Day 23 - Return

We didn't have any issues getting to the airport.  Traffic wasn't as bad as we thought it would be. Bandaranaike International Airport does something I haven't seen before in other airports.  They allow people who aren't flying to airport passes to get inside the airport.  Some airports I have been in (mainly US) allow people in, but they don't get past the security checkpoint without a boarding pass.  Others won't let you in the door without an itinerary.  At Bandaranaike, you get checked the door for an itinerary or pass.  Then you go to another checkpoint where your luggage is checked.  After that, you can go to airline counter to get boarding passes and to check your bag.  Next, immigration.   Then one more security checkpoint to enter the gate.  Boarded the plane, over 5 hour flight to Hong Kong.

At Hong Kong immigration is waiting at the gate performing random passport checks.  We also had to go through another security check for transferring flights.  We had a long layover in Hong Kong,  so we decided to spend it in Plaza Premium Lounge.  Food, shower, massage, etc., nice place.  Eventually,  we went to the gate.  Another security checkpoint.  From there we went to the gate where they took our boarding passes. 12 hour flight to SFO.

Landed in SFO.  kumi used "Mobile Passport."  I used Global Entry.  Both of us avoided the incredibly long line for immigration.  Found out there's a Global Entry line for customs too.  (Woohoo!)  After that, BART, Amtrak, Lyft, home.

Day 22 - Sri Lanka

Do nothing, travel day.  Our flight left at 0025 the next day.  So rather than staying one night then trying to waste time for 8 hours until our flight (that's a 1400 late check-out), we paid for 2 nights...  We pretty much slept, ate, and posted stuff until it was time to go to the airport.

Day 21 - Sri Lanka

We spent one night in Ella, then got up to head back to Colombo.  The original plan was to spend another night in Ella, then leave for Colombo the next day to catch our flight.  Our driver mentioned that the drive from Ella to Colombo is approximately 5 and a half hours... with good traffic.  He said it would be better to spend the night in Colombo, then go to the airport from there.  So we did a quick walk-by of the 9 Arches Bridge, decided not to do Little Adam's Peak, then left for Colombo.

We did a few stops along the way, another tea factory, gas station, view point.  Eventually we realized leaving early was a good idea.  Traffic was not good.  It was a 2 lane road all the way from Ella to Colombo. The rain and the 4 vehicle accident didn't help either.  By the time we got to Colombo it was dark.  I think we arrived at the hotel a little after 1900.

We were staying at the Cinnamon Red.  Upon entering, you immediately realize they have a red theme going on.  I think they cater to business travelers.  But families can stay here too.  It's a very nice, very modern hotel.

Day 20 - Sri Lanka

Spent one night in Kandy.  The next morning we were off to Nuwara Eliya to catch a train.  Nuwara Eliya is about 60 km from Kandy.  But it takes about 2 hours to get there because the route is a single lane, curvy road through the  mountains.  The heavy rain might have added more time to the trip too.

On the way, we stopped at Ramboda falls.  It's a viewing point for the falls.  It's an obvious stopping point for tourists.  There's a nice souvenir shop there too.  (Yeah, we bought some.)  If you want a better view of the falls, you can visit Ramboda Falls hotel.  It's close by at the bottom of a steep hill.  There's a shuttle you can take to the hotel, and an elevator to the view of the falls.  Unless you're a guest of the hotel, they charge for both.  However, if you eat lunch at the hotel, there also isn't a charge.  We ate lunch.

After lunch we drove farther up to Blue Field Tea Factory.  It's a nice place to visit.  They give you a quick tour of the factory.  You're also given hot tea.  And of course, there's a tea shop you can browse through.  The most important thing about the place though is no one is pressuring you to buy anything.  Not that kumi needed any encouragement.  She bought as much tea as she could fit in her bag...  Actually, she probably bought more tea than she could fit in her bag.

From Blue Field Tea Factory, we went to Nuwara Eliya.  We arrived at the train station with over 30 minutes to spare.  We bought to 2nd class tickets for the train to Ella.  1st class was sold out.  1st class has air conditioning and assigned seating.  2nd class doesn't have air conditioning and is open seating.  There is also 3rd class...  Luckily, it wasn't hot so 2nd class was fine.  (Due to the rain, it was actually quite cool.)  We originally planned to take the train from Kandy to Ella, 7 hrs.  Luckily, our driver recommended taking it from Nuwara Eliya, about 2 and a half hours.  Much better idea.  This train is not like Amtrak.  (No where near as nice.) Though it does seem to be the touristy thing to do.  There were a lot of foreigners on this train.  Some of which acted like they have never been on a train before.  (Just because you can hang out the door of a moving train, doesn't mean you should do it for most of the train ride.)

Our driver was waiting for us at Ella.  We hung around for a bit then went to a Bed & Breakfast place, the Ella Gap Panorama.  The rooms are OK, but the view is awesome.  The staff are friendly and very helpful too.  Being a small place, the same guys who unloaded our luggage and took them to our room, are also the same people who cooked and served our dinner.  Which was great BTW.  A point I will make in my TripAdvisor review.

Day 19 - Sri Lanka

Travel day.  We finished the stuff we wanted to do in Sigiriya.  Now, on to Kandy.  We stopped at a few places along the way.  One was a spice place so kumi could pick up some spices.  TripAdvisor basically says stay away from the place.  Overpriced, hard sell, etc.  But we were there, it was convenient, and it had every thing she wanted.

We eventually made it to Kandy.  We were staying at OZO in Kandy.  It's a nice place.  Good location with nice views and a friendly staff.  They were very helpful when we switched rooms later.  (First room was adjacent to a room with whining kid(s).)

Day 18 - Sri Lanka

Today we went to an archeological site in the morning and did a safari in the afternoon.  The archeological site was huge.  Some vendors offer bikes to rent so you can ride to different parts of the site.  We had a driver so we didn't need to do that.

In the afternoon we did a safari.  We saw peacocks, deer, water buffalos, and elephants.   (I took a lot of pictures of elephants.)  It was a good safari.   I do have one recommdation though:  Don't eat lunch then immediately go on the safari.  It's a very bumpy ride that does wonders with the food in your stomach.

Day 17 - Sri Lanka

We left the resort at 0830 to get to Sigiriya Rock at a relatively good time.  In other words, before it gets hot.  About 800 meters from the resort, our driver informed us that we will need our passports to get in.  So we turned around and went back to get our passports.  Then we went to Sigiriya Rock.

There's a tourists entrance and a locals entrance to get into Sigiriya Rock.   Tourists pay $30.  Locals pay much less than that.  You can get a guide if you want.  Rates vary.  We opted not to get a guide.  Your ticket gets you into 3 places:  The museum, lower area, and the top of Sigiriya Rock.  We went through the museum first.  kumi is a fan of museums more than I am.  So while she continued to peruse the museum, I chose to head up to the rock.  There's a lot of stuff to see in the lower area.  I bypassed most of it and continued on.  (I figured kumi would get pictures of it.)  From the little I have read about the place, there are over 1200 steps from the bottom to the top.  If you're in good shape, you could probably do it in about 30 minutes.  If you're not in good shape,  it could take about an hour and a half.  (There are places to stop and rest along the way.)  I had no intention of going to the top.  I was going to stop at Lion's Gate.  But once I got there I thought "Meh, I'm here.  Might as well go up."  It took me about 40-45 minutes to get from the bottom to the top.  There's a different way down from the top.  From Lion's Gate it took me 15 minutes to get to tourists exit area.  Quickly bypassing the monkeys and souvenir vendors.

BTW, if you have a fear of heights, I do not recommend going up Sigiriya Rock.  Another  thing, there's a spiral staircase along the way to the top. You can bypass It if you want.  It goes up to some frescoes.  Photography IS NOT permitted.  They are very serious about that.

After Sigiriya Rock we went to a couple more Buddhist stupas.  We had to take off our shoes to enter the area.  By this time it was midday and the sun had baked the cobblestones.  They were too hot to stand on.  We were running to and from shaded spots to cool our feet.  The first stupa was painful.  The second was extremely painful.  (First stupa, brick.  Second stupa, polished granite and steel.)  It wasn't just us.  The locals couldn't take either.  Except for the guards who got to wear shoes and the one guy who was like "Meh, what heat?"  After the stupa, we walked around the area for a bit more, then decided to do lunch.

Lunch was uneventful except for the fact that we ate spaghetti.  Yeah, I know.  We're in Sri Lanka and we're eating spaghetti.  (This place had a lot of spaghetti dishes.)  Truth was, we were in between the lunch-dinner window and many places were closed.  This place was open so we went in.

After lunch, back to the resort.  We showered and rested for a bit.  Later, we met up with our driver for an evening drink.

Day 16 - Sri Lanka

Travel day.  We checked out Avani Bentota to head up to  Sigiriya.  It's about a 5 hour drive from Bentota.  Our driver was at the resort at 0900 and we were on our way.  We had planned a few stops along the way.  I could write the names of the places we stopped by, but I'm too lazy to look at my Swarm app to get the correct spelling.  But pictures will be following so that will help.

After the touristy stops and lunch, we continued on to Sigiriya.  We were staying at the Sigiriya Jungles.   The route we took to get there was interesting.  The last couple of kilometers was a single lane road which turned into a bumpy, single lane dirt road.  Then suddenly, we were there.  Sigiriya Jungles is a very nice resort.  Reception was there waiting for us with with cold towels and welcoming drinks.

A quick check-in and we went to our room.  We were tired.  We crashed for the night. .

The next day, Sigiriya Rock.

Day 15 - Sri Lanka

Do nothing day.  Eat, drink, lounge, massage, etc.

Day 14 - Sri Lanka

Long day.  We had time to eat breakfast though.  We had hired a driver to take us on a day trip to Galle.  After breakfast, he was there waiting for us with his Tuk Tuk.

Side note:  We found out something interesting.  It seems a lot of people hire drivers to take them to many places around the country.  So much so, some hotels and resorts (Avani included) have rooms available just for the drivers.  That way they don't have to drive home at night (which in our driver's case would be Colombo, 2 hours away) and they're there when you need them.

So off we went.  It's about a 2 hour trip to Galle.  Along the way we stopped at tsunami memorial.  A lot of monuments, temples, shops, etc.  We kind of saw the famous Sri Lankan stick fishermen too.  By kind of I mean we saw them, but they now know they're famous and a tourist attraction, so they won't go on the  sticks unless you give them money.

We had lunch at a place in Galle fort called Fort Dew.  I don't know why it's called Fort Dew.  We didn't choose it for any particular reason.  Turns out it is a very nice place.  Rooftop restaurant, we didn't know that.  Great views all around and very good food at good prices.

After eating, we began our return to the resort and learned something else new.  Our driver got pulled over for a traffic violation.  By pulled over I mean there about 3 policemen were standing on the side of the road.  One of them waved his hat and our driver pulled over.  Our driver got out and went to see the police.  While he was talking to them, in less than 2 minutes, 2 other vehicles were pulled over.  When our driver came back, we left.  But we weren't heading back to the resort.  He was looking for a post office so he could pay his citation.  Once he did that, we had to return to the police with the receipt to prove he paid the citation AND to get his license back because the police took it.  Once we did that, we were on our way again.  We did do another stop along the way, turtle hatchery.  After that, back to the resort... with a quick detour to another temple.  I was templed out by this time, but the driver offered, and kumi said yes.  Then we returned to the resort.

I am guessing we returned about a half hour before sunset.  We dropped off our stuff in our room and went to Chatters.  It wasn't our intent, but we chose good seating to view the sunset.  kumi went to the beach to get a better picture of the sunset.  I decided walking the 20 meters to do that required too much effort and stayed where I was at.  I think I made the better choice.

Day 13 - Sri Lanka

We got up early to do a River Safari.  Other times were available but our guide recommended leaving at 0700.  Unfortunately, the resort didn't start serving breakfast until 0730, but kumi did manage to score some pastries.  Our driver was there at 0700 and immediately took us to meet our guide.  Turns out his boat is within walking distance of the resort.  It was about a 5 minute walk.  We jumped in the boat and off we went.

I have been on other river tours and it always amazes me how guides spot some of the wildlife from far away.  In some cases, wildlife can be easily seen from far away.  In others, some are creatures of habit and hang out in the same spot everyday.  But in several instances, I couldn't see the animal until we were right up on it, and even then it still had to be pointed out to me.

The river safari was good.  I think we were on the Bentota river.  The resort offers another river safari on the Madu river.  It's about a 30 minute drive from the resort.  A few nice things about doing the safari early are the temperature is nice.  Not too cold, not too hot.  Also, you miss the crowds of other river safaris as more people are coming out to take them.  Added bonus for us, due to the proximity, we got back in time to have breakfast.

The resort has a very nice buffet breakfast BTW.  A good variety of food, some of it made to order.  Plus a choice of indoor or outdoor seating.

The rest of the day was mellow.  We reclined for a bit on our terrace.  Relaxed a bit in the room.  We had a massage later.  Much later, we went to Frangipani again for dinner.  Again, we were the only ones there.  We ordered something different from the previous evening.  The portions were huge and also reasonably priced.  We couldn't finish what we ordered.  Dessert was out of the question.  We did have room though for an after dinner drink at Chatters.  But we didn't stay there too long because food coma was setting in...

Day 12 - Malaysia, Sri Lanka

Travel day. We got up at 0-dark-30 to take a car to airport at 0530.  Kuala Lumpur International Airport (1 & 2) is approximately 40 minutes from the resort.  Although our driver was late, we still made it there with time to spare.
Anyone who has been to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) knows it's 2 separate airports, KLIA1 and KLIA2.  Both airports have shopping malls.  I don't mean that little area of stores that some airports have before you get to the gates.  I mean a full fledged mall with shops and restaurants on different floors, that happens to connected to an airport.  If you have never been there, your first time may be a little disorienting/intimidating.  But it is surprisingly easy to navigate.  We found the check-in counter no time.  Immigration and security were quick.  We did a quick detour through Air Asia Red Premium lounge before going to the gate.  Shortly we were off to Sri Lanka.
The time difference between California and Sri Lanka is 12 and half hours.  We arrived in Sri Lanka without issue.  The wait in immigration wasn't bad.  kumi went before me in line.  When the immigration agent asked her the ever popular "Purpose of visit" I guess she explained our itinerary in excruciating detail.  Because when he got to me he literally said "I don't have to ask you any questions because she gave me more than enough information on what you're doing."  A short time later, we got our bags, met our driver,  and off we were to Avani Bentota.
It's about a 2 hour drive to the resort.  It is scenic in some places.  No traffic to really speak of.  When we arrived at the resort,  I must admit the entrance is not as impressive as others I have been to.  But that became moot when I saw how nice the resort is.  2 restaurants, 2 bars, 2 pools (3 if you count the kiddie pool) and it's on the beach. 
We loved our room.  Why it's not call a suite, I don't know.  83 square meters (893 square feet) and a very nice terrace.  (It's bigger than my first 1 bedroom apartment.)  A huge walk-in closet and bathroom with separate shower and tub combine to make us very happy with this "room."
We arrived early enough to get lunch.  We ate at Chatters bar which is next to our room.  Initially I thought this might be a drawback, but so far it's good.  We don't hear much noise from the bar and we can walk a few feet from our terrace if we want a drink or something.  (I am still evaluating the drink menu.  I will give a report later.)
After lunch we walked around the resort a bit.  Found out where a few things are.  We found the spa.  Scheduled a few appointments.  We also found an on-site boutique.  We did the touristy thing and bought stuff. 
The store owner was really nice.  We hadn't switched our currency yet, so we were going to come back later to buy the stuff.  He told us to go ahead and take it and pay later.
After shopping, we did a little more unpacking and crashed a bit.  Later, kumi went to a foot massage she had scheduled.  After which we went to dinner to Frangipani, one of the resort restaurants.  We really liked this place.  We were the only ones there.  Which really surprised us because it's a really nice restaurant and prices are good.
Anyway, after dinner we went back to our room.  The long day of travel plus the 2 hour time change (Malaysia to Sri Lanka) caught up to us.  We crashed.

Day 11 - Malaysia

The original plan was to go to the Sepang International Circuit. The rain storm we woke up to made us reconsider that plan. So the rest of the day was eat, sleep, eat, massage (massage and scrub for kumi), sleep, eat, pack. There may have also been an alcoholic beverage in there somewhere… and some internet stuff.

Day 10 - Malaysia

Kind of a do nothing day.  For me, it started early this morning, like 0300, with a huge thunderstorm.  I actually got out of bed to view it.  kumi slept right through it.  Conveniently, it ended just before sunrise.  There were showers on and off throughout the morning, but they stopped when we walked to breakfast, started again during breakfast, then ended when we finished breakfast.
The rest of the day was mellow.  kumi stayed in bed most of the day.  I got up and walked around the resort.  I took a few more pictures and scheduled another massage.  Yep, it was great.
Later, we went to Hai Sang Lou for dim sum.  We ordered three dishes.  They were really good.  Luckily we ordered the small size because, between the two of us, we barely finished all three.
After dinner, back to the room for the night.

Day 9 - Malaysia

Day trip to Melaka, or is Malacca? I’m not too sure. Anyway, 0900 departure, 2 hour drive to our destination, and (yay) the annoying couple didn’t come with us. This was an enjoyable trip. We saw a few museums, several monuments, and a lot of temples.

Lunch was also included. We ate at Siew Tin’s Nyonya Kitchen. We had steamed rice, cabbage, fish, omelette, and an awesome drink. My description isn’t doing the food justice because the seasonings added made for a very good meal.

After lunch we walked around the area a bit before beginning the 2 hour return to the resort. We made a couple of detours along the way. kumi wanted ice cream. We also stopped by a “bee” place and a reptile park. The bee place was interesting. We didn’t go into the reptile place because there was a charge. We returned to the resort from there.

Day - 8 Malaysia

Today we did an excursion to Kuala Lumpur. Unfortunately, it didn’t start out well. It was us and another couple on the excursion. And that couple was an hour late. Why our guide did not leave without them, I don’t know. Once they showed up, we began the trip.

First stop, and really the only thing I cared about seeing, the Petronas Towers. There are quite a few people there trying to get pictures of the place. A few locals know you can’t get a full shot of the towers without a wide angle lens… Which they just happen to have a few available to sell.

We went to a few other places, then stopped at the Central Market for lunch. I was so fascinated by the Central Market, I forgot to take pictures. Not even of the lunch we had, which was awesome and also cheap.

After market, we stopped by a few more places. Got caught in a thunder shower. Then, headed back to the resort.

Up until this time, the other couple had only been mildly annoying. They, particularly the husband, went beyond annoying on the ride back. He would randomly sing and whistle. He would play loud videos on his phone. Almost every time our guide would try explain something, the husband would interrupt him. We were worried when he mentioned an interest in joining our excursion to Malacca the next day. We’re hoping they don’t join us. But we will find that out tomorrow…