Sri Lanka Inspiration

At last I am finally uploading pictures from my Sri Lanka Trip last October. As usual life gets in the way of these simple blog posts; however this evening I have chosen to sat down and tell you about my holiday. The timing travelling out to Sri Lanka was troubled, I would be away for a while (away from work) away from friends and important people to attend my brother's wedding which on so many occasions was quite fraught with setbacks and problems. There was an odd feeling flying out and I have to be honest I was itching to be back in London before we even touched down. We were greeted by a wall of heat and glorious sunshine and were promptly packed off to a taxi and over to the hotel.

The hotel was beautiful and very relaxing, but for a busy girl felt a little trapped. The place was too tranquil for me so I wanted to set about exploring as soon as possible to make the trip whizz past.

We started the trip with a boat ride around the area and to take a look at the local wide life, which included a crocodile basking in the sun. Sri Lanka is a real life jungle book, with the animals to match.
The second stop was a turtle sanctuary, which meant we got to see how they are born, settled and then set free safe and away from poachers.

The one piece of information I did learn from the keepers is that a turtle is born with their stomachs open, they take a few days to close. They are very delicate during this point and are watched very closely........

..........So closely in fact we got to hold them!

We all also got a turn at holding this wonderful and friendly turtle called Monica.

Once we had looked around the turtle sanctuary we headed down to the beach to see where they placed them back into the wild. 

While we were on the road there were so many stops just like the one below with orange coconuts! Not your average coconut, it was cut open and we were given a straw and we drunk all the juice. It was very refreshing and just what we needed given the soaring heat!

Apart from the heat and the coconuts, what Sri Lanka is known for (and I will be the first to admit, I know nothing about sport) is cricket! There were children everywhere playing the game. Sadly we were too early for the England vs Sri Lanka game whilst we were there, I can tell you I was just oh so disappointed (read that back with a touch of sarcasm in your voice).

On the other side of the city walls were beautiful beaches, something I fully appreciated. it was picturesque and I could make out what looked like a small face in the rocks. Some of the photos looked like something from a Windows 95 desktop screen, but I can assure you these are all real.

Some areas were so secluded and private, and just simply beautiful.

There was a great deal of colour as inspiration for some of my chair projects, you couldn't escape the bursts of pink and white.

Several of the bowls were also coloured so that it created these bold carpets of flowers.

Another site I didn’t quite capture that well were red bananas. They are bananas that are red, would you believe. They are only grown high up in the mountains and are more like vegetables and cooked with main meals.

As bright as the food is along the roadside, the flowers compete in equal measure. On visiting a temple you would purchase flowers to offer up to Buddha in hope of good fortune.

The flower sellers line the roads outside the temples and the street is awash with colour and sweet smell.

The temples have hand painted patterns throughout. After visiting Hampton Court this year it reminds me of the Tudor rose that is embossed on the ceilings and walls. The image of a symbol is incredibly powerful and it is a direction I want to take with my furniture.

The country is not rich, you can see that when you walk out of the airport. However they make up for their lack of wealth with their beautiful temples and intricate designs and shrines. The picture below is inside the biggest Temple in Sri Lanka complete with gold Buddha and elephant tusks.

As much as Sri Lanka is known for its colours, flowers are a close second. We visited some beautiful botanical gardens covered in beautiful orchids. Another fun fact for you is that British roses don't do well in the hot environment, despite several of the Sri Lankan Gentry trying!

As a coffee drinker the tea was wasted on me, especially in this heat. I haven't ever really understood the phrase 'drink something hot to cool you down'. I realise scientifically it all makes sense, but i opted for a cool glass of water and felt much better as a result.

The greatest sight by far was seeing elephants in all their glory. We were taken to an elephant orphanage to see how these beautiful creatures were cared for, and along the way we got to see bath time!

We stood by the side of the road to the sound of squeals of excited elephants rushing their way down to the river. We all patiently waited for them to hurry past (took a few photos) and quickly followed them to watch them bask.

The architecture in some of the stately homes were just as breath taking as the scenery, however many of them now (like the house pictured below) have been turned into schools for children. I certainly wouldn’t have minded if my school was quite this magnificent, it most definitely would have given me some creative inspiration.

On the last day we got to take a ride on a Tuk Tuk and it didn't feel quite as dangerous as it looked, in fact it was thrilling and it made me want to have a turn myself! The tour guide took us to a waterfall off the beaten track so we could swim in the cool as the lunch time heat loomed above us.

On the way back from our quick swim we drove past the biggest statue of Buddha in Sri Lanka. I believe you can climb to the top, but given the heat we all voted to look in awe at the statue itself.

Sri Lanka is a place of pure natural beauty with much of the landscape totally untouched, just wonderful for exploring. I am honoured to have had so many wonderful experiences but I was happy to have my toes back on English soil and back to the fresh wind and crisp sunlight. I have been very busy since I have been back so the next post will feature all of the wonderful items I have for sale. Take care until next time x