Travel Blog #2 - Sri Lanka, the Diamond of the Indian Ocean (Nilaveli) + TURTLES!

Hi, Steemit community!

Before we headed to the Maldives, we had a road trip in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is the small diamond shaped island at the edge of the Indian sub-continent. A lot of people either stop by here before or after the Maldives. As soon as we landed in Colombo, we got a bus for a 7 hour bus ride to Trincomalee, which is on the other side of the island. Once we got there we had breakfast and got on to another 1 hour long bus ride to Nilaveli the local style (it was really cheap bus ride but no a/c...). Nilaveli is probably best known for being right next to a famous island nearby called Pigeon Island.  We didn't see a lot of pigeons here but the wildlife and the corals were much better than the Maldives. (Maldives was also great, but this place was better:D) Sri Lanka is also famous for its tea but I will get into that in another post.

*We had to walk around 2km with all of our luggage to get our hotel... and it was super hot...

*This was the local bus that took us all the way from Colombo to Trincomalee. It was with no a/c and loud local music so that you couldn't really get any shut-eye during the time. The seats are bit uncomfortable and we had a tough time but I think it was worth it at the end. 

*On the way to go get breakfast at a local eatery. We tried to travel light but still had to bring a lot of stuff with us, so we just toughed it up and moved on!

*This is a typical Sri Lankan breakfast with curries, assorted bread with different types of fillings and meat. The noodles are called string hoppers and you enjoy them with the curries. It was surprisingly tasty and filling!!

*A photo of our hotel at Nilaveli. There isn't a lot of buildings around here, but it was close to the beach and suited our needs. 

*On the beaches of Nilaveli are a lot of dogs and COWS. They were just there chilling on the beach in the shades. You can see that the beaches were not that clean... but nearer to the waters were much better!

*You don't get to see a lot of cows chilling on the beaches, so picture time!

*This is picture of a bar we went to nearby our hotel. It was literally the only building in that area and the rest was local residents home or just land plots. 

*Deviled dishes are common in Sri Lanka and they taste like spicy ketchup. Hmmmm.. Delicious! 

*The bar really took the time to decorate the front of the beach, and we were just enjoying the view and taking more photos. 

*And yes, we did take a selfie.

So finally we went to the famous Pigeon Island and SAW TURTLES just chilling in front of us in the coral reef! If you want to see turtles, up close and personal, this is the place to be!

*They don't look that friendly, so we stayed our distance.

*And a underwater heart from the love of my life! 

I think that's about it! If you have any questions or comments about Sri Lanka or our trip, please let me know! Next post will be about another location we visited in Sri Lanka!!

Thank you and cheers!