Goodbye SL

From Hikkaduwa we jumped back on the train and went further up the coast, stopping at Beruwala, staying in a lovely spa hotel http://www.taprospa.com/Footprints.asp#Rule  managed to get a cheap rate as we are out of season, plus some how via the booking process they thought Dave was a Sri Lanka resident (we were 2 of 6 guests!).  High season in SL is November - March, it is currently the monsoon season.  We have had a few grey days and light rain but the temperature never drops.  It is also wedding season.  We must have seen over 10 weddings.  The average SL wedding lasts for 2 days, with the bride wearing white on day 1 and red on day 2.  They certainly know how to party. 

Our last chunk of train journey was from Beruwala to Mount Lavina.  Another hour on the train for about 50p.  The train line hugs the coast, which is nice but you also get see lots of signs of poverty.  Litter is a real problem here, which is such a shame.  Our final hotel is a bit of a blow out, 5* luxury but we are classing it as a goodbye SL manoeuvre style: http://www.mountlaviniahotel.com/front/index.php  it has real colonial charm, check out what the porters are wearing. We even splashed out on a bottle of South African red with supper, our first taste of wine for a month. Total outrage.

We have enjoyed our 3 weeks here in Sri Lanka.  Have seen so much and experienced plenty of the culture.  The locals are really friendly always wanting to chat, so you can image what its like when they get chatting to Dave!

Miss
D - The feel of a country that does identify tourism but isn't totally overrun by it. But i do feel that mass tourism will be the next step but it well be interesting to see how they deal with it !
F - The curry, its amazing, although I draw the line at having it for breakfast.

Won't miss
D - At the moment everybody wants your Rupee
F- People feeling the need to clear the nostrils via their throat, oh and the litter.