This trip report is created by us using a few emails Helen and Peter Preston sent us after their second tour with Walk With Jith. Thank so much for both of you for your valuable info and effort.
Peter and Helen Preston with Upali
From: Peter Preston
Sent: Monday, October 3, 2016 8:15 PM
To: Prasanjith Caldera
Subject: Thanks and Thoughts
Dear Jith,
We are safely and happily back in our other home in South Africa. We arrived here on Thursday afternoon and all was well in our little house and garden. The two Emirates flights were fine, especially as we had unoccupied seats next to us and were able to get some sleep. We did not need to eat the Emirates “rice and curry” as we had been so well fed at lunch time! Thank you so very much for inviting us to join you and your wife at the Kingsbury – such a lovely hotel and such delicious food. It was most kind of you and greatly appreciated. We so enjoyed meeting your wife and her friend, both looking so elegant in their lovely saris. A couple of photos for you are attached, also two with Upali, which could you kindly pass on to him, (bird ones to follow).
Now some thoughts about our most enjoyable second visit to your lovely country...................................
For us this time, it worked well that we did the accommodation bookings, and that you arranged for Upali to drive us. He was excellent; not only his careful and safe driving, but also having such good eyes for birds and knowledge about them. He and Peter had many a discussion on sightings. He was always pleasant, friendly and helpful and very accommodating to our suggestions. I was pleased that only at Wilpattu was accommodation not available for him, but that did not matter as we were in the camp, and apparently he was advised where to stay and he enjoyed the company of other drivers and some good bird watching. In Jaffna he and the only other driver had one of the hotel rooms each. Of course we paid him for his outside accommodation at Wilpattu.
Helen Preston with Jith and his wife.
Our Accommodation.
We have done Booking.com reviews on all of them which you might like to look up and are planning to also do Trip Advisor also. For your information, however, here are some additional comments which I hope you might find useful.
Villa Hundira, Negombo.
We loved it and would highly recommend as boutique accommodation: it is not budget by any means. It is right on the edge of the lagoon and has its own stream with lots of fish running through the beautifully laid out garden. In fact the whole place is beautifully designed and very tastefully decorated with locally produced crafts and antiques. The owner is Swedish and well known as an architect in Colombo, married to a charming and very hospitable Sri Lankan lady and they try to make their guest house like a homestay. Some of the upstairs suites are stunning! The food had to be pre ordered as they buy fresh ingredients and was very good. The staff, too, were most helpful and efficient. For someone who wants a lovely introduction to Sri Lanka not too far from the airport it is delightful. They are helping local women financially by setting up the production of some lovely craft items. There is a small shop selling their products just outside the exit from the downstairs supermarket in Crescat.
Hotel Sigiriya
We enjoyed being back in Sigiriya and managed some good bird watching on the lake and from the road up to the Rock. The Hotel is, as you know, a large resort and the view of the Rock behind the swimming pool is stunning, and the garden setting is delightful. On the plus side the buffet dinner and breakfast are both very good with extensive choices. The staff are friendly and efficient and the manager was on hand to ask if we were satisfied with the hotel. The negative, about which we told him, was that our “superior” double room was not very superior. It was very “tired”, with chipped wood, the bathroom needed renovation , and one of the seat cushions was very dirty! We would suggest if you are using the hotel to try to check whether a room has been renovated or not.
Amaranthe Bay Resort
We were not able to go to “Trinco” last time and really wanted to see it on this second visit and were not disappointed with Trinco itself. We loved visiting Fort Frederick, the Koneswaram Kovil and the Swami Rock. Being a holiday weekend, there were lots of pilgrims which added to the atmosphere. We enjoyed seeing something of the town and had an excellent seafood lunch at the Old Dutch Bank Cafe on Inner Harbour road. Upali had driven us along the coast towards Pigeon Island and it was interesting to see the beaches and the Commonwealth War cemetery. The resort itself is beautifully set out amongst gardens with an infinity pool and positioned on the edge of a lagoon. While it does not have a beach, guests have access to the Cinnamon Blu hotel’s beach next door which is lovely. However we were mislead by the terminology in Booking.com and found our “mini suite” was at the back of the hotel with no view other than a wall and it was dark and uncomfortable. Our disappointment was apparent to the friendly check in clerk who arranged for us a free upgrade to a really lovely suite complete with views of the lagoon and a glass walled jacuzzi! Most of the rooms seem to be like this. Some of the staff need further training and one had the slight impression that the resort still needs to get through the “teething” process before it is fully functional....there was no hot water around 6-00pm on our second night , just when we needed a shower or jacuzzi (perhaps other rooms had used up all the supply?)
PJ Hotel , Jaffna
As with Trinco we felt we would like to see the north. We very much enjoyed the journey to Jaffna on mainly good, quiet roads. We had something of a problem in finding the hotel which is on the Peninsula, not in the town. It needs to provide better instructions on location. However we would recommend the hotel as it was so lovely being in the countryside, the staff were very attentive, and the meals home-cooked and delicious. The only slight negative was the bedrooms are on the small side. Upali drove us round Jaffna town and we saw most of the sights before crossing the impressive causeway to the islands (some lovely Hindu temples) – plenty of waders to be seen although nothing out of the ordinary. We also explored the countryside of the peninsula which is intensively cultivated and very interesting to see.
We really enjoyed seeing a very different part of Sri Lanka and signs of the civil war are largely disappearing. On leaving we had another interesting and easy drive to Mannar where we saw the ancient baobab tree and then had the bonus of bird watching at the Giant Tank.
Saji Sami Hotel, Mihintale.
We really enjoyed our stay here and liked being away from the business and crowds of Anuradhapura, although it is so close by. The hotel has a pretty garden, but the big plus is the marvellous view of the main stupa at the top of the hill and which is floodlit at night. We had the lovely garden cottage which comes complete with small plunge pool, although the hotel now has a brand new, and large swimming pool. It is family run and everyone is very helpful. The meals were not outstanding, but perfectly adequate. As you know we went up the hill early in the morning (missing the first flight of steps, thanks to Upali) before any pilgrims had arrived and we were fascinated by the remains and history and the lovely setting in the frangipani trees. Nothing on the scale of Anuradhapura, but we recommend it if guests are staying two nights in the area. Good price for the room and meals and good birding too!!
Big Game Camp Wilpattu
It was short drive to Wilpattu where we were met by a Jeep to take us to the Camp and Upali was directed to a place for him to stay for the two nights. The camp was well set out among the bush with a large area for eating out at night round a camp fire. The staff were very good, especially our naturalist – Thilanka and Dharmasiri, our Jeep driver. We went on two game drives and as you know saw a variety of birds as well as animals, including a leopard. We also went on a nature walk, but declined the night walk – both of these are complimentary. The food was good and plentiful, although we would not recommend the barbecued pork!! The main negative was that our tent with own small bathroom should really have been replaced with a newer one. We had a mosquito net, but there were no mossies about which was just as well as there were numerous holes in the canvas. Also the tent had not been properly cleaned. We put this in our report. Taken over all we do think Wilpattu is a good choice and there are plenty of guides available to take tourists into the very large park. Alternative accommodation would have to be investigated, should you choose to go bird watching there.
Udekki
We joined our friends here for the weekend before going into Colombo and loved it. A very low key, laid back place with limited accommodation, but wonderful seafood, especially the local crab. It is right on the beach and the dolphin and whale watching in season excellent by all accounts. It is not cheap, but full board and most drinks are included.
Colombo
Quite an eye opener as it is so much more sophisticated than we recalled from our last very brief visit. Our one recommendation for your guests would be the guided walk round the fort area, which was very well done and ended with a gin and tonic overlooking the port at the Grand Oriental Hotel! ...( Contact Colombo City Walks on xxxxxxxx ...Shenelle Miles is their good guide...cost quite expensive at SLR 4000 per person, but for 3 hours and a drink at the end it was worth it) Also warn people hiring tuk tuks in Colombo that drivers don’t know all the tourist places and in particular seem to find it difficult to follow English pronunciations
of place names. Better to get someone to write required destinations in Singalese beforehand.
Do hope some of this is useful to you and we do hope we can come back and explore Sri Lanka even further some time in the future.
With our very best wishes to you and your wife and don’t forget you are welcome to come and stay with us in our cottage in England!
Helen and Peter.
PS Peter will say something about birds when we send bird pictures.
Eurasian Curlew
Three more birds from our memorable trip.
1) White Throated Kingfisher. At small water trough in Fort Frederick, Trincomalee.
2) Crested Serpent Eagle. On tree by the roadside at Giant’s Tank near Mannar.
3) Pair of Spotted Doves . At hotel swimming pool on Kalpitiya Peninsula.
From: Peter Preston
Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2016 10:57 AM
To: Prasanjith Caldera
Subject: Some Bird Photos
Dear Jith,
Many thanks for your e-mail of a week ago. Apologies for the delay but we have been very busy with having our house painted and sorting out our small but rather overgrown garden.Plants and trees grow a lot when we are away we find! We have two bird feeders filled with sugar water which sun birds and white-eyes particularly like.
Our servers in UK and SA are rather slow and we can only really send out 3 photos at a time...so...here the first three are. I will send more later.
1) Brown Fish Owl. Just caught a frog in the small dam in front of us in Wilpattu National Park. Quite a surprise when he/she? swept silently out of a tree and into the water.
2)Whimbrel. On coastal flats in Jaffna Peninsula.
3) Crested Serpent Eagle.. juv. In Wilpattu.
Hope these come through all right,
With best regards to you and your family
Peter and Helen
Crested Serpent Eagle Juvenile