Touch Down in Sri Lanka

And so it begins… Here is the first of many posts from my trip to Sri Lanka. And in the words of Maria, let’s start at the very beginning…

We decided to spend our first night relatively near the airport in Colombo, so we could relax and sleep off the jet lag before a 4 hour car journey inland the next morning to tea country. It turned out to be a great decision as we were both feeling pretty dirty and bleary eyed after a delayed 10 hour flight, and The Wallawwa proved to be the perfect first pit stop… Lush and green with sprawling gardens and its own little organic farm, this small hotel feels a million miles away from the airport but is only 15 minutes door to door.

We showered off the plane grime, strolled round the rows of pineapples growing on the hotel’s smallholding, ordered two icy lime and sodas (our staple drinks while over there) and watched the most enormous bats flying high above us as the sun set. Not remotely scary or creepy – just kind of hypnotic! After devouring our first of many Sri Lankan curries, we fell into bed for a much needed rest, soaking up how good it felt to be warm under a single cotton sheet and a whirring fan.

 

Papaya juice welcome (mine went down in one before the camera came out. Bad blogger).

And I thought pineapples grew on trees… Oops.

Turns out this is how Sri Lankan curries come. You order one and get eight!

Playsuit | The Fifth
Sandals | Birkenstocks 
Bag | Rag & Bone
Sunglasses | Kite
(Soz for the creases)

We loved the stripy walls, shady pool and insanely good food that we remembered throughout the whole trip as some of the best, and could have spent a couple of days in The Wallawwa’s little oasis. But after some blueberry pancakes the next morning, it was already time to set off for our next stop; Ceylon Tea Trails near Hatton.

This little bungalow (below)  was to be home for the two days. Nestled on the banks of possibly the loveliest lake in the world, we were treated to some seriously incredible views and a sense of peace that immediately relaxed us into a holiday state of mind. More from this little haven next time….

Ph. by myself and James Wright, using a Leica MP and a Sony RX100.