I really like the reorientation that comes as a necessity upon arrival to another country. It can be particularly acute when you’re either unprepared, or hopping through a few different countries, or both. There are those inevitable questions, like: What the heck is this scribbly manuscript everywhere that vaguely approximates written communication? Oh, what language […]
*Full Sri Lanka photo gallery below* We’re back in the Galle Face Hotel, overlooking the Indian Ocean in Colombo. We got in yesterday afternoon, and our flight to Male, Maldives is tonight at 2030. We’ll make sure to get there plenty early to avoid any late check-in excitement like in Dubai!
The last few days have been kind of a whirlwind tour of the “cultural triangle” in Sri Lanka. At this point, having seen many of the highlights of ancient ruins in Sri Lanka, we are both officially “templed out.”
“Flashpacking” is a loosely defined, upmarket variant of backpacking. We are more than happy to take on that moniker for a lot of our approach to travel. With flashpacking, you can have really extreme variation in the budget for different aspects of your travel. The driving considerations are just fun, comfort, and safety. One area […]
“Mike, you do realize this is the most ‘white devil’ stop we’ve ever had on vacation, right?” Watching a throng of British tourists being waited on by servile Sri Lankans in traditional attire…. Yes, the thought had occurred to me. To be clear, we’re sort of co-opting the “white devil” term to refer to remnants […]
Overland transport can be one of the more interesting parts of international travel. We particularly enjoy traveling by train, and the lengthy trip from Colombo through Kandy and on to Badulla is certainly one of the more scenic train rides in the world.
Anyone who has taken more than a few flights may know the feeling of nearly missing a flight. Or, even worse, missing a connection. Or, even much worse, missing an international connection. But those feelings pale in comparison to missing an international connection in the middle of a multistop trip, potentially subverting prebooked lodging, ground […]