Tag: Backpacking
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Shark spotting in Nilaveli
After riding a train, hiring a moped, getting a tuk tuk and a taxi, we decided the time for a bus was here and boarded a bus to Trincomalee from Polonnaruwa. The buses here are, in a single word, crazy. They are usually by far the fastest things on the road, constantly beeping, overtaking everything…
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Hiring a bicycle in Polonnaruwa
From Sigiriya we took a tuk tuk across to Polonnaruwa, one of Sri Lanka’s ancient capitals. It was first declared the capital in 1070 by King Vijayabahu. There are many ancient buildings and temples there that were built between 1500 and 800 years ago, most notably, the ones by King Parakramabahu who placed irrigation systems throughout the region…
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Steps in Sigiriya
The train to Sigiriya was long and bumpy, but interesting and fun. We rushed to get there and to get a ticket in time, so didn’t have a chance for breakfast, that meant our only option was to sample the on-board snacks. Sellers would get on at one stop and off at the next, walking…
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Business class planes to third class trains…
Since my time travelling South East Asia previously, I had the dream to visit Sri Lanka. The Pearl in the Indian Ocean, with lush jungles, stunning beaches, a variety of wildlife and especially delicious food, it seems like a Paradise island! I semi-planned a trip here last year but I waited too long to book…
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Beaches in Kuta, Lombok
When we arrived in Kuta on the South coast of Lombok we checked into Yellow Flower Inn initially. It was nice here, but for your money you could get a hell of a lot, so on the second day we changed our accommodation a place we saw just down the road which had a pool…
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Turtles in Gili Trawangan
The fast boat arrived from Padang Bai in to Gili Trawangan (Gili T), one of 3 small flat islands off the coast of Lombok, fairly late in the day. It was funny watching lots of holidaymakers arrive alongside us struggle with their massive suitcases that were not very practical for island living! There was no…
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“Culture” in Ubud
We took a minibus from Kuta to Ubud and arrived quite late. We checked into a place that had been recommended to me by several people, Happy Mango, but we found it to have little of the atmosphere and friendliness that I’d been promised, so the following day we moved across the village to Sania’s…
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Spontaneous Trip to Bali…
After almost a month solo travelling in Malaysia, and this time it was really solo – The whole time travelling up til then I met people who tagged along with me in a little group. We travelled together and hung out. Sometimes only for 1 or 2 days, but still. It means that often, when…
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Partying in the Perhentians
I slept so well that night in the little hut on stilts that I woke up late, but still decided to get a bus over to Kuala Besut to grab a boat to the Perhentians. Awi offered to take me to the bus station in KT and on the way took me via his house…
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Raining in Kuantan
I arrived in Kuantan late at night and the weather was already starting to get bad. I checked into Kuantan Backpackers where, once again on my trip, I had the dorm to myself! In the morning, the rain cleared a little so I headed to the town. But the rain had made it super humid,…
Travel Alchemist 