Рай на земле! Paradise on earth!

Trip from April 29 to May 9.2012. Four of us flew: my husband and I and my daughter and son-in-law.
We have visited many countries, seen enough, read a lot, heard a lot about Sri Lanka - I really wanted to. I prepared carefully - I chose a hotel, read reviews, climbed forums, read about the history of the country, selected sights to visit...
So, it's done! As usual, everything is in order.

FLIGHT. Airarabia airlines landing in Sharjah. Flight G90294 departure 14:35, check-in in Boryspil in 3 hours, terminal B, no delays, everything is perfect, on time. The planes are new, everything works, the monitors show what is supposed to be, the toilet smells good, good distances between the seats (legs can be straightened), flight attendants speak Russian, 99% of the passengers are ours, prayer in Arabic "Allah Akbar" before takeoff, etc. EVERYTHING on the plane is for money - food, water, drinks, headphones, blankets, pillows. Advice: take everything that is yours, there are no restrictions, water, juices in small packages are not taken away at the control in Kyiv (especially in Sharjah, bring liquids as much as you want). The first flight lasts five hours. The time difference from the UAE is 2 hours ahead. Transfer time is 1 hour 25 minutes. Flight G90505 to Colombo; The contingent changes greatly - 95% - "not ours. " The planes are just as comfortable, everything is like in the first flight, the second flight takes 4 hours and 30 minutes. We landed in a terrible thunderstorm, sat down perfectly, the pilots were super, the time difference with Sharjah was 30 minutes, in total the difference with Kiev was 2.5 hours ahead. Visa $ 25 per person, put on a piece of paper, not in the passport, they do not make any marks in the passport at all, there are no "traces" of the trip in the passport at all! We got luggage, met a representative of the company, speaks understandable Russian, changed the currency at the airport, the most favorable rate is 1 $ = 127.75 rupees, bought a local card for Mobitel conversations (1000 rupees = $ 7.83 of which 900 rupees to the account, communication is amazingly cheap, I talked to Kiev daily + everyone else, 125 rupees remained on the account !!! ), our operators - Kyivstar, Life and others DO NOT WORK in Ceylon! It took 3 hours to get to the hotel by car.
HOTEL Unawatuna Beach Resort 3*. They immediately treated us to cold tea, gave wet towels to freshen up, settled quickly (8:30 in the morning! ), Fed breakfast. We ordered deluxe rooms in Kyiv and thought that these were rooms in a new building near the pool, but no! deluxe are superior rooms in the old building above the reception. The rooms, in principle, are not bad, if not the view from the window (the first one offered was strictly for the parking lot). Long auctions started from $1200 extra for 2 rooms for 9 days up to $600, we really liked the Super Deluxe rooms, the surcharge was worth it. I must say the hotel website is terribly stupid and outdated, the photos do not even show the new building, + they do not position the rooms correctly, otherwise we would have ordered everything in Kyiv right away. Settled in a building near the pool, rooms 409 and 410 on the 2nd floor. Room 50 sq. m. , bathroom 12 sq. m. , silent air conditioning, fruits upon arrival in the room, water was added 2 bottles of 0.5 every day, cleaning daily, left 100 rupees, towels changed daily, bed and beach towels changed by at will, gels, shampoos, body lotion, soap are added daily, bathrobes, slippers, dishes, a kettle, tea, instant coffee, sugar, cream - everything is as promised, mini bar for a fee. The rooms have free internet and a safe, no theft! The water is cold, hot without interruption, jacuzzi, plumbing in perfect condition, even the lid on the toilet with a microlift! Comfortable beds (do not move apart), comfortable linens. In general, the room is a solid 5 *.
NUTRITION. We 2 people ate full board, 2 - breakfast and dinner (it turns out that there is an "all inclusive", again, it is not positioned anywhere). Just enough, seafood daily, several types of meat. There are both European and national cuisine. Live music in the evening. Several times with my daughter I went to cafes on the shore, to dine at the hotel is cheaper and more varied! You definitely won’t stay hungry, fruits are present 3 times a day, drinks are included in the price of meals, there is a good sweet table for dinner, decent local beer, quite affordable. Not far from the hotel there is a good fruit market, ask, they will tell you how to get to it, the most exotic and unexplored seasonal fruits are waiting for you.
BEACH. THAT'S GREAT!!! ! pure soft sand, excellent entrance from the ocean, no stones at all, pure water, water temperature 26-29 degrees! You have to force yourself to get out of the ocean. Sunbeds, mattresses, umbrellas for free. Trees with dense greenery right on the shore, there is enough shade. The main thing is that there are no big waves, this is a very successful and beautiful bay. People come to Unawatuna to swim from other hotels where there is no bay and local residents on weekends. There is diving, we did not dive, but everyone says that ocean turtles are "always in stock. "

NATURE. This is why you need to go to this country! Wake up and fall asleep to the sound of the jungle from the movies. Monkeys come to rest on the trees near the balcony, you can get it with your hand, in the evening and at night you can hear how they run on the roof, chipmunks are not measured, mongooses walk under the body, and what a variety of birds! Under the window of the room there was a lake with large fish, from the balcony they fed a bun, herons and some small ducks fished there. You lie on a sun lounger on the beach and watch how iguanas walk through the trees, chipmunks chase, a week before our arrival, Kharkiv residents said that turtles hatched under their table on the beach....I'm not saying what you will see on excursions.
INFRASTRUCTURE. There is no shopping near the hotel, from the valuable and exotic you can buy only the famous star sapphires. To Galle by tuk-tuk one way 300 rupees, the fort is excellent, along the walls there are also monitor lizards 2 meters long. In the shops you can find something if you need to bring souvenirs to friends, and of course, tea! We bought at the factory on a tour, but you can also buy in Halle.
EXCURSIONS. Go for sure!! ! Choose and choose in advance, read the Internet. All the sights are located in the center of the island, you won’t be able to go back and forth in 1 day, plan excursions for 2-3 days with departure from the hotel. No fatigue and a long, slow road will overshadow what you see. We took an excursion for 2 days (there is a small bureau near the hotel), the guide speaks Russian poorly, but very tolerably in English, the car was a brand new Mercedes for 6 seats, it was very convenient and comfortable, despite long journeys and mountain roads. Waterfalls, Nuwara Eliya, Maxwell tea factory, overnight in a magical hotel near a raging waterfall, Kandy, Temple of the Tooth Relic, Kandy Botanical Garden, spice garden and home to the hotel. I will not describe anything, otherwise it will stretch for another three pages. I can only say that 2 days is very, very short and very compressed!
IMPRESSION. This country has something to show and surprise and deserves your attention, open your heart to the amazing world. Sri Lanka is a magical island, even for such a short trip you can talk about it for hours. From here you take away the dreary feeling of parting and the desire to return. My Lanka, I will definitely come back to you!