I went on a jeep safari at a national park in Sri Lanka last month. The park that I went to was Kaudulla because the elephants were located here when I was in the area. This park has other mammals and birds to see as well; I did see peacocks, watr buffalo, an eagle, monkey, jackals, iguana, and also a crocodile. The elephants got very close to the jeeps, and the youngest elephant was only two or three months old. The tour guide/driver pointed out the different animals and birds. All of the safari drivers and jeeps kept back from the elephants and respected these creatures.

According to the guide, seeing crocodiles here was not common.

This was a wonderful experience to see the elephants in the wild. Elephants are native to Sri Lanka and do live in the wild.

Polonnaruwa is a UNESCO World Heritage site in Sri Lanka and the next stop on my Sri Lankan road trip after the first day. The city was founded by the Cholas dynasty (from southern India) after Anuradhapura was detroyed in 993. It was known as a garden city and contains the ruins of palaces, temples, and monastaries.

The trip started early in the morning after a quick breakfast, and we drove from Anuradhapura to this ancient city Polonnaruwa. 

We met our guide who led us through the history and some of the ruins of the city. This started with the lake that was built. The lake house was visited by the queen of England.

We also had a quick look around the museum to see how a few of the ruined buildings would have looked and to see some of the exhibits.

The Royal Palace of Parakramabahu I was the first stop. This palace would have been built up from multiple levels, and the scale of the remaining walls can help us see that this would have been an impressive structure. It would have been taller than the present remains.

We could see one of the toilets in the palace. Remains of plaster with some details and bits of coloured paint were also present.

The next building ruins were nearby, and this was the council chamber of the king. It retains the carvings around the sides of the building and a colonnade structure from the stairs.

There was a well next to it.

Below was a pond.

Next, we were taken to the temple complex. This area had a lot of very different temple ruins to visit.

The Galpota stone book was impressive; this is the largest stone carving inscription in Sri Lanka.

Sathmahal Prasadaya is one of the temples in the complex but with scaffolding.

Vatadag is a circular temple with Buddah statues on the four entrances.

Nissanka Hatadage is another one of the temples.

I also visited the others; all were very different.

There were also some Hindu temples.

Afterwards, we went to the monastaries location.

We saw some buerial stupas and the monastary ruins.

We saw another temple too (Alahana Pirivena) with the remains of a very large Buddha.

We also saw a chameleon.

The last stop here was a location with three very different Buddha statues - one meditating/sitting, one standing, and one at the moment of passing away. There was also another inside the cave carved from the stone.

This was a fascinating place to visit with a wealth of history and not to miss if visiting Sri Lanka.

I had a road trip around Sri Lanka last month, and the first day was the trek from Colombo to Anuradhapura. I had the afternoon and evening at Anuradhapura, which is a world heritage site for the well-preserved ruins. Th city was founded around 437 B.C. but was inhabited for much longer and is considered one of the most longest inhabited cities in Asia and was once the capitol of the country. It serves as a Buddhist pilgrimage site and contains the ruins of monastaries and temples, though the temples are now maintained and recovered from nature. The guide I had told me that they were maintained in the later 1990s and early 2000s after years of neglect when they were covered in mounds of dirt when he was growing up.

The city was destroyed due to invaders from southern India. It was not populated for centuries until the British colonial area in the late 1800s, but it never recovered its original status. Today it is primarily a historical and pilgrimage site.

The first stop was to get a late lunch, and I had different dishes at a local Sri Lankan restaurant.

They also had a resident cat who was very pregnant or who had just had kittens.

I crossed through several towns and villages and admired the scenery.

We finally got to Anuradhapura, and below is the museum and information centre. We went into the museum at the end. 

At the back of the museum is the entrance to the ruins and the temples.

We saw a land monitor, a type of giant lizard. There was a water one too, but I did not get a photo.

We went into the first temple, which had the statues of Buddha and a shrine.

We also went to another temple, but it did not have a shrine inside.

Around the temple were various grafitti carved into the walkway - inscriptions and game boards.

We then went by car to another location where there are pools. We were told that the monks would sit here.

We also saw some Buddha statues. There were four that would have been in this shrine area. Only one remains intact.

There were many wild monkeys everywhere.

We also went to a part of the former monastary.

One temple had a well-preserved moonstone. This is the entrance to the temple that is meant to help you think good thoughts when entering.

Carved figures also are marking the entrance.

There were also monks visiting.

Below was irrigation and water set up. It was an advanced community.

The reservoir was also built to supply water.

After we finished, we had a quick look around the museum.

I headed to the hotel for a quick break and we planned to meet in the evening to go back to the site and to see the new temple pilgrimage site.

The temple was busy.

As we left to go back to the hotel, we had a nice viewpoint over the temples from the other side of the lake.

I was impressed at the ruins and the infrastructure for such an ancient site with many ruins well-preserved. I enjoyed visiting the temple in the evening as well.

Sri Lanka was a beautiful country, and I just returned from my trip a few days ago. I spent nearly two weeks in the country with a couple of days to relax in Colombo, the main and largest city in the country. Colombo is a working city, but it does have some places to visit - temples, markets, malls, museums, and historical places left over from the occupations by the Dutch and English.

On my first full day, I went to explore the city via tuk tuk tour. This was my first visit to Asia and riding in a tuk tuk. The guide showed me a lot of interesting places around the city.

I saw the Lotus building, which is coloured like a lotus flower. There is a restaurant and bar on the top, but I did not go inside it. 

We then went into a Hindu temple, and I had a quick look inside it and got some photographs of the temple with the lotus flower tower.

I was shown some of the buildings in Colombo - churches, temples, hospitals, etc.

Then I was driven around the markets. Each area specialises in something different - electronics, sweets, oil, plastics, clothing, shoes, hardware, lighting, etc.

Traveling through the streets on the tuk tuk was insightful and colourful.

I also went inside a newer Hindu temple, and there were bats living inside it. 

In the spice market area, the guide treated me to a coffee shop. I don't like coffee, but I had hot chocolate. They had different types of coffee bean.

I liked to see the spices.

BELOW

In on of the market areas was a red and white brick mosque.

Near the harbour are the varioud buildings dating from the Dutch and English occupation with the majority of the remaining buildings dating from the English time. These are beautiful buildings. Some of them are abandoned.

I also went to the Dutch fort. It now has shops and restaurants inside it.

The guide treated me to a coconut drink, and I had this whilst looking over the Colombo skyline.

Next up was the Maritime museum. Inside was information about the people of Sri Lanka and its history as well as the contributions (or otherwise) of the Europeans. Next to and above the museum is a temple, built suspended in the sky so that people could see the temple's "spire" from the harbour. The country is primarily Buddhist faith.

There were so many bats hanging out in the trees. I saw these by the lake.

I went to the large Buddhist temple Gangaramaya. This temple has a museum and a lot of important figures and items from the different cultures. There was the smallest Buddha in the world. It was impressive with different styles.

I had lunch in a small cafe called Curry Pot. This is traditional Sri Lankan food.

One of the final stops was Independence Square and the structure built here.

The last stop was a small market in the wealthier part of town and near the cricket club, but I didn't get the name of it. It was not far from the hotel.

Near the hotel was also a chocolate shop and doughnut shop.

The following day, I went to the National Museum to se the different historical and cultural exhibits, and these were interesting.

I enjoyed my two days in Colombo, and I have more photographs to post over the next few weeks.

One of my good friends celebrated her 30th birthday last month, so a few of us decided to have a spa weekend at Oxford Belfry Spa. We had a voucher, and this included afternoon tea, a meal (with set amount to spend), some drinks, a massage, an overnight stay, and use of the facilities (pool, steam room, and sauna). 

We headed off in the afternoon on the Saturday and enjoyed the scones and tea after we arrived.

We had brought drinks so enjoyed a chat in the garden with these.

After our choice of massage, we had dinner. This allowed me three courses based on the options I selected, and the food was very tasty. I had the pea soup.

This was followed by the vegetarian tomato-based pasta.

My friends had a pie and salmon.

For dessert, I opted for the cheese board. This came with cheddar and a selection of crackers, grapes, apple slices, and an onion chutney.

We had some free drinks vouchers to use as well. The only issue we had was that the dinner was incredibly slow, and we worked out that we had been seated for five hours.This really wasn't accpetable, and we did not get to chill in the room as we were all ready for bed. They also forgot to bring us some of the drinks. 

I went to Fuerteventura for a long weekend to relax on my birthday this year. I first visited a couple of years ago and enjoyed my time there, so I went back. The place I stayed at had had some changes with a new bar. I had a couple of days to relax by the pool and enjoy some cocktails, although the weather was very chilly. Below are some photographs from my trip.

Enjoy! I would like to do another one of the islands in the future and felt that I had exhausted all there is to do at Fuerteventura.

When I was in Fuerteventura earlier this month, I had on day reserved for a road trip. I rented a car to explore the island for the day. The aloe vera, wineries, villages, beaches, and larger towns were part of my journy to the nothern part of the island to explore. I started off driving to La Oliva.

This village is one of the main travel destinations with restaurants, museums, shops, and history. I went to explore the church, which was open for me to peek inside.

I then headed to the aloe vera farm that I visited a couple of years ago. I had spent a lot of money so got a massage there. I bought some more aloe vera products.

The next stop was a winery, Bodegas Conatvs. 

I had a wine and food tasting / pairing with traditional cheeses, bread, olives, and local foods. I really enjoyed the wines and wish that I had bought some, but I only had my carry-on baggage. I did try to locate it at the duty free in the airport, but it was not there.

Afterwards, I went to the main town of Corralejo. This is where I got the ferry to Lobos island.

After returning from Lobos island, I explored Popcorn Beach on the north coast and a short drive from Corralejo. The beach is named for its white and black stones that have a similar appearance to popcorn.

There are also some structures near Popcorn Beach used during the second World War.

Driving is pretty easy on the island because there are not too many cars, and it is a good way to see the island at your own pace.

On my birthday earlier this month, I was in Fuerteventura (Canary Islands). I had a rental car for the day, and I went to the town of Corralejo to get a boat across to the island of Lobos. I was in Fuerteventura for a long weekend, and I wanted to see some more of the island and have a short and much-needed break. This was a relaxing break with a day of sight-seeing, which was on my actual birthday. I wanted to get to Lobos island last time, but I had run out of time.

The town of Corralejo is one of the largest towns on the island and is situated on the northeastern part of the island. From here, there are boats to Lobos island and Lanzarote.

I checked out the harbour.

Soon, I was off to Corralejo on the boat with beautiful blue waters.

There are a few buildings on Lobos and a pub, but the island itself acts as a nature reserve with a lot of restrictions. There are walkways through the island with some climbing for views, and the walk can be done in about 2.5 to 3 hours, but I did not get that long so stayed on one side and enjoyed a wander.

The ferry boat is a speed boat that does a round trip.

I enjoyed my visit to Lobos island and would have liked to have had longer. Some tips are to bring walking shoes and a lot of water as there's no shade and no shops. Also bring suncream as the island is exposed without shade. The boat ride back was a little bit choppy like a rollercoaster, but it was not too bad.

I was in Krakow, Poland, for several days in early April. In this post, I will show what I ate and drank while I visited the city. I visited over Easter, and this only shows some of the food and drink that I had, but I did enjoy some at the markets and other places.

Macaroons were available at the Christmas market, and I bought some to try.

Karmello Chocolatier was located near the hotel I stayed at, and they had nice boxes of chocolates in the windows. Easter chocolate was out on display, so I tried some of the selection of chocolates. 

Lajkonik Piekarnia has a lot of pastries, and this cafe does light lunches and hot drinks. I had the Easter cookie and fruit tart.

I enjoyed some drinks in the main square.

Simon Rolls sells cinnamon rolls in different flavours, and I had the plain one; others are served with cream cheese, which is more savoury and less sweet than the traditional style.

If there is a Hard Rock Cafe, I will visit it.

Filthy Burgers was good. I had the chicken burger, and I enjoyed the fries.

One of the meals I had, which was probably the best sit-down meal, was Morskie Oko. This Polish restaurant gets very busy. I enjoyed some traditional food (potato cakes and chicken schnitzel) and drinks with a selection of vodka.

I went to Bharat Flame (India Flame) restaurant, which is one of the only Indian restaurants in the city and well-rated. I enjoyed my meal here, though the Indian cuisine is better in London.

For Easter Sunday, I visited TA'AM restaurant and cocktail bar and enjoyed my meal and drinks.

Cafe Mini Cukiernia is a small cafe that serves hot food as well, and I tried their desserts. The desserts look so beautiful. I had this very swet pistachio meringue, and I would have loved to have tried other flavours too. 

Dobra Paczkarnia serves different doughnuts, and they recommended me a rose jam one. The doughnuts were much too sweet for me.

Bakehouse 14 was a bit of a disappointment as it had glowing reviews. I had the carrot cake cookie, which was an Easter theme, but it was too dry. 

Pasibus Burger was recommended by a friend, and I tried and enjoyed it once they gave me the correct order.

Pizzatopia is highly-rated and does nice pizzas.

My biggest regret was the vodka because it was so strong.

There were other places that looked good as well, but I only had time for these places. I would go back to Krakow for one of their other markets at a different time of the year.

The Emmaus Fair is held on Easter Monday in Krakow, Poland, and this festival has a religious biblical background. The fair itself has ties to medieval ages where people in those days would display and sell products that they made and welcome spring. On Easter Monday, people in Krakow traditionally spray water on strangers as part of the fun. The fair is very commercialised nowadays and seemed to cater more to children with many sellers selling balloons. 

Wooden toys, sweets, and art were traditionally sold here, although many of the options now are modern. There were many sellers selling bread tied with string; they looked like pretzels and came in different flavours.

Another item I saw at the fair were wooden figurines with musical instruments, which are said to bring good luck to those who buy them.

The coloured dried flowers and plants, known as palms, are an Easter tradition in Poland.

I arrived in the afternoon, and the crowds were huge. It was difficult to see everything, but this fair seemed to be more for children and for people to get out to have a walk around. 

The Emmaus Fair takes place along the river on the western side of Krakow. I recommend to get there early before the crowds.