Night scenes from Singapore -S🇸🇬
“This is my last day for these clothes.”
- what you say when you’re on a very long trip. -S🇸🇬
Sigiriya Ancient Rock Fortress - UNESCO World Heritage Site #2
The second UNESCO World Heritage Site we saw during our day trip from Colombo was the Sigiriya ancient rock fortress, dominated by the massive column of granite. In the 5th Century, King Kashyapa selected the rock and surrounding area for his new capital. On the top of the rock are archeological ruins, but we didn’t have time to climb up and explore. So we settled for a tuk tuk tour around the area checking out the surrounding ruins.
Dambulla Cave Temple - Sri Lanka UNESCO World Heritage Site #1
While in Sri Lanka, we did a day tour from Colombo to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the first of which was Dambulla Cave Temple - the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The complex dates from the second and third centuries BC. The main site is spread over 5 caves and contains paintings and statues relating to Gautama Buddha, Sri Lankan kings, and gods and goddesses. -J 🇱🇰
When your beer comes with…ice and a straw?? 🧐🤨
(it is an excellent cherry/raspberry/apricot smoothie sour from a Latvian brewery) -S🇸🇬
A random Singaporean street scene -S 🇸🇬
Sunset over Singapore, from our hotel’s rooftop pool. -S 🇸🇬
Other random shots from Singapore’s Chinatown. -J 🇸🇬
Street art scenes in Singapore’s Chinatown -S 🇸🇬
Random shots from our walk around Singapore. We specifically visited Merlion Park, home of Singapore’s iconic half-lion, half-fish statue/fountain. -J 🇸🇬
Reminder - Final Zoom Call of Our Adventure
Hey all - in case you missed the post here, we’re having our final Zoom call of our adventure on Friday night! Friday, Jan. 31, 2025 at 6:00 pm Phoenix time (8:00 pm EST) (it will be 9 am on 2/1 for us!) Bring your favorite weekend happy hour-ish beverages and jump on and say hi. We are missing everyone and would love to see your faces and hear your voices 😁
Hit an Irish Pub in our 19th country today -Singapore! (19/32) -J 🇸🇬
A bit more history on this place, the first Irish pub to open in Singapore (back in 1995):
A quintessential Irish pub Molly Malone’s was the first Irish pub to open in Singapore, way back in 1995. More than a quarter-century on, she still maintains that unrivalled jovial atmosphere intrinsic to any classic Irish Pub.
Molly Malone’s Irish Pub was actually born in Ireland and transported piece by piece to Singapore, where she was reconstructed in 1995 on the corner of Circular Road and Canton Street. There she remained for just over 9 years, before packing up house and moving across the street to the helm of Circular Road on Christmas Eve of 2004.
Colombo National Museum and Independence Square
Sri Lanka has a National Museum that was built and opened in 1877. It focuses on the various Sri Lankan Kingdoms that existed before the Dutch took over in 1658, and the subsequent British rule (1796-1948). Interestingly, the museum now holds 6 artifacts that the Dutch took in approximately 1765, that were only returned to Sri Lanka in 2023. -J 🇱🇰 Wow-look at those feet! We also visited Independence Square, dedicated to the independence gained from the British in 1948 (the museum there was closed when we went).
More highlights from Yala National Park
If you haven’t seen our first post about our leopard sighting already, go check it out. A langur monkey with baby An Asian green bee-eater out for a stroll These painted storks give off some flamingo vibes “Which way did he go George, which way did he go?” I could have posted an entire album of these two looking in various directions, both of their heads swiveling back and forth surveying the landscape.
We haven’t seen much of Singapore yet, but I can confirm that the airport kicks ass. You see that instantly upon arriving at immigration, which took 20 whole seconds. Baggage claim ain’t too shabby either. And of course, the Jewel waterfall is pretty damn cool. There’s so much more too! -S🇸🇬
We’ve been hunkered down in Singapore since Monday, after we both started to feel sick the night before our flight to the Maldives. We pulled an audible, deciding that it was better to skip our Maldives visit entirely and head directly to Singapore, where we’d have an entire week to get better. -S🇸🇬
Cheers to 100!!
Cheers to country number 100 for Jen!!!! Sri Lanka was the lucky country and we ended up having the best leopard experience there. It has definitely been a journey to get here, and it hasn’t always been the easiest ride. But that is what travel is all about and I’m lucky enough to have a husband who loves it all just as much as I do ❤️ To honor the occasion, Scott and I found a bottle of Prosecco—which my dear friend Helen always loved.
It’s always interesting seeing what American fast food companies sell overseas. -S 🇱🇰
The highlight of Yala Natl Park—perhaps the top wildlife experience of our whole trip—was seeing a Sri Lankan leopard! We followed it for a long time, tracking it thru four areas of dense vegetation.
But this last portion was the best: we watched it (unsuccessfully) go after a spotted deer! -S🇱🇰
The Gangaramaya Temple in Colombo
One of the first places we saw in Colombo, Sri Lanka, was the Gangaramaya Temple, one of the most important Buddhist temples in Colombo (completed in the late 19th Century). It had some interesting “guards” out front. It had many Buddhist figures and other interesting artifacts displayed through out the museum. But it also had a bunch of “stuff” (the best I can describe is stuff from your weird grandparents’ estate sale).