A Silent retreat at Haputale!

Dh had been praising wonders of this beautiful place he discovered entertaining clients, and we both got the opportunity to travel and stay a night at Haputale. The first thing that strikes you is the beauty of the resort which overlooks mountains and forests. The second thing is the silence, pin drop!

Melheim in the morning!

Melheim resort, Beragala Haputale.
http://www.melheimresort.com/

The service of the place managed by Mr. Dias and his crew is exceptional. The food (me being vegetarian) was divine.

The night we stayed they set out a candlelight dinner in the garden, and it was just one of the best ambience.

When I had thought that their culinary talents were spent for the dinner, they surprised us with a proper Sri Lankan Breakfast.

Melheim At Night!
 

The Bandarawela and Haputale area food are truly yummy, maybe for the climate or that they have some exceptionally good cooks in that area.

The gold leaf Buddha.

You get small squares of gold leaf which you can press on to the buddha statue directly for good luck and fortune. I heard a tour guide say that you have to stick in in the head heart and eyes. So quickly did that and made a prayer. You get to offer flowers and light incense and candles as an offering too.

Four Faced Brahma!

We light lamps they light candles!

So many flower garland as offerings to the Lord.

I saw Brahma the four faced creator of the world according to hindu myth as a Buddha with four faces. This shrine in Erawan Bangkok has a big following and many miracles happening. Bangkok with its rich culture stays as a great holiday has all this and more to see..

Animal Watching!

They looked bored and could not be bothered by the many vehicles which drove in. Safari world!

Next holiday!

Walking into office this morning, saw the accountant burying her face into a tiny diary ( she looked a bit odd since she was intensely staring at the thing) . Had to stop by and ask her whats up. She shows me april 2009. Hemm was surely missing something, was trying to rack my brains in the ten seconds which followed, was she retiring, are we planning a party or is it some office celebrations. Brain was fully blank..

me : what is in april 2009

A : lots of holidays.... I am checking next years holiday schedule since we dont have a single holiday in september.

Me : Right ...

I think my tone was a tad annoyed.

A : Why u should be happy u can go to india and visit relatives or plan something.

Just had to put on a fake smile and walk off.

So september has no holidays and everyones checking whats the next one in a country where we have too many holidays anyways.

City of Entertainment

That is Genting Highlands which was founded by a guy in the late sixties (apparently he is the fourth richest in Malaysia now). Very innovative I mean who would have thought of picking a mountain and converting it into a full fledged place of casinos and a theme park and hotels. Since this was a kiddie’s holiday only gambling I did was spinning the wheel with the kids in the kids section of games.

They have an outdoor theme park which was not accessible due to misty weather but that’s all right since they had an indoor one as well with loads of shops. You can take the longest cable car ride in the whole of south Asia to get to this mountain. D was popping chocolates at a rate when we got into the cable car but freaked out half way that we were going to fall down and die since it was going right on top of a rainforest. Had to pacify an upset nine year old with more chocolates (but u are not suppose to eat anything in the cable car). But emergency situations call for breaking rules. It’s different from the Singapore sentosa cable car ride. Its longer you pass so much of rainforest and it was misty the day we went.

The tour guide had his own headache with an Indian family who were throwing a fuss since the weather was bad.

Indian lady : you should have checked weather before bringing us here

Tour guide : weather is unpredictable

Indian Lady : you should have informed at the bottom of the mountain

Tour guide : it was clearly sated that weather cannot be predicted

This was going on for a good fifteen minutes and ended with the tour guide just ignoring her after a bit and not answering her questions at all.

Magic touch electronically...

Who would have thought of such an innovative product. An electronic chair which gives u a shiatsu massage. Came across this thing in malaysia and tried it out. Must say it was pretty good. Maybe its been in this part of south asia for a long time but when I was travelling in Singpore a year back never saw this chair. Its really good, so next time anyones heading out to malaysia do try this chair thingy.

Another must try is the fish spa, although i was a bit scared to try it out but now regret i did not. Its this big tank of water filled with tiny fish and you put your feet into it they are suppose to eat away the dead skin. Its not painful cause i watched loads of people trying it out. I was feeling a bit worried about putting my feet in and feeding the fishys my dead skin. thought it was /kind of not right for some reason but have read its really good.

Getting back home......

Getting back home after vacation gives that happy/sad feeling. Happy that you are back, sad that u are back on routine.. hey but life cant be one big holiday for all can it....... More on my holiday with the kids soon.......

Christmas Vacation!!

My plans of the much awaited Christmas Vacation have gone a mess. As organized as I am, had not planned or booked tickets, now the much awaited trip to Disneyland is in disarrayL. Thank god I did not tell S and D that we were going to hang out in Disneyland. There are absolutely no flight tickets to or from Hongkong for the whole period.

Now need to change the destination and quickly find a way somewhere with loads of rides and a big Toys R Us.