It all began at 5am on Wednesday 22nd
October as the group left their warm cosy beds to begin the journey to Sri
Lanka. At 5 30am the students and other members of the Ocean Stars team said
goodbye to their loved ones and headed for Heathrow airport. It then came to
the baggage check in where the group faced the challenge of finding their
various bags on various different trolleys. Following on from baggage check-in
we went through security with no problems and then had free time to explore and
shop around Duty Free, Costa Coffee, WHSmiths and many more shops! Eager to get
to Sri Lanka we boarded our flight at 9 30am and for 8 and a half hours
indulged ourselves on food, movies, music and laughter. We then arrived at
Mumbai airport, which was decorated like an Indian Palace, even though Jake did
request to go outside to see Mumbai and many of us wanted to explore the
beautiful city we only had 1hour and 30 minuets to look around and board our
second flight of the day. During the shopping free time a group of us found
ourselves in the KFC while others wandered around exploring what the shops had
to offer.
Once the group pilled on to the second
flight, which to our surprise had TV’s, it was only a 2 and half an hour wait
until we landed in the wonderful island of Sri Lanka. By this point only a
handful of us had managed to catch up on much needed sleep so many of us found
ourselves attempting to sleep but failing miserably in doing so. The plane then
landed down in Colombo and we couldn't wait to get off and get on with the rest
of our day. The group got through customs and exchanged their English sterling
into Sri Lankan rupees. We were then welcomed Sri Lanka by the glowing and
smiley face of Madushan (Cobra) and his team of drivers who would take us to a
local hotel to freshen up and swim, which was a great way to start our first
day in Sri Lanka. All nice and refreshed we made our way to the elephant
orphanage, which during the bus journey the majority of the group managed have
a nap. We then woke up to the overhead bus announcement of Madushan (cobra)
requesting us to wake and get our belongings together so that we could play the
elephants a visit.
Cobra showed us to the elephants roaming
area and we got to take part in a brilliant photo opportunity posing with the
elephants and carefully stroking their trunks. Nicole opted to pay the elephant
keeper for a special vista feeding to disabled elephants some green leaves.
After adoring the baby elephants taking a bath we strolled down to the elephant
bathing lake and topped up on refreshing ice cold drinks. We then returned to
the orphanage to witness the elephants
being fed.
After this it became apparent that
everyone was very hungry so we tucked in to some lunch at a local restaurant by
the lake. After this everyone hopped on the coach and we headed to Kandy to
check into Hotel Thailanka. When we arrived at the hotel we were given a set
time for dinner and were given then rest of the evening as free time. Some of
us decide to splash around in the pool and others voted to relax in their
luxury rooms.
We all then met for dinner at 8pm and
help ourselves to a wide selection buffet, which had an irresistible desert
section. The group was even lucky enough to be serenaded by a local trio band,
Jake requested ‘Banana’ and it is safe to say that we will all be singing the
Banana lyrics for the rest of the week (its very catchy).
Now it is around 10pm and the everyone is
settling down into their rooms after a very busy two days and prepare
themselves for a fun packed itinerary tomorrow.
Feel free to leave any comments and we
will happily reply to them all tomorrow, we would love to here from you all.
Ps. there was a delay in uploading this
blog due to a storm that cause a malfunction in the wifi connection.
Wow. What an impressive blog! It is so beautifully written, I feel as if I am there with you! Assume that the laptop survived the journey then! look forward to the next installment.
ReplyDeleteHey Mum! yes seymore is safely still with us and very happy! Im passing on the blog now :) miss you lots and lots and thaks for the hidden letters! love you very much xxx
DeleteGlad you liked the letters. I was not sure whether you had seen them or if they were a real surprise! We spoke to Kam today and he says Hi too and hopes you are okay. xxx
DeleteSo jealous that you got to see baby elephants! It all looks very lush where you are and I bet the spice gardens smelt amazing. Sounds like you've well and truly arrived.
ReplyDelete