Sri Lanka & India Trip
September 14 - October 1, 2005 (Sri Lanka & India)
This is going to be time-consuming so bear with me... There are over 4,000 photos to sort of which I will probably keep about 2,500. I will attempt to get these done in my travelogue-style with captions so check back often for new updates. I will start with India as more people are waiting on that. Sections that are done will have valid links, or else you'll just get a blank screen. In the meantime, I do have a few highlight photos to whet your appetite...
Sections completed - Last Updated on December 5, 2005
10/4/05 Intro | Intro Blurb
10/6/05 09 Chennai (24)
10/8/05 10 Mumbai (43)
10/10/05 Added 2 additional sections for Agra and Jaipur as I was sorting through the pix
10/16/05 11 Delhi (79)
10/21/05 12 Mathura (36)
10/27/05 13 Agra (96)
12/05/05 14 Agra II (78)
Remaining: 01 Colombo | 02 Pinawela | 03 Dambulla | 04 Sigiriya | 05 Polonnaruwa | 06 Kandy | 07 Nuwara Eliya | 08 Colombo II | 15 Bharatpur | 16 Jaipur | 17 Jaipur II | 18 Mumbai II | 19 Lonavala | 20 Mumbai III
Home | PhotoPix >
Sri Lanka & India Trip Intro <
Colombo |
Pinawela |
Dambulla |
Sigiriya |
Polonnaruwa |
Kandy |
Nuwara Eliya |
Colombo II |
Chennai |
Mumbai |
Delhi |
Mathura |
Agra |
Agra II |
Bharatpur |
Jaipur |
Jaipur II |
Mumbai II |
Lonavala |
Mumbai III
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Intro blurb to eventually replace the top section when this is all done...
Sri Lanka and India are both fascinating travel destinations! The trip began with parts of 5 days in Sri Lanka where I traveled by myself. I figured since I had already traveled all the way out to India, it was relatively close-by off of India's southeast coast, known geographically as the teardrop on India's cheek, so I might as well check it out. My coworker Lakshman's in-laws live in Colombo so I met up with them at the beginning and end of the Sri Lankan journey and I want to thank the Mendis' for their generous hospitality. I had booked my ticket the day before the devastating tsunami hit the coastal areas of Sri Lanka but amazingly only 9 months afterwards, there are few remnants of destruction in the areas that I traveled to. Granted, I did not have enough time to visit some of the coastal beach resorts that were hardest hit, but I hear the restoration has come a long way and it is a shame that tourism to Sri Lanka has dwindled considerably as it has so much to offer. I hired a driver/guide for 3 days who took me on a jam-packed tour of the country and it was an incredible experience seeing the culture, history, scenery and indulging in the delicious foods. Sri Lanka has such varied terrain and a lot to see in a small geographical area that I'd recommend it as a country definitely worth seeing if you're ever in the vicinity.
Afterwards, I met up with my good friend Anish and his family in Mumbai, India. From there, we took a 5 day tour of Northern India and visited many of the fabulous sites there. When we returned, we had 4 days to visit local attractions in and around Mumbai. Interspersed amongst the tourism, we did a lot of shopping, exploring, eating and visiting Anish's huge extended family on both sides of his family. I want to thank all the Ranpurias and Sheths for their warm hospitality and welcoming me to India like family. They were all so nice to me and just kept on stuffing me with food! The food, both home-cooked and on the streets/restaurants, were so delicious and tasty that I didn't even notice that most of it was vegetarian! Thank you for a wonderful time and an experience I will never forget!
