Into the deep.

…and in style.

After a nice breakfast (I ate a lot of toast in Sri Lanka), it was time to say goodbye to the beach. It wasn’t easy to leave behind these pretty waters, but we were ready for some inland adventure.

Apparently, the route we chose wasn’t too popular with tourists. The transportation options were a bit limited, but we were encouraged by our hotel owner’s excitement that we’d see beautiful landscapes. We ended up taking quite the tuk tuk ride… about 3 hours. I couldn’t stop giggling over how ridiculous (and uncomfortable) it would be to take a tuk tuk so far.

When we got a bit closer to our destination, we asked to be taken to a nearby waterfall. That was a challenge. The tuk tuk ripped down what looked more like footpaths than roads. If there had once been pavement, it had been washed out long ago with only random chunks remaining. I kept thinking surely he’d make us get out and walk… but nope. Only when the path entered the bushes did the tuk tuk driver give up. We walked the rest of the way to the peaceful falls.

After the waterfall we continued on our way the Rainforest Lodge. Once again the tuk tuk amazed me by commanding the rough roads, and once again we had to get out and walk the remaining steps to our destination. The lodge is located on the edge of the jungle in the middle of a tea plantation. It is only accessible by foot and boasts amazing views.

Shortly after our arrival the rain began to fall. Now, if you’re currently living in the Pacific Northwest, that might sound like a bad thing. But… if you live in the Middle East… rain is quite the thrill. We did a little a dance.

We spent the rest of the day reading and relaxing. Mike did a little exploring around the grounds until the leeches drove him back inside. Those things are gross. You can imagine how excited I was for our potentially wet rainforest hike the next morning…

xo, jill