Удивительный чайный остров ! Amazing tea island!

Good day. I decided to write a review, because the available reviews from the Internet helped a lot to figure out what and how when planning a trip, and navigate the area : ) We rested from 06.01. 13 to 17.01. 13. We flew from Kyiv with the company Wind Rose 11 hours with refueling in Dubai (~1 hour, they do not let you out of the plane). They don’t feed on the plane (lunch is $ 30), it’s useful to take sandwiches and fruits with you (you won’t carry drinks on the plane, although they brought water and cola on the way back, no one checked), they brought tea, coffee, juices, water twice you can always ask. At the Colombo airport bought a local phone. Mobitel card 1000 rupees (of which 700 rupees are put on the account, then you can still replenish), talked with the house every day, a minute of conversation with Ukraine (on a mobile phone, it was not possible to get through to a regular one) 33 rupees ~ 2 UAH. At the airport, the most favorable money exchange rate is 1 $ -125 rupees, they give a check for which you can exchange the remaining rupees back upon departure. The first feeling, when leaving the airport, is humid, although you gradually get used to it and it doesn’t bother you, except that things don’t dry well, the temperature of the air (and the ocean! ) + 25-27 degrees, very comfortable. We took a combi tour: first 3 days of excursions, and then rest on the beach. The excursion program "The Pearl of Sri Lanka" included a trip to the lion rock "Sigiriya" (the remains of an ancient palace on a rock), the Spice Garden (we were shown how different plants grow, what they are useful for and what diseases they help with, I still regret that I didn’t buy a depilatory cream from some kind of herb, the guide smeared a patch on my husband’s leg, so the hair still doesn’t grow, and a month has passed, eh! processing of precious stones (eyes just run up! The visiting card of the country is blue sapphires and moonstone). All stones are mined except diamonds. They left $400 there for a ring with sapphires and earrings with semi-precious stones, by the way, you can bargain. Very beautiful star rubies and sapphires! We went to the Temple of the Tooth Relic, the most important temple in the country, at the entrance, as expected, you take off your shoes and run barefoot around the temple along with the monkeys (it’s useful to take wet wipes to wipe your feet after everything, and disinfect your hands with antibacterial gels or wipes more often - that’s all still a tropical country), not far from the temple there is a theatrical national performance with music and dancing, we liked it. We were in an elephant nursery, rode elephants and fed them with bananas, very impressive! Then we visited a tea plantation and a tea factory with a tasting, bought tea (the golden mean is considered to be the type of tea "BOP" -broken orange peko, but it seemed very strong to us, so took "OP"-orange peko ~$10 kg) and very tasty palm sugar (a bit like our sherbet). Were in textile stores (you can try on and take a picture in a sari : ), wooden products (very beautiful carved furniture: tables, stools, chests of drawers, various figures, masks (a mask painted with natural colors ~ 20x15cm $ 10), etc. , there are even delivery to any country! ), batik (on average, a canvas 50x80cm - $ 100). We went to the Royal Botanical Garden, it is very beautiful there: there is an alley of trees planted by famous people (Gagarin, Nikolai II), a house of orchids. The farthest they were taken to hotels on the coast, on the way they tried the royal coconut (there was not even a whole liter and a half of juice in it), mango, soursep, durian (not for the faint of heart : )! In general, then in the city they bought bananas (250-500 rupees kg) yellow, red (very tasty and fragrant), passion fruit (250 rupees kg = $ 2), papaya, pineapples (150-200 rupees a piece = 10 UAH, our supermarkets never dreamed of such) . Upon arrival at the hotel, we looked around - very personal, nice: near the reception there is a swimming pool with fish and lotuses, illumination of the paths and the beach (we arrived in the evening). They settled us on the 1st floor of a two-story building (there is also a bungalow), the second room from the beach, from the room you go straight to the lawn with your sunbeds, in general, by the way, they didn’t pay anything. At the reception they speak only English, so at least the school curriculum needs to be remembered. There are two swimming pools on the territory, a restaurant, we didn’t get to the gym, probably somewhere in the adm. building, there is one computer with an Internet (there is no camera and microphone, so Skype is in flight), no wi-fi. Sunbeds and mattresses are brought wherever you say, but you can’t take out the beach as well as hotel towels. The hotel area is fenced off from the beach. the coastal zone is not the property of the hotel, but the locals do not have the right to enter the hotel. The room is simple but clean, they clean and change bedding and towels every day, there is a safe. We had breakfast and dinner, they fed quite decently (simpler, of course, than in Egypt): always fresh fruits - pineapples, bananas, papaya, fresh juices in the morning. We dined in a restaurant on stilts SAN DOWN near Dima (Danush), a hundred meters to the left along the beach, and in the Sea Shells cafe on the second floor, if you leave the hotel, turn right before moving, break it and shops and cafes begin. Very tasty and inexpensive seafood, per serving is ~ 10 king prawns plus a side dish to choose from or 2 huge crabs and a side dish. It costs 800-1000 rupees. e. you can dine together for 2000-2500 rupees. Yes, and the menu is served in Russian! With Danush (Dima) we went on an excursion (a turtle farm, a walk along the Bentota River, a gem shop, a spice garden, the Unawatuna lagoon (there is a calm ocean, clear blue water, but very crowded : ( all 20$ per person. He also organized a fishing trip for us $ 35 per person, there were four of us, who are swayed, stock up on pills. Danush was also contacted for a trip to the nearest city of Kalutara, by tuk-tuk 5-7 minutes. Shashi drove us, a very nice guy, showed us where to buy clothes, souvenirs, fruits, tea, rum (there is only one alcohol store in the city, they don’t sell alcohol anywhere else, and even beer). Delicious rum "Calypso" $10-12 per liter bottle, and local beer "Line". In a textile shop I bought a beautiful bright fabric, cotton 15 UAH per meter, and tomorrow they sewed a sundress for me for $ 5 (40 UAH) !! ! At Danush you can order a disco with light music and fireworks on the beach, the tables are taken out directly to the shore. They brought home pineapples, mangoes, passion fruit, bananas, all in hand luggage, there were no problems. At the airport I liked the store "Odel" textiles and souvenirs. Again, 11 hours of flight and hello winter Kyiv with sub-zero temperatures : (( In general, I liked everything very much, I still want it !! ! If you are interested, ask.