My Two Girls – All About Zara and Zaria

The post and summary of the trip can be found here.

This was what we covered on this post. (Credit : Map taken from google map)

♥24th March 2013♥

We have to leave the hotel, Fresco Water Villa, early as we have a lot of distant to cover. The girls were complaining that they don’t even get to enjoy the hotel and swim.

Fresco Water Villa. Our big triple room. The girls love the big beds all joined together, so that they can do forward roll, backward roll on cushioned surface

Our room (bottom right) with a verandah

Oh well, we have 6hrs (6hrs journey with minimal stop. We took 8hrs because we had so many photography stops made.) of driving to cover. Swimming can wait.

We made many stops along the way. First was at Dambulla, where we saw a peaceful demonstration against UN declaration of Sri Lanka Human Right Violation. The first demonstration witnessed by the girls.

Traditional drummers

Monks

Policeman controlling traffic flow

Women demonstrating against UN declaration of Sri Lanka Human Right Violation

Tuk Tuk’s convoy at the demonstration

The hubs participating in photographing the event.

Next stop, Dambulla Wholesale Market, this is the largest vegetable wholesale market in Sri Lanka. All kind of produce from the farms in the central district are distributed here.

Stack of betel leaves

Areca nuts

A stall set up to sell Areca nut & Betel Leave wraps

Sacks of Fresh carrots

Sacks of Green chillies

Sacks of Potatoes with smiley workers

Even when carrying heavy load, they didn’t forget to smile.

While waiting for hubs, a friendly owner, skinned 2 carrots for the girls to munch on. The girls, not really a fan of raw carrots, had to munch on it so as not to be rude (under my nudging and ‘glaring’).

Such is the kindness of the smiley Sri Lankans.

We went passed Kandi without stopping, and then the roads started to be winding as we began to ascend to the hill countries.

Near one of the estates, there was a Hindu celebration going on. Lots of locals where participating, and then van/car loads of tourists stopped to watch. We were one of them.

Local spectating the celebration

OMG! Men suspended on hooks!

Women with pierced cheeks who seemed to be in a trance, danced along

There were lots of cheering, screaming, drumming, dancing. The girls were afraid after a while, I have to bring them away from the crowd and had Asanka help watch over them.

The local children seemed to enjoy themselves

The star of the celebration was this man. He has lots of hooks on his body

Women were crying and cheering/wailing for him

After a while, I myself got uncomfortable, with all the drumming, the chanting, the trance dancing, and seeing so many men suspended on hooks.

We drove on, and arrived at Nuwara Eliya, a little scenic town which has very strong British influence.

We only had a short toilet stop, because it’s still a long way to Haputale.

Roads got more and more winding, and I got sick a few times until I moved to the front passenger seat. I breathed a sigh of relief, when we finally arrived at Haputale.

More than eight hours car journey, and it’s finally over! Everybody was so happy, we started jumping for joy, starting with Asanka.

Then the girls.

Our hotel for the night, Melheim Resort is 15 minutes away from Haputale town centre. We passed by a small village before arriving at the hotel, and we saw boys playing cricket (the most popular sport in Sri Lanka) with their self made bat.

The Junior Cricket Team

After a couple of photos taken, 2 brave boys came forward and asked, “Pen? Pen?” (asking us if we have pens on us to give them).

We only have one (not enough for them), so we told them no. The boys asked then, “Dollar? Dollar?”; and got told off by Asanka.

We have some snacks brought from Malaysia with us, so I got the girls to pass the boys a bottle of Pringles. The boys, happily took it and distributed the Pringles with his friends, such a gem they are, for their willingness to share.

The girls were so happy to arrive at Melheim Resort. Too dark to enjoy the view, but we could imagine how beautiful it is. Luckily we have Asanka booked the room with half board, we had a good dinner and then an early night.

Why Sri Lanka of all places? The hubs has been there for work a couple of years back, and he thought it would be a great experience for the girls too.

We could have seen more if we’d gone for 2 weeks, but because we were claiming airmiles, and the promo that we took required travelling to be done before April 1st, so we went for a week during the March holidays instead.

A lot of research and planning went in before the trip. We had to look at the attractions of the country, read up Tripadvisor forum, planned out our itinerary, contacted a couple of drivers/guides, checked with them if our itinerary is doable and got them to quote us, then booked the hotels etc etc.

We eventually decided to only cover 1/4 of Sri Lanka, so that we don’t have to rush through things, and then also confirmed to go with Asanka Deepal (email : ashanika7984@yahoo.com), who’ll be our guide/driver for our trip there).

This was where we’d been during our week there.

Credit : Map from Google Map

These posts are to document the trip.

Part 1 : Day 1 & 2 Sigiriya
Part 2 : Day 3 Sigiriya to Happutale
Part 3 : Day 4 Happutale
Part 4 : Day 5 Saraii Village, Tissa Wewa, Kirinda, Yala Safari
Part 5 : Day 6 : Hambantota Salt Flats and The Southern Coast
Part 6 : Day 7 : Galle and surrounding area
Part 7 : Day 8 Appa Villa

Sri Lanka besides being blessed with lots of natural resources, beautiful sceneries, abundance of wild life, it has beautiful and friendly people too. You will in the posts see that we took lots of photos of the friendly people and their wide / broad smiles.

We all thought that it’s a very beautiful country, and relatively cheap (if you don’t go for high end hotels and eat in restaurants meant for tourists).

If you are planning for a trip to Sri Lanka, based on our experience, take note of the below :

1) When planning your itinerary using Google Map, factor in 40% more travel time as the roads there are mainly trunk roads like the photo below, and cars usually go at about ~45km/hour.

Sri Lanka roads are mainly trunk roads, with lots of raintrees lining the roads. Just like how it was in Malaysia about 30 years ago. Very green, very scenic.

2) Bring along chocolates and pens, you never know whom you will meet on your trip. Little children from poorer areas may ask you for pens as gifts, and the women (tea pickers) may ask you for chocolates. We were not told, and didn’t prepare any, I would have love to distribute boxes of colour pencils, stickers or just pens to the friendly children we met.

3) If you are hiring a driver/guide, you may want to ask him if he has any hotels to recommend. They can get pretty good deal and they know where to stay best. Take their recommendation, check the review on Tripadvisor, then make your decisions/choices. Most of their recommendation comes with drivers’ accommodation, it’ll help and ensure your driver’s/guide’s accommodation is taken care as well.

We like Sri Lanka so much, we may go back again soon. Next time to the cultural triangle and then to the east coast.

The posts and summary for the whole trip, can be found here.

This was what we covered on this post. (Credit : Map taken from google map)

♥22nd March 2013♥

Our flight was a late night flight, we arrived passed midnight and took a taxi to Summerside Residence at Negombo, recommended and booked by Asanka, our guide/driver; the hotel is about 20mins away from the airport.

It was straight to bed upon arrival.

♥23rd March 2013♥

We have an early start, after a very generous portion of breakfast at Summerside Residence, Asanka came to pick us up to start our journey to Sigiriya.

Although I’d already seen his photos on Facebook, and could imagine how he was; I’m glad that Asanka, whom I’d exchanged probably 30 emails with to plan our trip, turned out to be a pleasant young chap.

On Google map Negombo to Sigiriya is 2.5 hours away. In Sri Lanka, as the roads mainly are trunk roads, and cars usually drive at about ~45km/hour, we were told to factor in another 40% travel time. Hence, the journey with all the lunch/tea, toilet, photo-taking stops, was about 5hours for us.

Our first stop was at a road side stall, as Asanka was eager to let us try King Coconuts, which are only found in Sri Lanka.

King Coconut

The stall besides selling king coconuts, offer corn boiled in a blackened cauldron over wood fire.

And the owner made Roti as well, cooked over a make shift stove.

Who needs Le Creusset when you have this?

I thought Thai coconuts taste better, more ‘fragrant’. However, the lady’s roti and her coconut sambal was really good! Her sambal is the best of all those I’d tasted later in the hotels/restaurants.

We arrived at Sigiriya at 2:30pm. Went to look at the Citadel of Sigiriya or the Lion Rock from afar, just so we know what to expect, and then checked into our hotel, Fresco Water Villa, for a short rest.

Vegetable shops like these are common in Sri Lanka.

Traditional Sri Lankan masks sold in a little shop around Sigiriya.

The Citadel of Sigiriya or the Lion Rock can seen from afar

Tuk Tuks waiting for customers. You can see The Sigiriya Citadel far away on the right.

After a short rest in the hotel (we did, the girls just jumped around on the beds, o.O”), we headed to Sigiriya, which is best visited in the evening.

About Sigiriya (taken from the entrance ticket) :
Sigiriya is a unique landscape city, created in the 5th century by King Kashyapa embracing a 200 meter rock out crop and its surrounding with nature driven architecture composed of builidings, pathways, terraces, ponds, fountains, paintings and sclupture. The are more than 1000 hand written poems on the mirror wall written by visitors to Sigiriya from 7th-14th century. The UNESCO declared this a World Heritage site in 1982.

The entrance fee is USD30/head, children are half price. Asanka told us there are ~1200 steps to climb to get to the top, I was hoping the girls will not give up half way.

After paying our entrance fee and we were about to enter the gardens, it started pouring! We had to stand and wait at the sheltered entrance for the rain to stop.

There were lots of school children going for field trips there. They got drenched but didn’t seem to be bothered by it.

God was at our side, it poured for 30mins, and the stopped. The rain cool the place down, so making our walk in the gardens as well as the climbing more pleasant.

We met with many group of students. The shy ones would smile, and the brave ones would ask us, “Where are you from?” Most of them were very willing to have their photos taken, although some would shy away.

The gardens was huge, we didn’t have time to explore because the ground was soggy and wet after the rain, and it was getting a little late, we had to rush ourselves to the Lion Rock to start our climb (Remember? We have to climb 1200 steps!) to complete everything before dusk.

Some of the steps were carved out from rock, some were added later for visitors. But there were lots (and I mean LOTS) of stairs to climb! We had to do it very carefully because they were wet and slippery, not to mention we have to navigate pass throngs of people.

The spiral stairs leading up to the Fresco

We arrived at the famous Sigiriya rock painting, or Frescoes. The painting of the ‘Apsaras’ (Sanskrit : Celestial Maidens) were done in the 5th Century, some still beautifully preserved.

Some have been vandalized.

Then we went passed the Mirror Wall. Made from a kind of porcelain, it was so well polished that the King could see himself whilst he walked alongside it. Visitors to the rock during 7th-14th century wrote on the wall, but I couldn’t really identify the writings (they look like scratches on the wall to me).

After climbing more steps, and some seemingly dangerous path (one side is the rock wall, the other side a railing separating you from the ground ~100m below), we reached the Lion’s Mouth, only the paws and the some steps are left now.

And more steps to climb to reach the top of the rock, where the King’s palace was supposed to be.

Half way up, Zaria started getting edgy because she was getting afraid and wanted to turn back. She was in tears but pushed on because I told her no one was going to go back down with her.

And we made it to the top, the whole family! Zaria too felt exhilarated with her achievement.

Since it was getting dark, we have to start descending, climbing the whole 1200 steps again downwards.

The Sigiriya Citadel at sunset.

Was it worth the climb? The ticket price? Definitely. It’s a must go when in Sri Lanka!

After this, we were very tired, had dinner at the hotel, and went to bed early.

It used to take me a day or two to overcome jet lag when I frequently traveled to USA (that was ages ago, now the frequency has gone down, my last trip was 5 years ago).

Then I learnt from my colleague the way he effectively prevents Jet Lag, so here is what I did in my recent trip to Houston for work, where the flight time was ~22hrs one way (KL->Dubai->Houston) excluding wait time during transit, and the time difference is 13hrs.

I went to the clinic to get sleeping pills.

I took one one pill from Dubai to Houston, and slept about 6hrs. Being a light sleeper, it would have been very difficult for me to sleep for such a long stretch without a sleeping pill.

Then upon arrival, on that night itself, I took another, so that I get full 8hrs sleep. The following day, was just another day to me. No Jet Lag.

I did the some coming back. From Houston to Dubai, I took one pill, to have a few hours sleep. Then on the night I reached home and the night after, I took a sleeping pill each to adjust back my sleeping time/hours.

It was more difficult to adjust when I came back, but with 1 or 2 naps later, I’m back to normal on Day 3.

Try it on your next long haul flight.

It’s loud, it’s proud, it’s Rhodes’ answer to the craziest of clubbing destinations, it’s Faliraki.

Faliraki is the Nicki Minaj of the party rocking world stage. There’s no time for anything a little bit low key. Faliraki is unapologetic, its events are epic, and the weather is just another lovely little perk.

Whenever you travel from May onwards, Rhodes is gonna ensure that you’re bathing on the blue flag Faliraki beach in 30 degree C heats. Thanks to its nifty location on the cusp of the Med and the Aegean Sea, the east coast of the island is absolutely scorching.

And when we say hot, we’re talking FHM and Cosmo Top 10 hot – pack your beach binoculars.
Whether you’re a 24/7 party person, or you prefer to chill in the day in preparation for some massively messy nights on the town, Faliraki is happy to oblige.

Right through from Monday to Sunday, there’s a real weekend vibe in the air in Faliraki. The feel good factor is brimming from the beach to the bars, and everyone’s around for the same reason – to let their hair down and do Faliraki like the sun ain’t gonna rise.

UV and Foam parties, silent arenas, and skool discos – book with a reputable clubbing holiday company and you are in for some seriously sensational shenanigans.

Get on board with the reps and be guided round not one, but two strips. Just in case, you know, one wasn’t enough. Bars such as KGB, Climax and Tropical are where debauchery goes down.

You’ve not done mentally messy until you’ve done Faliraki. It might be the liveliest and loudest of the Euro clubbing scenes, but that’s why we love it, and it’s also why thousands of diehard disco freaks flock back year after year.

How did your March holiday go? We went on a holiday and here are sketches done by Zaria on the places we stayed and the things she saw during the holidays.

Know where we went? Wait for posts which I’ll put up later.

Planning a holiday somewhere exotic this year or next? Whatever you fancy, there’s a magical array of destinations on offer to some of the world’s most beautiful and exotic locations. And what’s more, you can visit many of these gorgeous gems through a package holiday tour operator, which helps to make things that little bit easier.

There’s the dreamy shores of Thailand, magical Mauritius, and glorious Goa – a place that epitomises paradise. Located on the west coast of India, this glorious corner of the world is home to lush green jungles and a fabulous coastline. Florida is another exotic gem and, away from the hubbub of the theme parks and rollercoasters, a visit to the dreamy Florida Keys is an absolute must. Here you can paddle around tiny islands to your heart’s content, bathe in bath-warm waters or enjoy a refreshing sundowner in chic Miami.

Then there’s the heavenly desert-island style beaches of the Maldives, which are like a lost paradise. Here you can sink your toes into powder-soft sands, sit back under the shade of a gently swaying palm, or dip beneath the sparkling surface of the Indian Ocean to explore a magnificent underwater world that’s teeming with marinelife.

Whatever you fancy, paradise doesn’t have to cost the earth. You can find cheap Goa holidays and affordable trips to Florida by scouring the deals online, and searching for last-minute departures. If you look for holidays departing within the next few weeks you’ll find that many packages have had their prices slashed and, while you might not find anything quite as cheap as a budget trip to Benidorm, you can often find some good deals that helps to make things that little bit more affordable.

And what’s more, any saving you make can be put on one side to enjoy when you get there, giving you more to spend on day trips, excursions, or perhaps on those exotic Miami cocktails…

During year end (yeah, this is back dated, but just enjoy the photos), we tried to plan as many activities for the girls to occupy their holidays as well as to use up our annual leave meaningfully. One of the places we went to was Farm In The City, located in Sri Kembangan.

We took a family package, which came out to about RM98 (if I recalled correctly) for 4 of us, and then we added another adult ticket as we brought along Minerva, our helper.

The girls love it! It’s better than the zoo (animals are not caged up), or Sunway Petting Zoo. The animals are healthy, and the girls get really close to the animals.

Check out the photos, and have a look at the variety of animals visitors can get close to.

Feeding a big gigantic tortoise.

The birds we saw were more interesting than that found in the KL Bird Park, and what’s better than being able to get so close to them. Touching them, feeding them, seeing them perform tricks etc.

Beautiful bird.

Parrot being fed by its handler via the mouth

Getting a chance to feed the bird, and the girls get to pat it.

Feeding a colourful pigeon

Girls feeding the birds, although they were a bit afraid of being pecked.

White peacock

Beautiful bird

Pigeon

The children were able to get close to the animals, observe them, photograph them and touch them.

A cheeky ram standing on its hind legs when being fed vegetables.

They had lots of fun feeding this huge buffalo with the park ranger.

They spent a lot of time feeding the rabbits, carrying them, petting them. If it wasn’t closure time (and the rabbits have to be returned to their hutches), they would have stayed there forever!

There’s a drain like stream filled with ‘longkang fish’ (Malay : fish drain) for visitors to try to fish them with a net.

Friendly park rangers were stationed everywhere to help and assist visitors.

We got to feed some lemurs too (the monkeys found in Madagascar cartoon), but they were very shy and quick to dash off after they got their food.

There’s a chicken hatchery to see newly hatched chickens.

I thought the girls’ favourite would be patting the rabbits, but the best has yet to come!

At the end of the farm, there were some smart and well-trained macaws waiting to be fed seeds, carried around, and Zara liked this part the most.

The parrot giving its handler a kiss.

This naughty one kept trying to pry off metal from us. It tried to peck off my bracelet, and then when Zara handled it, it tried to peck on Zara’s glasses frame.

Farm In The City is absolutely worth a visit. Another place the girls want to go again and again.

I do hope they keep up the good work, and continue to keep their animals healthy.

One insensitive and uncivilized parent, sent his/her very sick son (feverish + watery eye) to Chinese enrichment class for 7 years old, the same class that my 6 year old (I still call her six year old because she’s just turned 6 in Dec 28th 2012) goes to.

Maybe the parent didn’t want the son to loose out in that 1 lesson.
Maybe the parent didn’t want to ‘waste money’ paying for that 1 lesson that the son would miss.
Maybe the parent didn’t even know the son was sick to begin with.

Anyway, she/he sent the son to class, and at least infected 2 children in the class with the boy’s virus. One of them was Zaria, the other Zaria’s classmate who also goes to the same enrichment class.

Zaria had fever and conjunctivitis.

And because I looked after her the time when she was ill, I caught it too.

And because Zara slept in the same room as us, she too caught the germs!

8 freaking trips to the clinic, 1 trip to the hospital, 2 blood tests done, 5 types of liver poison antibiotic prescribed (only 4 reluctantly consumed), numerous eye drops and cream, 1 IV antibiotic, anti-inflamation syrup/pill, and etc etc (which we didn’t bother to take);

Why? All because some stupid and insensitive parent decided his/her son could go for class and infect other children with his sickness!

It took Zara 6 days to stop the fever, me 5 days, and Zara 4 days.

I’d never been this ill for a long long time. The last time it was this bad, it was when I got a very bad case of UTI, and had to be hospitalised, and this happened before the girls were born!

Even Zara told me, “Going to school and doing homework is better than being so weak!”

May the parent get cursed with the evil eyes too! At least he/she should have it for 2 weeks! That’s how long the germs his/her son passed to us stay with us!

If not, let him/her get some chili padi juice into his/her eyes accidentally for many times! (And if he/she didn’t eat chili, onion juice then!)

Zaria had a fever, and it’s very hard to get her to take her medicine.

Zara drew this to remind Zaria what antibiotic is for.

Mind the spelling but I think it’s a good one.