The next morning we got up with our alarms at 6:00am, grabbed some yummy buffet breakfast at our hotel (read:BACON) and got ready for our 8:00am tour.
Turns out we had a *slight* misunderstanding with the tour we'd booked, and instead of them picking us up at our hotel like we'd thought, we were supposed to meet them somewhere else. Oops.
Luckily, our hotel saved the day and rounded up a tour guide for the day for us! This ended up being an even better option, as then we had our own guide for just the four of us, and we could be on our own schedule =). Plus, Sugee was really kind and funny, and we all loved spending the day with him!
The hotel gave the kids each an elephant stuffed animal that morning while we were waiting in the lobby...
This is my excited face!! You'll see it a lot in the pictures to come =)
(no I'm not driving...drivers are on the right side of the car in Sri Lanka...but they still drive on the left side of the road)
A and L's excited faces!!!
Our first stop of the morning was the Kandy Botanical Gardens...
After the last year in the desert, we were sooooo excited for ALL THE GREEN!
The Cactus House...
Such cool roots on these trees!
Bamboo...
The kids had fun running around in this maze...
TALL trees...
Bats.
So. Many. Bats.
Can you see how many bats there are in these trees??? FAR TOO MANY for my comfort!!
I did not love all the bats. I don't like birds and/or other flying things. I just kept reminding myself 1) to be brave so my kids wouldn't see me freaking out 2) they're nocturnal, and really just want to be sleeping during the day 3) they don't know that they out number all the humans there and could easily swarm and devour us.
Sometimes one would fly overhead just to mock me...
We got to walk across this cool suspension bridge over a river...
It was narrow and a little rickety, and you can see by Sister's expression that she was a little bit nervous...
...so we didn't stay out there long =)
More amazing trees and roots...
Such lush green trees and plants and grass! I know it might not stand out to many of you who live in different places of the world, but we couldn't get enough of it!
It evened rained a tad, and we were totally okay with that =).
I loved how when they repaved the sidewalk, they left room for this long, windy root...
A crazy-big spider...with a teeny spider on it's back!
Sister doing some free range roaming...
We saw several dogs throughout our time at the gardens, and Sister wanted to pet them sooo bad, but David had told her needed to know if they're friendly first. This one laid down near where she was sitting, and slllooowwwllly made her way over...
...much to this cutie's delight =)
The Boy was thrilled to roll down all the grass hills...
After about two hours, it was time to say goodbye to the Botanical Gardens...
...and tour a Tea Factory.
Turns out Sri Lanka is famous for producing tea. We went on a tour and learned all kinds of statistics and facts that I no longer remember...but it was interesting to learn how the tea was made!
After the tour, we went upstairs to sample some different teas...
...and then it was on the road again! Beautiful views to take in while we headed to our next destination...
The combination of an early morning and all that walking had taken it's toll, and Brother took a little snooze during the drive...
He rallied quickly when we arrived at our next stop: The Elephant Orphanage!
Post to come soon =)
Just caught up on the first two Sri Lanka blogs. Absolutely loved them and looking forward to the rest. Makes Salem seem just a tad on the tame side.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Aunt Carol