The Cards Visit Sri Lanka
My name is Peter Card. I am currently teaching and living in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This is the ninth correspondence to share my adventures living abroad. I am truly amazed at where life has taken me. I hope by sharing my experiences it encourages you to pursue your dreams as well. God Bless!
Once Spring Break has come and gone, it’s only one remaining holiday for the rest of the year. It’s only a one day holiday but this year it falls on the last weekday which means we had a three day weekend. We (by that I mean me) decided to take a quick trip to Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka is an island nation south of India. It was once also known as Ceylon. Before becoming a very popular tourist attraction, it was best known for its tea, coconut and spice plantations. These all are still major industries in the area, but tourism is quickly becoming the major industry. English is widely spoken across the country and the local people are very friendly to tourists.
The main attraction I was interested in seeing was the Lion’s Rock in Sigiriya. Regarded by some as the eighth natural wonder of the world, it is a large rock formation that resembles a crouching lion that once had a palace that set atop the rock. It was a hot and strenuous walk to the top with many steps that are attached to the outside of the formation and at times were very steep.
I didn’t think Cheryl would have enjoyed this adventure, so luckily for me her sister and colleague joined us on the trip so while I was at the Lion’s Rock, they were on their own adventure. Cheryl and her companions visited an Elephant orphanage where visitors are allowed to feed and bath the elephants. In a nearby area, visitors are allowed to ride the elephants as well. After these activities, the ladies then toured spice, tea and coconut plantations and ended their day in Kandy, the second largest city in Sri Lanka.
On the next day, we headed to Bentota, widely regarded as the best beach area in Sri Lanka. We began the day with water sports. I tried water skiing for the very first time. Keep in mind that I don’t know how to swim so this was way outside of my box, but I had a good instructor who through a series of steps led me from ground exercises to skiing from a pole to a short rope to a full rope. While I was successful with all the intermediate steps, the full rope was just too much for me and I face planted several times before I decided I had had enough skiing for the day. Cheryl and her sister chose jet skis for their activity. We left the water sports area and headed for some relaxation time at the beach and it did not disappoint. The beach was peaceful and gorgeous, but the tide was very strong and one had to be very careful about going out too far in the water.
We ended our short trip with some shopping at some local shops near our hotel and an awesome fresh air seafood restaurant. Although our time in Sri Lanka was short, it was very enjoyable.
If you would like to hear or see more of my adventures, you may look for Peter Card in the UAE on Youtube or the Peter Card Facebook page. Feel free to leave a question or comment at either of these places or email me at cardsimon@hotmail.com.
