Our plans Our Future

31 Dec 2015

Rippin’ waves and enjoying beach life in south Sri Lanka

After a week of pretty intense traveling in Sri Lanka
we started to feel that we were in need relaxing for real.
All the sightseeing and traveling is how you get to experience everything.
Getting up early to catch the bus or train to get to next place, doing one big hike up to an incredible view point on top of a peak, and then the day after you catch the next bus to another amazing place.
It’s all a big experience to first travel to all these places, on the way you get to interact with the amazing local people and get a little hint about everything works in the country.

You experience culture, and it’s all different from where you go, north, south, east or west.
The food taste different, at some parts it’s spicier then others, and at others the curries might be less dry made and more made up with coconuts sauces.
The nature looks all different from north to south!

One week full of all this will make you tired, after a while you just want to sit down and take in everything you have experienced.
It’s all amazing but you definitely need the time to analyze a bit of what you have seen, smelt, tasted and how you felt.
A fantastic experience!

The best thing for us is to do the sightseeing this way and then take the last weeks of just relaxing, well a lot of surfing and from time to time just rent a motorbike and go for a day trip!
Living timeless for a while !

We came to Midigama on the 23^rd.
This place is more of a surf haven, a few surf shops, guest houses and restaurants pop up along the road.
All of them are just a stones throw away!

We stayed at a fantastic place, Cheeky Monkey, locally known for Baba’s place!
Great accommodation for 30USD a day (fan), a big breakfast included!
Banana pancakes drizzled with syrup, vegetable omelet and bread, coffee or tea and a fruit shake!
An amazing group of people that work there, super nice and very helpful!

This place also have a surf shop for buy or rent boards, 800 rupees a day!
Great quality boards and you can change whenever you want to!

The “owner” Baba, is one hell of a fun guy, super friendly.
He will help you with anything you want, he can also arrange the whale watching in Merissa for great prices!
If you need to change money just ask him and he will get you a tuk tuk and tell the driver where to go!
From time to time he will take all the people that stay at his place, or other people that want to come along , to a really awesome BBQ in Merissa.
He will arrange the tuk tuk’s and everything!
He’s a really friendly guy, feel like you have known him for years.
If you are up for a party just ask Baba and he will take you to the best place, introduce you to his friends, he will probably be the last man standing!

He likes to party so you will have a lot of fun.

The family owned business that he runs I is running perfectly, you will leave feeling like you have to come back to this place!

The surf shop are in the middle of all the surfable reefs, to the left you got Plantation and to the right you got Ram’s, Lazy left and Lazy right.

Plantation is very popular with its smooth sandy bottom and they waves are crumbling nicely, most of the times.
Pretty inconsistent , so sometimes you have to wait 5-10 minutes for a set, but that set can throw about 5-10 waves at you.
We experienced some pretty big ones!
Avoid 4pm, it can be super crowded.
It really doesn’t matter when you go before that, because this area is not affected by the tide.

Lazy left and Lazy right are also two great breaks, can get big!
The left one is just behind some rocks, so at first it felt a bit sketchy because it felt like the rocks were pulling you in.
It’s pretty shallow here so choose the right wave and get up pretty fast.
If you wipe out, then protect you head with your arms.
When a set of waves get in and you get smashed, remember to try to paddle towards the middle, away from the rocks, where you find a channel.

It’s a great wave once you get it!

The right one is a slower one, awesome for people with a bit longer board.
What we heard the currents can be strong here, so if you wipe out and your leech would break just remember to swim towards the channel in the middle then you’ll be fine.

I’m more of a beginner surfer so for me these things are very important to know.

The famous Ram’s looked like a super nice wave, fast and from time to time big!
But here it is really shallow so for a beginner you should stay away, if you can’t get up fast enough and you don’t know how to wipe out “good” then things can get nasty.

To get to the breaks you can either walk, if you stay at Baba’s place Cheeky monkey, or you can take a tuk tuk and put the boards on the roof and go anywhere and it will cost you a few dollars.
We tried a few spots 10 mins away from Baba’s , One named A-frame, which was really great, big ones!

When it comes to food, you will find Sri Lanka’s best food just 100 meters from Baba’s.
The place is Mama’s, which serve the absolutely best curries.
Every day she serve vegetarian buffé , and it’s different from day to day.
About 5 different fresh made curries made from soy, pumpkin, ocras, potatoes and other wild greens , some of these can be spicy so I loved it!
Served with papadum.
As a desert you get bananas!
All this for 200 rupees(1.2USD), fantastic.

For Christmas we hooked up with our four Swedish friends, one of them which we meet on a surf trip in Portugal!
They stayed at The Plantation Inn, another popular surf place to stay at!
We signed up for their lobster BBQ!

The mission that day was to each one of us buy 5 Christmas presents, to later on at the BBQ play a present swapping game, where you roll a dice and if you get number 6 you get to take a present from anyone.
There’s 3 rounds and every round got faster and faster.
At the end of the second round you got to open the presents so everyone could see what it was and then continue the game.
At this round you could actually take what you want, but it all pretty much ends up everyone is losing and then taking back what they want, and usually it ends up that everyone wants the same thing.
A fun game!

The BBQ was amazing, a massive lobster, over my expectations!
To this we enjoyed a very tasty vegetable fried rice, a salad , a desert and a glass of champagne.
It was worth the 3000 rupees.
Once a week during high season they offer this delicious BBQ, different seafood all the time!

On the 27^th early morning we had booked the Whale safari in Merissa trough Baba, we got a really great deal for 5 of us, including the tuk tuk there!

We got to the harbor and there were about 6 big two floor boats docked.
The first floor had all seats row by row and on the top floor they put cushions on the floor for you to sit on, they also provided life jackets.

We left harbor around 7am ,they served a light breakfast.
Coffee or tea and a sandwhich with white bread, cheese and lettuce.

We went with a new company named Whale Warriors.
www.mirissawhalewarriors.com
The captain had 30 years of experience in this ocean, he was a fisherman before he got into this.
A nice crew , all very nice.
My need for coffee was not a problem, they guy run gladly up and down the stairs on the rocking boat providing me with 5 cups of Sri Lankan coffee.

On these whale tours you get the opportunity to see different kind of whales and dolphins, but people are mainly there to get close to the world biggest living thing, the Blue whale!

The tour was about 4 hours, we spotted our first blue whale after 40 minutes, as well as dolphins!
These enormous creatures are truly the kings of the oceans, so huge!
With a length up to 30 meters they look like a living submarine.
When the surface they breath for a few minutes before descending down again.
For about 7-10 minutes they are deep down there and then they ascend for air.

It’s an incredible feeling to be close to one of these, it’s even better when the breach and show their massive tail! WOW!
On this trip we saw about 10 blue whales, which two of them were next to our boat breaching the surface and one of them showed us their tail!
One of those suckers farted at us, a smelly misty wind covered they boat.
A horrible smell! Almost like the Swedish delicacy “Fermented Herring”.
If it was not a fart, and it was from it’s blowhole, it should think about cleaning it’s hole!

This is one of the only spots on the planet where you can come to enjoy these massive kings of the oceans, atleast knowing that during this season you will have a good chance seeing them.

I recorded the whole session with those two blue whales, it was amazing, atleast I thought I did.
Until the whole experience was over and at that point I pushed record and realizing I did, darn.

An experience of a life time!

We came back around lunch time and then took a tuk tuk back to Midigama, to Mama’s for our last dinner there, atleast we thought so!

Then we took our bags stood along there road and waited for the bus.
Every bus just drove past us, even though we waved and waved!
Realizing that it would not stop for us because of our luggage, it would take to much time for them to run out, open the back and throw the bags in.

5 buses drove by us!

From nowhere a car stopped and asked us where we were going, we said Hikkaduwa and the man that was driving said – jump in I’ll drive you!

Him and his family were on their way to Galle which is about 20 minutes away from, but would happily drive us to Hikkaduwa!
Lovely people!

This is the last day of 2015, it has been an amazing year full of experiences.
Meet some incredible people, achieved many goals and went through with some of my and our plans.
I have learnt so many new things this year because of devotion and persistence, and with great support from my girlfriend and friends.
It’s all about priorities, having a plan and creating a strategy!

I’m very happy to see that there are so many readers and people that support my journey.
There will be a lot more from where all this came from!

Thank you and see you all next year!

Happy New Years 2016 from Hikkaduwa!!

28 Dec 2015

Arrack, Ginger beer and lime was on our menu late night on the 21st.

We had so much fun with the owner of Regina Inn, a great friend of Jayrantha the “King of the jungle”, owner of the safari company.
It says that on his business card and this man and his brother are truly the kings of this jungle!

5:45 am our alarms rang, we both got up fast and excited for this safari, even though the headache was pounding pretty wild.
His brother Tooty is a very happy man, you get the feeling that this man might be Tarzan!
He was driving a big Land Rover, the best of the best there is when driving off road.
An old one, but they are really powerful and does its job, gets you anywhere!
The back had 3 rows of seats, the one higher than the other .
We drove off, the first stop was at a food shack, probably the only one open.
Bananas and coconut rootis for breakfast!

It takes about 20 mins to drive from Tissa to Yala.
A great smooth road, even here you can see a lot of birds and other wildlife.
Watch out for the cows that are laying on the roads, packs of 40 from time to time.
You get scared that the driver will hit them, but Tooty knows how to handle cows on the road!
Just honk and drive, and hope for the best.

No cows got injured during this trip!

Coming up at the park, you see this place filled of jeeps, it’s crowded.
You get a bit bummed that this will not be a good safari with this many cars.

Once in the park you meet a jeep now and then, it is not crowded at all!
Tooty have 33 years of experience so he knows these roads and all the shortcuts!

The landscape is pretty amazing, the rock formations all over are round and there are massive egg shaped rocks standing up at its highest point on top of another round shaped rock, it all looks so unreal.

The jungle is really dense , but there’s many trees that stick out that looks like perfect spots for wildlife to be in, like leopards!

Paradise birds, like kingfishers were flying everywhere, all in different colors.
Male peacocks spreading their majestic feathers to impress the females,
big pelicans spreading their wings high up in the tree tops and mongooses running around on the road looking for pray!

You also see a lot of wild buffaloes all over the park.

From time to time you see and elephant lurking in the bushes eating from trees.
Got to say I love elephants, they are so awesome to watch, specially when they are in the wild!
They look so in peace and harmony with the nature, and they look pretty funny.

To experience a beautiful sunrise at a safari is amazing, put it up on your bucketlist!

Tooty took us to a lake covered with Lilly pads , that lake at a point became a river so it had a little waterfall.
Below this waterfall there was 4 crocodiles laying there, one of them had an open mouth and were just waiting for fish to come down the waterfall and then catch it!
Some of the other crocodiles were just laying there enjoying the hot weather and the scorching sun.

These ones were big I would say around 3 meters in length!

Seeing all these animals makes me even more amazed about how awesome this planet and its habitants really are, amazing earth!
The nature is truly perfect!

For lunch we stopped at a beach!
It’s incredible that this national park actually is situated on the coast, so it has a fantastic long white stretched beach, probably a few kilometers!

We had some really good curry, 3 different ones and all with a perfect spice!
Tooty also chopped up some pineapple and mangoes for us!
Not only the food here is very tasty , but also the fruit! It’s so sweet ! Love it.

We still had not seen a leopard, which was a bit disappointing, but we still had half the day so we had hope to catch the glimpse of one.

At the beach we had a nap, which we both needed.
We could still feel a bit from the day before, the Arrack seemed to have put a little hammer inside my head, giving me some pressure in the back of my head.

Woke up way more fresh and felt ready for another safari session!

Tooty took us all the time to different areas of the park, so we got to see different animals and hopefully find the leopard.
You are sitting there super excited looking at all the trees everywhere, after a while you start seeing patterns on the branches, and also movements.
Your brain starts playing a trick on you, because you really want to see this animal.

Wild boars and spotted deer running around on the open fields, a beautiful sight!

It started to get late and still no leopards.
Both me and Erin started to lose hope, I began thinking about staying another night, I had to see one!

It felt like Tooty was heading back so it was all over, a beautiful safari with gorgeous nature and wildlife.
There was still some hope because we were still looking at all the trees and branches for that leopard.

On the way back we saw one more elephant standing on the shore of a lake drinking some water, and now the sun was going down so the whole sky was getting orange, and in the background there were these massive round shaped rocks, one of them looked like something from the movie “Lion King”
It was so beautiful, like the perfect picture or a dream, but this was for real!

While looking at this, Tooty suddenly stopped the car, and in front of us there was a leopard walking on the mud road!
The color was so orange and the pattern was so black and sharp, and it was big!
I pulled up my GoPro and started filming, the leopard stopped and looked at us.
That gave me shivers, it felt like he was going to run towards the car and attack!
The leopard was only about 8 meters away.

The feeling of when you are not in control over the situation, the nature is, it’s pretty scary but at the same time so exhilarating!

It looked up at us and then walked slowly in to the jungle.
We were insanely happy to have seen this and a close encounter.
There were about 50 jeeps in the park, and we were the only one to see a leopards that day.

We backed up a bit, and then we saw it again walking on the rocks in the jungle, just a few meters away!
Then we just heard branches breaking and how he got further and further in.

Tooty turned off the car and we just watched it go deeper in until it vanished.
He phoned the minister of the park that is driving there almost every day try to find these animals.
Telling him about our experience and told him to get to our position.

We turned around the car to see if we could see it again.

From the jungle this cat came back out on the road in front of us!
What an unbelievable experience!

We watched it again until he walked back into the jungle.

High fives happy shouts were going on in the car, then other jeeps start coming in but the leopards was no where to be seen!

This was the last spot Tooty had in mind to look at, he had seen leopard there a few times, and once more again!

We left and one the way out we saw some more elephants and even some coyotes were now out when the sun was almost all gone.
It took us 11 hours to managed to see the leopard, but it was all worth it.
During these hours we saw a lot of animals, so the whole safari was amazing.

If you only go to hopefully see a leopards then maybe going a few hours before sunset might be enough, this time seems to be then best to spot then.
When the sun is up is way too hot for some animals to be out so most of the hide in the shade.

Booking with M.M Jayrantha within Sri Lanka 0777-073-813 and from outside 94-777-073-813

Monkey

25 Dec 2015

Around 10 000 steps from White House guesthouse to the peak!
Took us 3 day’s to get over the pain in our legs.
All worth it!

25 Dec 2015

Tuk Tuk journey through the Sri Lankan mountains

From Adam’s peak Sri Pada we took a tuk tuk all the way to Ella
which is a 4 hour ride across a mountain, well this driver said he knew a shortcut.
Driving through the tea plantations is beautiful, hills covered with these kryptonite green bushes!
The ladies picking the leaves are dressed in what it seems like are tribal dresses, big golden nose rings, they looks like small colorful tea fairy’s .
They make about 50rps a kilogram which is about 33 cents, the more they pick the more they get, but I would guess that one kilo tea leaves is a lot of leaves!

We continued up to higher altitude, up here it started to rain, and it was pretty chilly, so we had to bring down the side covers to protect ourselves.
We had a few beers on the ride, to enhance the ride of course!
The tuk tuk driver just brought us into smaller and smaller roads, now we were driving off road, there were big holes and mud all over. This was more like a path in the woods, he said it was his shortcut!
We started to believe we were about to get robbed, stop somewhere and then all his friends jumping out and take everything we had.
But fortunately this driver was a great man so it didn’t happen!

I would never have guessed that a tuk tuk is so strong that it can take you through a rainy and muddy forest high up in the mountains! Some parts we were just like – No way!
But it was not only a great tuk tuk, this driver knew how to drive, off road!

We got to see a lot of the nature, it is so weird that first you drive through tea plantations and then you are in this jungle, and then suddenly you are driving in a pine tree forest!
Got to love the nature here, it’s so diverse!

It took us 4 hours (7000rps but considering how far it was and that he had to drive all the way back we gave him 10000rps 70USD). So I guess it was not a shortcut , we stopped once though.
A quick samosa break! Samosas here can be really great!

We arrived in Ella around 2 pm, a nice little village with a backpacker vibe.
More cafés and restaurants aiming for tourists.
What we came for was to relax, after all the traveling and hiking we were in need of relaxing and not getting up somewhere in between 2:30 – 5 am!
Our mission was to get some rest, eat a lot of food and get massages, Ayuverdic ones.
We stayed at Nandas guest house, a triple room with a tiny bathroom for 3500 rps, this was not a good deal considering the low standards.
The owners were very nice and helpful though!

In Ella we tried many different restaurants and café, our favorite one was the Dream Café !
Divided in one upper and one lower area, the people working here were awesome, they explained what you were eating and where it came from, they also gave you information about anything you wanted, very helpful when it came to questions about the buses, time tables and how to stop the bus. There is no bus stops so you have to wave it down at certain places!
This place had excellent rice and curry platter, with three different curries, mountain curries.
You eat these vegetable curries together with rice crackers made in to bowls which you fill up, and top this with the coconut Sambal! (spicy chili)
Super good!

They also have great coffee and tea, and many different pastrys to choose from, one example was the delicious carrot cake!
Comparing prices to the previous places, now we could see it was going up, still very cheap, but a few extra hundred rupees per meal, 500-1000 rps.

We also tried the Chill Café, the prices here are higher than average.
They serve very good western food, like burgers and pizzas.
We tried their spicy tuna pizza for 800 rps (6USD), a pizza you wouldn’t expect to get up in the mountains, very good taste and the thin crust was perfect.
Except for some deadly bones I recommend this pizza!

The place itself is awesomely decorated with bamboo and all wood tables and chairs, cool chill ambience, and as usual with this country all the people are very friendly!
On the top floor you had a bean bag area, where you can lay down, read a book and sip on their Sri Lankan special!
A drink made from Coconut Arrack, ginger beer and lime! Great taste, party drink!

We took two massages, one that was right in town called Nature Secret Ayurvedic which was a nice massage, but the ambience was totally on the wrong track, even the price compared to the next one we took was more expensive.
1500 rps for a 30 min foot massage.

The other place was further down the road, Suwa Pradeepa Spa.
This place was way better, great ambience which gave you a more relaxing and peaceful vibe.
Here they played some really soothing chanting tunes.
For 2000 rps per person we got ourselves a one hour massage, it was so good, and my body was so much in need of this!
They also had a “Steam Sauna” here, but it was not the sauna I’m used to.
Here you were laying in a coffin with your head sticking out, under you the were burning herbs to get you steamed up.
Sounds pretty horrible to me, I’m way to claustrophobic for that!

The people there were very nice, asking all the time if everything was good, and really wanting you to enjoy the full massage!
This place I highly recommend.

We stayed two nights in Ella, we were all about relaxing!

Last day we waved down the 6:30 Matara bus with some help from the owner at Nanda’s Guesthouse. We were on our way to Yala National park. We threw the bags in the back and jumped on. We had to stand for about one hour, because this one was packed.
One guy then offered us a seat next to him, he probably saw us holding on hard to the bars above us but still flying back and forth in the bus.

The same guy told us when to get off.

This bus leaves 6:30, 7:10, 8:45, 9:15 and 11:30, to the city Matara on the coast, and it takes about 3 hours to get to Yala(Werrawila) and then another 3.5 hours to get to Matara.
If you are heading to Yala national park for the safari then jump off at Werrawila and from there take a tuk tuk or bus to Tissa.
Tuk tuk only costs 300 rupees.

We stayed in Tissahamaram, which is about 10 min ride from Tissa.
Our tuk tuk driver Jayrantha is a funny old man that speak great English.
He also owns a safari company , run by him and his family, he has 33 years of experience in this park!
If you get him or his brother Tooty, it doesn’t matter they are both very professional and probably the best there is in this park!
We checked in at Reginas Inn, a clean double room with a huge bathroom for 2000 rupees a night.
For the full day safari we paid 12500 rps per person, including food and drinks.

Then Jayrantha took us on a free mini safari, to his house that was next to a lake.
On the way there we gotta to see a lot of birds, fruit bats and monkeys, but we also got the opportunity to see a crocodile sun tanning beneath a tree!

At his home he gave us tea, bananas and a chocolate pastery and told us stories about the safari, his life and about his friends.
A very nice man that I highly recommend taking your safari from!
At this point we had already booked the safari so all of this he did just because of his kindness.

Reginas Inn turned out to be a superb place where we meet a very nice man Ranjith, that was a very kind person.
We had a little dance party with some Arrack and house tunes and became great friends!
The first ones to get to use his scooter to go for dinner or whatever, yes that was us.

This trip is just getting better and better!

Next post will be about the incredible safari in Yala national park where we got the opportunity to the meet the legendary Leopard in the wild! A Close encounter!

Wish you all a merry Xmas ! Ho ho ho

Monkey

22 Dec 2015

Arrived safely in Hatton around noon , after 5 hours on two different busses.
These buses are pretty jammed , the seats are tiny but ment for 3 people, it works for them but not for me, maybe if I sit with one shoulder out of the window.
Bus is all full, sitting and standing, the driver are trying to beat some kind of time record, this is how it feels.
Fortunately all the people standing up are blocking the sights of the road!
Believe me you don’t want to see this if you got a faint heart.

For me is all about the journey, I love this kind adrenaline!

In Hatton we took a tuk tuk to Dal House , a little village up in the mountains, close to Adam’s peak, this is where people come for the 5000 step pilgrimage up to the top, where you find a temple and the footprint of Buddha.

We checked in a White House, a place we found out about doing some research online, Trip advisor!
This place is growing and growing, got a bunch of bungalows situated next to a river, and a bigger round building “white house” which have the nicer accommodations, those nicer ones are only 3500 rps (25USD/night), then you get the full view of Adam’s peak!
But we went for one of the budget ones, it’s like 5 bungalows all connected.
Decent double bed with a big mosquito net hanging over it, simple bathroom but it’s all clean.
These bungalows are overlooking a small beautiful garden. You got your own little outdoor area to sit at and enjoy the mountain vibe!

We tried their buffe, which was 5-6 different foods, vegetables like ocras and beans all cooked in curries, potatoes, rice and chicken , and to all of this you got the papadums.
A very good meal, that we enjoyed together with an ice cold Lion beer!
Also try the Tea up in these mountains, you can’t get it more fresh then this!

We left at 2:30 am to start our hike to Adam’s peak, everyone want to be up there for the sunrise around 6 am!
We bought a torch from one of the shops not to close from White house, 350 rps and then you can recharge it by just plug it in the wall!

I wouldn’t recommend doing this hike when its actually season for it, after the full moon in December.
It’s supposed to be packed, the village grow large at this point, shops and tea houses all the way up to the top is what we heard!
You don’t want to be stuck in a massive line up where it takes you 20 mins to take one step!

It’s cold up here so you need to bring a sweater or/and jacket , I also recommend having pants!
Once the sun comes up it get super hot, but at night time and 2000m up it’s chilly!
It first started with small longer steps, very enjoyable.
At this time there was a couple of tea house along the way and two places that buddhist monks were sitting to give blessings.

As we came up higher the steps got steeper and steeper, now it was a struggle.

The sweat was pouring down, but we kept on going in a fast pace, passing everyone els.
Of course there was a Norwegian family there showing off how fit they were!
We stopped at a tea house and had a fast morning coffee, and of course more water!
Even up here there was dogs, running up and down every day!

This was probably one of the fastest but toughest hikes I’ve done in my life so far!
Those steps were a killer!
Finally up there after 2 hours we came up to the top, it was still time left until sunrise.
We had to wait probably an hour for it, and this is where it get’s chilly!

But when the sun came up and lit up the landscape everything was totally worth it! WOW!
Sri Lanka is such a “small” country but the landscapes is so diverse, seems like it got all kinds of different flora and fauna, and mountains with some what of a rounder shape then “normal” all around.

A beautiful view, a struggle to get up there for sure!
It doesn’t cost anything, but the monks of course want you to give a donation, but that’s totally up to you!
A great trip for sure!

The way down was almost tougher!
It took us about one hour.
I took us 3 day’s to get over the pain in our calves.

We left Dal house and paid for a tuk tuk all the way to Ella, instead of taking a tuk tuk to Hatton to the train and then a 4 hour journey to the little backpacker mountain village of Ella.
We paid 10000rps (70USD) including the tip for an amazing ride with a great driver.
If you take the tuk tuk and then the train you pay around 20USD for this trip, but we decided to get ourselves into a tuk tuk adventure through the mountains!
Which turned out to be amazing!

20 Dec 2015

Yesterday we arrived in Ella, a little “backpacker” village up in the mountains.
Resting up after some hectic days of traveling with train, buses and tuk tuk’s.
We took a 4 hours tuk tuk through the mountains from Dal House to Ella, ill come to that later!

On December 15^th we woke up 4:45 in Sri Lanka to catch a tuk tuk from Lanka Hostel to the train station , it was about a 30 min ride in the heavy rain, costed 600 Rupees (4USD).
First in was our bags that took up half of the tuk tuk and then us that had to share the other half, tight! – what ever floats your boat.

At the train station we walked up to the ticket box and bought us two second class tickets to Habarana, the train was an hour late so we had some time to buy us some Samosas.
Found a place and bought us a bag of mixed Samosas and rolls, a couple of meters away from me there was this man that had been following us to this little shop.

Like the poor hobo look he had, in his hands was his dick, pulling back and forth like a rubber rope, looking at Erin.
Erin noticed this and told me to look at this disgusting man, just from my side vision I could see something was going on, but I didn’t want to look and ruin my appetite for my morning breakfast, uuuaak!
We were laughing about it and I was thinking that this might be and every day thing here in Sri Lanka, because no one reacted to it, except us that reacted with a giggle and laughs.

The train up to Habarana from Colombo, a 7 hour train ride through the amazing landscape of Sri Lanka.
People are very helpful and tell you when to get on and when to jump off.
We got ourselves two seats, the whole area was filled with our bags and us, which was great because then we could lay down and sleep on our bags!
Pretty comfortable seats covered with some fake blue leather.

This was not the second class, those cars was already full, it’s like everyone is running in to get the best seat possible, what ever ticket.
Didn’t want to pick people and tell them to leave because we had tickets.
These seats might be a bit better and comfortable for sitting, but the area we picked was way better for sleeping and we had full control over our bags.
This ticket cost 250 rupees (2USD).

You don’t know where to get of, there’s not signs at all stops and there’s no one on that works on the train telling you.
So you got to ask someone and they gladly help you, we had people telling us how many stops we had left and when to get off.
When our station came this guy came up to us and told us that this was it.

From Habarana we took a tuk tuk for 1200 rupees (8USD) to Sigiriya where we came to for the famous Lion’s Rock.
The distances you go for the price is amazing, super cheap!

From the road you could see the mountain or massive rock with its vertical red rock face.
It doesn’t fit in with it’s surroundings, looks incredible.
Up on this massive rock there was a temple from the 500^th century, you can still see the foundation of and it’s gardens and pools.
The view from up there is insane, you see as far as your eye’s can reach, mountains ,jungle and temples scattered all over this landscape.
Below the Lion’s rock you can also see the oldest dated gardens made from the same civilization, green and lush forest, colorful flowers and plants are growing all over and this gardens have squared shape pools placed with a certain idea to make this garden a beautiful place and a peaceful vibe.

We checked in at Flower Inn, a double room for 2500 Rupees (17.5USD).
As soon as we had our bags in there we took the hike up to Lion’s rock.
We heard it would take us about 1.5 hours up, but we have no idea have you could managed that, because for us it took about 20 mins.
In the 28C weather it was a sweaty hike for sure, but it was all stairs, you could stop at some view points here and there to enjoy the beautiful landscape.
We spend some time up at the top together with a family of monkeys, baby monkeys hanging on to their moms bellies while they’re running around.

When we got back to Sigiriya we took a well worth shower, a cold one.
Almost 8 hours of traveling and a one hour hike that day.
There’s monkeys everywhere in this village, playing around from roof to roof, they are so funny to look at, Macaques and langurs.

We found this reggae bar just across the street from us, called Rastaraunt.
Lighted up with led lights in different colors, small open huts you sit in to enjoy your food and drinks.
In the garden they had massive hammocks hanging from the trees, you could probably sit 4 people in them, really chill.
One of the guy’s that worked there told us that when it’s season they have popular BBQ nights.
There are no restaurants that serve alcohol in Sigiriya because of licens, but this place have a secret meny!
So these BBQ sessions can be a lot of fun! Rowdy.
We really enjoyed this place.

When it comes to food we have tried various kinds, etc Kottu which is is kind of chapati they chop up and it almost looks like pasta, they mix this with veggies and any meat you like together with curries!
Its great!
Pickled mangoes, ocras fried in many different spices, many things in the food here are made from coconut and it’s super good!
Samosas and deep fried rolls with a lot of spices in it!
We still have tons of foods to try, so excited!

The next morning we woke up early to catch the 2.5hours bus to Kandy 145 rupees (1USD), there’s no bus stops so you have to wave the bus down from the side of the road , if you don’t wave hard enough it will pass you.
It might be better to have one from your guesthouse help you.

It was pretty crowded, the seats are not made for big people so it’s tight but I don’t mind that.
This bus had some cool blue lights inside, around lamps it was decorated with some fabrics which gave it a hippie look.
They played some kind of super chill chanting music, I think it was one song for the most of the ride, it was soothing though!
I kept on falling a sleep all the time and waking up being scared of head butting someone, because my head was flying everywhere, this driver had a heavy foot.

We arrived in Kandy at the central train station, a busy place crowded with people and honking buses.
A guy came up to us asking if we needed help, I guess we look a bit confused about where to go, so he pointed to the other side of the road when we said Hatton.
Everything goes so fast , the 2.5 hour bus to Hatton 250 Rupees (2 USD) was going to leave within 5 minutes so we had no time to eat as planned or even thing about what was going on.
In this country it’s not a problem because there are people selling fruit, nuts and samosas everywhere.
Just go with the flow.
This bus was way smaller, so I had to sit on one ass cheek the whole ride, wonderful!
I love the vibe in this country, happy and helpful.

Updates from Ella and Yala is coming shortly!

17 Dec 2015

3 day’s ago we arrived in Colombo Sri Lanka!

We left Norway at 6am on the 14th of December, and the first stop was Brussels, Belgium, a 12 hour layover and then on our way to Abu Dhabi for another 8 hours there.

All of us are looking for the cheapest flight available. Of course we want to fly with a respected and safe airline.
But when most of us see one or two long layovers we just skip those options, and rather add 300-400 and even 500 dollars for a shorter trip.

We found our flight from Norway all the way to Bali Indonesia, via Brussels, Abu Dhabi and Sri Lanka for around 450USD with the best airline there is, Etihad!
They have the most leg space, comfortable seats, biggest TV screen, great food and awesome service.
The headphones they provide are like padded “proper” stereo headphones with great sound.
A little hygiene package and a “sleeper” package. They provided a sleeping mask, with one side saying “Do not disturb” and the other side “Wake me up to eat”, awesome!

I rather do layovers instead of direct flights, I feel better doing it and I get more out of my trip, this is of course when I got time doing this.

Arrived in Brussels after a great morning nap on the plane, took the train in to the city which took us 16 minutes and cost 8.50 euro.
We had 12 hours to kill in this city and we knew that this wouldn’t be a problem.
Brussels is famous for its beers, chocolate and foods!

While wandering the city your eyes are busy looking at all the incredible architecture.
Statues of heroic male and females carved in the buildings, some covered in gold!
Massive wooden doors where it looks like you have to be a few to be able to open and close it.
The roofs are my kind of roofs, copper and zinc sheet metal roofing, all in different patterns and shapes, majestic!
We walked around looking at all this while sipping on some hot wine, the perfect drink for a cold day, I’ll throw down 2.50euro any day of the week for some hot wine!

We also went for some bar hopping , trying different Belgium beers, interesting taste, it’s definitely nothing like anything els, with a hint of fruitiness , but perfect bitterness to not make a face and actually enjoy it!
These beers are around 6-10% so it will get to you! We had tons of fun.
One half liter beer for about 4.50 euro.

Food, they have a lot of different influences from all over Europe, and there is restaurants everywhere!

We sat down at a place just around the corner from one of the biggest squares in the area.
We had garlic infused snails with different kind of herbs, insanely good!
To this you get white bread you dip in this garlic sauce, yummy!
Deep fried cheese together with a green salad with mustard dressing, what a mouth orgasm.
Two bowls of blue mussels boiled in some kind of selleri broth!
I drank the broth at the end, I would never leave anything that good!
For dessert we got a Belgium waffle covered in caramel sauce!

I loved all of this, this meal was incredible and for the price of 12 euros!!

The day just fly by and suddenly we had to be back at the airport.
Already checked in and luggage sorted, all the way to our first “main” stop Sri Lanka, so nothing to worry about!
I spent about 100 USD on this and all the coffees I had, we even had a massive Nutella pancake included in the price!

It’s not hard or it doesn’t take much more time to actually make a layover like this awesome, we had so much fun and still saved money on this cheap flight.
Yes, we spent money in Brussels, but we got to see and experience a bit from a new country, stretched our legs for next flight and had tons of fun!
Many countries you fly to have visa on arrival so need to feel stressed about having to send away your passport to arrange this in advance.

So just looks that up and enjoy your time. (Visa on arrival)

Then we had a 6 hour flight to Abu Dhabi, which for the most of it I slept through.
Still going with Etihad so making the best out of your time is to go with an airline like this!
It doesn’t get easier traveling the world then an European, and also for my girlfriend that is Canadian it was easy!
Outside the airport you’ll find taxis all over, they will come up to you and ask if they can help, if you don’t feel secure with your research about prices then just go for the taximeter, you can find out about prices at Taxi-Calculator
First stop the Grand Mosque, super early morning and everything was closed, the entry for this opened at 9am, we were 2 hours early!
But to see this enormous mosque, it walls and towers around was extraordinary.
This is supposed to be the 8th biggest in the world, but by the look of it it seems way bigger!
(I have seen many mosques).

From there we walked around for a bit , closer to the city, but as usual everything seems closer and to walk their was not an option!
We took a taxi into the big beach Corniche!
A big white sand beach along the city, the beach strip had a lot of restaurants and coffee shops.
Early morning was pretty chillier than expected, but as they day went by the typical desert heat struck us.
Massive skyscrapers and buildings scattered all over the city, you can definitely feel that this city is built up by the money made from oil.
Beautiful city and a great general vibe, very nice and helpful people.
The trip into the city and back to the airport cost about 40 USD, for the distance it’s a great price!

As well as Brussels we had no problem killing this layover time, we enjoyed every single bit of it, experiencing two new countries, foods and drinks.
It’s always interesting to meet the people and experience different cultures!
The extra time spent in transit is definitely worth it.

Do your research , experience more and fly cheaper!

Fianlly we have arrived in Colombo ,Sri Lanka!
So far so awesome!
Yesterday morning we took a train up to Sigiriya a 7 hours one, which was pretty alright! We managed to get 2 “couches” for ourselves so we could actually lay down and sleep.
The people here are amazing, very friendly and helpful, telling us what train to get on and when to get off.

I’ll give some updates as soon as possible!

Monkey Out!

27 Nov 2015

Today i woke up with an enormous motivation

The winter in Norway is here, it’s freezing and the roads outside the city are covered in ice,but it’s not full blown yet.
I’m working outside , fingers and toes are definitely feeling it, in need of more coffee breaks.
It’s dark until 8 am and the sun goes down around 3pm, and it’s getting darker and darker.
People are like bears in Scandinavia, they go into a state of “mind hibernation”, more complaints over the darkness and the cold, many are complaining over there situation, – Why do we do this? There got to be something els, I don’t like my job.

As soon as the spring comes, EVERYONE are jumping out like rabbits, whistling songs and spreading happiness, and totally forgot about the 4 months of cold and dark winter.
Not many people enjoy the winter, well if you didn’t had to work or work with something they love, yeah then it’s great, you get to sleep in until it’s bright, you go out doing what you want to do, maybe go up in the ski hill and shred some snow!
Or what ever interest you might have.
If you work inside, you go to work when it’s dark and you get home when it’s dark.

When you get to work and you come in hot, music in your ears playing the old Millencolin tracks, you’re singing to it, you can”t wait to see everyone and get to it!
Then it’s like people are getting annoyed.
Just shaking their heads like something is wrong.
It’s like they want you to stand next to them and complain over all the stuff in the world that , in their head you can’t do anything about, let’s all just share this shitty feeling.
I say a F..ck off!

We can’t do anything about the weather, but we can change how we think about it, mindset.
I get up two hour earlier to work on my plans, I make myself a mixed berries smoothie (Yummy), then I workout for about 15 mins (right now it’s a 30 days beach body challenge) ,and I do a mindfulness meditation which is about 10 mins, to mention a few habits.
This wakes me up, i feel great doing this.

Then i start searching for motivational videos on Youtube.
Today i felt like i wanted to see some clips from Sri Lanka!
It’s only 18 days until we jump on the plane and fly down to this gorgeous Island in The Bay of Bengal.
I’m so excited for this new adventure!

Surfing, Diving, Beaches, Jungle, Animals, Mountains, People, Culture, Food, Religion, Happiness, Bliss…

All you really need to get focused is goals, set them up and take action.
This is the most important thing we have in life, goals and the journey to get here!
When finding your goals to work towards, finding out how to get there and what keeps you motivated to achieve, then you can enjoy life as it is today, we all decide how we feel!
Don’t worry ,Be happy – Bob Marley
Make that decision!

Monkey

13 Nov 2015

Ticket’s booked!

We are getting out on the road again 14 of December this year.
Moving away from this darkness and cold country of the north, Norway!
Once my babe got the second year visa denied for various reason, that was it, the final call, or rather a great excuse for me to tell my boss that I can’t stay longer!

I have had a great time, meeting a lot of people and building up a new network!
The projects I’ve been working on have been incredible, It’s crazy how much money people spend on houses!
I take with me a lot of new knowledge both in my trade as a tinsmith, as well in leadership!
Been changing my path towards something totally different, new ideas and a new way of thinking have been implemented by the whole experience of being here and actions I’ve been taking!

Norway has a great welfare system and it seems to be working well, 100% sick pay , 100% unemployment pay, pretty much free hospital care and a lot of deduction of medicines!
It’s great for people in need, and awesome for people that want to take advantage of it.

The shittiest thing about this country is the way over priced alcohol and food, the next shittiest thing is everything is closed on Sundays (almost), and on third place is , alcohol sales stops 8pm on Fridays and 6pm on Saturdays and is closed on Sundays! say what!”?

We have been living in the capital of Norway, Oslo, It’s a fantastic city, next to the massive Oslo fjord.
It is really one of the shiniest pearls of the north.

There’s a lot of Swedish people coming here for work, you make about double the pay then from Sweden, so people think it’s a great idea to come here, but they do not calculate the cost of living, which is insane!

Food prices in the grocery stores are double, restaurants pretty much double, partying pretty much double, everything is pretty much double!
If you just work and live a hippy life style, you get to keep great dough!

There’s one amazing thing when making these money working for a Norwegian company, you only have to work half speed and 37.5 hours a week, that is a great working week for a north westerner!
It’s not that it’s hard work or smart work, it’s more like that’s the way it is, and the customer got way to much money so he or she can afford it.

Anyways it is an amazing city and I will miss the charm ,all the park BBQ’s with all the amazing people, biking around and enjoying views and the great architecture, getting wild at the best clubs in Oslo, getting weird at rave party’s in the deep woods somewhere outside the city and of course the 100 % paid from the first day!

Time to get out on a new adventure, I feel way to comfortable!
We are starting off in Sri Lanka

OSLOve

/Monkey