Top 5 of everything

Okay it seems that everyone is doing it so here's a top 5 of thing about Sri Lanka (in no particular order):

1. The Wunderbar - cool little hotel and bar/restuarant, 1 minutes walk from the beach inhabited by Sri Lanka hippies (including one who claimed to be a roadie for Radiohead! Which prompted a grilling from Callum and I on a few occasions to check the validity of this). The rooms were big, the bar pumped out reggae morning, noon and night, and the clientele were random (a mixture of old and young germans, and horny russians!) It allowed us to slip into Sri Lanka (although I imagine rather distorted veriosn of it) quite easily.
In a nutshell: A million miles away from Japan. Nothing that happened over the few days Callum and I spent at the wunderbar could be compared to Japan.

2. Elephant shower - Sitting on the back of an elephant and then being sprayed by the water coming from its trunk was exhilarating. I would recommend to anyone and everyone (particularly as an early morning wake-up, hang-over cure or depression). It cures all (particularly car drive fatigue). The place was called the Millenium Sanctuary - a private sanctuary where elephants are looked after. They do seem to have a whale of a time, as they are always being bathed in the nearby pond.



3. Train journey and tea factory, Nuwara Eliya - Doesn't sound very interesting, but was a definite highlight. The tatty old train didn't move much faster than my scooter and the gentle waff from the lavatory was not particularly savoury, but the view of the rolling hills covered in tea plantations was amongst the most beautiful I have ever seen. Stunning. I spent almost the entire journey learning out one of the open doors attempting to, but ultimately failing to capture it all on my digital camera.
The tea factory was fascinating, particularly the old machines they still use to refine the tea!

4. Kandy tooth temple - Within the temple, within a small box lies Buddha's tooth, one of the only intact relics of the man. We went there on New Year's day (after a percularly dry New Year's Eve), glimpsed the box and left. The temple itself felt more like palace.

5. Sigiriya - The World Heritage playboy's palace/fortress on the top of a huge rock. It had stunning fews from the top, no crowds, and the added bonus of our driver/guide telling us what everything was. A daunting-looking climb, it turned out to be relatively easy. The ancient king who had built it had managed to include a large array of swimming pools. A nice touch.