jacketwatch

I hope you are feeling better now. Being ill on vacation is a major drag. Common sense like enough food, hydration, OTC meds and rest especially is all you can do.

Following!

sartoric

Thanks JW. The cold has moved south, so apart from a nasty cough I’m feeling much better. The bad news, now husband M has it.


Trincomalee and the day of Diwali with a monumental beer stuff up.

Breakfast at the hotel is very good - a buffet selection of different curries and string hoppers made with millet flour instead of the usual rice flour. As a special treat, the manager organised dosa to be made for us. Washed down with iridescent mango juice and copious amounts of coffee, we’re set for the day. There was western food available too, but we’re on the “when in Sri Lanka, eat like a local” trip.

Fort Frederick was built by the Portuguese in the early seventeenth century. Those guys also destroyed the original Koneswaram temple. We watched a military parade complete with band, along with a dozen or so Sri Lankan families. A little further up the hill, hundreds of people were visiting Koneswaram temple, all in their colourful finest. The temple itself is modern and modest, but the location on top of a cliff looking down to the ocean is superb. Many deer are here.

We wandered the fish market, the fresh produce market, and a few streets of Trincomalee before heading back to our hotel for beachfront r & r. Dilee had organised a seafood meal for tonight at the home of a fisherman in a village about 30 minutes away. He got special dispensation for us to bring beer to this Muslim family home. On the way we were stopped for a very thorough check by the boys in brown, license, rego, tax, insurance, whew, we passed.

It looked like a fisherman’s home, a couple of outboard motors racked on the porch, life vests hanging from the rafters...but this guy hasn’t fished in years. He now takes tourists to watch whales during the season. The table was set with their best plastic, and the food was lined up within minutes. That’s when I realised the beer was still in the fridge back at the hotel. Of course, I was to blame (she who must remember everything), so a slightly sullen husband got ready to chow down sans beer. It didn’t help that the food was almost uniformly awful. Dry over cooked whole fish with flesh the colour of dirt, steaks of dry over cooked white fleshed fish, tasteless small unshelled prawns, rubber bands of calamari and stir fried crabs which were passable but fiddly. The accompanying rice pilaf was good, but no veggies, no salad, no fruit, and of course no beer.

We paid (way too much) and left, at least anticipating a couple of cold beers back at the hotel. Wrong, they were frozen solid.

With hindsight I would have stayed only one night in Trinco, or skipped it entirely. I had thought Diwali would mean mass celebrations and plenty to see. In reality it means many shops are closed and the sale of alcohol is prohibited. Oh well.

CaliforniaLady

Still enjoying your travels immensely, sartoric. I'm not the only one, I guess, who makes planning errors while traveling--I guess it's reassuring. Anyway, what do you think of your driver in general? How does it compare to the more formal arrangement you had in South India? I tell people that my Sri Lanka driver was both excellent and annoying at the same time, I think it may be peculiar to the culture, so I'm curious about your driver.

Also, what are your general impressions of Sri Lanka? Would you rate it as one of your better trips, in the middle, or does it remain to be seen?

crellston

An Aussie forgetting the beer! What is happening to the world!

We tried to organise a few "special" meals when in SL and they were never a great success. I became convinced that they cooked the food when they took the booking, even if tha was days before.

inquest

Trinco is largely a muslim dominated town with a significant hindu ( tamil ) population. The temples are impressive. The colourful gopurams with tens of deities adorning them.These temples are relatively new.Built by the immigrant tamils from neighbouring Tamilnadu.Diwali is not a very big festival for them.The harvest festival of Pongal is big time. No wonder there wasn't much fanfare.

Eating at local homes are hit and a miss. Often less variety and made to suit the family rather than the guests. The best be is always a good recommend restaurant.

jacketwatch

Sorry your hubby got it but not surprising I suppose.

BTW how was the coffee? Is it locally grown? I’m a big coffee buff, just curious?

I didn’t know the Portuguese were in SL actually.

Going to a local home for a meal and having it so unappetizing would be disappointing indeed.

The beer froze? How do you suppose that happened?

BTW next month we will be in Oz for the first time. We are looking forward to it immensely. Haven’t had a VB in years. .

tripplanner001

Sartoric, I hope your time in Kandy will be as rewarding as mine. Re: dining, there's only one main drag in Ella and it's mostly local food. In Nuwara Eliya, we enjoyed our meal at Magnolia Restaurant inside the British colonial Grand Hotel, but I know you're on a local food binge. In Colombo, I could eat every meal at Ministry of Crab. Do consider a relaxing lake cruise on the southern tip of Nuwara Eliya as well as a stop at Hanuman Temple on your way to Ella.

sartoric

CL, our driver Dilee has been great, I’ll expand on that when I have more time. I’ll also reserve judgment on the SL trip until we’re finished, but so far, so good.

Crellston, I know ! Almost sacrilegious forgetting the beer, and you could be right about the food being cooked very early.

JW, of course Ms version of this virus is much worse than mine the fridge was too cold, beer was in cans, they freeze easily, you know because the concave bottom bulges. A bottle just breaks. Most of the coffee we’ve had has come out of small sachets, occasionally a brewed coffee with thick sludge at the bottom. This is not a coffee lovers paradise. Hope you have a great time in Oz, VB is Ms favourite.

Inquest, we enjoyed Pongal in Tamil Nadu, guess we’ll have to schedule a Diwali in India for the full effect.

Thanks again TP, I’ll try to stop at the Hanuman temple, one of my favourite Hindu guys.


Trincomalee to Sigiriya and a gathering.

We left Sea Lotus Park Hotel and Trincomalee quite easily with few regrets. Perhaps the main regret being that we even went there. Breakfast today was western food only, you’re kidding ! With only a little persuasion, the kitchen rustled up some milk rice, chicken curry and dal, perhaps it was the staff breakfast. On the drive I got to sample the famous curd with honey (actually palm treacle) delicious! There was more bird spotting, we saw eagles, cormorants and huge swarms of black birds massing on the many lakes.

Before long we arrived at Lakmini Lodge in the small town of Sigiriya. This is a modern construction, all white concrete with dark wood trims and heavy dark wood furniture. We have the best room in the house with a stunning view from our third floor balcony of (Sigiriya) Lions rock. This is my trade off, we won’t be climbing the rock, or nearby Pidurangala, (time and ongoing head cold being major influences) from here at least we can look at them both.

It’s a short walk into town, where we had a terrific rice and curry lunch at Shakini restaurant. There were several different veggie curries (but no bitter gourd), dal, pappads and fluffy rice.

Unfortunately, there are elephant rides available in Sigiriya town, and we saw a few western tourists partaking. The animal activist in me wanted to yell and shout at them, the pragmatic me minded my own business.

So, Dilee knows a guy (well, he knows many guys) who can take us by Jeep to Kaudulla National Park to see elephants. They pick us up in town and we four head off to the park. I had drilled Dilee that we didn’t want to be chasing animals or doing anything unsafe, Manju our Jeep guy fit the bill perfectly. It cost 5100 rupees in park entrance fees, plus 5400 for Manju. On arrival to the park, he unfurled the canvas roof and fastened it to the rear of the cabin making a comfy bumper to lean against while standing. He is a great spotter, we saw a huge hornet nest, a mongoose, a crocodile basking on a rock, a hornbill, and....(drum roll) about 100 elephants. There were babies, teenagers play fighting, a protective daddy or two, many aunts, and of course, mummy eles. Such gorgeous and gracious creatures and special for us to see them in a safe environment. There were many other jeeps, perhaps 30 or more and all well behaved keeping a distance from the animals. The gathering of the title could refer to jeeps, people in jeeps or elephants. Take your pick. If you go there, visit the rest rooms, doors on one side, open to the jungle on the other side, truly a loo with a view.

On the hour or so drive back to the lodge (roof still down) I get to experience a wind tunnel. We also saw a small group of five eles by the side of the road, proving those road signs are for real. It was late, we downed a beer on the rooftop and crashed.

CounterClifton

Catching up on your report from Melbourne. Enjoying with you, so far, the bits we didn't make it to in SL. Glad you finally found some elephants!

<i> I tell people that my Sri Lanka driver was both excellent and annoying at the same time, I think it may be peculiar to the culture</i>

CalLady - you may be on to something there. We'd have said the same about ours (who we privately called a "Sri Lankan Morgan Freeman"). Lovely guy, informative, enjoyed his company. Yet could be super persistent about where we should stop.

jacketwatch

Thank you. I was curious about the java as we had some great locally grown coffee in Fiji and India as well has some pretty good stuff too though it far more know for tea as is SL (Ceylon).

I wonder if the fridge malfunctioned. Shouldn't get that cold. Oh well. Too bad.

What great jeep ride to see real wild life. Really cool!

We go to Sydney for two days, to Brisbane to see our niece for two days, then back to Sydney for a day before a 10 day cruise which hits all NZ ports.

Hope hubby is better by now.

inquest

Wowee Sartoric. Than seems like the largest elephant congregation on earth.These strange get togethers happpen in africa and in Kabini (Karnataka) to which I've been a lucky witness. Wonder how they communicate for a rendezvous.Whatsapp?

I too did see small groups this time in SL.Not something like what you witnessed.

JW. Srilanka is a actually a tea country with some coffee grown too. They are so proud of their tea produce,I unwittingly got into an argument trying to defend Darjeeling and almost got lynched for it.no doubt the tea is excellent. I'm a coffee addict so maybe I wasn't positive with my argument suportin tea.I lost (for words) in the end

jacketwatch

Yes. It used to be called Ceylon which is synonymous with Ceylonese tea.

Have you ever had Kopi Luwak?

progol

I’m loving your trip report! Too bad about the so-called fisherman’s home visit and dinner - it you sure made up for that disappointment with the elephant viewing! Wow, what an amazing experience!

Sounds like a great trip! Looking forward to more!

CounterClifton

<i>They are so proud of their tea produce</i>

So true. A friend owns a small plantation outside Nawalapitiya and took us to a tea production plant that buys much of the nearby area's tea (HAACP certified, closed to the public - not one of those "tea factory" places). The grading process that goes into sorting and labeling the teas is incredible. The distance that buyers come just to bid on small lots of tea is pretty impressive too.

inquest

JW, over the years,my craze for coffee has taken me to the root of the wonder cherry which gives us the pep and boost,to some most exotic,less visited coffee growing regions. Indeed Kopi Luwak was in my cross-hairs.In early 2000,one such plantation I visited was in Bali. I will refrain from mentioning the name of the plantation.I was utterly disgusted,not by the coffee,(I did not have the coffee) but by the way it was produced.

In a recent thread,you may recall,the ongoing debate,revolving around ecotourism and the exploitation of wildlife,turned nasty.So,I don't wish to deviate nor 'hijack' this very interesting(live)TR from Sartoric.

In brief shall tell you why I DID NOT taste the coffee.

In the plantation,I discovered that the Asian Palm Civets which were caged were enduring appalling living conditions with an unhealthy diet of only coffee berries, these nocturnal omnivores suffer mental distress,they were restlessly pacing around and some even had open wounds.They were force fed on the ripe berries of Robusta and Arabica.The bean in the poop was then cleaned,roasted
ground,brewed and served.I was misled into visiting the plantation.It was an eye-opener.

There is a theory which suggest such inhuman production of coffee may alter the taste and quality of the coffee since the civets no longer just pick through the ‘good’ ones nor have the nutrients in their digestive tract from other foods(other berried,fruit & insects) that are believed to contribute to the excreted bean.This isn't the case here.So its a lot of hype.

Its said that 50 tons of mass-produced civet coffee from Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and China flood the market every year.So if its mass produced in these grim plantations,what so exclusive about it.Its largely exaggerated poop!!

While its true that this tradition existed in societies in Indonesia where civet poop to cup was practised,its totally commercial now.

JW,for a coffee aficionado like you, would recommend Sidamo,one of the finest coffee growing region in southern Ethiopia.It produces Yirgacheffe one of the finest coffees.The cup runs the whole spectrum from full-bodied,sweet and fruity to lighter-bodied,citrous and floral,depending on how it's processed.
So is the Harrar Longberry. After all it was in Ethiopia that a goat herd and his frisky goats found coffee !!

I quite liked the Single Estate teas from Dilmah. Got home with 2 kgs.

jacketwatch

Wow! I had it once in Bangkok but it was just ok. I’ll never try it again especially after reading your post. I had no idea. Have you tried PNG coffee? Very good too. Comes from JA. blue mountain seedlings according to a book I have.

Anyway I too don’t want to hijack the thread.

Waiting for the OP. .

inquest

PNG was a wee bit sour and bitter,though it had the aroma.couldn't get my taste buds around it.It could have been a dark roast.or possibally the blend.Not sure.
Would like to try it again.In Singapore im DEC.Now that you reminded me
Thx.
Tried it
@ Just Want Coffee,at Everton Park,Singapore.

jacketwatch

My PNG is from Gevalia. Rarely disappointed with their products.

sartoric

Thanks peeps.
Diversions are quite okay with me, I find the coffee discussion very interesting. In Chiang Rai northern Thailand we saw elephant poo coffee drying in the sun.....but didn’t try it. Elephants chained until providing rides to tourists was depressing. Our excellent guide offered a ride as an option for our tour, but was pleased we didn’t want to partake. We also avoided the kopi luwak in Bali, for the same animal rights issues you identified inquest. We did try grown on the farm coffee at a homestay in Kerala, spiced with cardamom it was delicious. Did you know the Dutch who were in Sri Lanka in the 17th century started growing coffee ? A blight wiped out the crops, the English stepped in and planted tea instead. This could have been a coffee nation, but most locals we’ve spoken to prefer tea. CC, interesting about the tea grading and buying, although I doubt my tea palate is sophisticated enough to tell the difference. JW, when you’re in Oz try the coffee grown in FNQ (far North Queensland). Progol, you know how it is, a bummer gets supplanted by a boomer, such is independent travel


Sigiriya. A visit to the ancient capital of Polonnaruwa and a look at the stunning Kandalama Residence.

Breakfast at Lakmini Lodge was egg hoppers and coconut hoppers with chicken curry, dal, roti bread, fresh fruit and juice, plus coffee. All tasty, freshly made and served with a smile.

We drove about an hour to Polonnaruwa stopping at a stream to see a large water monitor being fed fish from a long steel pole (I suspect Dilee made a call to a friend) and once more for passable coffee. We decided against hiring a guide for this site, Dilee could come with us to a few places, others he let us out of the car, pointed the way and met us at the other end. It helped to visit the well marked museum first, and also have the printed visitor guide. You have to ask for this guide, it doesn’t automatically come with the 3850 rupees per person entrance fee.

Polonnaruwa is less ruinous than Anuradhapura, so a bit easier to understand, there’s some fine carvings and large statues of the Buddha. I will expand a bit more on both sites once I’ve had a chance to really think about it.

From here we hightailed it to Kandalama Residence, a Geoffrey Bawa designed luxury hotel. It’s perfectly situated on Kandalama lake and meshed sympathetically into the surrounding granite. There’s a lot of granite in Sri Lanka. It was so peaceful enjoying a late afternoon snack and a mojito overlooking the infinity edge pool, which in turn overlooks the lake.

Then the Chinese tour group arrived. They started moving the furniture, one guy started watching a really loud movie on his phone, two women got into an argument that looked like it might turn physical, generally they had no consideration for other guests. We paid our tab and left, getting sympathetic looks from the staff. On the drive out Dilee spotted a giant squirrel, we watched him swing and scamper through several trees, using his fat bushy grey tail as a fifth limb.

After a roof top beer back at our hotel we had dinner in their restaurant, stir fried chicken noodles with an egg on top, and homemade veggie spring rolls. Again, both delicious. The kitchen here is a sleek stainless steel commercial arrangement of which many chefs would be proud. The wait staff could use some training (very friendly and accommodating, just no clue about small things) and I wish the owner every success.

jacketwatch

I've heard about that elephant stuff. Its called back ivory I think. Often wondered what a caffeinated bull elephant would be like if he went into musk! Yikes.

We have 5 days in Oz before our cruise and 1 post divided between Sydney and Brisbane so Ill be looking for that coffee, FNQ. I had cardamom coffee in Israel too. Quite nice.

Sorry you lost me again. Egg and coconut hoppers?

I recently saw a documentary (This is life with Lisa Ling series on CNN) about the Chinese economy which basically noted that many got tremendous wealth quickly and do like to show it off. Manners has yet to catch up with some. I have friends in Singapore that we saw last Feb. 2016 and they also made mention of Chinese tourists with coarse manners unfortunately.

At least the beer did not freeze this time. .