We had a not-so-great start to an awesome trip which was an 8h bus journey starting at 4 am. But fear not, because we stopped at this Indian restaurant for lunch and we had some of the best food I’ve ever had. Like THE best, I’m talking mouth drooling. It was also a nice chance to bond with some of the kids from the younger grade. Anais and I sat with the 2 girls from grade 10 and it was the start of an amazing friendship. Our next stop was the King’s Meditation Garden in Mihintale. This place was breathtaking, when you think ‘garden’ you imagine a small quaint little space. But this thing was huge, there was a huge pond in the middle with the king’s various hangout spots around it. First was the king’s throne where he sat to view all the people. Then, on the other side, there was his royal highnesses bed along with a cave. The funniest part to me was the slope you could see which ‘people watched him bathe’. Very interesting that one.
Anyway, whilst the rest of the group sped along and rushed, Ansel, Darius, Vicky and I stayed with Mr Lockwood as he showed us all the hidden parts which the others didn’t see and he gave us some detailed stories about what the king would do in his ‘spots’. The coolest thing that happened at this spot was Darius found a baby bronze-backed tree snake. We called Mr Lockwood over and he just yoinked it from the bushes and started showing us. Now I’m not a big snake person, but I’m always up to try new things. Plus, who doesn’t want to say they’ve held a baby snake? So I gently took it from his hand and watched it squirm around in my fingers. It was actually a very cute snake but it was such a weird feeling to feel all of the vertebrates moving around. We climbed a huge tree after the snake excitement along with going into this super interesting cave home. We felt the temperature drop as soon as we entered so we saw the practicability of it. I have had my camera for around a year but I have never really used it. But this trip was such a nice opportunity to get into it.
My favourite thing to do and something which I think I was very good at was human photography. So I loved taking photos of my friends in these cool places. So I did a quick photoshoot with Ansel and Vicky then we finally went back to the others. Our next stop was Point Pedro which is the most northern point of Sri Lanka. We had written postcards to send to our parents so we managed to post them there. There was a small strip of beach so Ansel and I decided to go down and explore. I managed to find some cool things like an old boat, cuttlefish skeletons and a sea urchin skeleton.
Day 2 had to be one of my favourite days. Now if you know me, you will know I’m a big boat lover so when I found out we were travelling to Delft island on a boat I was ecstatic. On the boat, we were able to sit at the front and just enjoy the views of the water lapping across the sides. Anais and I sat on the edge with our feet off the side and had such a nice chat about our lives for like 30 minutes. Then we got tired so we lay down in the heat and took a nice long nap until we arrived at the Island. Once we arrived at the island there were no clouds in the sky and the heat was blaring down at us. But no fear I had my cowboy hat providing me shade on my face. We were met with a small van with just enough seats to fit our group. There was no AC so all we had to cool ourselves down was the wind flying through the windows. We made various stops throughout the island such as the baobab tree, a mysterious building and a broken-down fort.
The baobab tree was huge in size and w
e were able to go up and climb it as you can see in the picture below. The fort was also super cool with the walls being made from a mix of coral and rock. We got to climb the whole thing which was super high up so it made it very exciting. The views from the top were incredible as well. We were all exhausted after a full day in the sun so after some spicy chicken and rice we hopped back on the boat and headed back. Let me tell you, the sun really takes it out of you. We only did a bit of walking and just sat in the van but man were we exhausted. So on the way back, every single one of us fell asleep and all I can say is I maybe should have put more suncream on the back of my legs. But that was one of the best naps I have ever taken, the relaxing movement from the waves and the sound of the wind and water lapping on the side.
Day 3 we started our drive down to Mannar where we visited 2 forts and watched a beautiful sunset. The fort in Jaffna took a while to explore because of its size but it was super interesting to see the way it was built. I was having a lot of fun taking candid pictures of people throughout the walk. At the end, we played duck, duck goose and took a sweet group photo.
Once we entered Mannar we visited the Mannar fort, the sun was not covered by any clouds so it was absolutely boiling and this fort had a lot less greenery and was a bit smaller than the other one. This was a very powerful location to have this fort because the boats could only come in through this section of the ocean so the people in the fort would check their boats and tax them leaving them with lots of money and resources. So we looked around the fort and got back on the bus to head back to the hotel. But on the way back we stopped off at a lighthouse viewing spot and this gorgeous beach for one of the prettiest sunsets I have ever seen. We walked down the beach and ran and laughed it was such a core memory for me. We could even see India from this beach and watching the sun go down behind the boats and the ocean surrounded by my friends was so surreal, I loved it.
Day 4 was my favourite day of all. You guessed it, it was the DONKEY DAYYYYYY. This was one of the most exciting moments of my life and I really couldn’t have been more happy. But we first started it out with a flamingo watch which was quite cool. They were really far and most of them were albino (not the bright pink ones I was used to seeing in Tanzania) but it was still an interesting experience to see the different landscape and also connect it to the unit we are studying in ESS. Now to the donkeys. Whilst in Mannar we always saw so many donkeys around the area and we weren’t sure why they were there. But all was to be answered at the donkey sanctuary which we visited. To start us off we got a small presentation about the center by a man who worked there. We found out that the donkeys were brought into Sri Lanka by Arabian traders a long time ago and they thrive in the conditions in Mannar. He then explained how the locals don’t like the donkeys very much and they cause lots of motor accidents. But no one helps them after they are injured so those foundations take care of them until they are better and they get released back into the streets. But he told us how rich animal lovers would come to their sanctuary and sponsor a donkey which would enable the donkey they sponsored to stay in the sanctuary even after they have recovered from their injuries and as a bonus they would get to name it.
After the presentation, we were given a little cup of lentils to feed the donkeys and off we went. There were 2 of them outside the pen called Turbo and Benji. Turbo was a little more shy than Benji but did not turn down a snack. We pet them and took photos with them as well as the others inside the pens. I got to talking with one of the ladies who worked there and she said that they were currently really struggling with money to fund the place because they needed vets and workers to come in and help them and they are struggling to keep it running. They took me to see the donkeys that were currently being treated for injuries in a separate pen and it was so sad to see them in pain and knowing they would be back on the street susceptible to another injury later on. They told me that it was RS. 8k a month to sponsor one of these donkeys and I have never taken a picture quick enough. At first, I wanted to convince my mum to sponsor one for me but I knew she would never go for it since it’s almost half my monthly allowance. But I got to talking with Ms. Lockwood and she said that we should start a fund in our school to sponsor a donkey and call it gecko. I thought this was a brilliant way to help one of these donkeys and spread awareness about the situation that this organization is facing.
After the donkey visit, we headed over to our final hotel which was a branch of the back of Beyond Hotels ours being in Pidurangla (we stayed in one of their places last year WWW for biking). What is super cool about the rooms is that they are treehouses so you really feel at one with nature there. Even the shower is outdoors (with walls ofc) and we had a little hammock on the outside of it. I feel like since it was the last place all of the girls especially had bonded so well so we all just hung out, chatted and ate snacks until dinner. After dinner, we went on a night walk to find some lorises. Spoiler alert we didn’t see any because no one was quiet enough for long enough and since they are really shy animals, they were heard but not seen. BUT besides that, it was a lovely walk. Ansel, Lottie, Anais and I were all holding hands in a line and it was such a cute bonding moment. The sky was so clear and you could see all the stars which were super bright which was beautiful.
Day 5 was our departure day but fear not, this does not mean we didn’t do anything exciting. We actually climbed Pidurangala Rock in order to see the sunrise (definitely worth it). The climb I had done before, but man my brain must have deliberately forgotten how painfully hard the climb was. There were so many steps at the start that I felt like my legs were going to fall off. But once we got past the steps it was actually a fun climb, there were rocks you had to climb up and down on but it took us AGES to get up to the very top. At one point we thought we were going to miss the sunrise altogether because it was tourist century up there. I was literally queuing to climb a rock. But once we finally got up there it was incredible. Now I’m definitely not a morning person so this was one of the first and probably last proper sunrises I was going to see and it did not disappoint. I didn’t bring my camera up but Vicky took some incredible pictures (as you can see below).
Although there were lots of people there it was easy to just sit somewhere, just look forward and enjoy. It hadn’t started yet by the time we got up so we watched the sun slowly peak out from behind the hills. We watched the sky turn all sorts of shades of pink and orange. It was so nice to just have a moment to appreciate the natural beauties of the world. It was gorgeous, I really have no words to describe it that would do it justice so I will leave you to see the pictures taken by Vicky.
Overall I would give this trip a 9/10 and the only reason I’m not giving it a 10/10 is because there is always room for improvement. I got so much closer with the girls from grade 10 as well and built a closer bond with my friends from DP1. I got to experience so many new and cool things on this trip and I would 100% recommend this trip to anyone and would go again if given the chance.