Travel Diary: Trincomalee & Jaffna, Sri Lanka

I'm terribly sorry that I haven't been able to update the blog lately and I have my reasons:

1. I didn't take my laptop with me on my little adventure to the north of Sri Lanka.

2. Internet connections are not as strong and not everywhere, which also meant my updates on instagram, too, were limited. 

3. I was too busy having fun over Sinhala & Tamil New Year and I'm not even sorry :)

My week away was because of the New Year Celebrations in the country, so my brother had school holidays and we took the opportunity to go to one of my favourite places in the world, Trincomalee, and a place I've always wanted to visit, Jaffna. This post is mainly a little recap of the trip with some photos! (Not so much a fashion post, but those shall be coming). 

TRINCOMALEE

Situated in the north-east, Trincomalee is a tourist destination if you love relaxing on the beach, soaking up the sun, reading a book and even do a little bit of diving. It's paradise to be honest. I've been going to Trinco every year (sometimes twice a year) just to have a break from the Colombo City life and relax. I stay at the Jungle Beach Resort by Uga Escapes and honestly it is the most perfect place. It's right at the end of a road stretch of hotels, meaning that it's secluded with a private beach and your own little villas as rooms. The food is fantastic, 5 star, like honestly some of the best of eaten and I'm a foodie. It's a silent paradise and I love it. As well as being at the resort, we drove around visiting holy places, sightseeing in the town, taking photos and getting ice cream. We were lucky enough to see a herd of elephants by the side of the road, and I love elephants so I flipped out! Something that I loved though, was the fashion. Across Sri Lanka, it's so beautiful to see that women wear sarees and salwar kameez on a daily basis and they come in all colours, vibrant too, with beautiful embroidery. My mum and I see these traditional outfits as something to wear on special occasions because it takes a lot of effort to dress them, but these ladies wear them day in and day out! It's stunning, plus they do all their daily errands in them, such as riding a motorcycle (see picture below). We also came across a Second World War Cemetery which looked completely out of place in the area, made it seem like we were in another country because of how neat and perfect it looked. I never get tired of Trincomalee, there's always something new to find and I suggest to all to go there if you ever visit Sri Lanka. 

 

 

JAFFNA

Jaffna is a war-torn area that has gotten back on its feet after years of civil war. It has only been rather recently that this northern region was opened to the public to be visited, but still with strict security from the army and navy. We were lucky enough to stay in the army area with escorts and security, which was surreal. My family and some family friends stayed in the Commander's Bungalow, which apparently is the house which the President of the country stays in when he visits Jaffna. It was a beautiful modern house that looked out onto a never-ending sea. A highlight of our trip to Jaffna was taking a navy boat to a small island called Delft Island which is home to a small population of Tamil people and has remains of various old colonial buildings as well as wild Dutch horses (I think, don't quote me on that). It's interesting to see because I'd never heard anything about this mini-island and so we were able to see the majority of its landscape. On our way back from the island we visited Fort Hammenhiel, an old prison in the middle of the sea, which is now a hotel. The cells were still in tact and the majority of the prison had not been changed, apart from rooms being added to it. It was like a small castle, but had a tinge of darkness because of its history. I was able to visit Point Pedro, the northernmost point of Sri Lanka, which you can see in a cheesy little picture of me below. Upon entering Jaffna, there was a war memorial for a 26 year old Corporal who protected the Elephant Pass Camp in 1991, a Sinhalese Army Camp, when a bulldozer-tank filled with explosives was approaching. He did so by throwing grenades at the vehicle, and in turn, loosing his life while doing so. It was a very touching story to learn and to hear of the dedication of such a young soldier was inspiring. My first trip to Jaffna was honestly brilliant and I can't wait to go there again soon and explore some more.