OMG, did I really not post about these places? I feel like I did. Hmmmm. Ok, let’s see if I remember since we’ve been to so many places since.
SRI LANKA
One day in Sri Lanka was definitely not enough. Though it’s a small island, there is a lot happening here. We went to the elephant sanctuary here but it was a bit disappointing. The elephants were in chains but I have to give them some credit for saving some of them. Trying to look on the bright side. They sell some of the elephants to zoos around the world and they “rent” them to different temples for celebrations. So, it’s not exactly a sanctuary as we would define them.
We also visited a Buddhist temple. This place was a hoarder’s dream. They get donations of everything from people around the world. So. They just stack them up. It was crazy !
Then, there’s a shrine right in the middle of a street. Actually, there are many of these and the streets just have to go around them. We had an amazing Sri Lankan meal- so so spicy- and then we were done for the day.
One thing we noticed was that there was a lot of construction going on. Would love to see this place in about 10 years. Most of the money is coming from China (of course).
Then, with the help of our new friend Sarah, I celebrated my 52nd birthday!
Next, on to Maldives. We had 2 days there so decided to go to a nearby island and spend the night and get some internet action. OK, I swear I did a post about these 2 places but oh well. I don’t see it.
So, the Maldives. Our first impression of Male wasn’t great. Lots of trash and gas/diesel fumes. As we were leaving Male for Paradise Island, there was so much trash in the water. Justin talked to a representative from the port and he told us that a tax is collected from all tourists and the money is given to a NGO who then does the clean up. Yes, the water probably is cleaned frequently, otherwise it would be a lot worse than it is. Made us feel a little better. But, why the automatic straws with all the drinks? We were happy to see at the local Burger King there was a notice that no lids or straws would be provided unless requested. Yaaayyy!!
Don’t get me wrong, it was beautiful here. But, it was hot and the water was hot so it wasn’t even refreshing to jump in the water. Unless you want nothing to do, which I’m sure some people want, I would not recommend this place. There is good diving in the area so if you’re an avid diver or snorkeler, a couple of days is enough. Our friends who spent 5 days there had a good time diving and relaxing. Just depends on what you want. Island hoping would be great. We wanted to go to the under water restaurant but it was a bit far for us.
The last picture is of the 5 of us squeezing into this crappy old taxi. So, including driver there were 6 of us. We all survived!!
Higman Travels 