Thursday 5th February 2026

As is often the case, our adventure started months before the date our trip commenced.  We had a dinner date with friends that had recently travelled to the island of Sri Lanka. They told tales of beautiful places, boat trips, village walks and a plethora of sights to be seen.

The research had already begun and was swiftly followed by contacting a couple of companies in Sri Lanka.  Some time later, after further research and many emails, Dave and I believed that we had, with the help of the chosen travel company, eventually put together an interesting and hopefully memorable time.

The two of us had immediately decided against a couple of days in the capital, Colombo. However, we did request some additions to the itinerary.  We added a day to visit Polonnaruwa, an ancient Buddhist capital city.

Another day was added to visit an elephant sanctuary so I could fulfil a lifelong dream of washing an elephant (I want to do it again!).

The country is often referred to as the pearl of the Indian Ocean, due to the island’s shape being similar to a teardrop. And also, they say, due to its green and lush landscape.

After we had organised our travel itinerary, we passed the information onto our travel buddies Pete & Anne. They quickly agreed to accompany us.  Happy times were on the way!

The total travel time for Dave and I will be around 24 hours, a short hop to Athens, then onto Doha, and finally to the capital of Sri Lanka, Colombo.

However, when our friends booked their flights, they found some different availability to ours, and although we would be leaving Crete on the same flight, they would actually arrive at the final destination seven hours before us!

After boarding our flight to Doha, we were unfortunately delayed for over an hour, sat on the tarmac.  This gave Pete and Anne very little time to reach their connection especially as the airport is so huge.

I’m pleased to say they made it, with just 15 minutes to spare! Hey ho, we are used to running through airports; the adventure has begun!

So, while we were killing time in Doha International Airport awaiting our connecting flight, our friends were getting some much needed kip.

 

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