Over the past few days we have had the pleasure to meet some lovely folks from all over the world, and have enjoyed breaking the metaphorical bread with them. Or perhaps in this case, breaking the chapati, parota, roti, naan…you get the idea.

We have had dinner with people from Austria, Germany, France, Mexico, England and Scotland. We then had brunch with the same Austrian and German, and ended up having coffee with the German girl.

For dinner we were joined by an Indian, American, South African and a guy from France.

Some of them are aspiring yogis taking their teacher training courses, some of them on career breaks, or a long holiday. Some of them are working on the road and some of them, us included, are on the search for adventure with no specific end date. Most of them are solo travellers and after a conversation this morning it struck me that, as a married couple, we are actually quite unusual (I mean, I knew that already but I mean in the sense of there aren’t many husband and wife teams travelling that we have met!). I really admire solo travellers, especially female solo travellers, as I don’t think I would have the balls to do it!

Being a woman in this part of the world can come with its challenges, and sometimes is handy to have a male as a travelling partner. But just generally, having someone else always there (male or female) is a help. As a second pair of eyes to look for your bus at the bus station, or to remember that you left your towels up on the roof terrace or just to have someone to share your samosa with. It comes with its own kinda challenges and there is a little less freedom to do exactly what you want to do, but luckily for us we mostly want do the same thing. If not, we compromise. Simple.

Although I’ve been rather homesick over the last few days, one of the things I love about traveling is meeting people from all walks of life and all different countries.

Sharing stories. Sharing food. Sharing ideas and travel plans. And most of all sharing the memories. And maybe most of all winning a game of Uno back at the hostel this evening.

Can we just take a moment to appreciate the ferry ride from Alleppey to Kottayam. At the cost of 19 pence and a few hours ride, it’s so beautiful! So glad we did this rather than the bus.

As we embarked on the boat we nabbed the seats up front to get the best views… although I soon realised why all the locals had sat in the middle. The glorious morning sunshine was beaming in through the front windows, turning me into a puddle. However, this was only a matter of time as I appear to exist in a liquified state these days and am always teetering on the edge of dehydration (jokes obvs, don’t worry parents we’re staying hydrated!).

The boat was full as we set off but soon emptied after the first few stops as people got off at the local temples and villages, and is now delightfully calm with only a few of us on board. We are passing rice paddies, cormorants, eagles, palm trees and lots of different waterways all around. I don’t think my photos will do it justice but here’s a few anyway…

We made it to India! After flying into Kochi airport we headed south and spent our first few days in a town called Alappuzha, or Alleppey as it’s also known.

Our primary aim was to chill out – after spending so much time traveling here, there and everywhere over the last week we needed to be still…and not get on a train! Although the views from the trains were beautiful, I wasn’t sad that we weren’t getting on a five hour journey! In fact, the plane journey from Colombo to Kochi was barely an hour and it’s taken me these few days to realise I am actually in India and no longer Sri Lanka – both countries have similarities, but they are so, so different!

Alappuzha is referred to as the Venice of the east, buuuut I’m not quite sure that’s an accurate portrayal. There are canals a plenty though, and after a few days mooching about the busy town, eating dosa and trying not to get mown down by the crazy tuk tuk drivers, we took a kayaking trip on the backwaters.

A group of seven of us, from all corners of the globe, took to the water and made our way across the lagoon into the quieter waterways. The trip started early at 0630 and included breakfast…it didn’t take long for me to ask when that would be! There were a few hangovers amongst the group so most people were glad of the first stop at a little tea stand on the side of the river. It’s amazing what a cup of tea can do!! I’m sure my mother would agree with me there 🙂

When we set off again everyone was chatting, and laughing and getting to know one another. We had an American, a Canadian, a French lady, a guy from Thailand and another Brit.

It was fascinating paddling about the backwaters, right past people’s houses. Ladies doing the washing, men brushing their teeth and boats unloading building supplies. Carefully dodging other boats we made our way around and came back to the same tea stall for breakfast.

After the exercise we decided to get ourselves a cold one to ‘celebrate’. We don’t drink often, and besides it’s not that common here, but we found a restaurant selling beer and had two refreshing Kingfisher beers with lunch. I’m not going to lie – I felt pretty drunk as we left the restaurant!! So that, coupled with the morning activities, created the right conditions for an afternoon nap in the air conditioned room…ahhhhh….ZZzzz.

Today we move on. Rather than take the bus (which would be quicker) we’re taking a ferry down the backwaters half way to our destination. It takes longer but is certainly more scenic – past the floating flowers, alongside the palm trees and surrounded by ladies in bright coloured sari’s – and it is so cheap. Just 38 rupees (or 19 pence each).

Next stop: the school.

After another mega train ride – very long but very beautiful, and in fact one of ‘the most beautiful train rides in the world’ – we arrived in the afternoon chaos of the city of Kandy, our penultimate stop in Sri Lanka.

Buses, tuk tuks, people, school children, cars, market sellers, mopeds going every which way. Buddha statues, railway lines, food stalls, and tourists. Kandy had it all!

To be honest, it wasn’t for me. Nor Ike for that matter. The traffic fumes were too much for my sleep deprived brain (we had started the day six hours south in Nuwara Eliya and had climbed a local hill before the sun came up to watch sunrise over the town) and everything was getting to me. Maaaaybe something to do with the fact that my stomach was a little on the empty side too…hangry much?!

One of the main tourist attractions of Kandy is the Temple of the Tooth, where it is said there is a tooth of the Buddha. We decided to give it a miss as we didn’t arrive until later in the afternoon and didn’t fancy the tourist crowds.

But, trying not to be too grumpy about the chaos, and the fact we were staying in a less than delightful hostel we ventured out for food and an explore. We found a rather hipster cafe that did avocado on toast and then found a forest reserve just on the edge of town, which was a world away from the madness of the city centre. We saw some deer and a monkey!

We’re now at a rather lifeless, but convenient, hotel near the airport ready for our early flight to India tomorrow!

Adam’s Peak stands at 2,243m (7,359ft) and is unique in that it holds significance in several major religions thanks to the curious depression at its summit, known as the Sri Pada or Sacred Footprint. Buddhists believe the impression to be Buddha’s, Muslims claim it as the footprint of Adam’s, while Hindus believe it belongs to Shiva. I prefer the term ‘Samanalakande’; Butterfly Mountain. Where butterflies go to die. I think it has a certain beauty to it.

It’s customary for tourists, and pilgrims, to leave in the wee hours of the morning to make the 5500 steps up to the top to watch the sunrise. So that’s what we did! Leaving the guest house at 0215 we began our hike up the 1400m ascent.

The first part was hard – not much sleep, legs getting used to the steps and lack of energy. We had a snack about an hour in and it really gave us a lot of pep to make the next section easier.

The steps were irregular – sometimes really small with others so large you really had to heave yourself up! I couldn’t believe how much my legs were fatiguing and we had to take quick regular breaks after each mini set of stairs, or making ourselves climb to the next tea house until we could rest.

As it was out of season there was hardly anyone on the trail. We made it to the top in a sweaty two hours. We spoke to a local today who said the whole shebang took her 18 hours!! Thousands of people descend on the climb in season, especially during poya (full moon) days and all Buddhists like to complete it at least once in their lifetimes; it’s one of Sri Lanka’s most sacred places.

Guided by the light of the full moon (well, two days after full moon) we barely needed our head torches. What we did need at the top was layers. It was sooo cold! I was wearing all the layers I brought with me on this trip but it still didn’t stop by hands from freezing.

The numb fingertips and stiff legs were worth it for the views. The temple at the top was closed due to low season but we sat and watched the sunrise with about 40 other people, some of which seemed to ignore the ‘be silence’ message painted on the wall.

It was breathtaking – oranges and reds lit up the sky, while the moon still lingered on. Would have loved to have stayed up there for ages but we had a train to catch!

Walking down we got to see the surrounding beauty of the mountains and waterfalls that we were unable to see in the dark as we made our way up. Every step made my legs tremble; each step I took reverberating around my body. Hopefully I’ll be able to get out of bed tomorrow without too many involuntary noises, especially as we have planned in a four hour hike!!

Wish me luck!

What an epic day of travelling! First we got a tuk tuk from our accommodation to Colombo Fort train station, which took about 1.5 hours because of the crazy traffic and road closures. The pollution was immense! I can’t imagine having to do that everyday.

Then we took a five hour train journey out of the city and up into the hills towards Hatton. We climbed higher and higher into the lush green tea plantations and through the forests. Was so nice to have some cooler (and cleaner!) air to the lungs.

A quick pit stop in Hatton for the biggest rice and curry ever at a building that was the first of the nation’s ‘Hatton National Bank’ branches. Our bowls kept on being filled! We had jackfruit curry, dhal, rice, sambal, poppadums, two types of salad and a beetroot curry. Let’s just say it was difficult to lift my bag after. And it cost about a fiver to feed us both.

On we went to the chaos of the bus station where we found the right bus to get and got told to leave our luggage at the front…not to be seen again until the end of the journey as there was about ten thousand people on the bus. I think I lucked out and ended up in a window seat, first sitting next to a lady with a tiny baby who was very interested in the zip on my bag. Then I shared with an old lady who was very sweet but took up more shoulder room than you would imagine a tiny old lady in a bright yellow sari to!

We wound our way up into the hills even further, through the copious tea plantations – you could smell the tea in the air – where the ladies were finishing for the day, walking along the road with the tea leaves sacks on their heads. We passed kids playing cricket, tiny local villages and two beautiful lakes.

The drivers are mental and beep their horn round any tight corners to warn anyone coming towards them to hold back whilst they pass. Local Sri Lankan music blares from the speakers as men spit tobacco out the window (nice).

We are now on the final bus of the day waiting for it to leave. This one has an image of a Hindu god at the front. The last one had a Buddha. All around us are ladies in traditional dress, older guys in sarongs and a few young men playing some funky local music from their phones whilst we wait for the bus to fill up to the point of bursting before leaving.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m in the mountains again or because we’re on the road again but I’m feeling alive! It doesn’t matter that I barely got any sleep last night, and that I’m getting up at 2am to climb a mountain…I’m feeling good 💛

And just like that four weeks have passed, we have finished our first work placement and we are moving on to new adventures!

We’ve both been really excited about this upcoming week because the last week has been a little stressful at times to be honest; miscommunication issues being at the heart of things. But, we did manage to get in another paddle on the lagoon before we left and we watched the sun go down at Tangalle beach, the full moon shining and then watched the sun rise again from our local Silent Beach, which I will miss so much!

I’ll miss the local dog squad, most of which we gave nicknames too (Puppy, One-Eyed Willy, Ronnie and Reggie to name a few). I’ll miss the friendly locals and their smiles. I’ll miss the market sellers, especially the lady who always gave us free bananas! I’ll miss the ocean views from our room and I’ll miss the new friends we made.

But I can’t wait to do more exploring. I can’t wait to climb some mountains. I can’t wait for more sunrises. I can’t wait to visit new towns. And I can’t wait to fly to India next week!! Eek!

But first…a few epic trains rides to do.

Well hey howdy hey, it’s been a while since I’ve sat down and written anything! Many of you have been asking what I’ve been up to so let me enlighten you.

For about four weeks now we have been busy doing our first work/volunteer placement via the app Workaway. They’re all slightly different but are based on the premise that you work for 4/5 hours a day, five days a week for your food and board. We have been based in a tiny village called Unakuruwa, just to the west of the town of Tangalle on the southern coast of Sri Lanka.

The village people and local life

The little beach side village community is so chilled, everyone smiles and waves and they love to have a chat, even the small children always asking us ‘school pen?’. We have got to know a few of the local characters – there’s Saman who lives opposite with his wife, two children, sisters and mother and he owns the restaurant down on our local beach. I say restaurant in the loosest of terms – it’s an old boat with a kitchen inside and a load of random beach chairs and hammocks on the sand; a great place to watch the waves crashing in. There’s Roshan, who also lives opposite on the other side, who drives a tuk tuk and is our regular driver taking us to the beach or into town on errands or to the market. There is Rio, who lives next door, a keen college kid with amazing English. There’s Taranga, who struggles to keep himself out of trouble, Sanka and Amith, who both have the longest curliest surfer dude hair, and a whole host of others who’s names I don’t know. But they’re all lovely. Some of the older gentlemen are a little rough around the edges, shuffling about in their sarongs with their red/black teeth, from chewing tobacco, sticking out at peculiar angles.

The wildlife

We are so lucky to have a great view over the Indian Ocean and surrounding jungle from our room, and the hotel restaurant, so we are constantly seeing new birds and animals. The list is getting rather long of new species we have identified! We have a resident troop of grey haired langurs who pop by every few days to tear up the tree tops, there are some peacocks who strut their stuff about the garden, monitor lizards, geckos, iguanas, small palm squirrels, giant grizzled squirrels, the occasional mongoose, more birds than I’ve ever seen (babblers, barbets, swallows, hornbills, sun birds, bright blue kingfishers, woodpeckers, birds of paradise), butterflies and bats, and the odd flying fox too! And we can’t forget the resident pack of dogs that roam the streets, and quite often come into the grounds of the hotel. Unfortunately we can’t make friends with them all and have to scare them off the property, but there is one little pups on the beach which I’ve taken a shine to. A mum and young puppy hang around the security hut on the beach (which belongs to the posh hotel at the other end) and every time we go down they come bounding over for a play and a head scratch. So cute.

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So what are we actually doing?

Our work is pretty varied and can range from cleaning the kitchen to writing a website (some things never change!). The hotel is actually just five small rooms, you can check it out if you like, so is more just a mini complex of nice suites. We have been lucky enough to stay in one of the suites as it’s still low season so there haven’t been many bookings. But we’ve had a few guests stay and it’s one of our roles to greet them, tell them about the area, give them welcome drinks and make sure they are happy. We’ve also had gardening to do, making new garden lamps, running errands in town, making new cushions and lots of online work to promote the owner’s new business venture of paddle board tours. So I’ve been back to creating digital content and have written their website – my laptop has come in handy! We’ve had a lovely lady join the team a few weeks ago and she is managing the business so we went exploring the local lagoon on the boards with her, and that was really cool. We saw herons, local fisherman, lizards and even a halo around the sun! Was pretty magical.

The first few weeks were actually really rainy as the wet season didn’t want to go away! Apparently it was really bad all over the country and lots of local flooding too. So, those days are rather quiet as you can’t really do a lot outside (we’ve read a lot of books) but the weather has finally picked up and we are getting lovely dry days, and even some sunshine kicking about every now and again.

And what else?

Like I say, in the rain there isn’t a great deal to do but we as we have an awesome balcony you can watch the lightning storms go by. At night you can see the twinkling lights of all the container ships out to sea; there is a really busy shipping line crossing the south of Sri Lanka. It’s really pretty. We don’t get too many chances to see the stars as its mostly cloudy but we have had some cracking sunsets.

We have two beaches within walking distance, one of which is great for chilling but the waves are too ferocious for swimming – even if they hit you at the ankles you get wet all the way up over your knees! The other morning we went down and had a read and the guys from the hotel had someone working for them clearing some of the palm trees of the loose leaves – was fascinating watching him climb up and down the trunks! And then we even got given a coconut to drink! Thank you very much. Everyone is so generous here.

We occasionally borrow the manager’s scooter and go exploring and have so far seen a blow hole, the largest sitting Buddha statue in Sri Lanka, we’ve been surfing and paddle boarding and have mooched about the local town. It’s definitely more of a locals’ town than a tourist town and on the surface seems absolute chaos but the more you get to know it, and the people in it, the more order you find. Still bonkers, but bonkers that you can navigate your way through and know where you’re going.

So we’ve been getting used to quiet village beach life, hanging out with the locals, working a bit, eating some amazing food (the manager here has taught us to cook a banging lentil dhal and we make our own coconut milk everyday) and have generally been enjoying the slower pace of life…

Diesel fumes, sellers, workers, travellers, open doors and open windows. Sri Lankan train travel is quite something!

For an hour’s journey a second class ticket cost about 90 rupees, that’s about 39 pence to you English folk. There is no air con but fans affixed to the ceiling and open windows and doors for ventilation.

We were told the best ‘seats’ in the house weren’t actually seats at all, but if you can get a space by the doors it was an unmissable experience!

It’s brilliant fun!! You can stick your head out on the way, look at the ocean and palm trees rushing by…you just have to ignore the fact that you’re hanging out near the toilets and everything is just a bit grim and dirty! The scenery more than makes up for it.

We took the train to Galle today and walked around the old town walls, and we have another long trip ahead of us tomorrow as we are moving house! We have our first work placement and will be spending a month working in a boutique hotel near the town of Tangalle.

Can’t wait!

A little bit of background to this post:

The Asian tsunami on the 26th December 2004 killed over 40,000 people in Sri Lanka. Thousands of those missing were never recovered. Many of the small, coastal villages in southern and eastern Sri Lanka were completely destroyed. Over a million people were left homeless. Thousands were destitute. “Rebuilding Sri Lanka” has been active since the day of the disaster and we continue to provide support, rehabilitation, nutrition, education and shelter to those affected by the disaster.

http://www.rebuildingsrilanka.org.uk

Today we felt privileged to be able to visit a few of the schools funded by the charity. As soon as Clare (the charity operations director) found out we were visiting Sri Lanka, she offered us her house to stay in and said we should absolutely visit the project. We jumped at the chance.

Education is really important, especially in the rural areas where children can sometimes be held back to work in the fields with their family harvesting cinnamon or rice. It’s not that the family doesn’t want them to be educated but they can’t afford it; they have to sometimes chose between putting food on the table or sending the children to school.

The first school we visited was a pre-school for 3 and 4 year olds in a town. The classes have up to 40 children in. The children were really sweet, some of them so tiny, and the teachers were just lovely. We were greeted with a homemade card and some flowers each and got to visit each classroom, where they sang a little song each, before having a look around the grounds. It’s a relatively modern school with good facilities. There are also small libraries onsite that are available to the locals, with a mixture of English and Sinhalese books – all funded by the charity. Ajith (the projects manager) informed us that there are over 100,000 books spread over several branches of libraries. For people who cannot afford official education these books can be an amazing source of knowledge.

If I remember correctly, he told us that for G.C.S.E level it costs about 1000 rupees (about £4.50) a month for each class per pupil. So if you’re just looking at the basics of English, Maths and Science that’s 3000 rupees (£13.50) a month just for tuition, not including all the extras of transport, books, uniforms etc. It may not seem that much to you reading this but it is money that some people just don’t have.

The second school we went to we had to reach by tuk tuk down country tracks in a much more rural area. We were greeted once again by homemade cards and a little performance by each of the grades (they had aged 5 to 10 years old). They either had a song to sing or a couple of sentences in English to say. In fact, it was their English teacher who gave the introduction. We could already tell from the outset that this school had a great deal less resources. She informed us that most of the children came from ‘broken’ families, that is perhaps living with grandparents as their mum and dad have to go and work as labourers too far away, or perhaps the dad has left; they are all living in poverty. Some of the children didn’t even have shoes. Not that they seem to have minded about not having shoes, they were all so smiley and were giving us inquisitive stares; especially at Ike’s hair! Still, she nearly had me in tears with what she was saying.

As a result of a small bit of fundraising we managed to get together £101, which translates roughly into 25,000 rupees. We can’t thank you enough if you donated, whether it be to the suitcases of second hand clothing we took out, or some money into the pot. They were so, so grateful. We managed to buy some school supplies out here and even got a discount from the stationary shop so we could donate the rest of the money to the project. We got things like exercise books, crayons, pencils, sharpeners. We actually got asked to hand them out on the small stage area, which was rather overwhelming as when the children come up, as a normal way of saying thank you for them they kneel down and put their hands into a prayer position at your feet before getting up and saying a big ‘thank you’ in English.

We were then treated to an amazing traditional lunch of rice and curry and had a long chat with Ajith about the school system in Sri Lanka.

Clare and team are doing an amazing job and should be really proud of the work they have achieved. Please take a moment to check out their website and have a look at Clare’s Instagram for some lovely yogi / charity stuff.

Love and peace to you all ✌🏼