November 2013

Do you know a better place to have a drink? Mirissa

Nooooooo…. tomorrow we will leave Sri Lanka! The second half of our journey in Sri Lanka was also amaaaaaaazing! We loved it at least as much as the first part focusing on the beach life in the east and south coast of the island.

We had an unforgettable day during a Whale watching tour in Mirissa where we spent our last 4 days! Together with Ludwig and Lena from Munich we saw Bryde whales, around 50 Spinner dolphins swimming in front of our boat, so beautifuuuul,  the Blue whale (the biggest animal in the world) and the very rare Orca! These Killer whales have been seen only 6 times in the past 6 years as the water in the Indian ocean is much warmer then the northern seas ( Alaska, Canada, Norway) where they usually live. They only come to these waters to hunt the Blue whale babys.

Every evening we spent at the beach and what could be better than fresh fish? On our menu were Yellow Fin Tuna, Dorade, Red Snapper, Sea Chicken ( right it really tastes like chicken), Giant Scampi and Lobster! DELICIOUS.DELICIOUS.DELICIOUS.

If you are not sure if India is the right place for you then Sri Lanka may be the one!

We really enjoyed it and do strongly recommend visiting this stunning island!

Stay tuned, the updated travel map will be available shortly!

Tea plantation, Haputale

What a wonderful surprise Sri Lanka is!!!

We were expecting little India but except of the similarity of the people, the island has nothing to do with it’s close neighbour. Sri Lanka is more developed and structured making travelling very easy, safe and pleasant.    Again, also here, the people are amazing, we love their happy faces smiling at us….Emilie is the smaller sister of them all.

Within 10 days we watched wild elephants chasing us ( soooo cute anyhow), took amazing steam trains through lush, unforgettable nature with tea plantations, waterfalls, bridges and mountains and are now in the middle of the country, Ella, in a family homestay where monkeys, giant squirrels, bats and mosquitos surround us…..just magical!!!

Last we think that the food deserves to be mantioned ( French gourmet on board:) as the country offers very deliscious and unforgettable spicy dishes, a true delight.

Here our first pictures plus the pictures under PORTFOLIO I – njoy! If you wonder what Patrick has on it’s head, it’s two stichtes as a result of changing the mosquito net in the guest house last week. He is feeling good after a visit to the goverment hospital, treated like a VIP!

Shwedagon pagoda, Yangon

Arriving in Myanmar after only one hour flight, coming from high tech, fancy, chaotic Bangkok, is like traveling back in time. The first thing to notice arriving at night is the lack of light, the simplicity, an immediate “Indian”like flair with different smells….a country with lots of charm! Especially the poeple are incredibly nice, sweet and helpful in Myanmar. We as touristis felt like welcoming attractions!

One thing is for sure: if Myanmar is on your “to do travel list” don’t wait too long to visit as the country is changing really fast. Due to increasing tourism it may lose its authenticity quickly. The good news: probably WIFI will improve :)

Our highlights were:

1. Shewdagon Pagoda in Yangon. We spent 3 hrs admiring this 100m high golden Pagoda ( coated with 750kg of GOLD, 5000 diamonds and 2000 rubies). Breathtaking also because the pagoda was surrounded by thousands of candles, magical!

2. Teak U Bein Bridge: the longest teakwood bridge in the world. Our most beautiful sunset so far, really kitsch but sooooo romantic.

3. difficult to decide so two destinations:
A. Trekking in Hispaw where we slept in a traditional family home and visited different villagers.
B. Inle Lake on a small boat where we could see the traditional fishermen, water villages and temples.

We spent only 2 weeks in Myanmar as especially the accomodation was expensive considering being around the world travelers. If you compare the quality of rooms and the USD they cost its a very bad exchange rate :)

Nevertheless Myanmar is worth a visit and we are happy that it was on our travel route.

After all this text, enjoy the pictures below and under PORTFOLIO I

Keep visiting, the updated world map with our next destination coming soon.

Hug, Em & Patrick