A brief look at Dubai and first impressions of Sri Lanka.
We depart from Istanbul at 22:35 and arrive in Dubai around 04:30. Exhausted after the night flight and sleepless night, we still decide that we want to go to the city and see Dubai's main and most popular sights.
We go to the taxis and start haggling over the price, finally agreeing to pay 120 EUR for a 2-hour tour.
We leave the airport around 5:00 and the taxi driver, a guy from Bangladesh, promises that it will be light by 6:00 and we'll be able to see the city both in the dark of night and as the sun rises.
The taxi driver was very helpful and friendly; he took us to Burj Khalifa, we saw it from all sides, drove us through the center, through the Palm, stopped at various places and took pictures of us at each attraction. And he was right, we saw the city both in the dark and in the light, as the sun rose. In short, if you have at least 5 hours at the airport, you can definitely go to the city center and see many of the most popular places.
Returning to the airport, sleep begins to set in, my head becomes a little hazy from exhaustion and the sleepless night, and for the next 2 hours, we struggle not to fall asleep in the waiting room.
Once on the plane, we get into our most comfortable positions and try to fall asleep; some succeeded better than others, but overall the journey passed quickly and by 16:30, local time, we landed in Sri Lanka.
We have traveled to Sri Lanka in collaboration with the local tourism center, who invited us to film a movie about this country, and they have prepared an excellent 9-day program for us to see and experience as much as possible.
We have arranged to meet them at the airport, we pick up our bags, go through passport control, and meet their entire team at the airport by the tourism center. We are greeted by the boss himself, Jagath Perera, and two girls who put lilac flower garlands around our necks. Jagath introduces the whole team: our guide for the upcoming days, our driver, and a person who will always be with us from the tourism center. Understanding that we are tired after the long journey, he lets us go to the hotel to rest and prepare for tomorrow, which will start at 6:30 local time or 3:00 AM Latvian time. Tomorrow promises to be adventurous and quite interesting, so upon arriving at our hotel, JetWing Blue, we wash up and go to dinner.
My first question in the restaurant was if they had papaya, and indeed they did. After visiting the Seychelles, I've grown so fond of this fruit that I even counted the days until I could finally have papaya again, and that day is finally here. I ate papaya before and after dinner, but the other dishes were also to my taste. The starter with salad and chicken was excellent, the chicken soup reminded me of our Latvian soup, just a little spicier, and the main course, beef with noodles, Asian style, was the perfect end to the day. Although no, the perfect end to the day was a full plate of papaya.
Elephants, elephants, and once again elephants.
There are many elephants in Sri Lanka, and of course,
they attract tourists.
We also wake up at 5:30 and are on our way by 6:30 to catch the elephants going to the river for a wash.
We arrive around 9:00 in a small village, the guide takes us into a small shop where the owner explains and demonstrates how paper is made from elephant dung. Here you can also buy this paper, either as a calendar or a drawing, or simply a notebook.
After visiting the shop, we go to a hotel located by the river where we can watch the elephants wash. A table is set for us right on the riverbank to enjoy breakfast and morning coffee.
We manage to eat and drink white tea mixed with coffee, and by 09:45, we head to the main street with our guide, where we can see the elephants coming out of their territory, crossing the street, and heading towards the river. Initially, the elephants come one by one; these are said to be young males, who are harder to control, so they go individually, each with its own attendant. But the most interesting part was when mothers with their calves crossed the street, at least 15 elephants, and one of the little ones didn't follow the others but came up to me, right behind the barrier where I was standing to safely film the elephant march. The calf didn't get to chat with me for long, as an attendant came and escorted it behind the barrier, and the baby elephant quickly caught up with the others and happily went with its mother to the river to swim.
As our guide says, they have a great life; they are taken to the river twice a day for a wash, fed fruits, and no longer made to work, as they were 50 years ago.
Having filmed and witnessed the elephant bathing process, we are ready to move on, and after an hour, we reach the Silver Temple, built over 2000 years ago. To enter the temple grounds, you must take off your shoes and socks, but sometimes the pavement in the sun is so hot that you have to run from shade to shade. The guide tells us various interesting things about this temple, a monk ties strings around our wrists for good luck, we drink an herbal infusion, and eat local sweets. We put our shoes back on, get in the car, and drive to lunch.
Lunch is at a cafe that caters to tourists in this region; for less than 7 euros, it's a buffet-style lunch. There's a salad bar, soup, various main courses, separate Sri Lankan dishes, tea, coffee, and fruits with sweets and ice cream.
Once our stomachs are full, we head back to see elephants, this time on a safari where elephants live freely and move as they wish, so the guide warns that you don't always encounter elephants. We swap the bus for a safari jeep and go looking for elephants. We are more than lucky and not only see large elephants, but also mothers with calves and in several places. The elephants here pay no attention to the jeeps driving past, or people, or any other noise. They calmly graze, eat grass, and unhurriedly cross the road to reach a new meadow.
Having seen enough elephants and a few peacocks, we head back to the bus and drive to the nearby Cinnamon Lodge hotel to check in and settle into our room.
If we woke up at 5:30 today, then tomorrow we have to wake up at 4:00 because we need to go watch the sunrise. 4:00 AM Sri Lanka time is 00:30 AM Latvian time. I don't know how we'll manage, but we really want to see the sunrise, so we need to go to bed early. Good night and see you again tomorrow.
At five in the morning, we climb a cliff, learn to cook Sri Lankan food, and spend one night in a magical hotel where monkeys play near the entrance and elephants might even visit the terrace.
The morning truly starts early; we set off before 5 AM for the nearby Sigiriya Rock or the ruins of the Sigiriya Temple. Our guide only tells us in the morning that the climb up the mountain and then back down will take at least 3 hours.
Frightened by the big climb, we've brought water bottles, put on our most comfortable shoes, and immediately after five in the morning, when we arrive at the Sigiriya car park, we are ready for our morning exercise.
It's still dark outside, but after 15-20 minutes it gets brighter, and the guide shows us this Sigiriya rock, which majestically reveals all its steep cliff edges and instills fear when looking at it from a distance. As we get closer, it gets even bigger, and on the left side of the cliff, we see small human silhouettes climbing the rock on stairs, and then we realize that this is not a joke.
Along the way, the guide tells us various interesting facts about this area, how it was built at least 1600 years ago and that it is included in the UNESCO World Heritage list. This place stands out for its water drainage system, which is still functional today.
Having conquered the first hundred steps, we realize it won't be easy. I switch my watch to climbing mode and monitor my pulse, but it never goes above 130 beats per minute. Either I'm a super athlete, or the climb isn't that hard. My pulse calms me, my legs start getting used to the strain, and in less than an hour, we're already close to the summit. We catch our breath, admire the panorama visible for many kilometers, photograph the friendly monkeys, and head for our final ascent.
A little over an hour and we have reached the summit of the mountain. We climb the last steps, take pictures, admire the magnificent panorama, and here we see how green Sri Lanka is, with forests and greenery all around, and some larger and smaller hills in between, which add a fairy-tale touch to this view.
We also filmed some beautiful shots with the big camera, relaxed, enjoyed the beauty, and were ready to go down, because breakfast at the hotel is only until 9:30, and if we hurry, we can still make it.
All these magical views will be on our YouTube channel, "Ceļot bez robežām!" (Travel Without Borders!) If you haven't subscribed to our channel yet, I'd love to have you join our group.
On the way down, the guide also shows us old pictures taken before UNESCO granted inviolability to this site and suggests that people once accessed this place through the middle of the cliff, but the British, during their rule, bricked up these passages. We also see ancient drawings that must not be photographed or filmed, as they would be damaged that way. We quickly rush through the museum and hurry to the hotel for breakfast.
We arrive at the hotel 10 minutes before breakfast is supposed to close, but we're not the only late birds; a bunch of other hotel guests are having breakfast with us.
Breakfast is breakfast, but the food selection is huge. I choose an omelet and 2 plates of fresh and ripe papaya, plus various fresh fruit drinks.
After breakfast, we have 1.5 hours of free time, so we use it productively, finally jumping into the pool and showing ourselves to the sun for 20 minutes.
After 11 AM, we set off for our next adventure, and this time it's in true rural style. First, we ride in a cart pulled by buffaloes, then we ride a Kubota power tiller, then we switch to a boat. The captain takes us into water lilies and makes hats for us and flower necklaces for the girls.
Once back on shore, the hostess greets us and invites us into her little house, where she hosts guests. Here, she demonstrates how to cook various local dishes, lets us try some ourselves, and finally, we have a meal. The hostess has prepared at least 8 different dishes, and we can't help but try them all. All products are grown locally, even the rice, and all dishes are cooked on-site over a fire using bamboo stalks. Everything is very delicious, and such an experience, eating with a local hostess, costs from 3 EUR per person. For dessert, the hostess also treats us to small bananas and papaya.
Having eaten a delicious and healthy lunch, we get into tuk-tuks and drive back to the bus to head to a new hotel. Yes, every day we have a new hotel, and every day we have to pack our bags again and move on, looking for new adventures.
We have turned off the main road and are on a small and not particularly good quality dirt road, but as they say, don't judge a man by his hat and don't judge a hotel just by the driveway. After a little over a kilometer, there is a barrier which a security guard opens, letting us into the hotel grounds. Here, the picture changes by 180 degrees, and after the first few meters, we understand that this is something fancy and impressive. Along the way, we see colorful peacocks walking around, and a group of monkeys playfully runs across the meadow. The car stops at the hotel, we are invited to reception, and as we approach the main building, we see Sigiriya Rock in the distance. They put something like a scarf around our necks, offer us cold towels, drinks, and a sweet pancake with an interesting filling.
After a while, we are escorted to our room. Along the way, white monkeys jump in the trees, playing in the meadow, right opposite our door. There are two types of monkeys here, one is white, which is afraid of people, and the other is dark, which is said to be friendly and can even visit. The worker who comes to show us the apartments lights a specially prepared string, soaked in paraffin, at the door, and this is said to be done so that our stay in this room will be successful.
We open the doors and the only thing we can say is Wooow. The room is a real house with high ceilings, where the living room merges with the bedroom, where the bed size is impressive, but the bathroom is even more impressive, there is a bathtub and a shower, two large sinks and also a separate toilet. But on the terrace there are sun loungers, a small pool and opposite the terrace is the jungle, where elephants can often be seen grazing, they also like to come into the hotel area, but realizing that there is nothing really to eat here, they quickly leave.
After 15 minutes, we are supposed to go to the Spa salon, so we quickly rinse off, put on our bathrobes, and go to the agreed-upon place where an electric buggy picks us up and takes us to the spa salon. There, two doctors greet us, a male one for me and a female one for Evita Eidina, they inquire about our health problems and ailments and we agree on a massage that could improve our physical condition.
After 30 minutes, we are both massaged, and we return to our room to get dressed and go to watch the local Sri Lankan dances.
The dances are spectacular and the dancers' costumes impressive; the final dance features fire torches, walking on hot coals, and breathing fire.
After the dances, we are tired, but still able to wait for dinner, we talk to our guide about tomorrow's plans and go to our beautiful room to write this day's report.
Good night and see you again tomorrow.
We carry flowers to the sacred tooth relic of Buddha, travel to a new city, visit a fruit market, a spice garden, another new hotel, and in the evening, we go to the temple to see the tooth.
In the morning I immediately jump into the pool and lie down on a sun lounger. I don't see elephants in the jungle, so I close my eyes and imagine them coming to visit. I open my eyes and see monkeys jumping from tree to tree. I take out my drone and fly it to explore the surrounding area, hoping to spot some elephants, and again, luck, I see a mother elephant with her calf, peacefully walking across the meadow and eating grass.
Time to go for breakfast, as we mustn't be late according to the schedule, and we have to leave in an hour.
Breakfast this time wasn't a buffet; the night before, we had to choose between two options: English breakfast or local Sri Lankan breakfast. We ordered English, and I also got an extra plate of papaya.
We leave the hotel and after just 30 minutes, we stop at a large fruit and vegetable market. Farmers and agriculturalists from all over the country come here to trade, and many goods are even exported. Here you can only buy in bulk, starting from one bag, but our guide arranged for us to buy 2 papayas and 2 watermelons, paying less than 1 euro for the papayas and 1.5 euros for the watermelons.
At the market, you can buy in bulk, from pineapples and bananas to garlic and chili.
Happy with our successful purchase, we continue our journey. Today we have to drive at least 3 hours, and our next stop is a spice garden. Here, we have a guide who takes us through the garden and tells us about each plant, each seed, and each fruit. These plants have medicinal properties, and at the end of the tour, we are invited into a windowless room where they tell us about each gel, tablet, or balm, their good properties, and how they affect the body. After a while, a man and a woman come in and massage my and Raivis's backs, and the girls' legs. An eucalyptus ointment is used during the massage, and our sweaty and sun-heated backs noticeably cool down.
After getting massages and buying some herbs, we continued our journey. Today, our destination is Kandy city.
We stopped for lunch at another tourist cafeteria, then went down one floor to buy some clothes, and then headed to a gem shop, where we were scheduled to tour both the workshop and see finished and expensive jewelry.
We were met by a guide who spoke excellent Russian. First, he led us into a room where we watched how gemstones were once extracted. Then, we walked through the museum rooms and saw how jewelry, custom-designed by clients, was made in the workshop. On the second floor, there was a shop with so much jewelry that the girls' eyes lit up, and they couldn't be dragged out. I almost smoked a cigarette to trigger the fire alarm and have us all evacuated. Haha, that would be good, wouldn't it? But, of course, it's a joke.
After trying on rings and bracelets and realizing that they still had to work a bit more to afford them, we finally got into the bus and headed to the hotel.
Since we have a new hotel every day, we have to pack our bags and move them from one hotel to another. Luckily, we have new and high-quality suitcases from Roncato; their wheels roll so smoothly that it feels like they have an electric motor installed.
The hotel is called Amaya Hills and is located high in the mountains. Upon arriving at the hotel and entering the reception, we realized that the view of the surrounding area was once again surprising, and we were truly in a beautiful place.
The guide gave us an hour to rest, and then we would go to the Buddhist temple to see the Tooth of Buddha. Yes, we would actually go to see the tooth that remained from Buddha; the rest of the body was cremated, but the only thing left is a canine tooth. This tooth was wrapped in several layers and was not shown to anyone for 17 years, and now it will be displayed for a week. That's why there is a 4km long queue of people on the street who want to enter this temple and see this tooth. Buddhists from all over the world would like to visit this temple and see this holy tooth at least once in their lives, and we are very lucky to have arrived in this city at such a time.
In the evening, the guide took us to the city, and the bus driver dropped us off near the temple. There were masses of people everywhere, many sleeping on the street, eating there and waiting for tomorrow when they could queue again and enter the temple to see this tooth. The state allows people not to go to work, providing them with water, food, and hygiene products.
We entered the temple without problems; the guide bought white flower petals, and the girls brought them into the temple to place them on the altar, close to the holy tooth. We couldn't see the tooth itself, as it is hidden from human eyes again after 5 PM.
Good night and see you again tomorrow evening.
Sri Lankan adventures continue, a tea factory, tea fields, and staying in an old tea factory.
Today was a slightly easier day according to the plan; we only had to drive for 3 hours, and the entire journey was winding mountain roads. If we reached 60 km/h at any point, that was already a record. After less than 2 hours, the first tea fields were visible, and shortly after, tea fields were everywhere.
We stopped at a factory where the guide explained the entire process, from tea harvesting to the finished tea. It was also possible to taste all the teas produced at this factory, and after the tea tasting, we bought some as souvenirs for friends.
After the tea factory, we headed to the town of Nuwara Eliya, but on the way, we stopped at a tea plantation to see how tea grows in real life, and the guide explained which leaves are suitable and used for tea and which are not valuable.
Upon entering Nuwara Eliya, we went for lunch, and this time it wasn't a bistro-style lunch, but we ordered from a menu.
After lunch, we walked to the city center, passing through the local market on the way, where the prices surprised us: a T-shirt cost 1.5 EUR, Calvin Klein shorts 2 EUR, an Under Armor jacket 3 EUR, socks 15 cents. As our guide explained, it turns out that all the world's top sports brand products and clothing are sewn in Sri Lanka, and there are even shops in Colombo where you can buy original items, but with small defects, at very low prices.
After walking through the market, we arrived at the old post office, which is still operational, and we went inside to send postcards from Sri Lanka to ourselves and our families. It's possible that we'll be home a week before the postcards arrive, but that didn't stop us from sending greetings for 40 cents.
It's time to go to the hotel and film an interview with our excellent guide, Adrian Van Sanden, he has a lot to tell, and the full interview will be available on our YouTube channel, "Ceļot bez robežām" (Traveling without Borders).
The hotel, Heritance Tea Factory, where we are staying today, is an old tea factory and is located on a hill surrounded by tea fields. The views from the window are fantastically beautiful. If there were more time, I would sit on the terrace, drink tea harvested from these fields, and enjoy my time in Sri Lanka!
But time is what it is. We have dinner tonight and an early night, because tomorrow we have a train ride, and the guide promises fantastically beautiful natural landscapes during the entire 3-hour journey. But before dinner, we'll taste the 38-proof coconut drink gifted by our guide.
I am sitting on the bungalow terrace, it's raining outside, the mountains in the distance are hidden by rain clouds, the rice fields are flooded, peacocks have flown into the nearby tree, hidden under the leaves and occasionally cry out a sound that resembles the word "nav, nav, nav" (no, no, no), but I am pressing computer keys, writing another blog post about today's adventures, the train ride to the famous Nine Arch Bridge, Ella.
This morning we overslept because the phone died during the night and the alarm didn't go off. We quickly got ready for breakfast, packed our bags, and had to leave the hotel by 7:00 AM because the train departs at 8:10 AM, and since we had already bought tickets in advance, we could arrive at 8:05 AM.
We arrived on time, 3 minutes before the scheduled time, boarded the train, and took our seats. The journey was planned for 4 hours, and along the way, the guide promised to see many beautiful natural landscapes, from tea fields to impressive waterfalls.
The only thing is, we've only seen pictures of people hanging out of the train for photos, but all the doors on our train were closed with a sign saying, "Do not open doors during the journey."
The train carriage was not full; the previous two carriages were completely empty, but the last ones were full of people.
The train started moving, and we began to enjoy the views of Sri Lanka. Along the way, there were tea fields, small villages, bigger and smaller hills, forests, and fields where locals had planted various vegetables. After just 15 minutes, there was the first waterfall, and the train was moving so slowly that we could see all the sights on both sides. The guide came up to us and said that he had arranged with the driver to open the doors for us so we could take better pictures and videos.
We were happy and waiting for the moment we could get to the open doors. After a while, the guide called us forward, and there were indeed open doors. We took photos as best we could, both from the inside out and from the outside in. We rarely used our seats after that; we spent all our time by the open doors, where we also filmed the best and most beautiful views, which you will be able to see on our YouTube channel, "Ceļot bez robežām" (Traveling Without Borders).
After a while, our guide, Adrian Van Sanden, announced that he had arranged with the driver to stop at the next station for five minutes so we could fly the drone.
As soon as we approached the stop, which was high in the mountains, we entered a cloud and couldn't see anything. I tried to fly the drone, but even 120m higher, there was thick fog. Flying to one side, I saw the cloud dispersing, but I had to fly back because the train had given the first of three signals that we would be moving soon. In the last seconds, I found where to fly back, folded the drone, and jumped into the almost moving train with the drone bag.
That's how we spent these hours, standing and sitting by the open doors, filming the beautiful views. Every now and then, there was a view that truly took our breath away, and every minute spent was worth seeing and experiencing all of this.
Finally, we reached Ella, drove for another 5 minutes, and arrived. The train stopped right on the bridge, built approximately 500 years ago. We got off and managed to take photos with the camera and fly the drone to film this beautiful view from all sides.
The train left, we bought a sliced mango for 60 cents, crossed the bridge, and headed to the bus that took us to the town of Ella for lunch.
Today, we again ordered from the menu, and Raivis and I chose local Wok with chicken and noodles, which cost a little under 3 EUR, while the girls chose a similarly priced pasta dish, Sri Lankan style.
Right next to this restaurant is one considered the second best in the world, Chill Cafe, according to Tripadvisor reviews. The roof of this restaurant is made of cinnamon sticks, similar to bamboo trees.
After lunch, we drove to the hotel, and on the way, we saw a truly impressive waterfall. We stopped to take pictures and fly the drone. I really hope there will be enough drone footage to create one great video with only drone shots and music.
Our next hotel is Jetwing Kaduruketha, the one with peacocks and rice fields. As soon as we arrived and settled into our room, we filmed a short TikTok video about how to shower in the rain, in a shower without a roof. You can see this video on our TikTok account, "Ceļot bez robežām" (Traveling Without Borders).
We waited for the rain and went to the pool. Thunder roared and lightning flashed outside, but we swam in the pool under large coconut palms and watched the rice fields, as each small rice paddy filled with water and as peacocks sought shelter from the rain.
After the pool, I took my laptop, sat in a soft chair on the terrace, and happily wrote about today's adventures with the train.
Tonight we still have dinner on the restaurant terrace, with a view of the mountains and rice fields, relaxation, and an evening concert, where the main choir masters will be peacocks, other birds, raindrops on the roof, and a fan above our heads.
Good night and see you again tomorrow.
But if you want to travel somewhere, but don't yet know where, then we can definitely recommend choosing Sri Lanka. This adventure will be worth every cent and every minute of your life!
An emotional meeting with Sri Lankan preschoolers and an evening dance on the beach.
The night is restless, various sounds fill the air – frogs, crickets, peacocks, and other animals. But since the house doors and windows are made of mesh, not glass, the room is noticeably damp.
Despite this, we woke up early this morning. At 5:40 AM, I set up the camera with a view of the rice fields and mountains and left it to film at 2 frames per second. Later, in a few minutes, you'll be able to see how the light dawns. I set up the camera and went back to sleep for a bit, waking up right after six. I took down the camera; the light was already so bright that everything was overexposed in the camera, but the first hour seemed to have recorded well, and the video will look great.
The morning light is so pleasant that I took the drone up for a flight. After filming all the rice fields, Evita Eidina and I jumped into the pool and filmed some morning shots there too. Soon it was 8:00 AM, and we went for breakfast. But since breakfast was not buffet-style and had to be ordered from the menu, the whole breakfast took at least an hour. We shifted the agreed-upon 9:00 AM departure time to 10:00 AM and barely managed to leave right after ten.
We had to drive for about two hours to reach the school, or more accurately, a primary school, or as it's called in Latvia, a kindergarten. This school is special because after the great tsunami that devastated Sri Lanka in 2004, the school was rebuilt with money donated by people from Latvia. That's why we were going to this school, to visit the students and teachers, and to deliver letters written by our Latvian students and bring some sweets from Latvia for the children.
Our escort, who was traveling with us, Isuru Liyanage, contacted the teachers by phone, and we looked for the right turn to find this small school. We had turned off the main road, and water buffaloes were coming towards us. We couldn't drive until all of them had crossed the road, because their large mass could damage our bus. Finally, we had passed the buffaloes, and a motorcyclist came to meet us and showed us the way to the school.
After driving a few more minutes, we saw the school and also the small children standing at the school gates, in identical purple uniforms, holding purple flower garlands. We got out of our bus, which stopped a few meters from the school gates, approached the children, and they placed these beautiful flower garlands around our necks. Then each child presented a leaf from a tree, and as they presented these leaves, they knelt down and bowed. As the guide told us, it is customary for them, when an older person visits them, for the children to present a gift and bow on their knees. Honestly, I felt both uncomfortable and a lump in my throat, and almost a tear fell, it was such an emotional moment.
When all the children had given our team their picked leaves, the teachers invited us to come inside the little school. Before entering the school, we noticed a plaque on the wall stating that this school had been renovated with the help of people from Latvia. At this moment, for the Latvian people who helped rebuild this and another school here in Sri Lanka, I felt such pride and immense satisfaction that most Latvians are, after all, wonderful people, and I entered the school with warmth in my heart. Seeing these little children, who on a Sunday were pulled away from running around the yard or playing with friends, was pure happiness. They presented us with drawn and crafted letters and bowed again; we took them out of their envelopes, looked at them, and praised their drawing skills.
All four of us were seated at the front, and the little children had prepared a small dance performance. We took pictures with them, and the teachers gave us coconuts with straws to drink and also brought boiled corn on the cob with salt. In turn, we had brought them candies, "Gotiņas" (little cows), from Latvia.
One of the youngsters, about 15-16 years old, served as a translator and event host. As we said goodbye, we spoke with him, and on behalf of the teachers, he asked if it would be possible for Latvian people to help again, as various teaching materials were lacking, and they wanted to build a stronger fence to keep elephants from entering the school grounds. We promised to talk to someone about this in Latvia and consider how we could help them.
Having said goodbye to the children, their parents, and teachers, we continued towards the ocean, to the south of the island, where Asia ends and the Indian Ocean begins. If anyone has looked at a map, they would know that there is no land south of Sri Lanka until Antarctica.
After driving for just under 2 hours, we arrive in a small village and stop by the roadside for lunch at a small cafe, but with a very beautiful view of the ocean. We spend at least 2 hours here, having lunch, filming various video materials for our show about Sri Lanka, and also filming the ending for our TikTok.
The show will be available on our YouTube channel, Ceļot bez robežām, and our TikToks can be seen on the TikTok account celotbezrobezam.
On the way to the hotel, we stop to see and try an ancient fishing method, sitting on a wooden pole and trying to catch a fish. We fly a drone and then arrive at our village, where our hotel for the night is located.
We turn off the main road and onto a very narrow lane, where barely two cars can pass, with small shops and cafes lining the sides. Dusk is setting in and various street and bar lights are coming on, making the street resemble Tulum in Mexico. After a short while, we turn left again and a large, no, rather enormous building appears before us, compared to those we have seen in Sri Lanka so far. It turns out this is our hotel, and the driveway, with its magnificent garden, reminds one of a Dubai hotel. Upon arriving at the reception, we are greeted, as always, with a wet wipe, delicious watermelon juice, and for the first time, an additional local dance. The hotel was built only 4 years ago and is called Araliya Beach Resort & Spa.
We check in, are escorted to our room on the 9th floor, everything is shown and explained to us, and we are surprised by the elegance and grandeur of this hotel.
After an hour, we go to eat, where the buffet dinner selection is so vast that one can get lost among all the dishes.
After dinner, we go to the beach, where there is a Beach bar, and take a breather after the long journey, even dancing to live drum rhythms.
But now, sitting on the 9th floor, music is still audible outside, I am writing this article, and I so much want to fall into bed, as it is already past one in the morning.
A day full of emotions, even raising the Latvian flag on a mast.
This morning we were lucky with both beautiful, sunny weather and the opportunity to enjoy a leisurely morning. Finally, it's time to enjoy the ocean, catch some sun, and cool off in the ocean... well, it won't be a proper cool-off, as the water is very warm. At ten o'clock, we check out of the hotel and head to the famous Dutch Fort in Galle. The fort was actually built by the Portuguese in the 16th century, but later in the 17th century it was conquered by the Dutch. The fort is particularly significant because it has been preserved unchanged for centuries, with careful authentic necessary reconstructions. Here, Portuguese, Dutch, and of course, British architecture can be seen in one place. The fort is also a living UNESCO heritage site, home to approximately 1000 residents.
Overall, the day is very hot. Well-baked in the fort, we head further towards Colombo.
On the way, we visit a turtle conservation site. Of the 7 species of turtles, 5 can be found in Sri Lanka. The guide, with a very strong Sri Lankan English accent, rapidly and quickly leads us through the aquarium zone, where we can see small baby sharks, not of the predatory species. Once grown, they will be released into the wild. Small fish and a moray eel with a leopard print all over, capable of reaching up to 3 meters in length when fully grown, also swim there. Further on, we get to the turtles. Turtle eggs found on the shore are stored in a sand incubator, each marked with the date of discovery and the number of eggs. Various species of turtles live in the pools, waiting for the right moment when they are large enough to go into the vast ocean. There are also a couple of turtles that have been injured, either by boat propellers or shark attacks... they will live their long turtle lives here.
The guide offers the girls to pet baby turtles. There are many here, a full tub, but we are led out through a side door and each given a small, black turtle from a bucket. I guess it's not official... But we're happy!
Next, we head to a special place in Sri Lanka – the Tsunami Buddha statue in Peraliya village.
This Buddha figure was erected as a memorial to the thousands of people who lost their lives in the tragic tsunami of December 2004.
The coast of Sri Lanka was devastated, and many families lost everything.
Standing by this silent, peaceful statue, the feelings are very emotional, evoking deep respect for the human ability to survive and rebuild after such a severe tragedy.
Next to the statue, a small museum area has been created, where a young monk resides, telling about the tragic events. On the wall are about a hundred photographs from the fateful day, including a book "Tsunami Train" and photos of the tsunami train. The Tsunami Train is a story about one of the most tragic events in the history of world railways. During the 2004 tsunami, a passenger train, known as the Ocean Queen Express, which was en route from Colombo to Galle, was destroyed. When the massive tsunami waves crashed ashore, the train was completely swept away, killing more than 1700 people – both passengers and local residents who sought refuge in the train, thinking it was safe.
This disaster is considered the largest tragedy in the history of railways in terms of the number of victims on a single day. The book is a tribute to this event – to remember and honor all who lost their lives then.
All the deceased were buried in a single grave, located near this museum, on the seashore.
It's already three in the afternoon, time for lunch. The guide tells the drivers to stop at a cafe on the left side of the road, and through the cafe windows, we see a beautiful beach with wooden tables and the opportunity to have a meal. Once again, our choice falls on wok rice and wok noodles. The girls order one portion for two, rice with seafood, while Raivis and I order noodles with chicken. While we wait for lunch, four young men approach us and sing a couple of songs to guitar and drum rhythms. I filmed this song, and I think it's quite suitable to use in the intro part of the series about Sri Lanka. Perhaps you will hear it at the beginning of each episode, but maybe only in one episode.
After lunch, we film a few more shots with our new Sri Lankan friends, and then we move on.
Our road leads to Colombo, but we will be staying outside the city for the next two nights. On the way, the bus stopped and we were joined by the head of the Sri Lanka Tourism Centre, Jagath. We were happy to meet him in person again, as all these days we had only communicated by phone, and he had created a WhatsApp group where we shared information and photos all this time.
After a while, Isuru says goodbye to us, but not for good, as we will meet him again tomorrow in the city center, at the office. We have only been together for 8 days, but we have grown so accustomed to each other that we will miss him at dinner; he is a very pleasant person who always shares information or gladly offers to carry some of our filming equipment.
After driving for another 40 minutes, we reached our hotel, on a very narrow street, between large stone walls, where equally large wooden gates opened, and hotel staff were already waiting for us and helped us out of the bus.
To our great surprise, they had prepared a Latvian flag, which I hoisted on the mast, next to the Sri Lankan and Colombo flags. This was another fantastically emotional event in our long adventure, hard to describe. Even though we are so far from home, the people here cared and thought about us so much that emotions flowed over the brim.
We are invited deeper into the hotel, and this is a Boutique hotel, called Olcote in Ceylon, which means there are not many rooms and the approach to each guest is very private. Upon entering the hotel, we are greeted by many staff members; the first offers several fig tree leaves, exactly like the children from primary school gave us yesterday, while the others put their palms together, bow, and one of them escorts us deeper into the hotel. Entering the main room, there are soft furnishings, a fish pond, and a swimming pool; everything around is so well-kept and every detail has been considered. As in other hotels, here too we are asked to light specially prepared and resin-soaked strings, which are said to bring good luck to all guests. Immediately after the first rituals, wet towels, freshly squeezed watermelon juice, and cold beer follow.
Once we have rested on the hotel's soft furnishings, we are all escorted to our rooms, and we arrange to meet downstairs for dinner in an hour.
We charge all the batteries, wash up, and exactly an hour later, we are downstairs. Dinner will be in the main room, near the pool, at a round table with a separate rotating section in the middle, so that everyone can reach their desired dishes by simply turning the top part.
Dinner turns into another emotional moment, when our hearts are filled with a sense of friendship and warmth.
We sit in a circle, there are 7 of us: the four of us, Jagath, the driver, and Adrian Van Sanden. Laine starts the conversation and thanks Jagath for the opportunity to get to know Sri Lanka and see so many beautiful places. Soup is eaten, conversations about life in Sri Lanka and Latvia ensue, we laugh, joke, several main courses are served, all spicy and definitely something we wouldn't have eaten on the first day, but today we quite enjoyed them. After the hot peppers and chili of the main course, we crave something sweet. We are served cut papaya, watermelon, and a small piece of cake.
The conversations continue, and we share experiences until our guide, Adrian, asks each of us to name and describe the most emotional and pleasant moments that have stuck in our memory the most. A Latvian is not the most open being, so recalling the first memories is not that difficult, but sharing emotions requires crossing a certain boundary, beyond which emotions are more than just beautiful words; they are genuine and real, and that could be felt tonight. We have become such good friends with the locals that the bonds of friendship will last for a long time.
Laine starts, and the Sigiriya mountain is the most vivid in her memory. Raivis is still thinking, but his biggest impressions are the safari and elephants. Evita Eidina mentioned today's photos of the tsunami and the large Buddha statue, which show how big those tsunami waves were, as well as the monk's words about life philosophy. I named several moments from our adventure: elephants and nature, tea plantations and rice fields with large palms, as well as the people we met – schoolchildren, people on the street, and the people who were part of our team. Each member of our team is a part of our wonderful adventure and journey.
The guide was also ready to give his answer about the time spent with us, and what he said was genuine and true, and he said that this work made him happy and that he felt uplifted and inspired with us. He also thanked me for the opportunity to trust him with my cameras; he helped with both taking photos and filming and was truly moved by our shared collaboration. It's such a pity that we didn't film all those words of gratitude; it would have been an emotional moment for you too, and perhaps at some point, you would have wanted to shed a tear of joy.
We asked the driver the same question, and his answer was friendship; he was happy about our friendly group and that we also involved him in our activities and filming.
The final day with our guide Adrian Van Sanden, we see Colombo from the Lotus Tower and walk through the old center.
This morning starts with a swim in the pool, while workers around sweep fallen leaves and flowers, I enjoy the cooling water and the warm sun.
I want to praise our driver, always positive, kind, smiling, cheerful, and helpful, so the first picture is with him.
After breakfast, we drive to the center of Colombo, and having reached the district where the skyscrapers begin and on the left, behind a large stone fence, we see the American Embassy, Jagath Perera, tells the driver to stop at a large house, and it turns out to be the headquarters of the Sri Lanka Tourism Office.
We go inside, accompany Jagath to the second floor, and meet the cheerful Isuru. He said goodbye to us yesterday because he had to be at work today. After a while, we are called into a room where the head of the Tourism Department meets with us, and we talk about our experiences in Sri Lanka and discuss potential future cooperation.
We go downstairs to the lobby to take a picture and then go up one more floor for another meeting, with another boss. Here the story is the same, everyone is interested in how we like Sri Lanka and what things have stuck in our memory the most. We tell them the brightest moments of our adventure and offer them to come to Latvia next year, at the beginning of the year, for the Balttoor 2026 exhibition.
We take another picture and move on; we need to pick up a security police officer on the way, who needs to be taken to a police station to get permission to fly a drone near the Lotus Tower and film it.
Once we have obtained the necessary permit, we drive to the Lotus Tower and take the elevator to 244 meters, where the open viewing platform is located, and you can walk all the way around.
The total height of the Lotus Tower is 356 m, making it the tallest structure in Sri Lanka and South Asia, and the 18th tallest in the world.
The day is grateful and the sun is shining, rain clouds are in the distance, and we see a magnificent panorama, 360 degrees. Both Jagath and Adrian tell and show us all around what interesting buildings there are, and Adrian is a great help with filming; he has grown so fond of filming that he is ready to help and film at any possible moment. We are afraid to launch the drone from the top of the tower because of the strong wind, although we have a security police officer with all permits with us, we decide to do it from the ground and we get excellent shots from all sides of the Lotus Tower. All these views can be seen on our YouTube channel, Ceļot bez robežām.
After the tower, we head for lunch at a restaurant called "Crazy Shrimps." Here, they feed us as if to slaughter; soup, appetizer, main course, and dessert are served, although the main course looked more like dessert than a main course. Sweet fried shrimp, 4 rice flour waffles, drizzled with something sweet, and maple syrup on top. Now we understand why the name.
After lunch, the girls are dropped off for shopping, but the guys head to old Colombo. Adrian wants to show us some things and tell us about ancient architecture and the city itself.
After the city tour, we return to pick up the girls, say goodbye to Adrian, but not for long, as we will go for a farewell dinner in 3 days.
On the way to the hotel, it starts to thunder and rain. We stop to buy papaya and something to drink, and soon after, we are sitting at the dinner table, enjoying the superb chef's dishes. Everything around is so beautiful and well-designed that it's hard not to photograph it all.
We learn the basics of Ayurveda and enjoy rejuvenating treatments.
The morning starts again with a swim in the pool. For breakfast, we eat something similar to a pancake, baked in a bowl-shaped pan with an egg cooked in the middle. But after breakfast, we pack our bags and are ready to head to the next hotel, but on the way to the car, the owner's son stops us and wants to show us the area, which is currently under construction, and he hopes to welcome the first guests in just 5 months.
Here will be a hotel with an Ayurvedic Spa, beautiful, large rooms, a big pool between the buildings, and all rooms decorated with various handmade wooden crafts, carved horses and birds, various carved ornaments, and all the furniture is also handmade. Going up the stairs to the second floor, the banisters are carved from wood depicting large horses, and in the middle between the first and second floor there will be a clock, identical to the clock from the Titanic.
We promised the owner's son that we would visit them again, took photos with the entire staff, and drove to the next hotel, Siddhalepa Ayurveda Health Resort. This is supposed to be the best Ayurvedic hotel in all of Sri Lanka, and we're looking forward to an interesting two-day experience.
As soon as we checked in and left our belongings in the room, we walked around the premises and went to the ocean. But half an hour later, we had lunch, and an hour after that, our first treatments began.
I forgot to tell you about the room, so listen up.
The room is on the first floor and has a small living room and a bedroom with a large bed, surrounded by a wooden frame and a canopy. Through the balcony door is a spacious terrace with a table and two chairs, but the cherry on top is the bathroom. It's very spacious, indeed, with a jacuzzi in the middle, plus a shower, two sinks, and beautifully arranged towels decorated with flowers.
Lunch was very healthy, and even if I tried hard, I couldn't name all the dishes that were there. I remember some: fish in chili sauce, fried jackfruit, rice with vegetables, lots of salads, various porridges and sauces. But for me, the most important thing was that I could once again feast on ripe, juicy, and delicious papaya.
At two, we had to go for our treatments. Each of us was sent to a doctor who measured our blood pressure, listened to our pulse, and determined whether we were water, air, or fire. In Ayurveda, everything must be in balance. And doctors determine this by listening to your pulse.
Do you even know what Ayurveda is?
Ayurveda is an ancient Indian system of medicine based on the rhythms of nature and the balance of the human body. It believes that health arises from harmony between body, mind, and spirit. In Ayurveda, proper nutrition, herbal remedies, and lifestyle adjustments play a crucial role. Each person has a unique ''dosha'' or constitution – Vata (air), Pitta (fire), or Kapha (water) – which determines their health needs. The goal of Ayurveda is not only to treat diseases but also to prevent them, promoting overall well-being.
Ayurveda has several traditional treatments designed to cleanse the body, restore balance, and improve health. Here are some of the main treatments:
1. Abhyanga – a full-body massage with warm medicated herbal oil that helps remove toxins, improve circulation, and calm the nervous system.
2. Shirodhara – warm oil is slowly poured onto the forehead, especially on the "third eye" area, to calm the mind and reduce stress, anxiety, and insomnia.
3. Pindasveda – the body is massaged with hot herbal poultices (or rice bags) to relieve pain, inflammation, and muscle tension.
4. Basti – a therapeutic enema with medicines or oil, used to cleanse the intestines and balance the Vata dosha.
5. Nasya – medicated oil or herbal drops are administered into the nostrils, which helps cleanse the head and sinuses, as well as improve breathing and mental clarity.
The doctor prescribed different treatments for each of us. We each got our own masseur, and for two hours, we were massaged, bathed in herbal baths, and made to inhale various herbal infusions. We enjoyed this time to the fullest, and the doctor has already scheduled new treatments for us. Tomorrow, starting at 11:00 AM, we will continue the cleansing of mind, body, and consciousness and the improvement of our health.
After the procedures, we washed, rested, and at 7:00 PM went for dinner. Afterward, we drove to the town center and enjoyed local Sri Lankan dances at 9:00 PM.
Flower bath, Ayurvedic massages and scrubs, and a visit to our friend, Jagath!
Last night, it rained heavily and thundered. At 6:00 AM, we were supposed to go to yoga, but we overslept. The sleep was so good during the rain and after the massages that we didn't even hear the alarm clock. Well, okay, we hadn't even set it.
Instead, at 7:00 AM, we went for a swim in the ocean, and by 7:30 AM, we were at breakfast.
After breakfast, it was time to relax by the pool, but during that time, we decided to film a few shots for our show.
At eleven, we had to go for the flower bath, where Evita Eidina would lie in flowers, and I would capture, film, and photograph it all.
We arrived at 11:00, but they made us wait, saying it wasn't easy to collect so many petals. We couldn't even imagine how many they considered "so many." After waiting for about 30 minutes, they called us to the second building, saying the flower bath was ready. Evita approached the door first and exclaimed loudly, saying it was so beautiful that a tear even fell. I went in too, and indeed, the tub was full of various flowers and petals, and the steps next to the tub were covered with petals, with candles placed in between.
Evita stepped into the tub and savored what it meant to be a princess. There were so many flowers that it seemed like a truck had pulled up and dumped its entire load of flowers. With us was an employee who helped arrange the flowers on Evita's shoulders and head to make the photos as spectacular as possible. We photographed and filmed for fifteen minutes, and hopefully, Evita will have enough photos for a while.
After the flower photoshoot, we headed for lunch, once again eating healthy Ayurvedic dishes, various stewed herbs, vegetables, rice, and even papayas. For dessert, we had fruit.
Walking to the room, I took one banana, hoping it would be useful in the evening, but it was useful right now. Near our room, we spotted a monkey. I started taking pictures of it, walked forward, and around the corner, I saw a whole troop of monkeys. They weren't afraid of people or cameras and even started posing when they saw the cameras. A worker walked by and told us not to be scared, that they really like bananas, and if we had any, we should offer them, and they would even take them from our hands. Evita took the banana intended for the evening, started peeling it, and a small group of monkeys immediately gathered and jumped down from the trees. We gave them this banana, and they climbed back up the tree. A worker from the kitchen walked by, carrying shredded coconut flakes. He took some in his hand and showed us how the monkeys ate from his hand. Evita also took coconut flakes and fed them from her hand. Meanwhile, I went to the lunch area and got 7 bananas. I placed 2 on the balcony railing and gave five to the monkeys. They weren't afraid and took them from my hand. A mother with her baby also came to visit us and enjoyed a banana. As soon as all the bananas were gone, I went to get the two I had left on the balcony, but the balcony was empty. A monkey was sitting on a nearby branch, munching on my bananas, swinging its legs and tail, and looking very happy. Monkeys are so interesting that you could watch them for hours. One climbed down to the ground, picked up some clay, and started eating it. Another lay on a tree branch, rested its head as if on a pillow, and looked us in the eyes.
After feeding the monkeys, at 2:00 PM, we had treatments again. We went to the doctor, who again measured our blood pressure and prescribed treatments. Today, I had a full body scrub, as well as a head and face massage. After the scrub, I came back to the room, my face was black, and my body too, but that couldn't be seen under the green robe. I took a shower and waited for Evita to come back just as dirty, and then we could go for a swim in the ocean.
The water in the ocean was pleasantly warm, and the waves were so big that they threw us onto the shore every time we tried to enter. We didn't have much time to swim because we were waiting for our friend Jagath Perera, and we were going to the city, to the temple.
Jagath arrived at our hotel right after 4:00 PM. We put on long pants, and the girls put on long skirts and dresses, as otherwise, you're not allowed into the temple.
You can only enter the temple barefoot, without shoes. We walked through it, looked at the Buddha statues, and the drawings on the wall that told the story of Buddha, and then headed to the shop. On the way, we decided we wanted coffee. Jagath invited us to his place, and we agreed. At the shop, we bought biscuits, various sweets, and bottles of water to give to the children we would meet at school tomorrow. After the shop, we drove to Jagath's house for coffee and sweets.
Jagath's wife greeted us with coffee and fresh fruits, papaya and pineapple. We drank coffee, chatted about life, and an hour later, we were on our way back to the hotel.
At the hotel, we still managed to sit on our small terrace, listen to the sounds of nature, and after 11:00 PM, we went to bed, as we wanted to finally wake up for yoga tomorrow morning.
Concluding Sri Lankan adventures: we visit a school, boat down a river and encounter crocodiles, a farewell party, and upon landing at Riga airport, the drone is stolen!
The final full day in Sri Lanka, and we start the morning with yoga. I wanted to say Evita Eidina starts with yoga, I am the assistant and advisor, although I don't understand anything about yoga either, the main thing is to speak wisely.
After yoga, a swim in the ocean, the final Ayurvedic breakfast, and at 10:00 AM, we are ready to go to school. The previous evening, we had been to the store and bought 40 bottles of water, as well as several packages of sweets, which we would give to the students.
As a farewell, the hotel doctor prepared Ayurvedic blood pressure tablets for me, and the hotel manager gave each of us a small kit with local toothpaste, pain-relief balm for colds, and a few other small items that would be useful for strengthening health.
It started raining heavily outside, pouring like during midsummer. We got into the bus and drove to school. After 5 minutes of driving, there was no sign of rain.
We arrived at the school, and all the students met us at the entrance to the school grounds, gave us flowers, we shook hands with everyone, greeted them, and they invited us into the school building. Here too, in the city center, the school had no glass windows, only metal grates, so that monkeys wouldn't come visiting and disrupt classes.
The first speech was given by Jagath Perera, who explained in his language about us, why we had come, and what our goal was. Then I, in English, spoke a little about Latvia and our desire to foster friendship between two schools and students. The children sang a few songs and danced for us. The teachers treated us to coconut drinks, directly from the coconut. We gave each child a bottle of water and handed the sweets to the teacher. In turn, they gave us several letters from the students to take back to Latvia and deliver to the students of Dobele State Gymnasium. We took a group photo and said goodbye; it was time to go to the river for a boat trip.
After just 15 minutes, we reached a hotel with a beautiful pool in the middle and a boat dock on the riverbank. Jagath found the boat captain, and we set off for an hour-long trip down a small river, or as they call it, a lagoon. The sun was so strong that you could get burned in minutes, but luckily, our boat had a canopy overhead.
After a small loop to the ocean, we paddled back and turned into a small tributary of the river. Ahead was a bridge, and to pass under it, we had to lower the canopy, which we didn't raise again after the bridge. If the surrounding jungle hadn't been so interesting, we would have noticed the smell of our skin burning sooner, but we only noticed it in the evening at the hotel. Well, it wasn't that bad, but we were as red as crabs, and my short lines were well-tanned.
In these jungles, we saw small crocodiles lying on tree branches in the water, and on the way back, we also saw a large crocodile. Even our friend, Jagath, said he had never seen one that big before. Along the way, we stopped at a house, and they brought out a small crocodile, about 4 months old. The owner collects all the small crocodiles, feeds them until they are a year old, takes care of them, and then releases them back into this river. He does this because there are many different animals in this river that eat small crocodiles, including large monitor lizards. We also saw a large monitor lizard swimming in the river.
Continuing on, surrounded by mangrove trees, it felt like we were in the Amazon jungle, with all sorts of sounds in the trees and movement in the water. You never knew what might be lurking around the next bend or what other animals we might encounter. We glided slowly down the river, and suddenly, some branches hung down from the trees; it turned out they were the long tails of monkeys. They sat there watching passersby, waiting for some treats. These, like the monkeys at the hotel, were not afraid of humans and ate from our hands. Along the way, we also saw brightly colored blue birds, which were a little shier than the monkeys.
After the boat trip, we returned to the school, where we had to say goodbye to our friend Jagath Perera. As we approached the school, Jagath spoke his farewell words, about the wonderful time we spent together, about the great work we had accomplished together, and he was so heartfelt that a tear even fell. Laine Blumberga noticed it and told us in Latvian. At that moment, I also felt like a tear was about to fall, and this emotional moment was powerful and memorable. We said goodbye to Jagath, and the driver took us to the city of Negombo, where a hotel was reserved for one night, as our flight home was at 7:05 AM tomorrow morning.
The hotel is located right on the oceanfront, with a magnificent view from the balcony. We entered our room 10 minutes before sunset and managed to film the sun setting directly into the ocean.
We don't have much time to rest and prepare for the evening, as in 10 minutes we have to be on the 6th floor, in the restaurant, where the chef wants to show how he prepares crab and fish. But an hour later, our guide, Adrian Van Sanden will arrive at our hotel and take us to a restaurant to celebrate our final evening in Sri Lanka.
After having dinner at the hotel restaurant and waiting for Adrian, we got into the minivan and drove to a bar-restaurant on the oceanfront, where live music was playing. We chose to sit in the sand, right on the ocean's edge. Adrian ordered a seafood platter consisting of crabs, lobsters, shrimp, and other delicacies, while I ordered a final papaya platter, so to speak, to properly feast on my favorite fruit, as who knows when I'll get it again. Isuru Liyanage also came to our farewell dinner, and so we spent the evening merrily, talking, sharing memories of our adventures, laughing, joking, and simply being friends. Throughout the evening, we concluded that the people we met during our trip were the greatest treasure and provided the most powerful emotions. Friendship is eternal, especially with people from Sri Lanka; they are genuine, kind, friendly, helpful, and accommodating. We still have much to learn from them!
At the end of the evening, we took some final selfies, said goodbye to Adrian and Isuru, and headed back to the hotel. The driver would take us to the airport tomorrow morning, so we would say goodbye to him there.
We woke up at four and drove to the airport at half past four, saying goodbye to our excellent driver, who spoke little English, but with his humanity, he became our best friend; we always understood each other from a few syllables or just a glance. A wonderful person and a fantastic helper in our great adventure.
On our way home, we flew for 5 hours to Dubai, then 4 hours to Istanbul, stayed overnight in a large villa near the airport, and then flew to Riga in the morning.
Until now, I had never taken the drone out of the small hand luggage, but since this time there were so many different items, we carried the drone separately and placed it in the luggage compartment, above our heads, on the opposite side. Upon landing in Riga, I took my camera bag, the small hand luggage, handed Evita her small bag, but forgot about the drone. We remembered it only after we had passed passport control. I went to the lost baggage office, where the woman contacted the airport cleaning team, and they said nothing had been found. The drone disappeared in 10-15 minutes. Perhaps someone needed it more than us.
We hope that the airport police will at least see on camera who took the drone and that it might eventually return to our hands. Hope dies last.
Thank you for this lovely time together on our wonderful journey, and see you again for new adventures.
