Country Info
- Colombo
- Capital
- Sri Lanka Rupee (LKR)
- Currency
- 19,408,635
- Population
- LK
- Country Code
Sri Lanka Slideshow
Travel Blogs from Sri Lanka
New Years Eve...Sri Lankan style!
This is a top pick! ... our Qatar Airlines (which had an amazing personal A/V system!) flight touched down yesterday in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. Buddhism dramatically influenced the history of this teardrop-shaped island off the southern tip of India. ...
Land of the Elephants
This is a top pick! Daniel here: Well just a short entry for Colombo because it is only a stop-over. The flight from Amman was OK but neither of us really slept, mostly because of the time difference. Arriving at Colombo airport was funny because of all the duty free ...
Sigiriya
This is a top pick! Sigiriya is one of Sri Lanka's ancient cities, and consists of a humungous rock fortress towering above a small village and lots of green jungle. We stayed with a lovely Sri Lankan family who fed us lots of rice and curry, and we got up early to climb the ...
Final comments and travel tips on Sri Lanka
This is a top pick! ... ! English is spoken by nearly everyone who deals with the public. Most signs are written in English, Sinhala, and Tamil. Sri Lanka has some great accommodations at all price levels. There are swank boutique hotels with rooms for hundreds of ...
And so the team blog continues
This is a top pick! Nikki, AnnaKins and Jackson here reporting for blog duty part 2! So let's start with yesterday. Nikki spent the morning, and we mean all morning, slicing the ends of the green beans. When you think Smile have to feed 150plus people, that equates ...
Guns and Water Features…..we must be in Sri
This is a top pick! ... a wonderful 9 hours in Heathrow Airport because BMI decided that flights from Belfast to Heathrow shouldn't be as frequent as someone flying to Sri Lanka would like them to be. Therefore, to make the most of our time, we decided to become experts in the 5 ...
Do you have servants?
This is a top pick! Today I was amused by one of the questions Melanii (a teacher) asked me...."do you have servants in England?" The thing is, it was a genuine question so I explained indeed we didn't. Today the older preschoolers started to learn how to write ...
the big city calls
This is a top pick! ... Colombo is supposed to be a bustling city, full of life and excitement. The Priminister is a Buddhist and consequently the whole of Sri Lanka has been shut down. What accommodation is available is too expensive (i.e The Hilton!) for us so we end up in ...
Rain andd no electric-a perfect Saturday!
This is a top pick! Yesterday was a picnic compared to Thursday's antics! The older preschool class where drawing with stencils and grasping the concept of using scissors. The younger class colored in a bunch of bananas that I had drawn - that's the height of my creativity. ...
If u crocodile, don't forget to scream!
This is a top pick! Today Gourie who helps in the kitchen, was off so Milani helped to cook meaning she asked to teach her Preschool class. It just so happened that the 3 loudest and worst behaved where all present so it was all fun! I'm well used to them now and to be fair ...
Team weekend no1
This is a top pick! ... happy they were despite how little they had. On Sunday morning we attended, quite possibly, the longest church service in Sri Lanka. It started as 930am and finished after Midday. The service was translated into English for us, and was lead by ...
My 1st week
This is a top pick! ... their names and 2) I can't even draw a straight line! But that did not defeat me - now hanging in a classroom in Sri Lanka, there are 15 deformed pictures of flowers and apples with phonetically spelt names that bear no resemblance to what they really ...
C for Crocodile
This is a top pick! ... preparing them. They also have exams in maths, Sinhala and I think the final subject is along the lines of Social Studies. Had another Sri Lanka breakfast today. This time it was noodles and potatoes in a sauce. It's funny how this now seems ...
Back to the South
This is a top pick! We left the hotel at 5am to travel back to Hambantota. Made it back just before 10am so it really pays off to set off before hitting the rush hour traffic. Yesterday was a very relaxing day at the hotel. While Mark slept for a few hours, I ...
One big birthday party
This is a top pick! ... wasn't supposed to be taking it, but ended up doing so. So the first thing we played was "musical statues" - that's culture for you! Sri Lankans have some good dance moves! They enjoyed it and by the end of it, it was hard to get anyone out. I then ...
Up late tonight!
This is a top pick! ... our new housemate (translator) is coming on Friday after his driving test. To be fair, from experiencing their driving, you wouldn't think Sri Lankans took driving tests, but apparently they do! It'll be good to see a few different faces about the ...
This is the day
This is a top pick! Today was the start of the 2.5day kids camp at church. It is running from 8am-10pm, and finishing before the Sunday morning church service. Ages range from about 4 right up until 15 and I counted around 40 kids. All the children are sleeping in the ...
Galle and Mirissa
This is a top pick! ... ocean and formations on the other side. Like many other parks and semi-secluded places here, there were lots of lovey dovey Sri Lankan couples behind trees and ruins - very cute! Alot of restoration and renovation work is being done on the buildings ...
We've found him....we've found Banda!!
This is a top pick! Today was our last day with the afterschoolers as we are leaving tomorrow at lunchtime. There was a great deal to be getting on with. In the morning time we went with Nayani to Samodagama School, a very poor school in a deprived part of Hambantota. We ...
Little power
This is a top pick! Another day without electricity. Apparently the day long powercuts are on purpose. They are working on the generators. It wasn't too bad as I was outside most of the day, but the others felt the heat! There is still limited power and i'm expecting ...
Sweet time in Kandy
This is a top pick! ... will have some interesting comments to add as well. Kandy was the capital of a kingdom that one ruled the interior of Sri Lanka prior to British rule. Kandyians still carry on a rich tradition of crafts, dance, and Buddhist practice which draws lots ...
Bringing out my artistic side
This is a top pick! In Preschool today, they were drawing fruit bowls! It is something else when a 4/5year old can produce a better drawing than you. There was also a parents meeting for the preschool parents. This was to inform of the Sports day that is happening at the ...
Dambulla Caves
This is a top pick! ... be. Today is the start of this Buddhist festival everyone has been raving about and it's packed. As we leave the third cave a youngish Sri Lankan lady says hello and asks where I am from. I tell her England, her eyes open wider and gleam at me like I'm a ...
And she's down....
This is a top pick! ... empty, which will fill overnight, so we have 1 shower between 5 of us! On the plus side, we were at the beach to see Sri Lanka's amazing sunset. And as I type, Mr Gordon is flying back to England. He shall return as he's left his beloved hat!! ...
Everyone say cheese
This is a top pick! ... night! The comical highlight of today was Gordon learning how to cook! He wanted to know how to make this delicious Sri Lankan steamed pudding so Parody (the cook) with Gourie her able assistant, came over for a cooking demonstration. Mark and I ...
Crazy driving to a relaxing beach
This is a top pick! ... "British style" in the left lane in South Africa, we decided to take a chance and do something that foreigners hardly ever do in Sri Lanka, we rented a car! Ummm, lets just say that it is the most extreme driving I have ever done, and actually it is a ...
It's raining, it's pouring....but it's still warm!
This is a top pick! So it has rained on and off all day today, but our spirits weren't dampened! I was interested to see how the day would work, especially for preschool, as they spend most of their time outside. It all worked out well - we were able to improvise and all in ...
The old and the new
This is a top pick! Today we left at 8a, for Galle. Galle is the fourth largest town in Sri Lanka and is divided into the old town, which is contained within a fort, and the new town. Before exploring Galle, we went a few miles outside to a beach where you can go ...
Colombo's Unsolved Mystery
This is a top pick! ... vehicle as if they were spectators at Wimbledon honing their skills for the forthcoming Gawping World Championships series versus India (I fancy Sri Lanka for the title) and not forgetting each town's own version of Crufts where 'Mongrel' would sadly be ...