DUBAI: 8 hour layover

• Go to the Emirates counter, visa for USA free
• Metro or taxi driver, negotiate a price versus meter.
• PLACES:
  • 1. Dubai Gold, Textile, Spice Souk right outside airport 7 miles, open till 10pm [Al Ras Metro Station]
  • 2. Emirates Towers/Trade Centre [Metro Stop] (kinda boring)
  • 3. Burj Kalifa Tower + Dubai Mall -- 9 miles (15 mins w traffic) open till midnight on Saturday: see aquarium [Metro Stop].
  • 4. TAXI: (coastal sights) Palm Jumeira (palm-fan-like man-made community in ocean) + Burj Al Arab building, Jumeirah Mosque
  • 5. Bastakia Old Quarter
• TIMING:
  • 7:30pm to 8:30pm - arrange left-luggage facility, visa, exit customs
  • 8:30pm tour 9:30pm - souks
  • 9:30pm to 10:00 - Emirates Towers/Trade Centre
  • 10:00pm to Midnight - Burj Kalifa + Dubai Mall
  • Midnight architecture tour + taxi to airport
  • 1am: arrive to airport with 2.5 hours for check-in

MALDIVES

• Veligandu Island (visited Rashdoo Island - Muslim)

SRI LANKA:

• ITINERARY: Nimal (94 777 840 001 - Sachi $487)
  • April 17th: arrive 5:30pm and drive to Cultural Triangle, Dambulla Heritance Hotel (4 hours drive)
  • April 18th: spend day in Cultural Triangle (Polonnaruwa Ruins w.Gal Vihara Buddha - drive or bike ruins + Minneriya/ Kaudulla/ or Hurulu National Park elephant Safari $60pp)
  • April 19th: Cultural Triangle (Dambulla Rock Temples + Sigiriya Lion Rock-go early) then drive to Kandy 2hrs (Kandyan Dance Performance at night)
  • April 20th: Kandy: Hotel Cinnamon Citadel (Temple of The Tooth, World Buddhism Museum, Botanical Gardens)
  • April 21th: Ella Hillside Town (4hrs from Kandy: Hotel 98 Acres (stops: Tea Factory Plantation, Rawana Waterfall, Little Adam's peak - walkable from 98 Acres Hotel, Ella Rock 3hr hike)
  • Tours: wood carving, batik, spice garden, saree silk fabric, tea
  • April 22th: Hotel Colombo Courtyard. Take a train halfway to Colombo and then take car just for scenic train ride experience (Ella to Kandy 7hrs by train)
  • 23th: Colombo (Pettah Shopping District + Dutch Hospital Mini Mall + Gangaramaya Temple)
  • 24th: depart to Kerala
• OTHER:
  • Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage
  • Yala National Park (plus other Nat parks)
  • Sinharaja Biosphere (birds)
  • Galle Fort Dutch Settlement
  • Weligamma stilt fisherman (touristy)
  • Adam's Peak (night peak hike)
  • Beaches

KERALA:

• ITINERARY:
  • 24th: explore Cochin/Mattsncherry with Salim (rickshaw driver outside Malabar 98-47000920 bring lots of tip money for places you visit: laundry, ginger house, spice market, etc)
  • 25th: Periyar Tiger & Elephant Reserve [NIGHT: Serenity on Kanam estate: Lakshmi elephant 140, cooking lesson] (CAR:$73 + 300rps park entry) We skipped Tiger Reserve...
  • 26th: 6:30am Backwater tour and Kodanadu Elephants [NIGHT: Malabar House] ($30pp-includes breakfast lunch make sure tour is no longer than 2 hours!)
  • 27th: Cochin Explore: fisher nets, spice & antique market, jewish neighborhood, fort cochin
  • 28th: depart 4am
• SEE:
  • Kushti Indian Wrestling
  • Chinese Fisherman Nets (3 mins walk from hotel)
  • Kodanad Elephant Rescue Center (2hrs from Cochin)
  • Ayurveda Massage
  • Princess Street for tourists/food/etc
  • Periyar Tiger & Elephant Reserve (6 hours)
  • Backwaters Tour
  • Spice Markets and Jewish Neighborhood of Mattancherry (Cochin)
  • Pretty Beaches: Varkala or Kovalam Lighthouse Beach or Payyambalam Beach
  • Munnar Tea Gardens (4 hours)

Flights:

• LAX TO MALDIVES: 1500 / 15 hours to Dubai - 4 hours to Male
• MALDIVES TO SRI LANKA: 145 / 1.5 hours
• SRI LANKA TO KERALA: 180 / 1 hour
• KERALA TO LAX: 4 hours to Dubai - 16 hours to LAX
• VELIGANDU

Notes:

• during movies, the Sri Lankan govt broadcasts warnings about smoking if a character is smoking or being careful if a superhero is jumping from a roof
• dog standing over kitten in street (friends)
• hikes uphill are intense - bring shade + water
• getting post vertigo after Sigiriya rock climb
• rode in seaplane first time
• stars at night + sunrise/sunset in Maldives amazing
• drive from Dambulla to Kandy is amazing
• disco Buddhas
• tight tight inside butt out
• Sigiriya rock where Save A Prayer by Duran Duran filmed
• Asked a Buddhist monk why they have an elephant chained to the temple and if that elephant was happy
• watching the thorn birds
• using toilet at home stay restaurant and a giant spider emerged...!
• Merlin and the staff at malabar we hung out with
• the salty boat captain who didn't get our top from the guide (we had to call and make sure it happened) and our laughter that he served us food