No more blogs from me!
Through the eye of my camera
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1y ago
 I'm afraid that as Google  doesn't allow me to post my linked shots from Flickr I have decided to stop blogging as without the images the text loses value ..read more
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South Africa self drive
Through the eye of my camera
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1y ago
Like so many other people's trips ours was a long time in the waiting! First booked at the back end of  2019 after our recent visit there, we had to wait two and a half years before we could return. I guess the delays had some advantages if truth be known. The enforced travel ban and lockdown confinement of covid gave me plenty of time to think more carefully about the plan and tweak it here and there. It also meant we were not spending money so instead I was investing by buying South African rand and loading them on my Revolut card. On our previous trip to South Africa the exchange rate ..read more
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Sri Lanka January 2020. Part 8 Negombo and home.
Through the eye of my camera
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4y ago
Leaving Mirissa behind we were once again taking another step towards going home. With hindsight I would probably have stayed another day there had I thought it through or maybe not. Maybe I'd have tweaked the whole of our planned holiday. In the end we spent the last two days in Negombo doing very little other than lazing by the pool, oh and a couple of hours local tour to see the sights of Negombo and to stock up on a few spices to take home. I had considered a dolphin trip to Kalpityia but the reality was it wasn't that practical. A 3 hour plus drive to get there, it was a long day and the ..read more
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Sri Lanka January 2020. Part 7 Mirissa bound.
Through the eye of my camera
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4y ago
When planning this trip there was one place I knew I wanted to include, the lovely Spice House Guest House in Mirissa.  Guest House? Well the proprietors call it that but it's more like a boutique hotel really. I first discovered it about 6 years ago and it's been a pleasure to watch them grow the business. Their eye for detail and personal service is superb, the hotel is kind of quirky. It's set on a hillside just out of town. The main building houses some guests whereas other stay in separate rooms within the grounds. The rooms are very tastefully built and furnished using reclaimed materia ..read more
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Sri Lanka January 2020. Part 6 Yala, the Good the Bad and the Ugly continued!
Through the eye of my camera
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4y ago
Our 5 nights were soon gone at Tissa and it was time to return to Cinnamon Wild for another three night stay which would include the whole day safari into Block 1. Before we left Serene Park we feasted on a special breakfast, a token of appreciation from our host for our patronage. Most of his guests appeared to be groups of touring Chinese who descended late in the evening and left the early following morning never to be seen again. The half day safari brigade. We on the other hand had eaten there every evening and drank copious quantities of beer to help boost his takings! I had also taken ..read more
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Sri Lanka January 2020. Part 5 Yala, the Good the Bad and the Ugly.
Through the eye of my camera
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4y ago
Our safari to Yala block 5 started no later than it would have done to go to Block 1, if anything, slightly later in fact despite it being a much longer drive. Why? Because no one else was at the entrance gate when we arrived just before opening time at 6.00am. This was more like it, we had the whole of the park to ourselves it seemed! Not far from the entrance you arrive at the dam and the fast lake it has created behind it. A huge area of land was taken , presumably from the national park, in its making. I think it's been there about 20 years now. Our driver stopped the vehicle below the d ..read more
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Sri Lanka January 2020. Part 4 Tissamaharama...and safari time!
Through the eye of my camera
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4y ago
Our next stop over was to be the longest of the trip. Five whole nights in one hotel! The Serene Park is set back from the main promenade that fronts Tissa Lake and is surrounded by rice fields. As with everywhere we stayed it was spotlessly clean and although it wasn't the cheapest at £42 per night for B&B it was probably the simplest room we had. No fridge, TV, or even much space to store clothes so as with everywhere else we just lived out of the suitcase. We managed perfectly well although it isn't ideal and is one of the biggest drawbacks of touring holidays. The room had the two t ..read more
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Sri Lanka January 2020. Part 3 Cinnamon Wild Yala.
Through the eye of my camera
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4y ago
The journey from Galle to Yala took a bit longer than expected, 4 1/4 hours to be precise. The taxi driver was making noises that it was further than he's realised when he'd quoted R9000 for the journey although he did acknowledge he'd been there once before. I gave him R10500 and he went away happy. I'd been looking forward to this hotel, the Cinnamon Wild Yala 4* as one of the , if not the highlight, of our stay in Sri Lanka. The hype surrounding it makes it sound as if you are going to see lots of wildlife wandering around locally in the grounds of the hotel that back on to the Yala Nation ..read more
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Sri Lanka January 2020. Part 2 Negombo to Galle
Through the eye of my camera
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4y ago
Refreshed and nearly acclimatised we were ready for the next stage of our journey which was to take us down to the southern tip of the island and the wildlife area of Yala NP. To get there it's possible in a day, especially as they have just opened a new dual carriageway which takes you a good deal of the way. We however were in no rush and decided to make an overnight stop in Galle, one of the most popular tourist spots on the island. The taxi ride was only 2.5 hours and cost 11000 rupees including a 10% tip and the toll fees ( 230 rupees =£1, 180=$1 at the time of our visit). We'd booked a ..read more
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Sri Lanka January 2020. Part 1.
Through the eye of my camera
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4y ago
This trip was planned at fairly short notice, just around 6 weeks in fact. We should have travelled to Goa in November but our package tour company, Thomas Cook, went down the tubes and our holiday went with it. We weren't bothered, in fact we were quite happy about it as we were due to leave just three weeks after returning from the four week trip we'd had in South Africa. Fortunately, the package was covered by ATOL so we got our money back very promptly and all we had to decide was were to go instead. We did want to go to Goa but the prices seemed to have shot up, both for packages with th ..read more
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