tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24840424192960704702024-03-13T00:16:32.504+00:00Two Brits AbroadSarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.comBlogger137125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-26567213473036788412018-02-05T22:17:00.002+00:002018-02-05T22:18:02.073+00:00Being vegetarian in Madrid<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As a rule, I don't think of Spain as being a haven for us veggies. On a work experience exchange in Catalonia when I was 16, I worked in a hotel. I can still remember the smell of the full legs of ham at breakfast and the disdain of one of the cooks, who didn't want to cook me 'something special' when he put together lunch for the staff. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, keeping an open mind (my work experience in Girona was a long time ago) and convinced that I'd seen a blog post on Madrid from one of the veggie bloggers I follow, I arrived in Spain's capital feeling hopeful. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I left 4 days later, having discovered that the blog post I'd remembered was about Barcelona (and a <a href="https://www.neverendingvoyage.com/vegetarian-restaurants-barcelona/" target="_blank">good post</a> it is too!), and that while not a vegetarian desert, Madrid is also not a dream destination for veggies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I loved the city though and definitely want to go back to explore it further. And when I do, below is a quick overview of where (and where I won't go back to eat:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>1) Reineta Vegetariano </u></b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Not far off the Plaza de Santa Ana in the central area of the city, the Reineta Vegetariano is a low key but friendly veggie restaurant. We weren't blown away by the food, but it was good value, the food (and wine) was tasty and plentiful and there was a good range of choices on the menu. A reliable option in the centre of town. Its not huge though, so its a good idea to book ahead at weekends. You can book <a href="http://reinetavegetariano.es/" target="_blank">online</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>2) Martina Cocina</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Not a vegetarian cafe, but a lovely spot, serving some vegetarian sandwiches, quiches and soups in the middle of the main drag of the El Rastro Sunday market. It was a lovely escape from the hustle and bustle outside. The staff were lovely and my sandwich choice just hit the spot! From Tuesdays-Saturdays, the cafe serves a menu of the day from 11.30-3.30, which - from looking at their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/martinacocina.es/posts/?ref=page_internal" target="_blank">facebook page</a> - looks like it always has a veggie option.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>3) El Estragon Vegetariano</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We found this restaurant on our Sunday afternoon stroll and at around 3pm, it was absolutely heaving with people. The fact that it was so busy and that we liked the look of the varied looking menu meant we decided to book for dinner. Unfortunately, I have to say that we were a little disappointed. The decor and staff were nice enough, but the food was just a bit stodgy and bland. This will be a place that I won't go back to (unless the TripAdvisor reviews improve considerably!).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>4) Tapas!</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No visit to Spain would be complete without an evening sampling tapas. We went to the Cerveceria Santa Ana on Santa Ana square and it did the job for us. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We ordered sufficient tomato bread, tortilla espanola, salads, patatas ali oli, cheese and olives. Washed down with a beer or two, it was a pretty perfect meal. This </span><a href="https://madridfoodtour.com/vegetarian-tapas-madrid/" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">website </a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">also has a good list of vegetarian tapas to look out for. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lots of tapas places do have a perfectly good range of veggie options, so its definitely a good choice. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Have you been to Madrid? Do you have any vegetarian restaurant options that you'd recommend?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Reineta Vegetariano,</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Calle Infante 5. Metro Anton Martin or Sol</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">El Estragon Vegetariano Plaza de la Paja, 10. Metro La Latina</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Cerveceria Santa Ana, 10. Metro Anton Martin or Sol</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><b>Related posts:</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/being-vegetarian-in-italy.html" target="_blank">Being vegetarian in Italy</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/being-vegetarian-in-tallinn.html" target="_blank">Being vegetarian in Tallinn</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/eating-and-drinking-in-bruges.html" target="_blank">Eating and drinking in Bruges</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/being-vegetarian-in-colombia.html" target="_blank">Being vegetarian in Colombia </a></span><br />
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Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-42700019770662808392017-11-26T18:02:00.003+00:002017-11-26T19:08:58.402+00:00Recovering the past: In Flanders Fields Museum<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Right, so I may be a bit biased - the artist Ian Alderman is a good friend - but if you are in Ieper/Ypres between now and the end of the year (2017), you have to visit the 'Recovering the Past' Exhibition at the In Flanders Fields museum.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ian has spent over 5 years with the section of the Belgian army tasked with disposing of unexploded munitions from both world wars. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">There is tons of it still finding its way to the surface across the Belgian countryside. So much so that the team in the army charged with dealing with it is comprised of around 300 people. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ian took pictures of these experts going about their job and has juxtaposed photos of Australian soldiers from the archives onto the modern scenes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In so doing, these men are given </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">a 'new' story and helps to connect us to them, as we see past and present side by side.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The legacy of the devastation of war is also brought to light, as the photos show the impact the past is having on people living and working in Belgium today.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Just imagine finding an unexploded bomb or canister filled with toxic gas in your back garden or in amongst the crops of your farmland!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The technical development of these photos is also fascinating. Ian identified which images of the Australian soldiers he was going to place in each scene, before taking the modern photos. This meant lining up the modern photo at the right height and ensuring that the weather and lighting would work in melding the two images together. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He also had to add in lots of features afterwards, such as ensuring shadows to make sure it really did look like the ghostly figures of the past are in the new photo.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As well as the exhibition in the In Flanders Fields museum, Ian has a book with his images that you can buy <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Recovering-Past-Ian-Alderman/dp/1910500828" target="_blank">here</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is more about the project </span><a href="https://recoveringthepast.com/" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/in-bruges.html" target="_blank">In Bruges</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/five-fun-facts-about-bruges.html" target="_blank">Five fun facts about Bruges</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/eating-and-drinking-in-bruges.html" target="_blank">Eating and drinking in Bruges</a></span></div>
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Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-28356701195038512922017-11-17T23:27:00.000+00:002017-11-17T23:27:51.666+00:00Photo Friday: Lipton's Seat, Sri Lanka <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Er ... what sweeping views?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At the look-out point on the Dambatenne tea plantation, Sir Thomas Lipton used to bring guests for picnics and to survey the sheer sweeping views below.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My new friend Thomas</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately, for us much of the 18,000 metre drop down to the valleys below was obscured by cloud on our visit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It cleared up a bit while we were there, but there was always some lingering cloud in the way of the best view of the area. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thankfully, the views in the other direction looking across the lush greens of the tea plantation were pretty impressive too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And we particularly enjoyed the winding journey through the estate past tea pickers and up to Lipton's seat.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Dambatenne estate was the first estate that Sir Thomas Lipton bought. He is accredited as the man who commercialised tea from Sri Lanka. And by cutting out the tea broker and growing, packaging and selling the tea in his shops, he also made tea affordable. The key slogan of tea at the time was 'direct from tea garden to tea pot'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We got up to Lipton's Seat one late afternoon from Ella. It was around 30-40 minutes by tuk-tuk to get there. You might want to also combine it with a visit to the tea factory - we didn't as we didn't have time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Have you been to Lipton's Seat? Did you have better luck with the weather?!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Related posts</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/where-we-stayed-sri-lanka.html" target="_blank">Where we stayed - Sri Lanka</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/sri-lankan-beach-time-some-thoughts-on.html" target="_blank">Sri Lankan beach time - Arugam Bay</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/what-to-do-in-ella-sri-lanka.html" target="_blank">What to do in Ella</a></span><br />
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Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-70376133246853506342017-10-23T23:17:00.001+01:002017-10-23T23:17:22.203+01:00What to do in Norfolk<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As the summer bank holiday approached and I realised we had no plans, I scanned mentally through a list of places I wanted to see or see more of that weren't too far away. </span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1w5V7lrp_l8/We5f_NBQnFI/AAAAAAAAFTU/VI6aXBGxi4Iew4qUepEoYChoyexNScNlQCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_5240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1w5V7lrp_l8/We5f_NBQnFI/AAAAAAAAFTU/VI6aXBGxi4Iew4qUepEoYChoyexNScNlQCEwYBhgL/s320/IMG_5240.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We'd been camping in Norfolk a few years back with friends, but it had rained a lot (and I mean a lot). But what I saw at the time from under my umbrella was lots of places that would be nice in the sun. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And so with the bank holiday promising good weather, my thoughts turned to booking a return trip.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We weren't disappointed by the weather or indeed Norfolk. In fact, we think that Norfolk is much overlooked. Here's what we got up to during our three day weekend.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>1) The beach</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our first stop was chips by the sea in Cromer. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The seaside town and sweeping sandy bay was bustling with families splashing in the waves, building sandcastles and catching crabs off of the pier.</span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bLd6jzJTn0Y/We5fJ2Ohz3I/AAAAAAAAFS0/CfXTn_cgv-AFNOs2lefyNdRsXli89zNEgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_5188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bLd6jzJTn0Y/We5fJ2Ohz3I/AAAAAAAAFS0/CfXTn_cgv-AFNOs2lefyNdRsXli89zNEgCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_5188.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We ate by the beach, looking out to sea and then wandered along the pier, inspecting the day's catches.</span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7XmC-cf286w/We5X5Q492uI/AAAAAAAAFSM/Bjum3TNqpCMcNwGvJmSmWD6LLRxXFS_kQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_7744.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7XmC-cf286w/We5X5Q492uI/AAAAAAAAFSM/Bjum3TNqpCMcNwGvJmSmWD6LLRxXFS_kQCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_7744.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then it was back down onto the beach for a paddle and a stroll along the water's edge, before we walked back to town passing the colourful beach huts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It really is a lovely beach at Cromer, perfect for getting your fill of traditional British seaside.</span><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e-sjeJdTuwY/We5YnPGZ64I/AAAAAAAAFSc/Alp5Q_ccoKUvVOkoaaUG0QlchR8UyuPhgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_7754.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e-sjeJdTuwY/We5YnPGZ64I/AAAAAAAAFSc/Alp5Q_ccoKUvVOkoaaUG0QlchR8UyuPhgCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_7754.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>2) Boating on the Norfolk broads</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The broads are a network of lakes (or indeed 'broads') and rivers, covering an area of over 300 square kilometres.</span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EBwfH_bZe9I/We5iZtpt0ZI/AAAAAAAAFUs/GS8XMB6ROewctBa0Z9UBKo98QI9Tm_jigCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_7760.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EBwfH_bZe9I/We5iZtpt0ZI/AAAAAAAAFUs/GS8XMB6ROewctBa0Z9UBKo98QI9Tm_jigCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_7760.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We booked a small day boat to explore the area from the water. It was very relaxing to potter down the rivers and across the broads.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was particularly taken by the beautiful houses and manicured lawns on the water's edge. </span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oWleEgY29zY/We5YgS8s8cI/AAAAAAAAFSY/SgW7WOSrWCsEwEXT0pMNKai3QmnxN6vGwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_7793.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oWleEgY29zY/We5YgS8s8cI/AAAAAAAAFSY/SgW7WOSrWCsEwEXT0pMNKai3QmnxN6vGwCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_7793.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We were really lucky with the weather too and we enjoyed taking it in turns to sit on the front of the boat to watch the world go by.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you want to get a boat, make sure you book, especially in high season. We were pleased to have booked a couple of days before, as when we turned up to get our boat, lots of people were being turned away.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>3) Relaxing by the Norfolk broads</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finding a place to walk along the side of the rivers turned out to be less straightforward than we thought it would be. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Through many of the towns, the rivers are lined with people's gardens and so its not possible to walk alongside the water.</span><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-noIzUiZUNsU/We5gDl28aaI/AAAAAAAAFTQ/NgD47b_1WD0Lyr2eu3desalvB9449CjWwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_5245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-noIzUiZUNsU/We5gDl28aaI/AAAAAAAAFTQ/NgD47b_1WD0Lyr2eu3desalvB9449CjWwCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_5245.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We eventually found a great spot at the How Hill Nature Reserve. After a walk up and down the river, past quintessential Norfolk windmills, we settled ourselves by the water to soak in the afternoon sun and watch the boats go by.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At How Hill, we also had the opportunity to explore the inside of a 'wherry'. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Wherries are a type of boat that were developed for the conditions of the broads and were originally were for transporting cargo. Later 'pleasure wherries' were built as a precursor to the pleasure boats now on the broads today. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">4) Norwich</b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The city of Norwich is definitely worth an explore. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The cathedral and its cloisters are particularly beautiful and we were also lucky to be there to hear the end of a concert. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Inside the cathedral, I was also interested to hear the story of Edith Cavell. She was a nurse from Norfolk, who helped 200 allied soldiers escape from German occupied Belgium during the First World War, but was captured by the German's and sentenced to death by firing squad.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We didn't go inside Norwich castle, but wandered around the outside of this very distinctive Norman building.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From the castle, we looked down to the colourful wooden huts of the Norwich market, before a wander around.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The other area of particular note in Norwich is the pretty Elm Hill - a very well preserved cobbled medieval street. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">t was named after the elm trees in the small square along the street, which were later replaced because of Dutch Elm Disease.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We found a really interesting Air BnB, just north of the city - a boudoir-esque yurt-like tent at <a href="https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/20024280?location=Norfolk%20UK&s=Oc_5aazw" target="_blank">the end of the friendly Gary's back garden</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The pathway up to the tent was beautifully laid out with a manicured garden, a hammock to relax in and solar powered lighting that guided the way after dark. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pretty Middle Eastern and Asian style furnishings adorned the inside, making it very cosy and a lovely place to return to at the end of a long day in the Norfolk air.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Have you been to Norfolk? Did you get out on the water? What were your best bits?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Related posts</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/weekends-away-yurt-life.html" target="_blank">Weekends Away: Yurt Life</a></span><br />
<a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/a-walk-around-picturesque-castle-coombe.html" style="background-color: white; color: #33aaff; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" target="_blank">A walk around Castle Combe</a><br />
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Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-3443854619269792992017-09-14T20:18:00.005+01:002017-09-16T17:46:49.606+01:00Our Sri Lanka top tips and some practicalities<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We spent 10 days in Sri Lanka in late June/ early July 2017, visiting the 'cultural triangle', the east coast and the hill country.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tea pickers in the hill country</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We really enjoyed our trip and wanted to share some of the things we learnt about the practicalities of travelling around the 'Pearl of the Indian Ocean'. Obviously, after a 10 day trip, we are far from being experts on the country, but the information below is a combination of our own experience, what others told us and what we learnt through our research. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As ever, do feel free to add any corrections or additions in the comments below.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;">1) Getting around</b></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We usually try and use local transport to get about, but because we had so little time in Sri Lanka, we ended up mostly using a taxi to get from place to place. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">W</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">e were arriving from India (so, short flight) and with just a 10 day trip, I didn't want to hang around in the capital. And there just didn't seem to be an easy way of getting straight from the airport (which is an hour out of Colombo) to where we wanted to go. So I emailed our hotel and asked them for advice.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They offered us a transfer from the airport for 90US$. For a 4 hour trip, this didn't seem <i>too </i>bad and it would mean we could start our visit properly straightaway. I had intended to look at buses for the next bits of our trip, but discovered the website <a href="https://srilankacaranddriverhire.com/" target="_blank">Sri Lanka Car and Driver Hire</a>. It allows you to put out a post saying where you want to go and taxi companies give you a quote. The website also allows you to advertise for car shares, if you want to split the costs with other travellers.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With our driver Maisan</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We went from Habarana to Arugam Bay for 90US$ with Kosala of </span><a href="https://srilankacaranddriverhire.com/business-directory/taxi-habarana/" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Taxi Habarana</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> in his small, but therefore fuel efficient, Tata Nano car. From Arugam Bay, </span><a href="https://srilankacaranddriverhire.com/business-directory/maisan/" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Maisan</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> took us to Ella for around 50US$. It did make our trip easier and gave us more time at each of our stops.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To get from Ella back to Colombo, we took the 9 hour train journey along one of the most beautiful train routes in the world. Nine hours seems like a long time, but the first 6 just flew by as we snapped away at the beautiful hills, tea plantations and forests that the train took us through. Lots of visitors to Sri Lanka get themselves a driver for the whole time, but the way we did it felt more flexible, we didn't need to pay anyone while we were stopped in Habarana for 4 night and meant we could jump on public transport f we'd wanted to.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once in a place, we got tuk-tuks to get around.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As we didn't get any buses, I don't have any personal experience of what they are like. However, from my research and talking to other people, they are very cheap, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">but notoriously packed, on the warm side and slow.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bus routes are also much more set up for locals than travellers and so they don't always go to the places you'd want to go to, at least not directly, i.e. you are likely to have to change buses, which is part of the reason why they take so long.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2) </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Accommodation</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When we travel, to find places to stay we usually use HostelWorld and Air BnB, mixed with finding reviews on TripAdvisor and blogs to then book directly. HostelWorld worked particularly well in South America. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We've also used booking.com once or twice, but in Sri Lanka, it was the only site that seemed to have any selection of hotels or hostels on it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you have some time and don't mind shopping around a bit, this is worth doing when you arrive in a town. The prices on booking.com are higher than you'd get if you just turned up. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Of the places we visited, I'd most recommend this for Arugam Bay as its easy to walk along the one main street where every other building is a hotel. In the other main places we stayed - Habarana and Ella - the hotels were much more spread out, making this more tricky.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have <a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/where-we-stayed-sri-lanka.html" target="_blank">already blogged about each of the places we stayed in Sri Lanka</a>. But I'll repeat it again here - if you are going to the cultural triangle, stay at Mutu Village! </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tasty breakfast alfresco at Mutu Village</td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">3) Visas</b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You <i>can</i> get a visa on arrival in Sri Lanka, but its really easy and recommended to get on online in advance. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After <a href="http://www.eta.gov.lk/slvisa/" target="_blank">filling out all the information online</a>, our visa approval arrived within a day. It costs 35US$ and lasts for 30 days. You don't need a passport photo.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you want to extend your visa, this <a href="https://www.whereintheworldisnico.com/assemblage/how-to-extend-a-sri-lanka-tourist-visa" target="_blank">post</a> by <i>Where in the World is Nico?</i> is a handy guide on what to do.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>4) Where to go and the monsoon season</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are two monsoon seasons in Sri Lanka. From May to July, its the south-west monsoon and so the weather is best in the north and the east. October to January birngs the north-east monsoon and so the weather is better in the south and the west. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We were there at the end of June/early July and so for a bit of beach time, we headed to the east coast and <a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/sri-lankan-beach-time-some-thoughts-on.html" target="_blank">Arugam Bay</a>. There had been reports of quite serious flooding in the south before we arrived in Sri Lanka, so we were determined to avoid that part of the country. That said, while the seas are much rougher along the south coast at the time of the year, and out of season fewer hotels and restaurants will be open, we did hear from other travellers that it wasn't constantly raining in that part of the country. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the best times of year for all round the country travel is reported to be January to March, as there's little rain anywhere. However, the great thing about Sri Lanka is that there's stuff to see and do (and visitable beaches) all year round in Sri Lanka. This <a href="https://www.experiencetravelgroup.com/weather/when-to-go-sri-lanka" target="_blank">website</a> gives a good overview of what you might expect across the year. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>5) Where to go and what to see</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is a lot of different stuff to see in Sri Lanka - ancient cities and ruins, tonnes of wildlife, beaches, tea plantations, beautiful hill country and impressive religious buildings.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Work out when you are going (see above for a guide on what impact this might have) and what you really want to see and do.</span>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sigiriya</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our route saw us going straight from the airport to Habarana in the cultural triangle. We arrived late afternoon and had a walk round the town before returning to our homestay for dinner. We based ourselves in Habarana for 4 nights, visiting </span><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/sri-lankas-cultural-triangle-part-1-big.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Sigiriya, the Dambulla Cave Temples</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, the ancient city of </span><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/sri-lankas-cultural-triangle-part-2.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Polonnaruwa </a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and </span><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/sri-lankas-cultural-triangle-part-3.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Minneriya National Park</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Polonnaruwa</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From Habarana, we went onto Arugam Bay for a day and a half of beach time. Then we went to Ella, where we stayed 3 nights. Then we had our final night in Colombo. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ella Rock</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The stuff we missed included Galle and the beautiful beaches of the south coast, but it was the wrong time of year for that. We'd also like to go back and visit Yala to try and see a tiger. - we just couldn't fit it in this time. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am also intrigued by the far north of the country, but not quite sure what there is to see and do when you get there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I remain a tiny bit baffled at the attraction of Kandy. There wasn't much in the guide book that made me feel like it worth a visit. And the travellers we met when in Sri Lanka did not rave about it. Yet, it seems to be part of most people's itineraries. Am I missing something?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>6) Socks!</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yes socks! When going into temples and holy areas in Sri Lanka, you are expected to take your shoes off. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On our day out in Polonnaruwa, I at first felt that I hadn't dressed properly when I saw people slipping in and out of their flip-flops to walk around the old temples. I was wearing socks and trainers, but soon realised that this was actually a good idea. The stone of the ruined temples was absolutely baking in the sun and my socks helped make my wander round that little bit more comfortable. </span><br />
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<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Have your been to Sri Lanka? What was your experience? Maybe you found the bus journeys part of the experience? Did you visit the south coast during its monsoon season? Or the east during its monsoon? Or you loved Kandy? Let us know!</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Related posts</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/where-we-stayed-sri-lanka.html" target="_blank">Where we stayed - Sri Lanka</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/sri-lankas-cultural-triangle-part-1-big.html" target="_blank">Sri Lanka's Cultural Triangle: Part 1 - A rock and some caves</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/sri-lankas-cultural-triangle-part-2.html" target="_blank">Sri Lanka's Cultural Triangle: Part 2 - An Ancient City</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/sri-lankas-cultural-triangle-part-3.html" target="_blank">Sri Lanka's Cultural Triangle: Part 3 - A massage and a herd of elephants</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/sri-lankan-beach-time-some-thoughts-on.html" target="_blank">Sri Lankan beach time - Arugam Bay</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/what-to-do-in-ella-sri-lanka.html" target="_blank">What to do in Ella</a></span><br />
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Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-16306684864838844732017-09-03T19:30:00.002+01:002017-09-03T19:45:05.213+01:00What to do in Ella, Sri Lanka<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ella or Elle is a small town in Sri Lanka's hill country, surrounded by tea plantations. It's a good spot for a few days of hiking, eating and drinking tea. Here are our top things to do while you are there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>1. Take in the views from Little Adam's Peak</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A walk up Little Adam's Park is about an hour and a half's round trip from the main street in Ella. The views of the surrounding mountains and across to Ella Rock make it is very much worth the trip.</span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's very easy to find the route. From the main road in town, you follow the 'other' big looking road off to the right if coming up the mountain into Ella. Then follow this road as its snakes around, until you get to the Ella Flower Garden Resort. From there, there is a sign indicating the way and taking you off the road. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's flat for a bit along that path and </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">then there's a short, puffy, climb to the top. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>2. Drink tea, walk through tea plantations and visit a tea factory</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The area around Ella is carpeted with the lush green of tea plants. Drinking tea, strolling through tea plantations and finding out more about its production is a part of visiting the area. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We visited the Newburgh Tea Factory - one of the only places in the area that makes green tea. We ended up there after following signs for it on our way back down Little Adam's Peak.</span><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eaGoPJcnIJ8/WaqcP7HAusI/AAAAAAAAFL0/AZtyzhcxOrw6-UFYQnWcQ3h3Nc-1fkJ6QCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_7399.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eaGoPJcnIJ8/WaqcP7HAusI/AAAAAAAAFL0/AZtyzhcxOrw6-UFYQnWcQ3h3Nc-1fkJ6QCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_7399.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was a (too?) quick, but interesting tour, with a tasting at the end. Perhaps because it was so brief, this particular tour fairs pretty badly on Trip Advisor, which will point you to Halpewatte instead. We were fine with our short visit though and it was situated conveniently between Little Adam's Peak and Nine Arches (see below).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Alternatively, it is a little further away, but get yourself to Dambatenne, which you can combine with a visit to the viewpoint of Lipton's seat. Visiting both would be a day trip.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We visited Lipton's seat one afternoon, which would have been even more worth it if it hadn't been so misty! To be fair, it cleared up a bit, we loved our tuk-tuk ride through the tea plantation up to Lipton's Seat and the views in the other direction across the tea fields were a sight for sore eyes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>3. Get excited by the railway and ride the train through beautiful landscapes</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At the end of a small side road opposite the Newburgh Tea Estate (which we visited after Little Adams Peak - see above) and about a 15 minute walk away, is a great viewing spot for watching trains go across the Nine Arches Bridge. I have to admit, I was surprised by how excited I got by watching a train go across a bridge. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When we were there (July 2017) trains were scheduled to cross the bridge at the following times: 6.20am, 6,45am, 9.20am, 10.55am, 11.55am, 1.30pm, 3.30pm, 5.30pm, 6.30pm and 7.45pm. There's a little cafe overlooking the spot serving delicious, fresh juices.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After the train had crossed, we also had a wander across and then followed the train tracks back into town.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For more 'train action', the train trip between Ella and Kandy is also one of the most beautiful train trips that we have ever been on. It's a 6 hour trip, but the time just flew by as there is so much to look at and take photos of. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Hike up to the top of Ella Rock</b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The hike up to the top of Ella Rock requires more puff than the walk up to Little Adam's Peak. There is also more risk of getting lost. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To find the way, we used the guide from <a href="https://nomadicboys.com/trekking-to-ella-rock/" target="_blank">Nomadic Boys</a> - thanks guys! (Although as an additional note to their guide, the bench in their point 4 wasn't there). Once we had turned off the railway track and were on the right path, it was easy to find the route to the top. The photo below shows you what the turn off to the left onto the path to the top looks like.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The hike takes you along the railway track, through tea plantations and up through tall pine trees.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once you've made it to the top, the views around the mountains and down through to the plains below are stunning. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Make sure you also go to the other viewpoint at the top too and not just the main one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The hike took us around 4 hours there and back.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>5. Spoil your taste buds with tasty Sri Lankan fare</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The curry we ate in Sri Lanka was really very tasty and there were lost of veggie options. Meals tend to consist of lots of little dishes - each a 'curry' concentrating on one ingredient, for example green beans, okra, potatos or even watermelon (which was surprisingly yummy!). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ella is a great place for sampling Sri Lankan food at its best. You'll be sure to see 'Chill' on the main road, which has great food and lovely ambience. But make sure you also try some of the smaller family-run places too. For example, w</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">e really liked Nilmini - a small eatery, with just 3 tables out front, run by Eileen and named after her daughter. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you want to learn how to make this tasty food, the cookery class at Ella Spice Garden also comes highly recommended. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For a short excursion from Ella, the Ravana Falls are a quick trip down the mountain on tuk-tuk or local bus.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While its not the most impressive waterfall we had ever seen, we enjoyed relaxing on the rocks for a while, watching monkeys climbing up the side of falls and hopping from rock to rock.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(N.B Locals seemed to be using the pool there as a place to wash and so I'm not sure its the nicest place for a dip.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Have you been to Ella? What were you best bits? What did we miss?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Related posts</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/where-we-stayed-sri-lanka.html" target="_blank">Where we stayed - Sri Lanka</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/sri-lankas-cultural-triangle-part-1-big.html" target="_blank">Sri Lanka's Cultural Triangle: Part 1 - A rock and some caves</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/sri-lankas-cultural-triangle-part-2.html" target="_blank">Sri Lanka's Cultural Triangle: Part 2 - An Ancient City</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/sri-lankas-cultural-triangle-part-3.html" target="_blank">Sri Lanka's Cultural Triangle: Part 3 - A massage and a herd of elephants</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/sri-lankan-beach-time-some-thoughts-on.html" target="_blank">Sri Lankan beach time - Arugam Bay</a></span><br />
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Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-39174534881544780512017-08-24T22:54:00.000+01:002017-09-09T16:31:33.882+01:00Sri Lankan beach time: some thoughts on Arugam bay<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sri Lanka has two monsoon seasons. From October until January, the East and the North are wet. Then from May until July, it's rainy season in the South and on the west coast, where the better known beaches are.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">We visited Sri Lanka in June, which meant that for some beach time, we needed to head to the east coast. I have since heard that its not always<i> that bad</i> in rainy season on the south and west coast. However, there is a risk of rain, the seas are choppy and not everything is open. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyway, as we were only in Sri Lanka for a short time and wanted to <i>guarantee </i>a nice bit of beach time, from Habarana, we headed to Arugam Bay on the east coast.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Known for its surf, the town seemed to be full of Australians, apparently escaping 'winter', or so they said - I'm not sure if Australians really understand what winter looks like.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The town had a very backpacker feel to it. I felt like I could have been on the backpacker trail anywhere in Asia. There were little cafes, selling slightly pricey western fayre, shops, selling elephant print trousers and a whole strip of hotels and hostels. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have to say, it wasn't completely overrun by tourists though and was pretty chilled out. In the evening, it wasn't filled with drunken westerners doing silly things (not that we saw anyway, but maybe we were in the wrong (right?) place). We did get offered drugs at the restaurant we went to on our first night just 10 minutes after we'd arrived, which took me a a bit by surprise, (don't worry mum, we didn't partake). Overall though, not a crazy party town.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In all, Arugam Bay (like much of Sri Lanka actually) felt like it is only going to get more and more popular with foreign tourists. It isn't quite overrun now though - not yet at least! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As you can imagine in a place that's good for surfing, the sea is quite wavy and so you get thrown about a bit if you do go in, but it was a lovely temperature.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We were there at the weekend when the south part of the bay becomes very busy with locals. It was lovely to see Sri Lankan families out for the day, splashing around to cool off. A</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">nd its worth a walk down that end of the bay, past the fishing boats and around the sweeping headland. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All in all, Arugam Bay was a nice (although not amazing) place to kick ba</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ck for a couple days - more if you're there for the surf. And as it's not quite been found by the masses, it was really easy to find a nice spot on the beach to sunbathe and relax. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, we're looking forward to our return trip to the country to explore</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> the southern beaches, which do come much more highly recommended. It's always good to have a reason to return to a place!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/where-we-stayed-sri-lanka.html" target="_blank">Where we stayed - Sri Lanka</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/sri-lankas-cultural-triangle-part-1-big.html" target="_blank">Sri Lanka's Cultural Triangle: Part 1 - A rock and some caves</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/sri-lankas-cultural-triangle-part-2.html" target="_blank">Sri Lanka's Cultural Triangle: Part 2 - An Ancient City</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/sri-lankas-cultural-triangle-part-3.html" target="_blank">Sri Lanka's Cultural Triangle: Part 3 - A massage and a herd of elephants</a></span><br />
<a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/what-to-do-in-ella-sri-lanka.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;" target="_blank">What to do in Ella, Sri Lanka</a><br />
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Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-81429917373061206562017-08-20T17:09:00.002+01:002017-09-03T19:43:05.489+01:00Sri Lanka's 'Cultural Triangle': Part 3 - A massage and a herd of elephants<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On our final full day in Habarana, we treated ourselves to an </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ayurvedic massage in our home stay, before a trip to Minneriya National Park to see the elephants.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our Ayurvedic experience involved a full body massage, followed by 10 minutes or so of hot oil dripping on our foreheads. Apparently it drips onto our third eye... And then we went into the herbal sauna. The massage was good, but the oil dripping was a little bit weird. I'm still not quite clear what it was supposed to achieve. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The herbal sauna was a hot room, with lots of foliage. And was pretty pleasant. We were very relaxed by the end of it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately, we couldn't laze around for long, as we were hungry and booked on a game drive for just an hour and half after our massage ended. So we ran out to the town to grab some lunch and then quickly headed back for our tour.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Another British couple, Car</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">oline and Ian joined us on our trip to Minneriya National Park for our evening game drive. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">We visited two lake areas in the park and there was a big herd by each. A whole panorama of elephants if you will.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">There was also a fairly big crowd of humans watchers, lined up to view the elephants. (Although to be fair, apart from this short period of time where all the jeeps ended up congregating in the same spot, i</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">t didn't feel too overrun with other tourists). </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The elephants were mesmerising to watch - these massive creatures in their natural environment, just getting along with their daily business. And they got pretty close to us too.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We particularly enjoyed watching some of the baby elephants playing with the older elephants and chasing after each other. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">We were sad to see that one of the elephants had an injured leg, but our driver told us that a vet had been called for to check up on her. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The other elephants were very protective of the injured elephant and we were almost charged by one of them when she thought we were getting too close. We left that group of elephants alone very quickly afterwards!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There were also lots of birds and buffalo in the park. We were entertained that all the birds on the ground were facing the same way. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They were pretty photogenic too, particularly as the sun started to set. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We enjoyed seeing the birds and the wider landscapes of the park, but it was definitely the elephants that won the day and gave us the biggest smiles!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/sri-lankas-cultural-triangle-part-1-big.html" target="_blank">Sri Lanka's 'Cultural Triangle': Part 2 - An ancient city</a></span><br />
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<a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/what-to-do-in-ella-sri-lanka.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">What to do in Ella, Sri Lanka</a><br />
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Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-39313703466155257342017-08-17T22:56:00.001+01:002017-09-03T19:46:35.756+01:00Sri Lanka's 'Cultural Triangle': Part 2 - An ancient city<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We spent our first four days in Sri Lanka in the 'Cultural Triangle' area of the country, basing ourselves in Habarana. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our first day was spent at <a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/sri-lankas-cultural-triangle-part-1-big.html" target="_blank">Sigiriya and Dambulla</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On our second day we explored the sprawling ruins of 1,000 year old Polonnaruwa. </span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was Sri Lanka's capital city for 300 years from the late 10th century but was abandoned in the 13th century, as it was proving more and more susceptible to Indian invasion. A 'new' town has since built up around it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We got a tuk-tuk from our homestay to the town. Our driver then drove us around to all the sites, which seemed to get more and more impressive as they day went on. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can also hire bikes to cycle round, but it was very hot the day we were there and so I was glad to be shown from place to place by our driver. Locals can visit the site for free, so we didn't have to pay for the driver. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We didn't have a guide and didn't feel like we missed out particularly. The Lonely Planet had some good information and there were signs around the place, so it was pretty easy to know what you are looking at.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The museum in the building where you buy your tickets is also useful for getting a good grounding of the site.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some of the buildings and ruins are still considered holy and so you need to make sure your shoulders and knees are covered. You'll also have to take off your shoes to look inside some of the ruins - my feet were happy that my socks protected me from the heat of the stone, warmed excessively by the midday sun.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Some highlights</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We started at the 'Southern Group', with a debate about who this is and what he is holding. The lively (?) disagreement is over whether its the king, Parakramabahu I, holding papaya or and Indian Vedic teacher holding a book. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Then it was on to the 'Royal Palace Group' for the impressive thick stone walls of the former palace (see top picture), the ruins of the Audience Hall and the bathing pool.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">I particularly enjoyed the carvings on the Audience Hall.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Vatadage is the most important ruin in t</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">he 'Quadrangle' area. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is also where this 'sandakada pahana' or moonstone, reported to be one of the best remaining examples of the entrance stones typical of the era, can be found. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the 'Northern Group', I was particularly taken by the striking white dagoba, against the blue sky.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What? You want another photo of it? Oh go on then... Just stunning!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The enormous Buddha statues nearby were pretty impressive too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The ruins at Polonnaruwa are well kept and incredibly impressive. Set over a huge area, there is plenty more to see than I've outlined in the post - definitely a full day for the average visitor. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I tried to suggest to James that the ruins may be as impressive as Pompeii. He was unconvinced. On reflection, the two are very different and P</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ompeii is much better preserved, but Polonnaruwa was fascinating and for history buffs, a Sri Lanka must-see.</span><br />
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<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Potential scam alert:</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> A couple from our homestay went to visit Polonnaruwa by bus. When they got off the bus, they were approached by a tuk tuk driver who offered them tickets that were cheaper than the normal entry, as well as their driving services for the day. The tickets were forged and at one point having been alerted that the security were on their way, their driver abandoned his tuk tuk and led them out through some woods by foot! Buy tickets from the ticket stand, people! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Related posts:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/sri-lankas-cultural-triangle-part-1-big.html" target="_blank">Sri Lanka's 'Cultural Triangle': Part 1 - A big rock and some caves</a></span><br />
<a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/sri-lankas-cultural-triangle-part-3.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;" target="_blank">Sri Lanka's Cultural Triangle: Part 3 - A massage and a herd of elephants</a><br />
<a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/sri-lankan-beach-time-some-thoughts-on.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;" target="_blank">Sri Lankan beach time - Arugam Bay</a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/what-to-do-in-ella-sri-lanka.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">What to do in Ella, Sri Lanka</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/where-we-stayed-sri-lanka.html" target="_blank">Where we stayed - Sri Lanka</a></span><br />
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Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-54647513676476694572017-07-25T22:15:00.004+01:002017-09-09T17:14:16.891+01:00Where we stayed - Sri Lanka<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We spent 10 days exploring the island of Sri Lanka, mostly in small family-run 'homestay' style hotels. Of the different accommodation website, booking.com seemed to work best. Here's where we went and where we stayed:</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">1) Habarana - Mutu Village</b></div>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">To explore the 'Cultural Triangle' area of Sri Lanka, we based ourselves in Habarana, as it is well located for visiting Sigiriya, Dambulla, Polonnaruwa and Minneriya National Park. Following a strong recommendation in an online travel discussion, I booked us into Mutu Village, where we stayed for 4 nights. It was the best place that we stayed in our time in Sri Lanka.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Run by husband and wife, Ajith and Mutu, the wooden cottages and treehouse rooms are set in the peaceful garden of their family home, where they grow vegetables, herbs and spices. The garden is also great for chilling out and relaxing on the hammocks, when you are not out exploring or post massage - you can get an ayurverdic massage on site. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The very generous breakfasts (common in Sri Lanka) are included in the price. The family also offer (a delicious) dinner for a very reasonable price.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">We organised all of our trips in the area through the hotel and Ajith and Mutu looked after us very well. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">In case, you haven't guess, we really liked it here!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We paid 40US$ a night for our double treehouse room, with private bathroom.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">2) Arugam Bay - Lazy Bay</b></div>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Looking at booking.com to find accommodation in Arugam Bay, I really struggled to tell the difference between the different options from their online reviews. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">What I'd say about Lazy Bay, which I eventually picked is that 'it was fine'. The room was pretty basic, although they did upgrade us to a room with A/C at no extra cost when we arrived.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seating area directly outside our room</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Location-wise, it's on the beach side of the main road. When I was looking at where to stay, I got a bit obsessed with wanting to be beach-side, but although this meant it was slightly closer to the beach, you couldn't see the beach from inside the hotel and I don't think it would make that much difference. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WlHKWuT6vcM/WXexHNiVHvI/AAAAAAAAFFM/6hmaFO3q50o9zPpuA6lun-Edk5NHFXm9wCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_7351.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WlHKWuT6vcM/WXexHNiVHvI/AAAAAAAAFFM/6hmaFO3q50o9zPpuA6lun-Edk5NHFXm9wCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_7351.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Communal outside area.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Again, we paid 40US$ a night for a double room, with private bathroom - the same as the lovely Mutu Village, but no where near as nice. </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">3) Ella - Monarch Ella</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Monarch Ella was recommended to us by a fellow blogger, who highlighted the generous breakfast and spacious rooms. Both were very true! </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes this is breakfast not dinner for two not a family of five</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The small family run place is well located - just a short walk along the railway line into town. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was a bit tricky to find though. Its off of Kitalella Road. There's a road off Kitalella that has a sign at the turning indicating that Monarch Ella is down that way. Follow that road until you get to hard standing car park area. Monarch Ella is opposite the car park.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Gayan who was running the place was sweet and looked after us very well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I enjoyed reading my book on the balcony with Ella Rock in view. However, I did look on slightly jealously at the hotel next door, which not only had a pool, but which also was a little bit higher, meaning their view was less obstructed by trees. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H_3bJ7B4LjM/WXexJ2O-JXI/AAAAAAAAFFc/n79EJZ_cdvs1BYgZecDiddR0SR4-CcWOgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_7357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H_3bJ7B4LjM/WXexJ2O-JXI/AAAAAAAAFFc/n79EJZ_cdvs1BYgZecDiddR0SR4-CcWOgCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_7357.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It would have been nice to see over those trees (it was still very nice though!)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Monarch Ella cost us 38US$ a night for our spacious double room, with private bathroom, although the huge breakfast wasn't included in the price. (The View next door - with the better view - is about 70US$ a night for a double.)</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">4) Colombo - The Residence</b></div>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">As we were only staying one night in Colombo, arriving late-ish and leaving early, I tried to find somewhere that wasn't too expensive, but not too basic. I thought The Residence fit the bill. However, having stayed there, I wouldn't particularly recommend it, mainly as the room was tiny and it felt overpriced.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was particularly annoyed that when booking all of the other places that we stayed in, in Sri Lanka, the booking.com confirmed price included all taxes. However, for The Residence, those extra costs were excluded and I didn't notice until we arrived and we were charged 15US$ more than I was expecting to pay.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We paid 70US$ once all of the taxes added on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Addresses</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mutu Village - Kashyapagama</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lazy Bay - along Beach Hut Road </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Monarch Ella - off Kitalella</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Residence - The official address is 471 -4/1 Galle Road, but its actually on Temple Lane</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Related posts</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/sri-lankas-cultural-triangle-part-1-big.html" target="_blank">Sri Lanka's 'Cultural Triangle' :Part 1 - A big rock and some caves </a></span><br />
<a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/what-to-do-in-ella-sri-lanka.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">What to do in Ella, Sri Lanka</a></div>
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Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-2793456785302313312017-07-24T21:12:00.001+01:002017-09-03T19:42:10.970+01:00Sri Lanka's 'Cultural Triangle': Part 1 - A big rock and some caves<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After enjoying our first Hindu wedding in Chennai, India, we flew to Sri Lanka for 10 days to explore the 'Pearl of the Indian Ocean'. It was just a short hour and half flight across the Indian Ocean.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very excited to be at Sigiriya</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We spent our first four nights in the country in Habarana - a town in an area of Sri Lanka known as the 'Cultural Triangle'. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There's not much to see in Habarana itself, although I did enjoy our short strolls around the non-paved dusty back streets, where excited children called out to us, we wandered past local businesses and shops and caught a tiny glimpse of every day life in Sri Lanka.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The unpaved back roads of Habarana - all the roads looked like this.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But we did not go to Habarana for these strolls. We chose Habarana as a base to visit the key attractions of the local area - national parks, ancient cities, temples and a big rock (or two).</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Classic Sigiriya picture</td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Sigiriya </b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sigirya is basically a big rock 200 metres high in the plains of the central province. It is a hardened magma plug from a long since eroded volcano. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our first morning in Habarana was spent there. It was a place I identified, as definitely 'on the list' from the very beginning of my travel planning to Sri Lanka and I was very excited to visit. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On our way, our tuk-tuk driver found us some good photo spots!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the top of the rock are ruins, which depending on who you listen to, were either a </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">fortress-palace built during the reign of </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">King Kassapa AD 477-495 (the established view) or a monastery (as has been argued more recently by archaeologists). </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ruins at the top (the Buddhist monks are trying to influence your views on what was here!)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Either way, the rock and the manicured gardens around it are very impressive. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lily pond</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gardens from above</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Halfway up the rock are a collection frescoes - paintings of buxom, thin waisted women on the side of the rock. They are either the King's harem or celestial beings. I don't have any photos, as you're not allowed to take any, but they are worth a look.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James contemplating the landscape</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">We spent the morning climbing the rock, admiring the views</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> from the top, walking round the gardens and then visiting the well laid out museum.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was very windy up top. Very windy.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">VERY WINDY</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">But the views of the surrounding plains were incredible.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of my favourite pictures!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">It gets hot, so its best to start as early as you can. The site opens at 7am. We got there around 8.30am and headed straight for the rock, leaving the gardens and museum for later.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>The other rock</u><br />If Sigiriya whets your appetite for climbing hardened magma plugs, you're in luck! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There's another very nearby, called Pidurangala. Its much cheaper and much quieter than its famous neighbour and it's also possible to climb it in time for sunrise. We missed it off, but <a href="http://www.manvsglobe.com/sunrise-pidurangala-rock-sri-lanka/" target="_blank">this post</a> by Man vs Globe explains why you shouldn't. Apparently, there's a great view of Sigiriya from its less famous neighbour. Ah well, its always good to have an excuse to go back!</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Dambulla cave temples</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After visiting Sigiriya, we went to the Dambulla cave temples that afternoon. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The buildings around the cave temples</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I actually didn't have any particularly great expectations of them. I hadn't read that much about them. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I just thought that given where Dambulla was, it logistically made sense to visit them after the big rock, before heading back to Habarana.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, I was very impressed by the huge Buddha statues and the beautiful paintings on the rocks inside the cave temples and couldn't stop taking snaps. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The photos don't quite do it justice, which may have been why I hadn't been 'that' excited about going. (But I'd recommend going if you can!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was particularly taken by the decorations on the feet of the lying down Buddha.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The temples are a 20 minute walk up hill. At the bottom of the hill, we stopped to look at the rather garish golden temple. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was a little surprised by the claim near the temple that we were witnessing the biggest Buddha statue in the world.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I felt sure that this claim to fame would have come up in some of my pre-travel research. Sure enough, a quick google confirmed my scepticism - 30 metres just ain't gonna cut it among the several Buddha statues I found online of 70 or so metres high. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's still pretty big though! On the other side of the courtyard, facing the big Buddha is a huge golden stupa. Size seems to be the thing here!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We stood and watched while monkeys tore apart and ate the banana and flower offerings that had been laid down in the shrine next to the stupa. Those cheeky monkeys!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before heading back to Habarana, we had a little nosy around the wholesale fruit and veg market in Dambulla, It was interesting to see the mountains and mountains of different fruits and veg. Unfortunately, our lack of Sinhala meant that we couldn't find out what some of the more unusual looking produce was. It is worth a little mosey around though, if you're passing by.</span></div>
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<u style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Practicalities</b></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We arranged for a tuk tuk to drive us around for the day. We paid 3000 Sri Lankan rupees for his time (approximately 20US$). This included pick up from our hotel in Habarana and half an hour drive to the rock. He was waiting for us in the car park at Sigiriya and drove us to the Dambulla cave temples (about another 30 minutes). Then he stopped off for us at the Golden Temple and the market and found us a bakery for some lunch, before dropping us back at the hotel. So a pretty good price all in all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Entry fee to Sigiriya - 30US$</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Entry fee to Dambulla cave temples - 1500 Sri Lankan rupees </span></div>
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<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Have you been to Sigiriya and Pidurangla? What did you think? What about the cave temples and the golden temple? Were you impressed by the 'biggest buddha statue in the world'? </i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Related posts</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/sri-lankas-cultural-triangle-part-2.html" target="_blank">Sri Lanka's 'Cultural Triangle': Part 2 - An ancient city</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/sri-lankas-cultural-triangle-part-3.html" target="_blank">Sri Lanka's 'Cultural Triangle': Part 3 - A massage and a herd of elephants</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/where-we-stayed-sri-lanka.html" target="_blank">Where we stayed - Sri Lanka</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/sri-lankan-beach-time-some-thoughts-on.html" target="_blank">Sri Lankan beach time</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/what-to-do-in-ella-sri-lanka.html" target="_blank">What to do in Ella, Sri Lanka</a></span></div>
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Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-35259755802307044512017-07-15T18:46:00.000+01:002017-07-15T18:49:15.239+01:00Eating and drinking in Bruges<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Say Belgium and the following culinary delights come to mind: chocolate, waffles, fries and of course beer. And if you want to indulge in any of these, Bruges will not disappoint. Here's our experience of eating and drinking in Bruges:</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">1) Delicious veggie (yes veggie) friendly restaurant Reliva</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As a vegetarian who loves food, I often get disappointed with the opportunities for eating new and interesting food when we are travelling. I wanted to make sure that I had at least one delicious meal while away in Bruges and so went online to research vegetarian restaurants. I quickly came across Reliva, which describes itself as a place 'where fish, mean, vegetarian and vegan food find a perfect match'. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">And I have to say, the vegetarian dishes they offered were delicious. I had a beetroot soup to start, followed by a coconut curry. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">We also went for the wine pairings, which were spot on. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another thing that was really nice about the place was how enthusiastic the waiter was about the food he was serving and the different drinks he had available, making for a more enjoyable experience. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Top tip? Book ahead! People were turned away, while we were there.</i></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">2) CHOCOLATE</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The streets of Bruges are full of the smell of chocolate from a plethora of chocolate shops. Most shops are very willing to give you samples. And it is all simply quite delicious. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On a cold day, a hot chocolate will surely warm your cockles. And if it doesn't the excitement of the rudely shaped chocolate treats may get the heart racing instead!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We bought our chocolate souvenirs from Galler, just off Markt square (to the right if looking at the Belfry). Galler is a 'Royal Warrant Holder of the Court of Belgium'. So if its good enough for the king, its good enough for us.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">3) Beer</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can't go to Belgium and not drink beer! And the stuff is everywhere. In Bruges, it is even <a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/five-fun-facts-about-bruges.html" target="_blank">piped under the streets</a>! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can't go wrong with the local Brugse Zot, the signature drink of the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Halve Maan brewery and one of the only beers to be brewed in the historical centre of Bruges.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We also loved the house brew at De Garre - although a little lethal at 11%, especially given how smoothly it went down. De Garre is lovely and lively bar, although a little hard to find, tucked away in a small alleyway off of Breidelstraat. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>4) Belgian fries</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Belgians do love their fries and there's even a museum dedicated to them in Bruges, explaining how fries actually originate in Belgium and not France. Should all fries should really be called Belgian and not French fries? (Unless of course, they are in fact chips, which as any Brit will tell you are a very different thing altogether).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Having sampled Belgian fries in Bruges, I think they are tastier than your average fry. They were nice and crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside - apparently down to the method of frying them twice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The other great thing about the friteries in Belgium is the range of sauces you can choose to go with your fries. There were about a dozen options in one of the places we went - worth experimenting with to find your favourite!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>5) Waffles</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Did you know there are two types of waffles in Belgium? A Brussels waffle and a Liege waffle. Brussels waffles are made with much thinner batter and so are lighter, while the Liege waffles are denser and sweeter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are plenty of places to try out waffles in Bruges. The shape will let you know which one you are eating. Brussels waffles have a neat square edge, with deep square indentations. Liege waffles don't have a neat square edge.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Both are delicious in their own way and I didn't quite do enough research to find out which one I preferred. I have more work to do! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(I didn't seem to take any photos of waffles. I guess they disappeared too quickly!).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Eating and drinking in Bruges was a very enjoyable part of our weekend away. Have you eaten and drunk your way around Bruges? What were your highlights? </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Related posts</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/in-bruges.html" target="_blank">In Bruges</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/in-bruges.html" target="_blank">Five fun facts about Bruges</a></span><br />
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Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-8328247894266056382017-02-28T22:59:00.004+00:002017-07-16T12:39:53.077+01:00In Bruges<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm not quite sure how we started it, but James and I alternate organising Valentine's Day and this year it was my turn.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Feeling generous (and wanting a weekend away myself!), I went big this year and organised a surprise mini-break to Bruges. Hopefully, this has set me up well for next year ... ? Watch this space.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'd had to tell James we were going away, as I'd booked an afternoon Eurostar and so he needed to get the afternoon off work (and he needed to pack!). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As a decoy though, I told him to meet me at King's Cross, rather than St Pancras station across the road and managed to both locate and secretly steal his passport! It worked and he was very pleasantly surprised to find us heading towards the Eurostar.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Revealing the stolen passport</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've hardly ever taken the Eurostar, but was pleasantly surprised by the price. Our ticket from London was only £30 each. The return was double that, but I still overall pleased with my £90 return tickets - you rarely get that good a price on budget airlines these days. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Interestingly, tickets to Brussels include one onward journey within 24 hours of arriving in the capital. So our £90 each took us all the way to Bruges and back. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The overall journey time from St Pancras to Bruges is around three and a half hours, allowing for time to get to your Bruges train in Brussels-Midi station and the hour's journey from Brussels. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>So what did we get up to while we were there?</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Friday</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Friday night started off very well. I had researched vegetarian friendly restaurants beforehand and booked a table at the lovely </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Réliva restaurant. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The restaurant serves meat and fish, but has fantastic vegetarian and vegan options. It also offered wine pairings with each course, which we decided to go for. Well we were on holiday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After getting our fill, we started to wander back to our hotel, but stopped off for our first beer of the weekend at a bar in the streets of Markt Square. We went for a local Brugse Zot - a crisp blonde beer. It was not our last.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Saturday</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Saturday morning, we started out into town for some proper exploring and to begin scoping out chocolate and beer shops. We also found some other quirky and interesting shops along the way - it wasn't just beer and chocolate! There was also a great gin and whisky shop! And cakes too...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After our wander, we found ourselves in local fast food shop, trying out some delicious Belgian chips, which came with a huge selection of sauces. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the afternoon, we joined the 'free' walking tour, which meets in the main square. We've gone on these free tours throughout the world. And they aren't really free. You just decide what to tip the guide at the end. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But generally, we have found them really high quality and interesting. This one, the</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> '<a href="http://legendsofbruges.be/" target="_blank">Legends of Bruges</a>' tour, didn't disappoint. The guide's take on Belgian history made the city come alive and his tales of more recent life in Bruges, such as the story of the </span><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/five-fun-facts-about-bruges.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">black swan</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> was also entertaining and interesting. And you have to pay attention. He gave us a quiz at the end!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After the tour we headed to the Halve Maan brewery (via a waffle shop!) for a tour and a second taste of the Zot beer, as that is where it is brewed (before it gets </span><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/five-fun-facts-about-bruges.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">piped out to their bottling plant</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We were on the last tour of the day at 5.30pm, which was beneficial as the tour includes a trip to the roof of the brewery, which when we were there, meant a beautiful sunset.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Sunday</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On Sunday, up early(ish)/earlier than on Saturday, we strolled to the Markt Square to scale the 366 steps to the top of the Belfry - the tall bell tower that dominates the skyline. In the middle ages, belfries in this part of the world were a central part of daily life. Their bells rang out to mark the start of the working day, the opening and closing of the city gates, for celebrations or to warn of danger. 56 belfries across Belgium and Northern France have been designated by UNESCO as world heritage sites.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Arriving at the landmark on Sunday morning, we were immediately confronted with a much longer queue than we'd expected. Only 70 people are allowed inside at any one time. As the structure operated on a one in out one in system, we therefore had to wait around 25 minutes to get in. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This was in mid-February. I dread to think how long you'd have to wait in the high season. I suspect if the queue had been much longer, given our short stay in Bruges, we would have given it a miss. Not that its not worth it though. We enjoyed climbing to the top and seeing the carillonneur - the musician playing the carillon, an instrument played on a range of bells through striking the keys on a keyboard. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Oh and the view from the top wasn't bad either...!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From the top of the town, we then headed to the canal for a boat tour around the city. The commentary wasn't particularly inspiring, but it was pretty to see the town from the water.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our next mission was to buy beer and chocolate! We headed back to the Halve Maan brewery to buy a mixed bag of different brews. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then we strolled back to the main square via the various chocolate shops as we decided what chocolate to buy, while getting some samples on the way, including a stop for some tasty hot chocolate. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Back in the square, we had another fill of Belgian chips from one of the chip vans at the foot of the Belfry and then all too quickly it was time to head back to our hotel to gather our things and head on our way, back to Brussels and then back to London.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All in all it was very full and very fun weekend. And pretty easy from London on the Eurostar. Belgium, we will be back!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Have you been to Bruges? What did you see? What would you recommend?</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Related posts</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/five-fun-facts-about-bruges.html" target="_blank">Five fun facts about Bruges</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/eating-and-drinking-in-bruges.html" target="_blank">Eating and drinking in Bruges</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/introducing-tallinn.html" target="_blank">Introducing Tallinn</a></span>
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Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-4610107823716720792017-02-21T22:41:00.002+00:002017-07-16T12:59:16.111+01:00Five fun facts about Bruges<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">very much enjoyed our weekend away in Bruges. While we were there we learnt some interesting things about the city and its inhabitants - both historical facts and more recent curious developments.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Which of the below did you know? Do you have any more surprising Bruges facts to share? Please include them in the comments below!</i></span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>1) Underground beer</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Belgium is well known worldwide for its beer, but a brewery in Bruges has the most unique way of transporting the brown stuff.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">De Halve Maan (the half moon) brewery has built a pipeline from its Bruges brewery to its bottling plant 3 kilometres away. The brewery was facing criticism as beer lorries struggled to get down the narrow streets to transport the beer. There were suggestions that the brewery should move out of its central Bruges home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, beer has been brewed on the site of De Halve Maan since 1564 and, until very recently, it was the only brewery left inside the city walls. The current owner didn't want to lose that historical connection with the city and came up with a unique solution - a pipeline!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Completed in late 2016, it takes forty minutes for the beer to make the journey along the pipeline, which cost 4 million euros to build. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Part of the funding for the project was raised through crowdfunding. Those who paid a 7,500 euro contribution to the pipeline receive a bottle of beer a day for life!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>2) A foolish people?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sticking with the Halve Maan brewery, their main brew is called '</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141414; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Brugse Zot' or Bruges fool, apparently because Bruges residents are known as <i>Bruges fools</i>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141414; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Legend has it that this nickname came after a visit by their ruler the Archduke Maximilian. They has organised a merry parade and party for his visit. But perhaps, with all that delicious local beer flowing, it got a little too merry and a little out of control.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141414; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Towards the end of the party, the residents of Bruges asked Max for money to help them build a new asylum. His response? "<i>Today, I have seen nothing but fools. This city is one large madhouse</i>". So he gave them the money they wanted but also a new nickname too! </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141414; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>3) Bring back the golden dragon!</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Atop the belfry in Ghent is a golden dragon that residents of Bruges insist is stolen from their city following a battle in 1382.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The dragon was apparently taken out of the city on the back of a Bruges donkey, whose loyalty to the city made him stubbornly unwilling to go with the Ghent(onians?), until they showed him what for by horribly burning his eyes out. A street in the city, blind donkey alley (Blinde Ezelstraat) commemorates the poor beast.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the Blinde Ezelstraat</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To this day, Ghent football fans taunt their Bruges rivals by calling out 'we've got your golden dragon'. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>4) The mystery of the disappearing black swan</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bruges is apparently well known for its beautiful white swans. I say 'apparently' as they were nowhere to be seen when we were there. They were in quarantine, as there's some bird flu about. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Also <i>not</i> there during our stay was <a href="http://deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws.english/videozone_ENG/1.2072220" target="_blank">the black swan of Bruges</a>, who caused quite the controversy a few years ago. The black swan appeared in the canals and a debate started around whether or not (s)he should be allowed to stay.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The authorities, accused of racism for taking against the swan, unsuccessfully tried to catch it, but it did subsequently disappear. What happened to the black swan remains a mystery.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>5) No men allowed!</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One corner of Bruges is out of bounds to men after 6.30pm. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">In Belgium in the 13th century, groups of women - often those who had been widowed by war - founded 'Béguinages'. These were enclosed
communities designed to meet the spiritual and material needs of these women. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Today the houses of the beguinage in Bruges are well maintained. A group of nuns live in some of the houses in the enclosed area, while other houses offer social housing for women who are by
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It’s a beautiful area and really peaceful, but men
beware! You are allowed to visit during the day, but you need to leave by 6.30pm!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><b><i>Have you been to Bruges? What did you think? What fun facts have we missed?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/eating-and-drinking-in-bruges.html" target="_blank">Eating and drinking in Bruges</a></span><br />
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Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-64834665422348462072016-09-02T07:01:00.002+01:002016-09-02T07:01:42.669+01:00Photo Friday: The Boston Beggar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">During our recent visit to Boston, we were impressed by the enterprising spirit of this man, who we saw begging outside the Old State House, the oldest surviving public building in Boston.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The Old State
House was built to house the colony's government in 1713. In 1776, it was from
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">As such, pretty much every visitor to Boston will pass by the Old State House and snap photos at some point during their visit. It is tourist central! So I'd say that this guy was pretty good at really capturing the right mood for those passing by. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">We gave him a dollar and did our bit. And we were not the only ones.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Now its over to you, US voters! Do the right thing (and I may even give you a dollar too!).</span></div>
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Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-72489073862538347522016-08-16T22:07:00.001+01:002016-08-16T22:07:25.797+01:00Tanzania: On the search for the 'BIG FIVE' <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A safari in Africa usually includes an attempt to spot the "Big Five". This includes seeing an African lion, an African elephant, a rhinoceros, a leopard and ... a Cape buffalo. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">'Wait!' I hear you cry. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">'A buffalo? Not a cheetah or a hippo? Or even a giraffe?'</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Nope. The fifth animal that you <u><i>must see</i></u> on safari in Africa is definitely the Cape buffalo. I did not make this up. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Why a buffalo?</b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The term 'Big Five' was actually coined by game-hunters and refers to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot, mostly because of how dangerous they could be when cornered. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, it's a hunting term rather than a 'most interesting animal to see on safari term'. The safari industry just stole the term for their marketing purposes. And to make those buffalo that little bit more exciting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A sucker for lists, the marketing won me over and of course I wanted to see all five. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>So here's a round up on how well we did:</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>1) African Lion</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/lions.html" target="_blank">We did <i>very</i> well on the lion front</a>. After nearly seeing a lion on our second day - which wasn't a lion at all but a hyena - and despite seeing no climbing lions in the Manyara National Park, the Ngorongoro crater did not disappoint. Our day in the crater was punctuated by sightings of these beautiful animals.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>2) African elephant</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I love elephants! And we were spoilt with elephants throughout our trip from the Tarangire National Park to Manyara Park to the Ngorongoro Crater.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">3) African rhino</b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hmmm the rhino... <a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/is-that-bigfoot-no-its-black-rhino-it.html" target="_blank">We did see one.</a> At least I think we did. The Ngorongoro crater is home to a small population of rare black rhino. And we could just about see the one our guide (and other guides) spotted, but only from very far away. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>4) Leopard</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Leopards are the most elusive animals of the 'Big Five'. Mostly nocturnal, they also spend a lot of time in trees. Trees = vegetation = hard to see. Unfortunately, we were not lucky enough to see a leopard, but this has given us an excuse to go back!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>5) Cape buffalo</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Despite not seeming to be the most exciting of the five, the Cape buffalo is apparently the most dangerous and has killed more game hunters than any other animal. So they are actually not to be sniffed! Keeping our distance, I enjoyed seeing this buffalo surrounded by birds, snacking on the insects around him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Our scorecard</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, we only managed to see 4 out of the 'Big Five' on our Tanzanian safari - the elusive leopard eluded us!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I do love big cats though (we were privileged to see a <a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/jaguar.html" target="_blank">jaguar</a> in Brazil) and so my sights are now set on that leopard. Next time!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>If you have seen seen one or have any tips on where to see one, let us know and share your story in the comments below!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Related posts</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/trip-report-tanzanian-safari.html" target="_blank">Trip report: Tanzanian Safari</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/is-that-bigfoot-no-its-black-rhino-it.html" target="_blank">Is that Bigfoot? No, it's a black rhino (It really is)</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/lions.html" target="_blank">Lions!</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/jambo-swahili-for-beginners.html" target="_blank">Jambo! Swahili for beginners</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/jambo-swahili-for-beginners.html" target="_blank">The Hippo Pool</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/doors-of-zanzibar.html" target="_blank">Doors of Zanzibar</a></span></div>
Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-16388472020518963022016-08-10T22:51:00.003+01:002016-08-10T23:06:17.049+01:00Under the sea!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">During our honeymoon in Tanzania, we took the opportunity to explore below sea as well as above. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We went diving a number of times with One Ocean Dive Centres, who had one of their many satellite bases at our hotel, Ocean Paradise, on Zanzibar. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They took us to the dive sites at the Mnemba Atoll Conservation area - the most well known area to dive, on they island, which is just off the North East coast.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They were very professional and looked after us very well. They seemed to have a dive instructor per person/couple!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And they were great at spotting fish and unusual underwater creatures. I was particularly impressed with our instructors ability to see the very well camouflaged stone fish, scorpion fish and other fish that didn't look like fish! (Sorry no photos)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We also enjoyed seeing a range of other fish from pretty clown fish, grouper, spotted garden eels, the hard to spot leaf fish and the funny looking frog fish.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But the absolute highlight had to be the school of dolphins that swam over our heads. It was such a magic moment, reminding me of the importance of looking all around you to see the best things under the sea (including upwards!).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Incredible!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Related posts</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/jambo-swahili-for-beginners.html" target="_blank">Jambo! Swahili for beginners</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/arabian-nights-in-stone-town.html" target="_blank">Arabian nights in Stone Town </a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/trip-report-tanzanian-safari.html" target="_blank">Trip Report:Tanzanian Safari</a></span><br />
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Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-44139535290713108722016-08-07T12:59:00.001+01:002016-08-07T12:59:49.456+01:00Jambo! Swahili for beginners<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Any tourist visiting Swahili-speaking Kenya or Tanzania, will quickly learn to greet people they meet with a friendly '<i>jambo</i>'. And like many other Swahili words it's easy for English speakers to pronounce and really quite nice to say!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, '<i>jambo</i>' by itself is usually only really used with foreigners. If you want to make that little bit more effort, the correct greeting is '<i>hujambo</i>' if you are the first person to speak. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The response is '<i>sijambo</i>'.</span></div>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Another common greeting that you'll may hear, which requires a specific response is '</span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Mambo?</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">'. This should be responded to with '</span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">poa'</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">. This roughly translates to '</span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">how are things</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">?', '</span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">cool</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the words that you'll hear time and again is '<i>karibu'</i>, which translates as welcome or you're welcome. As a tourist, you'll see this as a greeting on the gates of the national parks. You'll also hear it from waiting staff who frequently manage to get in a '<i>you're welcome</i>' before you've managed to get in your '<i>thank you</i>', when they bring you your food!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Speaking of thank yous, '<i>asante</i>' (asantay) is the word you need. This is frequently followed by '<i>sana</i>', with '<i>asante sana</i>' meaning thank you very much. '<i>Sana</i>' can also come after '<i>karibu</i>' to mean '<i>you're welcome very much</i>'.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">'<i>Pole-pole</i>' (pronounced polay, polay) means slowly-slowly and can be useful for an easing off of the sales pressure in a shop! Outside of the shop environment everything is <i>pole-pole </i>in East Africa!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Meanwhile, <i>pole </i>by itself is a word that means sorry and often used to express your sympathy for the misfortune of others. For example, if someone tells you that they've broken their leg, <i>pole</i> would be an appropriate response. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>Hakuna Matata</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Lion King has taught most of the western world the term '<i>hakuna matata</i>'. It means no worries (for the rest of your days) and can be incredibly useful in conversational bargaining in shops and for diffusing any situations. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Oh ... and if you come across a small shop just outside of the Ngoronogoro Conservation Area, call</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ed Hakuna Matata Shop - we may have helped name it! We were joking with the owners while we were in there and they told us their newly opened business didn't yet have a name, so Hakuna Matata was what we came up with for them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Lion King also secretly taught us the Swahili for lion - '<i>Simba'</i>! Who knew that his name was actually just lion? (Well, apart from the Swahili speakers ... they obviously knew).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Other characters in the Disney classic also have Swahili words as names. Nala means gift, Rafiki appropriately means friend, while poor old Pumbaa means foolish! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I always said that watching Disney films was educational!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While English is widely spoken in East Africa, learning a few words of Swahili is much appreciated. Here's a few more words to help you along your way:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">Tafadhali - Please</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hatari - Danger</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Safari - Journey</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Samahani - Excuse me</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ndiyo - Yes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hapana - No</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Twende - Let's go</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Related posts</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/trip-report-tanzanian-safari.html" target="_blank">Trip report - Tanzanian Safari</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/lions.html" target="_blank">Lions!</a></span></div>
Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-20998649587680777232016-07-25T23:08:00.002+01:002016-07-25T23:12:23.201+01:00Princess Salme of Zanzibar - A 19th Century Feminist?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Right next door to the hotel where we stayed in Stone Town - Emerson on Hurumzi - is a small museum dedicated to the Princess Salme.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Princess was one of 36 children of the Omani Sultan, which at the time also meant ruling over Zanzibar. In fact, her father liked Zanzibar so much that under his rule, the capital of Oman was moved from Muscat to the island.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Her mother was a 'slave' wife or concubine. Luckily for Salme, all children of slave wives in the Omani culture were considered legitimate. And having children gave concubines themselves greater status. This meant that Salme inherited land from her father and her mother when they died, giving her a level of independence. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The small museum tells the story of her life, relying heavily on her book <i>Memoirs of an Arabian Princess from Zanzibar - </i>the first known autobiography of an Arab woman.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We had a tour of the museum by the curator - a very enthusiastic man, who was incredibly knowledgeable about her life in Zanzibar and later in Germany and about her writings and political views. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was fascinated to learn that she secretly taught herself to read and write, but was also intrigued with the scandal she caused when at the age of 22, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">she eloped with a German merchant, Heinrich Ruete.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Already pregnant, with his child, she escaped Zanzibar to Aden on a British ship with help from the wife of the Acting British Consul, Emily Seward. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In Aden she converted to Christianity, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">changed her name to Emily (after Emily Seward) and eight months later, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Heinrich joined her and they were married. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the day of their wedding, they left Aden and headed for Hamburg, where she started her new life as Frau Emily Ruete.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Following the death of her husband just three years after they married, her autobiography was written in part to earn money. The book revealed her radical views for the time, particularly on women's rights, poverty and inequalities. She commented that the German poor were worse off than slaves in Zanzibar, because they had no guaranteed access to shelter or food.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The curator also told us that she tried a couple of times to have a reconciliation with her family on Zanzibar, but was disappointed each time. The Sultan (her brother) refused to receive her.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The museum also has some family photos and includes information about the Princess' descendants in Germany and in the US. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Her life is a fascinating tale and the small museum is worth a look if you are in Stone Town. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We paid 20,000 Tanzanian Shilling (US$10) each for our tour with the curator, but for 10,000 you can have a look around by yourself. His enthusiasm did make it worth it though!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The museum is located on Hurumzi, next to the Emerson on Hurumzi hotel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Related posts</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/arabian-nights-in-stone-town.html" target="_blank">Arabian nights in Stone Town</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/doors-of-zanzibar.html" target="_blank">Doors of Zanzibar </a></span></div>
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Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-67931700217281355632016-07-09T14:52:00.001+01:002016-07-09T14:52:16.117+01:00Arabian nights in Stone Town<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Stone Town on the whole was a little bit of a disappointment. Lonely Planet describes it as 'a magical jumble of cobbled alleyways ... (which) make it easy to spend days wandering round and getting lost'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In reality, it felt more than a little tired, with the once fine buildings in desperate need of some TLC and the 'jumble of cobbled alleyways' filled with small shops selling the same tourist fare for over-inflated prices.</span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Down along the seafront, pushy salesmen tried to sell us snorkelling trips or a walking tour of the city, making for quite an irritating stroll by the sea. We're pretty well travelled and so fairly used to dealing with this type of hassle. It was far from the worst we've experienced (yup Luxor, Egypt, I am looking at you), but I just wasn't in the mood for it (and maybe we're also getting older and grumpier!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, all was far from being lost for us in Stone Town and a</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> real highlight of our visit (<a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/doors-of-zanzibar.html" target="_blank">aside from the doors!</a>), was the evening we had at the Tower Top restaurant. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The restaurant is at the top of the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Emerson on Hurumzi</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> hotel, where we were also staying. The</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> building was built by a man called Tharia Thopan, who was very close to the Sultan and so permitted to build the second highest building in Stone Town (the first being the Sultan's house, known as the House of Wonders). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The restaurant is on the roof of the building and affords impressive views across Stone Town. We arrived about an hour or so before sunset and enjoyed a couple of cocktails, while we admired the views. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">Then as the sun started to set, we were treated to a symphony of competing calls to prayer ringing out from the 51 mosques dotted around the town. Just as the sun set, the Hindu temple across the street, also joined in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We chose to sit in the 'Swahili' seating area, with its low tables and colourful cushions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our waiter, Barack, explained that the style of the meal was of a Zanzibari wedding feast, known as Soro, very apt as it was our honeymoon. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The idea of Soro is a number of tasty courses eaten over a number of hours and shared between all the guests, accompanied by music and singing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At the start of the meal, the waiters came round with water to wash our hands</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We were then treated to three courses of a delicious fusion of East African, North African and Middle-Eastern fare, including pitta with a delicious beetroot dip, goat curry for James and a vegetable tagine for me. We didn't get many photos of it (partly because of the light), but the food really was very good. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While were eating, we were treated to beautiful Zanzibari taraab music from a local band.</span><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ccXM7ydC8-U/V3kO7EWvfiI/AAAAAAAAEzo/C9MWppAxyMcqnEsgtST9a3pjEXhhWxx2gCLcB/s1600/IMG_1771.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ccXM7ydC8-U/V3kO7EWvfiI/AAAAAAAAEzo/C9MWppAxyMcqnEsgtST9a3pjEXhhWxx2gCLcB/s320/IMG_1771.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was particularly taken with the singing and dancing of the female singer. She had a beautiful voice and provided the perfect accompaniment to our delicious banquet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you are in Stone Town, the Tower Top restaurant on Hurumzi does lunch as well as dinner, but it is a special experience to view the town from above, as the sun goes down, cocktail in hand.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Related posts</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/doors-of-zanzibar.html" target="_blank">Doors of Zanzibar</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/trip-report-tanzanian-safari.html" target="_blank">Trip report: Tanzanian Safari</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/lions.html" target="_blank">Lions!</a></span></div>
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Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-76849454803114893472016-07-03T14:43:00.002+01:002016-07-03T14:44:33.424+01:00Doors of Zanzibar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">'Do you know what my problem is?' I asked James as we walked through the streets of Stone Town, Zanzibar.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">'You have an unhealthy obsession with doors', he retorted.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, I can't actually remember what I was referring to, when I asked the question, but James' response was pretty spot on. </span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7f9_RQV17bI/V3FzYkCJLtI/AAAAAAAAEwc/9ffuOgplxfImFqplTknQLTugLTQLH8yqQCKgB/s1600/IMG_5661.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7f9_RQV17bI/V3FzYkCJLtI/AAAAAAAAEwc/9ffuOgplxfImFqplTknQLTugLTQLH8yqQCKgB/s320/IMG_5661.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While in Cartagena, Colombia, </span><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/photo-friday-knobs-of-colombia.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">I kept taking photos of door knockers</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. Meanwhile, I spent a disproportionate amount of time in Stone Town, taking photos of doors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You have to admit, they are pretty impressive though.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We found these doors inside the 'House of Wonders', built in 1883 for the second Sultan of Zanzibar. It became known as the 'House of Wonders', as it was the first building in Zanzibar with electricity and it also had a lift.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Back out on the street, there were more doors to be seen! This one was part of the Mzingani seafront where we ate lunch. The brass knobs on this and other doors was a style copied from India, where they were said to prevent elephants from crushing the doors. No elephants here, but clearly the locals liked the style.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Doing some online research, I learnt that the older doors had square tops.</span><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S4O9AkIOPN8/V3FzVn03OWI/AAAAAAAAEvs/X6yG4uJFWs8yzSdaF4-bFgP_MxP4SeHLACKgB/s1600/IMG_5655.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S4O9AkIOPN8/V3FzVn03OWI/AAAAAAAAEvs/X6yG4uJFWs8yzSdaF4-bFgP_MxP4SeHLACKgB/s320/IMG_5655.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While the more recent style was circular at the top. I am not sure of the time difference, between 'older' and more recent, but the House of Wonders, built in 1883, has circular tops on its doors.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Zanzibar has become so well known for its doors that these styles have become known as 'Zanzibar doors'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">An inventory carried out in the 1980s, recorded 800 of these types of doors in Stone Town.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately, as a result of a combination of neglect and theft, there are far fewer today. On the positive side, this made for fewer photo stops for me, which was good for James' sanity. (I am not sure what he has against doors).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Related posts</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/trip-report-tanzanian-safari.html" target="_blank">Trip Report: Tanzanian Safari</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/photo-friday-knobs-of-colombia.html" target="_blank">Knockers of Colombia!</a></span><br />
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Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-87873610083264451022016-06-29T20:55:00.001+01:002016-06-29T21:26:12.344+01:00The Hippo Pool - Ngorongoro Crater<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A visit to the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania wouldn't be complete without visiting the hippo pool. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is one of the only areas in the Crater, where you can get out of your vehicle. If there for a picnic breakfast, you can eat outside, basking in the early morning sun.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, later in the day, the kites are known to be circling and so you'll have to stay inside to eat. You can still get out for a wander though, just without food in hand.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When we arrived for our breakfast, we were greeted with the incredible sight of a 'bloat' of hippos just floating around in the pool. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was amazing to see.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On our little wander around, we were also treated to the sight of a large herd of zebra and wildebeest, cautiously approaching the pool to drink.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There were also some colourful grouse on the shores of the lake. At least I think they are a type of grouse. Our guide did tell us what they were, but I didn't write it down, so if you know what they are do let us know in the comments below.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">We also enjoyed a bit of bird spotting. I was particularly taken by the superb starling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was a lovely little pitstop that allowed us the privilege of observing the hippos, while continuing to admire the landscape of the beautiful Ngorongoro crater.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And probably one the best views we've ever had for eat breakfast!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/lions.html" target="_blank">Lions!</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/trip-report-tanzanian-safari.html" target="_blank">Trip Report - Tanzanian Safari</a></span></div>
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Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-72646193742808959462016-06-27T16:57:00.001+01:002016-08-07T15:19:55.734+01:00Trip report: Tanzanian Safari<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our safari in Tanzania was with </span><a href="http://www.kudusafaris.net/tanzania/KS232_baobab-forest_3-notti.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kudu Safaris</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. We had four days with them (although the fourth day was really only driving back from the Ngorongoro Crater to Arusha) and visited Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We were in a 4x4 Landcruiser with 6 seats in the back. Every seat is next to a window, so nobody is stuck in the middle. Not that this mattered, as we were the only ones booked on our trip and so had all six seats to ourselves!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smug to have the whole truck to ourselves!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our driver Lazaro was also our guide and he was very keen to make sure we saw everything. We were incredibly impressed by his ability to identify wildlife far off in the distance.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sarah with our guide Lazaro</td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Day One</b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was quite a long drive from our lodge, just east of Arusha (where we'd stayed overnight after flying in to Kilimanjaro International airport) out to Tarangire National Park. Despite leaving around 8.30am, it was past 11am by the time we entered Tarangire.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zebra in the background, impala in the foreground</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, almost immediately, we were surrounded by zebra, impala, and baboons. It was quite an assault on our senses to be surrounded by so many incredible animals in their home environment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We spent the next 2 and half hours driving around the park and stopping to take pictures or simply observing the elephants, zebra, giraffe, birds - I particularly liked the ostriches - and yet more zebra.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just look at those thighs!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zebra everywhere!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As well as the fauna, the flora wasn't half bad either! We were particularly taken by the infamous baobab tree.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jQOO1IsNJ3E/V3EkcWHBniI/AAAAAAAAEZs/f1zvtbWjzmIRLWufkTK2IAxN4wNUIw_yQCLcB/s1600/IMG_1193.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jQOO1IsNJ3E/V3EkcWHBniI/AAAAAAAAEZs/f1zvtbWjzmIRLWufkTK2IAxN4wNUIw_yQCLcB/s320/IMG_1193.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baobab tree</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The aptly named sausage tree is also one to look out for. The fruit is eaten by an array of mammals, including baboon, elephants and giraffe. It is also used to make a beer like drink.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4210HUUXF0w/V3Em7WxTmAI/AAAAAAAAEaM/xhd354TtmWQSLyxCcC2nKhxIdHZQaHh-QCLcB/s1600/IMG_6282.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4210HUUXF0w/V3Em7WxTmAI/AAAAAAAAEaM/xhd354TtmWQSLyxCcC2nKhxIdHZQaHh-QCLcB/s320/IMG_6282.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sausage tree - the fruit is eaten by baboons, elephants & giraffes</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We found our lodge at around 2 and after being fed and watered, we enjoyed some sunbathing by the pool, before heading out on an evening drive to see more zebra, giraffe, jackal, beautiful birds and the cutest little antelope ever.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Svg9V1wqQq0/V3Em883RlmI/AAAAAAAAEaU/ke_eGAv10u4BNiNRGjh87YL2rzvGUjCMACLcB/s1600/IMG_6285.CR2" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Svg9V1wqQq0/V3Em883RlmI/AAAAAAAAEaU/ke_eGAv10u4BNiNRGjh87YL2rzvGUjCMACLcB/s320/IMG_6285.CR2" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A dik-dik: one of the smallest species of antelope in the world</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Where we stayed</b></i>: We were in the Tarangire Sopa Lodge.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A hyrax in the grounds of the lodge</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We enjoyed seeing the hyrax that had seemed to make the area around the hotel their home, as well as the beautiful birds - particularly the superb starling (yes that's really what its called) -swooping in to see if there was any left over food.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A superb starling</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The pool area was also great for winding down after a hard morning's drive.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Day Two</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Up the next morning we had a couple more hours in Tarangire. We nearly spotted a lion. Well we actually saw some bloodied hyenas with their breakfast, but at first we'd thought they were lions. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uef5DCkPJxs/V3EwtnJVoPI/AAAAAAAAEgg/Dgg-T0O0AjEg_wvWJkrIrFUSV3RQUcZZACKgB/s1600/IMG_6319.CR2" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uef5DCkPJxs/V3EwtnJVoPI/AAAAAAAAEgg/Dgg-T0O0AjEg_wvWJkrIrFUSV3RQUcZZACKgB/s320/IMG_6319.CR2" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not a lion but a hyena and its breakfast</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We enjoyed a bit more of the Tarangire scenery, before heading out to Lake Manyara National Park - famous for its tree climbing lions! I was excited.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately, as I explain in <a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/lions.html">this post</a> we saw no tree climbing lions at Lake Manyara. None</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We did see plenty of elephants, giraffes, impala, wildebeest, buffalo and an array of beautiful birds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The highlight of our visit here was coming across a huge troop of baboons, including some incredibly cute baby ones. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We watched them for a while before heading out and on to the Ngorongoro crater. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lake Manyara was a pleasant enough area to while away a few hours, but was no way near as impressive as Tarangire or the Ngorongoro Crater and I was a little disappointed not to see more while we were there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On our way to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, we stopped at a couple of roadside shops to look at souvenirs. The prices they were trying to sell this stuff for was ridiculous and we didn't see anything we liked enough to start a good haggle, so we moved on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We arrived at the entrance to Ngorongoro to be greeted by a family of baboons, going about their business in the parking area and trying to climb inside the safari trucks to steal food! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Heading in and up to the rim of the crater, we were greeted with this awesome view.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This was also the view from the lodge we stayed at the next two nights - simply breathtaking.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Day Three</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We started at 6am on day three and felt like we were the only ones up as we descended slowly into the crater below. Almost immediately, we had our first encounter with two big male lions out on a morning stroll. It was an <a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/lions.html">unforgettable experience</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And moving on and around the crater, we were overwhelmed by how much we saw. It was simply teeming with game and beautiful wildlife. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After a couple of hours of driving and seeing yet more lions, zebra, hyena, jackal, birds, wildebeest and zebra, we were treated to this beautiful sight for our breakfast stop - a bloat (yes really a bloat, I just looked it up) of hippos floating in this small lake.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bloat of hippos</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We couldn't stop taking pictures. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And this continued for the rest of the day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After having seen a number of lions, our guide turned his attention to trying to find us a rhino. <a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/is-that-bigfoot-no-its-black-rhino-it.html">We did manage to see one but from quite a distance.</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We finally left the crater at around 4.30pm, exhausted but happy with a very full day of safari. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Where we stayed: For nights 2 and 3, we stayed at the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge, which had incredible views into the crater below - a perfect place to unwind at the end of the day.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lobby of the lodge</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Day Four</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Most of day four was travelling back to Arusha and then on to Kilimanjaro airport for our flight to Zanzibar. We did manage to get one last lion sighting in though. A lioness walked towards us and past us on the road as we drove back to the entrance of the park. Unprepared, we only managed to get this shot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Out back on the road, our guide Lazaro pointed out the people whose job it was to guard the crops all night to protect them from elephant and buffalo. I wouldn't fancy my changes against either of these animals!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We stopped at a couple of shops on the way back, managed some limited bargaining and then headed back to Arusha.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Verdict</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We had an incredible time with our guide Lazaro and Kudu Safaris. He was great at spotting the wildlife from far away and our <a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/lions.html">early morning stroll with the lions was incredible</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We enjoyed Tarangire and loved the Ngorongoro Crater. We were a little bit disappointed with Lake Manyara, but overall had a great trip (and we're now saving for our next safari!).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Related posts</b></span><br />
<a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/is-that-bigfoot-no-its-black-rhino-it.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Is that Bigfoot? No it's a black rhino. It really is, I promise</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/lions.html">Lions!</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/jambo-swahili-for-beginners.html" target="_blank">Jambo! Swahili for beginners</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/jaguar.html">Jaguar!</a> </span><br />
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Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-29971651232012407382016-06-23T10:15:00.001+01:002016-06-29T20:57:50.178+01:00Lions!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I guess they weren't at home then?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">At best this sign symbolises false hope. At worst its an outright lie. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I can't remember where I first read that a Tanzanian safari could include seeing the climbing lions, but it got inside my head. And reading our itinerary before we left, I saw again that one of the national parks we were visiting was famous for its climbing lions. So I told everyone that that was what I was going to see, 'climbing lions'. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well we saw none, zero, zilch. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Funnily enough, the climbing lions live in an area where there are lots of trees - a forest, some might call it - and so they are hard to spot and apparently only climb trees when they get really hot. And while it may have been on the warm side for us, these lions are used to a bit of heat and so they stayed hidden in the vegetation below (if they were there at all, I have my suspicions!).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I tried not to be disappointed, particularly as we were surrounded by baboons, giraffe, elephant and countless pretty birds. I really wanted to see a lion though. Like really, really, really and soon decided it didn't matter if it wasn't in a tree.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The following day, we left our lodge on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater at 6am and descended onto the crater floor. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fog rolling over the crater rim</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Not long after we'd got to the bottom our guide took a right and pointed out a jackal in front of us. While we snapped photos of him, we started to hear growling (roaring?) in the distance and the hairs of the back of my neck stood on end. 'Can you hear that?', asked our guide. 'Lions', he said. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Using the binoculars, he spotted two lions in the distance to our left. They were hard to see, even with the binoculars, so I have no idea how he saw them. He then swirled round to the right and spotted another two in that direction - 'two big male', he said. And slowly but surely, these two began making their way towards us. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The two specks on the left are the lions. Wildebeest look on warily</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They seemed wary at first. When they were off in the distance, I could see them through the binoculars stopping to stare at us to suss us out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yet, by the time they reached us on the dirt track, they didn't seem to care about us and didn't mind us escorting them for a while, as they made their way to wherever they needed to be. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lions!!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">In the early morning light, with the fog rolling over the edge of the crater rim, our little stroll with our new feline friends was unforgettable.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking a stroll together</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And the rest of the day in the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">the Ngorongoro Crater was punctuating with lion sightings.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More lions</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We felt quite sorry for these two, who found themselves surrounded by safari trucks.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lions are this way, guys!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But we enjoyed spying on the cubs playing in this little family, although they were quite a distance away.</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uMgWoZgwZW0/V2ug3UMKb-I/AAAAAAAAEXs/nMtYEYiAYHoIBNlDuI8ujOCA7kfzQu9HgCLcB/s1600/IMG_6670.CR2" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uMgWoZgwZW0/V2ug3UMKb-I/AAAAAAAAEXs/nMtYEYiAYHoIBNlDuI8ujOCA7kfzQu9HgCLcB/s320/IMG_6670.CR2" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And these two females sunning themselves were an added bonus.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, nothing really compared to that early morning sighting that started with a roar in the distance, while we watched as they slowly came into view and allowed us to accompany them for a short while. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And who cares if they weren't in a tree!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Have you ever seen a big cat in the wild?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Related posts</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/trip-report-tanzanian-safari.html" target="_blank">Trip report - Tanzanian Safari</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/is-that-bigfoot-no-its-black-rhino-it.html" target="_blank">Is that Bigfoot? No it's a black rhino. (It really is, I promise)</a></span><br />
<a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/the-hippo-pool-ngorongoro-crater.html" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: left;" target="_blank">Hippo Pool - Ngorongoro Crater</a><br />
<a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/jaguar.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Jaguar!</a></div>
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Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484042419296070470.post-54857331787096574512016-06-18T16:09:00.000+01:002016-07-10T09:50:35.721+01:00Is that Bigfoot? No it's a black rhino (It really is, I promise!)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bigfoot or a black African Rhino</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While this photo looks like some forged, far
off, out of focus picture that people bring out to show the existence of
Bigfoot, I can absolutely assure you that this a genuine photo of a Black
African Rhino. I promise. Even if James did accuse it of being a hippo when he
first looked at it through the binoculars, our guide was quick to correct him: 'no no
that is a rhino, my friend'. Judging by the other tourists in the vicinity, he
was not the only guide who was convinced!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everyone trying to spy the rhino! (I became very <br />
jealous of those with the huge camera lenses at this point)</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are only 27 rhinos in the Ngorongoro
Conservation Area, Tanzania, which covers 8,292 sq kilometres and only just over 5,000 in
the world. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Ngorongoro is one of best places to see them in the wild. And numbers
are growing thanks to conservation efforts here. Adult rhinos have no real
predators, but up to about the age of 5, young black rhinos are at risk of being eaten by a lion. In Ngorongoro, the rangers are helping to guard the young rhinos from lions, acting as rhino bodyguards, until they are too big for lions to chance their luck. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is particularly important our guide explained, as it takes quite a long time for rhinos to reproduce. The gestation period of the rhino is 15 months and rhinos only have one calf at a time. Female rhinos only have their first calf at around the age of 6 and so all in all if one baby rhino does get eaten by a lion, it is a real loss to the population. On top of that the silly male rhinos like to fight and have the highest rate of death among mammals of the same species. With only 27 of them in Ngorongoro, I doubt they come across each other often enough for this to be a problem!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To be fair to our guide (and all the other guides who stopped to show their groups the rhino), when it turned to the side, if you looked through the binoculars and squinted a bit, you could definitely see its horn! And I think James did a very good job at getting the photo he did above.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I feel privileged to have seen it, if only from afar and look forward to the day when there are many more rhinos roaming the African plains - as long those males don't keep running in to each other!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To find out more about how you can help rhinos worldwide, <a href="https://www.savetherhino.org/" target="_blank">Save the Rhino</a> is a charity dedicated to rhino conservation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Related posts</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/trip-report-tanzanian-safari.html" target="_blank">Trip report - Tanzanian Safari</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/lions.html" target="_blank">Lions!</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/the-hippo-pool-ngorongoro-crater.html" target="_blank">The Hippo Pool - Ngorongoro Crater</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/doors-of-zanzibar.html" target="_blank">Doors of Zanzibar</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2britsabroad.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/arabian-nights-in-stone-town.html" target="_blank">Arabian nights in Stone Town</a></span></div>
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Sarah http://www.blogger.com/profile/12255739435823271163noreply@blogger.com4