Busy days in Sri Lanka

Tuesday March 25th
I guess we got in to Anuradhapura on my last blog entry. As I said there where we staying in Anuradhapura for 2 nights, or one full day. Much of this day was spendt on a bicycle, as we set out on at 7.30 in the morning, which make sense, since it it getting crazy hot a bit into the day. We did not have a very long ride, around 14 km all together with a lot of breaks as we where stopping at different stupas. A stupa is as you see a round construction, that usualla have some relic or maybe the ashes of an important munk in a small room in the middle of the stupa. The one we where looking at this day was all from before year 0, and it is pretty cool to see that they still stand as they did for over 2000 year ago.

All the stupas and monument are in a very large park, so it is not much traffic to care about. Just have to look out for monkeys and dogs mostly. They, both of them, are everywhere.
The bicycles we have is not great, but good enough for this small tour, and it gets hot, very hot - it is worst when we have a break or do some walking, on the bike are we getting some wind.

The afternoon are we spending by the pool, and have us some cold beers, well deserved and it tasts great!
Dinner is on a local resturant, and for the first time here in Sri Lanka am I getting something good, I think the name was koti, which is shopped roti. You know :) I am getting the big sneeze during dinner, not sure if it is allergie or a cold - it is a cold I find out the next day, since my allergie medisins dosn't help.
Wednesday March 26th

The next day are we getting picked up at the hotel by the local bus at 7:45, before it drives down to the busstation to pick up other passengers. It looks like there will be some passangers on the bus, and after some more stops it is more than full in my opinion. When we make stops at bus stations in small towns sellers are entring the bus selling water, lottery tickets, oranges and a lot more. The is not any livestocks on the bus, but a lot of people. One of my Australiens travelbuddies have a man sleeping with his head on the aussies sholder for the hole trip! We get into Polonnaruwa around 12 o clock. Checking into the hotel, getting some lunch and in total one hour rest from the bustrip before we are getting on foot to the bicicle rental and guide for one more guided cycle trip to look at more pagodas, this time from around 1200 AD, the ruins here are in a bit better shape, and we get to see some nice Budda statues as well, but all in all I am starting to gett enough of Pagodas and Buddha statues now, and since we started the bicling in the middle of the day, it is very very hot. Pretty happy when we get to the end of this cycle tour. Don't get me wrong, it is nice to see and get some of the history and more knowledge, but enough is enough.

Had a great dinner in Polonnaruwa, in a tiny resturant. *When we had entered it, it was only one table left. The kitchen was in a "glass box", so we could see the cook make the food, a tiny kichen by the way. Great food came out of it. Not a late night this night either, since we as usual should have a early start the day after, 6.45 to be exact.
Thursday March 27th
Made it up this day to, and we where going on local bus this day too. Since we got a bit smarter after the experience last day, we all took place in the 2 seaters this time, and not in the 3 seater, that way we cold keep a known company. Short ride this day, only 2 hours, and that took us to Dambulla. And since we do not rest that much, we had ourself one hour to get some breakfast before we where in a Tuktuk for a new sight. And this one, I must say was impressive, the name is Dambulla Cave Temple, lots of statues of Buddha in some caves on the top of a long hill and a lot of staircases. Nice statues, and impressive decoration on the cave walls, good!

Getting back to the hotel around noon, and get to check in and relax for some hours, not sleeping, but some internet and blogging. In the afternoon are we getting picked up by some jeeps, and are going on a safari to find us some elephants. To be on the road here is often a near death experience, but if one want to get anywhere, thats what you have to do. The driver gets us safe into the park, but then the care brakes down. Luckily we get a new one pretty soon, after we also have a ride with someone else for a while. And we find elephants, lots of them, counting them to be more than 70 all together, and it is a great sight. Amacing animals, all femals but one,

and many with their "kids", the male that is trying to get lucky is huge, very huge compare to the others. Really glad I did this, amazing!
Have the dinner at the hotel this night, a good meal and have some red wine with the curry, and some of us manange to sit up till almost 23:00.
Friday March 28th
Late to bed, but still I wake up way to early this morning as well, the mean earlier than I had to, 5 instead of 6, since we also today are leaving the hotel at 7 in the morning. In a private bus today, thanks for that! The bus will take us to Kandy, the second biggest city in the country. The ride is smoot, having a lunch stop in a spice and herb garden, great food, and we also have an included massage in the price, and I get a great neck and shoulder massage. We arrive Kandy around 16.30, gets one hour to check in and freshen up before we head out to the Temple of the Tooth. Tooth you say, yes, one of Buddhas tooths are here in a shrine. We do not get to see the tooth off course, but we get a climps of the "box" where they keep it, nice experience, but not extremely interesting. Dinner is not any good this night, cold, and my stommac is not so good either. Stuffed.
Good to get to bed this night, and I am only using the fan and not the AC, and gets a pretty good sleep out of the night.
Saturday March 29th

Lots of freetime today, great, but still I get up at 6.30 to get an early breakfast since we are doing a small morning trip to a tea factory. Ok, and I even drink some tea, and buy some tea to bring home as well. After that, some shooping, and I find what I want. A painting for my wall at home, some pillowcases, a tablerunner and some plateholders or whatever they are called.
And from the last hours, just been chillin in the shaddow and writing up this - if you managed to get this far. Tonight, some tradisional dance show and dinner some place, hopefully better than last night. Kandy, btw is nice to look at, and extra nice from the hotel high over the city centre.

"Add-on" on April 1st to finnish up Kandy. We went to some tradisional dance in the evening, unfortunatly I had some tall person in front of me, so I missed a bit, but it was pretty good, even the music was a lot better than in the tempel. We ended the good stay of Kandy on a rooftop resturant, great veiw and good food, mexican in fact, with red wine this time, and a mojito and singapore sling as a finnish - nice!

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On the road again with Intrepid

Flew into Sri Lanka yesterday and met up with my travelcompanions from Intrepid in Negombo. We are a full group this time, and that mean that we are 12 travellers on the road. We are 6 Australians, 2 Germans, 2 Americans (USA), 1 Irish and 1 Norwegian, and we are quite spread out in age, guessing from late 20's till early 60's, so we should be a good mix, for some strange reason am I assosiating myself toward the younger crowd, even I'm not that young eny more. :) It seams to be a group of nice people, 4 knew each other from before, the rest was unknown to each other. Last night we went for dinner, and a few driks in the hotel bar after, and today have we been on the minibus from Negombo to Anuradhapura (some difficult names here, and I do not think that I will manage to remember them all). It was a 6 hour ride, with some stops on the way for shopping, photostop at a hindu temple, taking a look at how they use the coconut and harvest it, with tast sample of coconut water, coconut flower "juice" straight from the tree, coconut "meat" and at the end for some lunch - curry off course, very spicy!

The man on a wire, is the one who is "milking the coconut flower, and he is using the rope between the trees so he do not have to walk up and down every tree. Looks like a dangeroud job I think, but according to our tourleader, it was not many accident, and I would not be surprise if the few accident that happends, is fatal.
We will be staying in Anuradhapura for 2 nights, I the guesthouse is nice, the room is just amazing, very big. AC and tv is also nice.

Since we have spendt some hours on the road today, it have given us some experience with the traffic. It is not crazy, or at not Vietnam crazy, but it is not like home either, far from it. It is almost always room to overtake the car in front of you, the bigger you are, the bigger are your right to do it. So one is overtaking even if there are wihicles coming towards you, it goes well, and we have not seen any accidents this first day. The nature we are passing is green, very green and nice, and we have also been crossing some bridges over well filled rivers. It looks beautiful.

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Getting a haircut - in KL

I got me a haircut in KL, but for the first time I guess I have went to a hair salon. It was dead cheap compare to Norway, but I guess it was expensive in KL. I paid 75,- Ringit, or a bit under NOK 150,- That included 3 people working on my hair, head, neck and shoulders for one hour, just the shampooing took 15-20 minutes, awesome. Then I got like 5 min. of rinsing, around 5-10 min of massage and finally they started to cut the hair, slow and being very careful, still I did not got it exactly how I wanted it, but still satisfied with the full treatment and also the cut even it it wasn't totally right. I have never before had better service at the hairdresser.

Since I got myself a haircut in KL, it also mean that I managed to get to KL, I was not to sure about that on the last blogentry. But I got out on the first plane ticket I had on Friday the 21st, which mean that my second ticket for Friday was a wast of money, but who cares. The ticket that I needed to get from Bali to KL was kind of expensive, even had to pay the luggage for itself at the check-inn, but I did not care really, and hope to get some money back on the travel insurance when I get home. I had an interesting flight over from Flores to Bali, got to talk with a Belgian in the check in, and was seated next to him. Had an interesting talk about relationship and kids and more, one of the very open and honest conversation you sometimes have with a stranger that you never will see again. Interesting. I also got talked to and recognised as a Norwegian on the bus from the plane to the gate, and it was a Indonesian from Flores. I looked over myself, and asked him what made him make that guess. It was my Bergans shorts (Norwegian brand), and the Indonesian had been living in Denmark for 30 years, and spoke off course fluent Danish, which mean that we had a Danish - Norwegian talk on the bus to the gate. Fun.
As usual I took a taxi from the airport to the Red Palm, my home in KL, staying at this hostel for the 5 time in the same amount of year. I like the place, a very relaxed hostel. Had a great driver, since it was Friday the traffic was crazy, and he took all the short cuts he knew about, still he had to stop for a pee on the way, and he also give me the latest insight of Malaysian politic and what wasn't good about it.
I lost a day in KL because of my cancelled flight. I only had one day really in KL. Did some shopping, one shirt, so not much really. Just meant that it would be good to have one more. I also managed to met up with Meng Yee and her boyfriend, for those who doesn't know, Meng Yee stayed with me as a guest 2 years ago and we hiked to Kjerag together, and also her friend Amanda. I urged for sushi again, I do not think I will have that in Sri Lanka, so I suggested that we should go for sushi at the Paladiom, since I have a place there where I usually stop by when I visit KL. It was nice to meet Meng Yee again, and also her boyfriend, great people!

I have in a way found the food street Jalan Alore on this visit, even if it is only 5 minutes from my hostel. I have been there before, but I did not realise that it was so long, since I only have stopped at the top of the street before. I walked the full distance on it this time, and it is lots of great food to find. I had my dinner in Jalan Alore both nights this time, and it was good food for a pretty nice price.for dinner. It is an amazing street, can not understand that I only have been there once before, but from now, I will come back for more food there for sure whenever I go back to KL.

Next destination, Sri Lanka, and that is where I am at the moment, just arrived a few hours ago. a bit delayd flight out of KL, about one hour. The flight itself went as most flight does, without any problems, and so did the arrival and entering into Sri Lanka. Got changed some money and took a taxi to the hotel. Looks like I will have a room for myself on this trip since I have gotten a double bed. Good!
By the way, I am on a Intrepid trip again here, group trip for 2 weeks, so I will have company for the next weeks, which will be nice.

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Diving the Komodo 2014

Diving the Komodo 2014, a set on Flickr.

A lot of fish:)

Flight is CANCELLED!!

Found out yesterday that my flight might be cancelled today, but they was giving some mixed signals saying that they would go, then not going. The owners of Golo Hilltop called all the other airlines going out today, thursday, and found out that everyone was fully booked, sold out! Then I was starting to be a bit worried, and managed to find one ticket with Transnusa on Friday 21st at 9 in the morning. Bought it, and found out that their plane was cancelled today. What then about tomorrow, since I must get to KL at Saturday at the latest.
Got up early this morning and was at the airport at 7 and hoped to get a no-show/standby ticket, but it was not a big change for that. Found out that it was only 2 free seats out of Labuan Bajo left tomorrow when I was at the airport, and I bought one more ticket for tomorrow, this one with Garuda airlines at 16.40, just in case the morning flight is cancelled too. If the first one is cancelled, I get my mony back, and if the first one goes, I lose 1 000 000 ruphia, but I can take that loss. My air Asia flight for today from Bali to KL is lost, and I will need to buy a new one to get to KL. Anyhow, I will not buy it before I get to Bali, since I at the moment do not know when I get there. If I must wait for the afternoon flight, I will spend the night in Bali and fly to KL on Saturday. A German guy I met at the airport was in bigger trouble than me, he had a flight home to Germany 2 days later, and he did not get any ticket, he had the change to buy a ticket at Garuda the next day as well, but for some kind of reason he did not do it, and he went back to town to check around for a ship to Bali, if no ship or no ticket on any other plane he would need a new ticket home to Germany, and that would be expencive. I never saw him again, and I have no idea how it went for him. Hope he made his flight from Bali.
I got my money back from Sky Aviation, and that is at least good, but they do not email or sms their custumers, they do not post any update on their FB page or web site, BAD! Then I got a taxi back to Golo Hilltop, and they helped me find a new place to stay since they where fully booked. Found a good place downtown for the night, with aircondition, and then I head back to the airport again tomorrow morning hoping to get out of here, even if I love being here, I got new places to go.
The rest of the day will I just hang around the city centre, eat and drink and walk around, also check in with Transnusa office and hear what they say about tomorrows flight.

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Back home, in Labuan Bajo.

Kuta, Bali is still horrible, but it helped a lot that I had a good hotel - Eden, with swimming pool and a nice flatscreen tv with some nice selection of tv channals. So all in all, my one night stand in Kuta was good. Had an early morning, up at 6 (nice practice for Labuan Bajo) and had a breakfast before I took a taxi to the airport. Check in and the rest that follows when one take a plane this days went without any problems. I am also this year flying Sky aviation, as I also did last year. I was so lucky that I got a jet engine this year, nice ride. But I must mention that this jet is a russian made airplane, and the one Sky aviation was testing when they wanted to buy it, they crashed, and if I remenber it right all the passangers on board was killed on impact, that is something to think about when I fly back to Bali with them. Well, I knew it before i was buying the ticket anyway.

To get back to Golo Hilltop and Labuan Bajo is a sort of coming home, this is the third year I am here, and I like it. They have reduced the dinner menu, so it is now necesary to go downtown for some dinners, since it gets a bit boring to only eat nasi goreng or something simular every day, even if it is good. The town is still not really nice, and it is under construction many places, and is sort of unfinnised, but it have growned on me, and I like it more and more. Anyway, it is not the town I am coming for, it is what is outside on the ocean, some of the most fantastic diving in the world. I have not seen anything better anywhere I have been so far.

As the other years am I diving with the company Dive Komodo, I have always been happy with them, so why change when you have a good thing going. I have maybe said it a year ago, but anyway, I heard about Komodo for the first time in 2011 (the year of the eartquake and tsunnami that hit Japan when I was on Gilly T) when I was diving on Gilly Trawangen from a

finnish dive buddy, and later saw his photos of the Manta Rays, and just had to go here myself to experience this diving. Then, in 2012 I found my way down here after my hike to Everest Base camp. Loved the diving here in Komodo, and have just kept on coming back, and I do not think this will be the last time. The diving here is a full day experience, even with only 2 dives a day, it is a long way out to the divesite, and the boat is not going very fast. It does not matter, it is nice to be on the ocean between beautiful islands, the temperatur is more pleasant then on land and one got to do some great diving, every one of them after mine opinion. I have also this year seen manta rays, maybe more than ever before. What was new this year, was that it was a lot of manta rays surface feeding on Manta Point (Karang Makasar), 10-20- 30 or so of them, and I was for the first time of my life snorkeling with them, and they came closer than ever before. I had 3-4 around me, and they kept on coming toward me, only to turn around me with only centimeters clearing. They could have tuched me, but it was like they chosed to awoid my in a gentle way. Just check the video. :-)

It looks pretty amazing, or what do you think? It was.

To be on a dive holliday is just like being at work, but a bit more fun I guess, even if work is good too. The typical day is up at 6:15, breakfast 6:30 with some internett, getting on the scoother at 7:15 for the 5 minutte drive down to the divecentre, walking for the boat around 7:30/7:45, then about 2 hours boat ride out to one dive site. In the water around 10:00 for the first dive, 1 hour under water and 1 hour surface break and moving to an other divesite, 1 more dive for 1 hour, lunch on the boat after dive 2 while we start moving back to Labuan Bajo where we usualle are arund 16:00, which bring me back to the hotel around 16:30. The lunch on the boat is just fantastic, it is made on the boat in a kitchen that most likely are very simplen, but the food coming out of it is great. A good meal after 2 dives the food highlight of the day. Back at Golo Hilltop am I often spending some time by the pool, till around 18:00, shower and dress for dinner that I eat at the hotel or downtown, back to the room around 20:30, prepare the camera and go pro for the day after, blog a bit and go to bed to read for a while, usually around 21:00 and lights out at 22:00, since I by that time are pretty tired. I have been out on the dive boat 5 days in a row here in Labuan Bajo, and got 10 dives out of it, plus the dives I had on Nusa Lembongan during 6 days of diving there I got a total of 22 dives in Indonesia this year. I even got my dive nu. 600 during my last dive here in Labuan Bajo, that took place on Castle Rock in North Komodo at was an amacing shark dive, lots of sharks around, white tip reef sharks and some bigger grey reef sharks out hunting in the current. Great fun!

Today, March 19th, on my last day I went down to the diveshop to pay my bill for the diving. A very nice bill, with a very pleasent discount since I am a sort of frequent diver with Dive Komodo. But, when I was down there I also got some disturbing news about my Sky Aviation flight tomorrow, that they might not fly, or at least they have not been flying out for 2 days. I got help from Ingerid and Judith, the owners of Golo Hilltop, and they called around for my, also tried to get me a new ticket with someone else, but everyone was fully booked, and Sky Aviation said that at the moment will they be flying tomorrow. What happen tomorrow, I will find out tomorrow. But really hope that they are flying, since I have a connecting flight from Denpasar to KL.

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Manta Rays of Komodo NP

Manta Rays of Komodo NP, a set on Flickr.