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 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 - 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…

Day 7 - Malaysia

You would think after arriving so late the previous evening, I would want to sleep in late. But nooo, at around 0630, kumi was like “I’m hungry!” So we got up and went to breakfast. The buffet was good. They had a good selection of food. Anantara still is my favorite though.

We didn’t do much else the rest of the day. Toured the resort. Took lots of pictures. Ate lunch. Then stopped by the spa and scheduled an appointment for later. Massage for me. Scrub and massage for kumi. After that we were pretty much done.

We would’ve been done for the night, but we had to do a room change. There was a problem with our room, so the resort immediately moved us. We resettled in. Posted a few updates. Then called it a night.