If you have been following along on my travel adventures in 2019, you may know that after a 4-month journey through south-east asia, I came back to Melbourne in mid-August quite unexpectedly, yet it was what my soul needed at the time. You can read more about the challenges I went through here, which then led to healing and taking off on another travel adventure to Phuket, Thailand.
After a few days in Thailand, I then headed off to Sri Lanka, which ended up being 12 incredible days that will always be ingrained into the beautiful memories inside of my heart.
When I left on my travel journey at the start of 2019, I set the intention that I would go wherever my intuition takes me. Never did I think that I would visit Sri Lanka, but while I was healing from depression back in Melbourne in August, one day I suddenly heard a voice say: “go to Sri Lanka”.
A value I live my life by is to “follow your intution no matter what”. While this idea seemed so ‘random’, it really wasn’t, but instead divine guidance to heal and lead me onto the path of my dreams again. Straight away, I searched up tours online, and found one by One Life Adventures which grabbed by attention. That very night, I paid for the tour and was set to go.
(P.S: if you would also like to book the same tour I went on with One Life Adventures, enter the code “JASMINE50” when booking to get $50 off the Sri Lanka tour!)
When I was in high school, I had several friends whose ethnicities were Sri Lankan, so I did have a basic knowledge about their culture and found it fascinating. However, before travelling around this country, I had NO idea what to expect. And that was truly such a gift. Because I had no expectations, Sri Lanka absolutely blew me away, and this trip was better than I could have ever imagined.
It turned out that my tour group, which usually would have around 20 people, only had 5 other girls, which made up for 6 of us in total (plus our tour leader and local guide). 3 of us were Australian (including myself), and the other three from England, and the small group size was just perfect. Over the 12 days, we really bonded well and developed new friendships. To this day, we still keep in contact via the group chat we made.
After this unforgettable trip which took us all around Sri Lanka, I discovered that is country is by far one of the most underrated places for travellers. I had never heard too much about Sri Lanka in the ‘travel world’ (especially on social media), yet it is such a diverse land, filled with beautiful people, culture, scenery, and food. We experienced mountains to waterfalls, beaches to national parks, villages to cities, schools to forts, biking to hiking, and cooking to seeing elephants. While not everything went to plan, such as having our scenic train ride cancelled, that comes with the adventure of travelling and I’m sure it happened for us.
There were so many highlights of this trip, including visiting a local elementary school, riding a bike through a village, swinging on a rope under palm trees and swimming in one of the tallest waterfalls in Sri Lanka. If I had to choose one best highlight though, it would definitely be the safari we got to experience. In fact, we got to go on two safaris, the most memorable being the second one in Udawalawe National Park. It was my first safari experience, and seeing wild elephants up close was truly so, so magical.
I love to follow the path less taken in life. When you listen to your heart and do what you want, not what others say you ‘should’, life rewards you immensely. I really learned this lesson on my travel adventures in 2019, and I hope you feel inspired to go wherever you feel called to visit. There is a reason for everything, and this trip to Sri Lanka (and all the events that came before, during and after it) taught me many lessons to grow and heal.
In this blog post you will find more photos and details of my trip to Sri Lanka, a country that left me with a deep impression and new love for curries and dahl.
{P.S: if you would like to book this tour, use the code ‘JASMINE50’ at checkout to get $50 AUD off your booking! Here is the booking link: https://www.onelifeadventures.com.au/sri-lanka/ }
Lots of love,
OVERVIEW
- When: 24th September – 4th October 2019
- Season: Wet along coast; dry inland
- Climate: Cool inland in the mountainous areas, hot and humid along the coast
- Clothing: Mostly light clothing, such as t-shirts, light tops, and shorts. Also bring a sweater for the mountains and long pants. Recommended to bring flip flops, runners for daily activities, insect repellant, and swimwear too.
DAY 1
- Arrival in Colombo
- Exchange cash
- Get SIM card
- Picked up by driver arranged by One Life Adventures
- Arrived at Pegasus Reef Hotel and met with the other group members
- Had dinner together and my first authentic Sri Lankan meal.
DAY 2
- Early wake up and drove for 4 hours to Danbulla Rock Temple.
- Stop over for lunch at a Sri Lankan restaurant.
- Checked into our next hotel called Sorella Hotel and Spa in Sigiriya.
- Hiked up Pidurangala Rock and watched the sunset.
DAY 3
- Hiked up Sigiriya Rock.
- Had lunch at a local Sri Lankan restaurant.
- Went on our first wildlife Safari in Minneriya National Park.
DAY 4
- Travelled from Sigiriya to Kandy.
- Did a Sri Lankan cooking class at Euphoria Spice.
- Arrived in Kandy and checked into our hostel.
- Rode in tuk tuks and visited the Bahirawakanda Temple.
DAY 5
- Visited Temple of the Tooth Relic.
- Visited a Tea Plantation and tried Ceylon Tea.
- Stopover for lunch at a beautiful restaurant with a waterfall view.
- Arrived in Ella and checked into our new hotel.
DAY 6
- Our free day in Ella. As a group we decided to hike to Diyaluma Waterfall, the 3rd tallest waterfall in Sri Lanka.
DAY 7
- Visited Nine Arch Bridge.
- Arrived in Udawalwe National Park and went on our second safari.
- Arrived at our beautiful glamping spot to stay overnight.
DAY 8
- Arrived in Mirissa and checked in our hotel.
- Spent the afternoon relaxing at the beach.
- Visited Coconut Tree Hill for sunset.
DAY 9
- Woke up with a fever so had to rest in for the whole day. In the morning, the rest of my group went whale watching.
- Had lunch at Ceylon Sliders.
- Arrived in Hikkaduwa.
DAY 10
- Bike riding around a local village.
- Visited a local pre-school that is supported by One Life Adventures.
- Visited the Dog Care Clinic.
- Visited Galle.
DAY 11
- Visited the Tsumani Memorial.
- Visited a Turtle Sanctuary.
- Arrived in Colombo.
- Checked into our hostel for the night.
DAY 12
- Arrived at the airport and left Sri Lanka.
