.a continuation of the searching of souls.

December 25, 2016

.a continuation of the searching of souls.

Sri Lanka

{Part 2}

The Maldives

Well...

As I'm a terrible blog poster - here's the second half of Sri Lanka and the Maldives - over 1 month later!!!!

Sri Lanka was amazing. At the time. And in reflection. The interior held such great history and overwhelming tropical beauty. The coastline such beautiful seas and white sand beaches ...
The country was raw and not nearly as developed as surrounding Asian countries, but that's refreshing sometimes.

Hiking Adams Peak was a bit more of an adventure as we'd originally planned. Luckily, I was blessed with a day in my life where I was an extra great car sleeper (I love sleeping on car rides - I'm actually incapable of staying awake). Well this extremely winding / cliff scaling drive was no exception. This saved me - as I've also fully re - developed my motion sickness I possessed in my youth {Very unfortunate }.. I made it in one piece to Delhousie. This little town - at 10 pm, in the dark of night and pouring rain - is nothing special at all.... Nothing. BUT. Just wait for daybreak.

We were told - Hike Adams Peak at 2:30am to get the sunrise. By time we'd gotten our dinner and gotten to bed, no one wanted to get up 4 hours later. I woke up at 3:30am and decided to check the weather myself. Absolutely, not a cloud in the sky. Beautiful stars. We decided to do the trek - though probably didn't get to the base until 5 am. At this point we didn't get to the top for sunrise but there were still some perks. We saw the sunrise from the steps on the way up and we also missed the crowd of 200 that was already at the top. That may sound like a lot but in pilgrimage season the peak see's over 20,000 people in just one weekend. For a bit of a better understanding of this stunning peak. It is located in the central highlands of Sri Lanka, so imagine lush green rainforests surrounded by small waterfalls.. It is 2,243 meters high... Or for a more dramatic effect 7,359 feet. It is sacred for the Sri Pada (sacred footprint). Buddhists believe this is the footprint of Buddha. Hindu religion believes it is of Shiva. And in Christianity beliefs it is that of Adam.

After Adams Peak we again ventured through the winding roads and made our way to Nuwara Eliya to take the worlds most beautiful train ride. (I didn't make that up - google it - it's a thing). The train was absolutely crammed with standing and floor sitting room left. Which is what I did. But, even though originally I had thought - no way - it wasn't bad. And again, is a great memory, and a gentle reminder - you're not more special than anyone else just because you're from a different country.

When we reached the coastline we enjoyed sandy beaches and colonial towns before making a quick decision to fly to the Maldives. Sarah and Luke headed home which left Kris and I with an open week. The island we chose (we had no idea how to choose or what to expect) was Villamandhoo. It was as stunning and surreal as the photos. Looking back on them now I actually still can't even believe it was real. We spent our days beach side or pool side/sinking into half conscious states at the spa or diving in the beautiful blue sea with majestic whale sharks, sea turtles, rays and tropical fish. I highly recommend this if it's on your bucket list.

And of course - on the way home we spent two quick nights in Bangkok to over indulge in Pad Thai and foot massages on Khao San Road.