Category: Travel

NYC 3

gingertravellerblog1 Comment

32000 steps today and finally in bed ☺ Thank God for the epic breakfast this morning as recommended by Biff! Diet definately starts tomorrow…..

This morning we borough-hopped over to Queens to get a view of the Manhattan skyline. The parks around the here are full of ‘body goals’. They definately don’t start their day with a large portion French toast….. We also visited Flushing Meadows Corona Park; home to Queens Zoo. We didn’t have a visit but were able to catch a cheeky glimpse of a bear through the fence. It’s also home to the Unisphere; one of the borough’s most iconic symbols.

One of the bridges we haven’t really seen on our previous visits is the Queensboro Bridge (although today I have seen it from every angle possible) So we decided to walk across it then get the Roosevelt Island Tramline to Roosevelt Island. Here you get great views of Manhattan and Queens so it’s definately somewhere to add to your itinerary.

This evening (after yet another Maccies) I took the rents to the arse end of Brooklyn to enjoy some Christmas lights. Residents of Dyker Heights go all out decorating their properties to get you into the festive spirit. It’s a bit of a trek from the subway and I was beginning to think they couldn’t be arsed this year as we walked past bare houses. Luckily we found them and enjoyed a good hour of inflatable snowmen and fabulous lights.

NYC 2

gingertravellerblogLeave a comment

26000 steps later and another day done in The Big Apple. As with tradition we started the day off by getting our faces on a billboard in Times Square.

This morning was all about district hopping. Starting at Flatiron and moving through Greenwich, Meatpacking, High Line and down to the Financial district. Unfortunately it was Soggy Sunday so most of it was spent umbrella dodging. These areas are a lot quieter to what you’d find around places like Times Square so is nice to escape the hustle and bustle. We managed to stumble across the Magnolia Bakery and as the queue wasn’t out the door, we had to quality control the cakes. Lovely cake but even for me there was slightly too much buttercream!

Santa has found a new love for photography; I didn’t think it was possible to take so many angles of the Flatiron building.

This afternoon we headed over to Brooklyn and the DUMBO area to check out the Manhattan Bridge. Again Mother Nature was in a strop and decided to add a thick layer of fog across the East River. It did however create a very eerie atmosphere which made for some great photos.

As darkness fell we headed back into Manhattan to finally see the Rockerfeller Tree which was still being decorated when we were last here. The area is so so busy but it’s easy to see why. The tree is fabulously festive and the Saks light show was beautiful. There was even a proposal on the ice rink – the 3rd we’ve seen today!

Dinner tonight was something I have wanted to do for ages; Ellen Stardust Diner. The 40 minute queue was so worth it as were treated to the most fabulously camp show full of Broadway and Disney. To top it off I had an enormous burger and brownie. Bring on the poo knife!

New York New York

gingertravellerblogLeave a comment

This morning as per tradition we arrived at the airport 4 hours early. Santa was getting hangry so we headed straight for the breakfast. Momma couldn’t finish all hers so Santa of course offered to help. Unfortunately he got a bit too excited and the sausage ended up on the floor. Santa’s pal Martin just happened to be in T5 at the same time; what are the chances! So was lovely to have a catch up.

The flight over was pleasant. One day I will do enough bank to have a bed at the front with White Company bedding, posh cutlery and gormet cuisine. Instead we settled for chicken with a herby roll. I decided to watch the only film suitable for a Christmas break in The Big Apple – Home Alone 2. This cheered me up after I had a recliner in front and a kicker behind.

A pissy subway ride later and we arrived in Times Square. We decided to visit the 9/11 museum this evening as we haven’t been able to do it the past 2 times and I would definately recommend that you do this. They say you will never forget where you were the day it happened. I know we won’t as it was the day before Mommas 40th. The museum is huge and full of stuff donated from families and recovered items from the site. Its so quiet walking round; you can only hear our footsteps and the recordings of family members as they recall what happened. I could have easily spent so much longer in there.

Dinner tonight was the always inventive Mcdonalds. After being up for over 24hrs it was definately worth the beyond ridic price for it.

Last day of another incredible adventure

gingertravellerblogLeave a comment

Today I had planned a lie in, but the noise of the local traffic had other ideas. I didn’t mind too much, today was all about being lazy.

Yesterday I bought a ‘lucky moonstone ring’ but at the price I paid, I’m 99.9% it’s not real. It didn’t however bring me any luck today as I fell over in the sea and cut my knee, got very badly sunburnt, walked into the sunbed and bruised my shin and got bitten on the arse cheek by a mosquito. Thank God for aloe as I am currently very much on fire.

Decided to treat myself to a full body massage as well. No whale music here, just the sound of all the local tuktuk. It was so relaxing until she turned me onto my back, took the towel off and started massaging my stomach. She was edging ever so close to the boobies.. I think she saw my shocked ‘please don’t touch the nips’ face and decided to move onto the shoulders instead.

During our walk along the beach we were joined by some more local wildlife; the cows! It was nice to see some well kept animals rather than the scabby dogs.

Santa has enjoyed plenty of beer and wine today as he took full advantage of happy hour. We sat and watched the last sunset, enjoyed another varied buffet dinner, quality controlled the whole of desert corner and got the cases packed ready for an early start and long long day of travelling tomorrow.

Nilwala & Galle Fort

gingertravellerblogLeave a comment

This morning Santa was left in bed whilst we went on a boat! Again we were treated to an array of wildlife as we cruised down the Madu River, including Kingfishers, fruit bats and water monitors. We were taken to cinnamon island where we watched them prepare… you’ve guessed it… cinnamon sticks and oil. I will never look at a cinnamon stick in the same way again due to amount of work that actually goes into it!

After the boat safari we headed to a turtle hatchery and conservation site and were able to see babies that had been born this morning 😍 we were able to hold some that were three days old, as well as seeing the work the project does with turtles who have been injured. They even had albino turtles which unfortunately could never survive in the wild. It was great to see their work and how passionate they were about the turtles.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at two of the monuments Sri Lanka has in memory of the 2004 Tsunami. I hadn’t really thought about Sri Lanka being affected by it, but 30,196 lost their lives here alone. Passing through the village where the monuments stand and you see empty houses where whole families lost their lives and they have been left untouched since that day.

We got back to the hotel and found Santa who had been sunning his rhino skin by the pool and beach. We grabbed a tuktuk and headed back to Galle Fort to do some shopping. A few ice creams and fridge magnets later and we hopped back into a tuktuk to tackle the rush hour traffic. I think I might invest, they manage to dodge everything!

This evening alcohol was back on the menu so we enjoyed cocktails and beer whilst watching the sun go down over the ocean. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Galle

gingertravellerblogLeave a comment

We left Udawalae this morning ready for the long drive to Galle where we will be spending the last three days. Before hitting the road we stopped at the Elephant Transit; an orphanage for baby elephants to try and rehabilitate them. All 40 of them came for their 9am feed of milk and leafy branches which was so lovely to watch. I particularly liked the baby who was getting very stroppy because he wanted more food; he is literally me in elephant form. There was even one with a wooden leg! Unfortunately it includes one of the worst toilet stops. I don’t even want to know what I was paddling in….

We arrived at Galle Fort around lunchtime so headed straight for a beer; however no alcohol could be served today (for some obscure reason) so Santa had to settle for a Sprite instead. Hopefully the rule doesn’t extend until tomorrow as the hotel has a 4hr happy hour!

We had a short time in Galle Fort as is definately somewhere we will head back to tomorrow; via tuktuk of course. There’s some fabulous little shops there, I might have to buy a new case just to take it all home.

We enjoyed another sunset over the ocean tonight. Not as spectacular as our first one here but still a beautiful one. I am looking forward to relaxing on the beach on Friday, and finally getting a lie in.

Lunugamvehera

gingertravellerblogLeave a comment

Today was the super early alarm time of 04:45! We were given breakfast boxes to keep us going on our way to Lunugamvehera National Park, however some of the contents was rather questionable.. I decided not the put the sausage anywhere near my mouth!

The safari started on the same style of jeep as yesterday and we crossed a bridge made of railway sleepers. How this thing can be classed as safe I have absolutely no idea 🤣 but we managed it across alive and didn’t plunge into the water below through the very rotten wood. We drove around for 3 hours but unfortunately we didn’t get to see any leopards. We did however see a huge variety of eagle (including one pulling a lizard apart!) Kingfishers, Bee Catchers, a very rare (so we’re told) Paradise Flycatcher and of course, peacocks! We also had a few crocodile and jackals thrown in as well. Our tour manager told us that in 20 years he has never been round a park where he hasn’t seen an elephant or a wild boar… How bloody typical!

This afternoon we were finally able to strip off, don the bikini and relax by the pool. It was much needed after a few days of early starts. Santa’s head is obviously glowing from slightly too many rays. Cases are all packed ready for us to move on to the final part of Sri Lanka tomorrow!

Udawalawe

gingertravellerblogLeave a comment

We had an early start this morning (not as early as tomorrow mind… 04:45 alarm set 😭) as we had a lot of distance to travel. We left the dizzy heights of Nuwara Eliya and travelled through the mountains, stopping off at Rawana Ella Falls on the way. Standing at 19m it was a lovely place to visit but so many stray dogs everywhere (even more than normal) which was quite upsetting to see.

After a quick bag dump at the next hotel we headed out for Udawalawe National Park for our first of two safaris. We had probably only been going for about 5 minutes before we saw our first elephant. Words can’t really describe how amazing it was to see them being in their natural habitat. We saw adults and babies; eating, drinking and playing. We saw a large variety of beautiful birds and a slightly out of place peacock. Further into the safari we saw water buffalo and crocodile as well as an eagle. The landscape was spectacular and like nothing I have ever seen before. The rays coming through the clouds made it even more dramatic. As like every day so far, when 5pm came the thunder and lightning started and the heavens opened. My god did it rain!! But what an experience being in that environment in a storm.

Today has been an incredible experience and one I will never forget!

Nuwara Eliya

gingertravellerblogLeave a comment

Before leaving Kandy this morning we had an early visit to Temple of the Tooth. We got there around 8am and I would definately recommend getting there as early as possible as it was getting incredibly busy as we left. Whilst it was a beautiful building inside, it felt a bit intrusive stepping all over people as they prayed on the floor. They have clearly spent a lot of money on the architecture, it’s just a shame they didn’t put some of that to use in the toilets!

We left Kandy and headed for the hills to one of the many tea plantations on offer. Ours was the Glenloch factory. We had a tour of the factory and it was interesting to see they’re still using very old fashioned machinery. You wouldn’t want to mess with the woman who work in there… They are strong! We were then able to pick our own leaves and the most smiliest lady came to offer assistance as my basket was rather empty.

At 7000ft above sea level we arrived in Nuwara Eliya. At 20 degrees it’s still perfectly warm enough for us, but the locals clearly see it as arctic as half of them have wooly hats and scarves on! Always one to sniff out an afternoon tea, we ordered it straight away and enjoyed it in the sun in the garden before heading into the town to observe more local life. We found the market (not the looky looky type) and it was fascinating watching them go about their day, buying their fruit and veg etc. The noises, the smells… everything was so interesting to watch!

Santa obviously sniffed out the local pub which was rather seedy and the facilities were ropey to say the least. We quickly drank up and left. I couldn’t get away quick enough after being told by a creepy bloke in a creepy way ‘you look nice’

A few Mojitos in the bar in front of the fire (yes… really) and bed before another 5:45am start.

Another day in Kandy!

gingertravellerblogLeave a comment

This morning we were treated to a lie in (not tomorrow… 05:45 alarm is set 😭) and started the day off in the Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya. This was right up our street; National Trust but on a larger scale!

We had only been in the garden 5 minutes before the first request for a selfie came in from a group of school girls, who thought the ginger locks were absolutely fabulous. Half the time I felt like a celebrity with the selfies, however some pointed their lens from afar which made me feel slightly like a zoo animal.

We decided to spend the afternoon exploring Kandy centre. Just sitting and watching the traffic was an interesting experience. No shits are given! We got half way round the lake before the heavens opened again so headed for the market to get some shelter. It was looky looky at it’s finest, but I was persuaded to buy some elephant trousers which will come in very handy when I’ve had a big meal (every day…) Momma also got some trousers and Santa a new linen top.

There was only one mode of transport to get back to the hotel, and that was of course by tuk tuk. £2.50 for a 20 minute journey is an absolute bargain!! It was however, one of the scariest things we have been on. Health and safety at it’s finest. But we made it back in one piece (just) to enjoy yet another thunderstorm.

Santa found a new beer tonight; an 8.8% stout. I’m sure he will be staggering up the stairs soon!