Swales Tales

Swales Tales Following the Swales Family adventures across Australian and the world. Travelling with kids. Site reviews. Art. Conservation. Living a freedom lifestyle.
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With a 16 hour stopover in Singapore’s Changi Airport we thought the day would drag. But after a quick nap we had the be...
16/08/2024

With a 16 hour stopover in Singapore’s Changi Airport we thought the day would drag. But after a quick nap we had the best day exploring the terminals, catching the sky train and spending time in Jewel’s canopy park, attractions, shops and food court. It’s almost worth a trip to Singapore just to spend time in the airport. 😂

The mirror maze was absolutely hilarious. The most laughter we have had on the whole trip. Hiding in mirrored corners and ambushing each other with pool noodles only to discover you attacked a mirror and now your target is whooping your butt. 😂

The kids spent a good hour on the canopy bouncing net running around and wearing themselves out. Great food court and great shops. Definitely worth the visit. Actually glad for the day in Singapore, it was a nice way to end our holiday.

It was so good the kids are even keen to return and spend more time in Singapore exploring. ♥️🇸🇬

🇱🇰🌶️🛺🐘🌊🪷 Well that’s a wrap for our 30 days in Sri Lanka folks. We finished our trip with a last swim in the pool before...
16/08/2024

🇱🇰🌶️🛺🐘🌊🪷 Well that’s a wrap for our 30 days in Sri Lanka folks. We finished our trip with a last swim in the pool before a midnight flight. 🙏♥️

It’s been an interesting holiday and there have been some great memories made. However, I won’t say it’s amongst our favourite trips. 🤷‍♀️

We actually looked at leaving early, which I don’t think we’ve ever done on a trip. The kids being 12 & 14 are a lot harder to please these days than what they used to be when everything excited them. All they really wanted was air con, wifi and to go home.

Poor Maya had a bout of vomiting early in the trip, which set things off on a downward trajectory for her from the start. She really struggled to find food she could stomach after that and everything was spicy, even the tomato sauce has chilli in it. She did really love the snorkelling with sharks, canyoning, Kumana National Park safari and the Ella train ride. So some wins for her. 🚂🦈🐘🌊🪷

Xavier is a such a homebody. Pausing his life for 30 days and leaving his dog behind was a big ask. He coped really well with the spicy food and challenges of the trip, trying lots of new things and taking it all in his stride. He was so extremely patient. Especially when there wasn’t a lot that actually excited him. I thought he’d enjoy the rafting, but he found it a bit too tame. He wants to take himself down the rapids on a solo kayak. He loves to snorkel and did enjoy that but this is a kid who’s snorkelled Ningaloo, The Great Barrier Reef and Hawaii. Xavier also had a bad cough for a few days and a really sore toe that had to have a little surgery on while we were there, so a few hospital visits which kept him from the water a little bit. He enjoyed driving the tuk tuk and surfing in Aragum Bay, plus our time in Singapore Airport, but mostly he enjoyed coming home. I know it’s hard for him to be pushed from his comfort zone, but I also think it’s important that we do. It builds character, resilience and life skills you can’t get from staying home.

Between the kids issues, Jason’s constant ear infections, the higher than expected cost and a few other factors it was a bit of a struggle.

Still glad we went. ♥️

Our last day in Sri Lanka we spent exploring Galle Fort. It’s actually pretty cool with a wide variety of things to chec...
15/08/2024

Our last day in Sri Lanka we spent exploring Galle Fort. It’s actually pretty cool with a wide variety of things to check out and quite a bit of history. Such a shame our budget had run out or I might have come home with lots of souvenirs and ate more good food.

These tasty little treats were given to us to try by the mumma at our homestay in Unawatuna while we were making a mess ...
15/08/2024

These tasty little treats were given to us to try by the mumma at our homestay in Unawatuna while we were making a mess in her kitchen cooking dinner. They are velvet tamarind but I’m sure she called the jamun. 🤷‍♀️

They have a sweet sour taste like a sour lolly that’s quite addictive once you start eating them. You crack the seed pod open, pick out the soft dry flesh to eat and spit out the little pip from the middle. Tasty.

Another sketch by Jason. We really love the tuk tuks and would import one home if we could. 😂He was going to colour his ...
15/08/2024

Another sketch by Jason. We really love the tuk tuks and would import one home if we could. 😂

He was going to colour his own drawing with the pandanus ‘paintbrush’ he found on the beach, but think he went with the kids watercolours and pencils instead. 🛺🎨🖊️

Found this cute little ‘tourist village’ in Weligama with a free swimming pool, mini golf and a variety of restaurants t...
15/08/2024

Found this cute little ‘tourist village’ in Weligama with a free swimming pool, mini golf and a variety of restaurants to choose from. Maya was reasonably happy with her giant sushi and Xavier was happy to have a round of mini golf. Being off season on this southern coastline it was pretty quiet. I can imagine how busy it would be in peak season. Not many places to swim really, as many beaches are brown with river wash out, so it was nice to find a pool to please my girl for a while. ♥️

Sometimes you need to splash out on a really nice meal. This restaurant was pretty new, only a few months old and it fel...
14/08/2024

Sometimes you need to splash out on a really nice meal. This restaurant was pretty new, only a few months old and it felt really fancy. 😂

It’s actually one of the very rare times since being in Sri Lanka that we have all enjoyed our meal. Maya has often been upset that everything is spicy, but here a simple creamy pasta dish was exactly what she craved. Xavier enjoyed a chicken quesadilla, Jason a beef burger (very rare to see beef on a menu here) and I had a delightful fresh sesame crusted tuna dish. My meal might look small on the plate but the plates were enormous!

It’s called Tuana and I definitely recomwnd it for a splurge. ♥️

When we asked at our hotel to hire a tuk tuk for a couple days we didn’t expect the local copper to show up with his pri...
14/08/2024

When we asked at our hotel to hire a tuk tuk for a couple days we didn’t expect the local copper to show up with his private ride. 😬 In the fluster of the transaction Jason reversed the tuk tuk straight into the gate, denting the bumper bar! 🫣

After a bit of sweet talking to smooth it over we were on our way. It makes so much difference to have a bit of freedom with your own wheels to explore. The bonus was that because all the local coppers knew our ride we didn’t get pulled over at any of the road checks along the way. 😂 Winning. 🙌

We stayed a couple of nights in Midigama on the south coast of Sri Lanka and hired a tuk tuk for a couple of days to exp...
14/08/2024

We stayed a couple of nights in Midigama on the south coast of Sri Lanka and hired a tuk tuk for a couple of days to explore the coastline and sights between Marissa and Galle. We did enjoy this coastline a bit more, maybe because it was off season and less people around? 😂 but the ocean was rough and the waves weren’t great. Can’t have it all I guess.

We tried a new fruit called a mangrove apple. A bit strange not a fan.

Our balcony view was great and a full breakfast was included. Breakfast often consists of pancakes, toast, omelettes, dahl, a chilli coconut mixture and lots of fruit. Plus coff-tea. 😂

We stayed in a gorgeous little home stay in Tangalle with a lovely family. The mumma made our bed with fresh flowers and...
14/08/2024

We stayed in a gorgeous little home stay in Tangalle with a lovely family. The mumma made our bed with fresh flowers and delighted in showing us around her garden, full of fresh produce. She was great at helping the kids get into the coconuts and made a home cooked seafood feast. Can’t say it was very tasty, but we appreciated the effort. No one has better seafood than we do at home and it’s times like this you really get to appreciate and be grateful for that.

Jason got a little surf out the front and Maya had a swim with the resident turtle in the bay.

We were super sad to leave but with no AC in this heat and humidity, no one could cope any longer than one night. 😂

When you hear ‘green sleeves’ playing down the street, you instantly think ‘ice cream van’. However when you’re in Sri L...
14/08/2024

When you hear ‘green sleeves’ playing down the street, you instantly think ‘ice cream van’. However when you’re in Sri Lanka and go running to the street, 90% of the time it’s the bread man.
😂🫓🍞🥖

I’ve found a new favourite food. A specialty of southern Sri Lanka from what I understand. Buffalo curd with kithul. 🐃Yo...
14/08/2024

I’ve found a new favourite food. A specialty of southern Sri Lanka from what I understand. Buffalo curd with kithul. 🐃

You see these little stalls along the highway and roadsides with piles of terracotta clay pots all stacked up. Turns out the buffalo curd is like pot set yoghurt and is so delicious. Often served with kithul, a honey like substance made from palm sap. But it’s also pretty good with mixed fruits and oats, or even with rice.

At 650rp/ pot (about $3.30) it’s also a pretty good price. ♥️

This dude was one of our favourite people in Sri Lanka. He hand makes the best juices by hand, which was a daily staple ...
14/08/2024

This dude was one of our favourite people in Sri Lanka. He hand makes the best juices by hand, which was a daily staple for us when in Aragum Bay. Fresh orange and passion fruit mixed juice, cold and fresh. Yum. 🍹

When Xavier had a cough, he made him a special concentrated concoction to help him get better quick at no charge and asked after him regularly.

Definitely worth seeking him out. We gave him some money towards a new juice press. 👍

I loved that he used proper big glasses to serve the juice. Not plastic. And washed them between customers. It was great because it meant you could sit and have a little chat while he makes and you drink your juice. ♥️

Back in Aragum Bay for another few days. This time in nicer accommodation and with Jason’s Tuk Tuk tours to nearby beach...
13/08/2024

Back in Aragum Bay for another few days. This time in nicer accommodation and with Jason’s Tuk Tuk tours to nearby beaches. We stayed at Rupas right in the corner. Great views, great food, great air conditioning. Nice to have a little freedom with the tuk tuk and it was less overwhelming revisiting the area. Maybe it was less busy than a few weeks ago or maybe we are just more used to it. 🤷‍♀️ Either way it was good. ♥️

We were rewarded for our terrible train experience with the beautiful beaches of Trincomalee and Nilaveli, and a brillia...
12/08/2024

We were rewarded for our terrible train experience with the beautiful beaches of Trincomalee and Nilaveli, and a brilliant snorkelling trip out to Pigeon Island. 🦈🐢🐟🐠🐡🤿🪸

No water camera to show just how great this part of our trip was, but we absolutely loved the chance to snorkel amongst the reef sharks, turtles and colour fish on the shallow reef around Pigeon Island.

Swimming with reef sharks within patting distance was a highlight! 🦈🦈🦈

The reef and coral was damaged, but there was still a plethora of thriving sea life well worth the trip. It was great to see sections preserved with restricted access to protect the reef patrolled by conservation staff. It’s a must in these fragile environments with high visitation and didn’t restrict the opportunity to be surrounded by sea life. ♥️

Never travelling without a waterproof camera again!

Another train ride. They’ve had enough. 🤷‍♀️
10/08/2024

Another train ride. They’ve had enough. 🤷‍♀️

Sigiriya. Kind of like Australia’s Uluru, a giant rock protruding from the centre of the country with a majestic presenc...
09/08/2024

Sigiriya. Kind of like Australia’s Uluru, a giant rock protruding from the centre of the country with a majestic presence.

However, I think it was here that the cost of travelling in Sri Lanka actually broke our spirits. The local cost to enter is only 120rp (approx 60c) while the foreigner price is $50 each. That’s $200 for our family to get a closer look. While I’m more than happy to pay a bit more as a foreigner knowing local wages are lower than ours, this stretch was just too much for us to bear. Imagine if we did that at home to our tourists? We’d be crucified. It’s left a sour taste in our mouths which is a real shame. 😢

Driver/Guide: Go walk on the bridge.Us: Pass. We value our shinbones and our lives. Damp rotten wooden planks, many brok...
08/08/2024

Driver/Guide: Go walk on the bridge.
Us: Pass. We value our shinbones and our lives.

Damp rotten wooden planks, many broken, missing or about to give way and the rickety steel strapping underneath giving way in areas. Yeah, that’s a definite pass. 😬

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