgeable local reveals that it is actually made from Coconuts, but don’t expect any Pina Colada vibes here, it really does not taste great. We would recommend trying just a few drinks to start with to see how you react on it, if you want to be saved from a potential hangover of a life time.
While in Hikkaduwa you can find several wine shops up and down the main street, Mirissa itself does not have a wine shop, only the neighbouring towns either side (3 and 5km respectively). You can take the local bus for 20 Rupees or a tuk tuk for around 300 Rupees to get you there, but just keep it in mind for your “booze budget”.

Coming soon – we trade the beach for the hill-country – meet us in Ella on our next stop!

Sri Lanka – Hikkaduwa – Searching for the turtles

9 Nov 2018

How did we get there?

From Colombo it was a two hour train ride to our next destination Hikkaduwa – rumour had it that you can spot some wild turtles on the beach and we just had to go and try!

Even though the train ride (around 5 Euro per person for first class, check with the station, don’t rely on online pricing) was a little bumpier than the usual London train commute, it was (believe it or not) exactly on time! A little early in fact to ensure all passengers could get on and off comfortably without rushing. We booked the tickets one day in advance at Colombo Fort station and had seats assigned to us – helpful staff guided us to the seats, helped with luggage, pointed out photo opportunities along the route and gave us some background info on the regions we’ve passed. And the views, just speak for themselves! Certainly beats grey rainy London in November.

Where did we stay?

We stayed at a little guest house in Hikkaduwa called Best Lanka Holidays, just across the road from Narigama beach, at a great off season price. The room was standard but had all that we needed, nice double bed, private bathroom, little balcony, shared kitchen with fridge – even though we opted in for just the fan option rather than the more expensive air con option, it was hot but manageable. Our balcony had a view over the little garden and we spotted plenty of wildlife in it – our favourite to watch was the monitor lizard that seemed to visit the garden frequently.

Did the illusive turtles grace us with their presence?

We personally preferred a short stroll to Hikkaduwa beach (being more snorkelling friendly) rather than staying on the closer Narigama beach (being more surfer friendly), but who can complain about a walk on the beach?

We asked many locals about the wild turtle rumour and even though they all assured us that yes, the turtles come visit the beach and yes, we’ll definitely see them – the info as to where and when was a little more blurry and two days passed with us thoroughly investigating the beach without a sign of the illusive turtles.
On day three we put our Sherlock Holmes caps on and just started pestering everybody we could find on the beach from 5am onwards… we finally struck gold with one of the locals not only telling us where to find them but also showing us the way (what a hero!) and then another local telling us that we’re way too early and that they come around 8am to 9am – at which point we sat down and would not be moved until we encountered them!

And behold – after some tense waiting and much needed sun screen appliance – we did! We met this beautiful girl which the locals call “Turtle Boy” even though they all also told us she is female (somebody didn’t put that much effort into the naming process), estimated age around 15 years old – and how cute she was! We had some great time feeding her delicious sea weed and (we hope) she had some great time floating, eating and having a VIP photo shoot!

On day four, still on our turtle high, we couldn’t help but going back to the turtle spot (which is by the way just in front of the “Hikka Tranz by Cinnamon” hotel) at 8.30am just to see if she would stop over again – and she did! And ever more impressive – she brought three of her friends! Just floating about, quiet happily eating the sea weed! At one point we were surrounded by them in the water and couldn’t be happier about it. It’s fair to say that the wild turtles are our personal Sri Lanka highlight so far and we’re not sure anything can beat that!

We encountered some other underwater friends when snorkelling further up on Hikkaduwa beach – Mr Octopus made a very imposing and fascinating appearance and lots of colourful fish showed the diversity of Sri Lanka’s underwater world!

Sam also tried his luck fishing with some locals, wanting to see what secrets the brackish water, connecting the nearby river to the ocean, holds and potentially, if the catch were to be big enough, provide dinner. But after several hours of wading through (according to the locals potentially shark infested murky water) we had to decide to call it a day, it appears the hooks we brought were too big, but even the locals that had the knack for it only caught tiny fish, not making it a viable dinner option for us.

Roti and Kottu – Heard of it?

Sam enjoying tasty Kottu, Eva can’t wait to tuck into her Roti

We’ve always been very fond of cooking, for this reason we also brought a little rice cooker with us, which contrary to popular believe cooks all sorts, not just rice (we named him “Ricey McRiceface”) – but of course we also need to sample the local cuisine.
Two staples that seem to be coming up on every menu are Roti and Kottu (both sometimes spelled differently), to be had in little Roti shops (a good one identifiable by having both locals and tourists eat there).
Roti (don’t be put off by the name, I know it doesn’t sound great to the English ear) is almost like a little hot pocket or calzone like, filled with whatever your heart desires and made from a dough that reminded of a mix between spring roll and naan. There are very many varieties, while the potato veggie version is very filling, my favourite was cheese, tomato onion – light but delicious – or why not treat yourself to dessert with the chocolate pineapple combo? For around 200 Sri Lankan Rupees (around 1 Euro), you really can’t go wrong! There are also plenty of other combinations ranging from fish to sea food, but we didn’t quiet feel brave enough to try them.

The second well-loved local dish Kottu is usually also always found in Roti shops and is prepared by a rhythmic chopping from the cooks (there is actually a beat to it!). Even though not blatantly obvious as it looks somehow like something between rice and noodles (yes, we had to google it), it is actually cooked Roti dough, chopped up small with added vegetables and (yes, you’ve guessed it) plenty of choices from chicken to sea food. Legend has it that Kottu was invented when a Roti street vendor only had little bits of everything left at the end of his day but was approached by hungry tourists, rather than turning them away he offered to throw it all together and create a dish for them – and apparently they loved it. Which is not hard to believe considering how delicious it is!

Next time we’ll be reporting on our time in Mirissa – see y’all (virtually) then

Sri Lanka – A nation divided, again?

5 Nov 2018

Before we continue on our adventure, just a few words on the current political situation in Sri Lanka which seems to be escalating and I’m not sure how much you all hear over “in the west” (and by all means I am no expert on this!).
It all started when we were in Colombo late October ’18 and the Sri Lankans in our hostel very excitedly announced they have a new Prime Minister – Mahinda Rajapaksa who used to be president between 2005 and 2015.

Everybody (including the locals) seemed very surprised by this, which led to the first question on all our minds: Is this a good thing? Apparently yes, at least the Sri Lankans we met in Colombo seemed very happy about this, they felt that progress had stagnated during the “displaced” PM Ranil Wickremesinghe’s reign and that Rajapaksa always got things moving forward.

Since none of us heard about an election being held, we asked the second question on everyone’s mind: How did he become Prime Minister? Was there an election? – The answer to this got somehow mixed answers, with the common census being that no election was “needed”. This set off alarm bells in all the Westerners across the table, eyes darting from the Austrians, to the Germans and the Brits – no election needed? That just simply doesn’t sound right to the “democratic” ear.
After some investigation it turns out by far not all Sri Lankans are happy about this development, it appears the current president Maithripala Sirisena wasn’t keen on his political alliance with Wickremesinghe anymore as they had too many disagreements (being from different parties and having different views on many issues), so president Sirisena decided to announce on live television that Wickremesinghe has been displaced as Prime Minister by Rajapaksa – apparently that was the first time Wickremesinghe heard this himself – fired on live telly? Not great for the ego!

Wickremesinghe is since barricaded in Temple Trees (sort of the Sri Lankans version of the White house), saying that just appointing a new Prime Minister is not conform with the legislation and that only parliament can vote a new one in (which by the way a number of constitutional experts agree with him on), he is being protected by a “wall” of his demonstrating supporters and chanting Buddhist monks – in the meantime Rajapaksa is busy appointing new ministers and apparently trying to convert Wickremesinghe’s ministers for his own cause.
It remains to be seen how this crises will play out, but for a country that has only come out of a 26 year long civil war in 2009 a divide of the nation can certainly not be a good thing.

You can keep up to date on this on the BBC website (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46015256), they have a whole segment dedicated.
(Oh and by the way, not to worry, we are quiet safe and are staying away from all the demonstrations!) (Pictures courtesy of the BBC)

Sri Lanka – Colombo – Beeping, Smiles and New Faces

31 Oct 2018

How did we get here

We decided to fly with Air India from Frankfurt over New Deli to Colombo, as it was one of the cheaper options but still had good-ish ratings as an airline (we booked our one way flights in September 2018 for end of October and paid £315 each). The 8.5 hour flight from Frankfurt to New Deli was pretty good. We were lucky enough to be flying on one of their new Dreamliner planes, you get your own entertainment system with some new movies in the selection, the legroom is surprisingly adequate considering it’s one of the cheaper airlines and the food was pretty nice too – booze was somewhat limited but we had a few each to help us trying to snooze a few hours. The staff on the plane were very forthcoming and nice.

The one negative experience was the check in, we didn’t reserve seats in advance during booking as it would have cost extra, so we were thinking we just check in online as soon as we can and get good seats – however the online check in did not work, even 24 hours before the flight I still got an error message after entering all the required passport info. The Air India employee at Frankfurt airport was (to put it bluntly) just rude (even though to be fair his colleagues all seemed pretty nice, guess it was the luck of the draw) – he informed me that I made a mistake during online check in and that’s why it didn’t work. After asking multiple times what I did wrong (so I know better in future), he said I put in the first names incorrectly and it should only state the first name on the booking… Now, Sam and myself both have a middle name, the website asked for all given names as stated on the passport, but apparently if you follow these guidelines it will not let you check in… after pointing this out to him (as I’m thinking they should make this clear on the website) he just got even ruder, so I just gave up, apparently for this one “bad apple” employee of Air India the customer is not always right.
At New Deli airport you have to go through security again when catching a transit flight (note that they will confiscate your lighter!) – the airport itself has many options for food and a fair few shops to kill some time. We had a 4 hour wait in New Deli which stretched to a 6 hour wait as our connecting flight was delayed. I would recommend to buy water from the vending machines as it seems to be the cheapest option (80 Indian Rupee for 500ml), compared to some of the cafes and restaurants (some charge up to 500 Indian Rupee for the same bottle of water!). The 3.5 hour flight from New Deli to Colombo went very quickly, seats were comfy, food was still good, this time there was no entertainment system, but all in all since it was a much shorter flight, no complaints. Immigration at Colombo was very efficient and easy (we applied for the visa online beforehand and just needed to complete an arrival card) – and then we were finally in Colombo!

How to get around

You can of course choose the comfy and easy option when arriving in Colombo and just jump in one of the million taxis or tuk tuk’s available – make sure you either tell them to put the meter on (taxis and tuk tuk’s alike) or negotiate a fair fee in advance – driving by meter is usually the cheapest though. There is however also a free airport shuttle that takes you to the main Fort bus station which you can just jump on, you will notice locals also take the bus and just hop on and hop off as it cruises through the city traffic. However note that the free shuttle bus is actually not free, or at least not for tourists, since your luggage will most likely take up two seats, you’ll have to pay a luggage fee (since we were not told in advance we negotiated him down to 300 Sri Lankan Rupees each – to note, now, in Oct 2018, the exchange rate is 190 Sri Lankan Rupees to the Euro). Note though that the Airport shuttle bus took around 2 hours during rush hour and you might safe some time just jumping into a taxi. The traffic is even crazier than expected, it seems if you want to warn another vehicle, you beep, if you want to overtake a vehicle, you beep, if you’re stuck on a red light, you beep, if you want to say hi to friends (or strangers alike) you beep – you get the idea, its busy and loud.

If you google prices such as train or bus fares, take it with a pinch of salt as a lot of info online is bogus, best to check with your fellow travellers or staff at your accommodation, they will give you the insight scoop. From the main bus station you can get to pretty much anywhere in Colombo, usually bus fares cost around 20 Sri Lankan Rupees, but obviously more for longer distances. In general you can flag down a tuk tuk pretty much anywhere at any time. But if you’d like to make sure you’ll definitely have a ride (like us having to catch a train at 6.50am in the morning when we left Colombo) you can also use a great app called PickMe (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pickme.passenger&hl=en), it works with the same principle as Uber, but also has the tuk tuk option (which we thought was pretty funny) and it gives you a handy estimated price for the distance so you can keep an eye on the meter and make sure there is no funny business. To make sure we stay connected we opted in to buying a Sri Lankan SIM card – 1000 Rupees for around 9.5GB, texts and calls (compare the offers at the airport to find the best deals).

Lastly there is of course also the option of walking, which somehow none of the Sri Lankans will ever suggest to you (do they just think we’re lazy?), the sidewalks in the city are pretty ok, definitely walkable, crossing the roads is quiet an experience (as in so many “non-Western” countries) and you will be sweating buckets, but it’s possible and with google maps you can orientate yourself quiet well.

How was Colombo

As Colombo was our first Sri Lanka experience we weren’t quiet sure what to expect, what stood out the most for us was how friendly everyone is. Everybody just says hi on the road or gives you a wave or asks how you’re doing… of course some are trying to strike up a conversation to sell you a tour or a private car hire but we found majority of the Sri Lankans are just actually super nice. Ask for directions, they don’t just explain it to you, they actually walk you there, have a quick chat about where you’re from and how you’re finding Sri Lanka, this is usually linked with some good tips on how best to get around town or which sights to see, then they just disappear back into the night (or day, depending on the time…), off to help another lost tourist (kind of like a super hero!).

We opted in to stay in a pretty cheap hostel, not wanting to blow our budget on our first accommodation. It is called Colombo CityJumbo Hostel and is located very centrally. Depending on your experience with budget accommodation and backpacking, you could either call it a little run down or you could call it charmingly rustic (we’re opting in for the latter). We booked a six dorm room but only ended up sharing with two other guests (and it had aircon, what a treat!!). Overall we had a great stay, the very caring and friendly land lady (who got up extra early on our last morning to make us an early breakfast) as well as the people and the atmosphere worked a treat to get us back into travel mode after so many years! So on day one we already met an Austrian dread head (cool surfer dude), a Mexican sweetheart (the only person we’ve ever met who brought a travel iron and actually used it!), a crazy German hitchhiker (who hitchhiked from Germany to India through Gaza, Afghanistan and Iran and definitely has a guardian angel by the sounds of it) and some Sri Lankan students (who were more than happy to help with travel tips and destinations).

Just like most capitals Colombo itself has a lot to offer, you can spend all day sightseeing with impressive Buddhist temples, take some breaks in little bakeries that also function as cafes, grab some candy or tea from the stores dotted all around town, visit some bustling markets, get some cheap and cheerful street food, go shopping (some western style shopping malls also have all the western food you might want, if you’re that way inclined) or just have a lazy day on the beach. We really enjoyed Gangaramaya Temple with all the big and small statues, then for a stroll to Beira Lake and the temple on the water Seema Malakaya.

We had a great few days in Colombo, getting used to the climate and getting over the jetlag – 1000 Rupees per person got us first class ticket to the beach town Hikkudawa – check back in soon to see what we’ve discovered there!

The Pre-adventure – Our personal Brexit

26 Oct 2018

We’ve always wanted to go travelling again, ever since we met 10 years ago in Sydney. After years of planning, which included investing into buying a flat (to have something to show for our years of work in our twenties), we’re finally ready!
Now, the plan was to buy a used car and drive all our stuff over to Germany to store it at my family’s house, since German houses tend to have more storage room i.e. space in the basement, compared to English houses. We booked flights from Frankfurt to Colombo, Sri Lanka, our first stop on our adventure!
So far so good, we bought a used Chrysler Voyager, big enough to fit all our bits and pieces in it…. However, disaster struck and the car stopped working just when we were planning on driving to Germany beginning of October 2018. After several mechanics evaluation (and more money spend on it) apparently the fuel pump was the issue, however with it being an American car and spare parts hard to come by and also us being short on time we decided not to throw any more money down the drain and get it scrapped.

So to plan B – to store our stuff at Sam’s family’s house in England and fly over to Germany. Two days before our flight we still had most of our boxes in the flat and hadn’t even started cleaning – panic time!! At this point I also need to mention that our flat is located on the third floor without a lift. The amount of times we walked up and down the stairs in those last days in England should have really gotten us into shape for travelling, screw the gym, but German beer and too much food before we finally made it onto the plane to Sri Lanka meant all the effort was for naught – oops!

On the morning of our own personal Brexit, meaning we were flying out to Germany in the afternoon, we still had to drive the old furniture to the dump, clean all the windows, hoover, scrub the bathroom and the inside of the cupboards – oh and of course catch a plane in time. Needless to say it was a crazy few days, everything that could have gone wrong with our move out of England, did go wrong – and to top it all the flight to Germany was delayed too… Britain did not want to let us go!

In the end we just about made it, even though we probably lost years of our life packing all that stress into such a short amount of time. In Germany we could finally start to relax a little, catch up with family and friends and welcome my little nephew into this world!
Here a before and after pic of the flat (and bear in mind, this is just the living room):