The Art of Luxury Issue 37 2019 | Page 23

Phuket JEEP SAFARIS IN SRI LANKA • SCENIC TRAIN RIDE FROM KANDY TO NUWARA ELIYA Day 1: Fly UK to Singapore (overnight flight). Day 2: Transfer to 5* Singapore hotel for 1 night including breakfast. Day 3: Transfer to Singapore cruise terminal to embark Silver Spirit for a 10 night cruise. Day 4: At sea. Day 5: Phuket, Thailand Phuket is a modern, vibrant island with more than 6 million annual visitors, a number that is only increasing year-to-year. If you’ve never been to Phuket, you will likely love it; returning visitors will find a new island that eagerly greets its next wave of tourism. Day 6: At sea. Day 7-9: Yangon, Myanmar (overnight) Spend three nights in Yangon exploring deep into Myanmar’s gilded temples. Colourful and chaotic, Yangon is a feast for the senses. Grinning uniformed schoolchildren and preadolescent monks vie for sidewalk space as vendors hawk fried goods and longyi-wearing businessmen go off to work. On a street of Indian-run paint shops sits the country’s only synagogue, a 19th-century relic; blocks away rise the steeples of St. Mary’s Cathedral, another reminder of the city’s colonial past. Yangon’s most iconic sight is unquestionably the enormous gilded Shwedagon Pagoda, but what makes it worth visiting beyond that is the rich, vibrant life that spills out of people’s homes and onto the streets. Day 10: Yangon, Myanmar. Day 11: At sea. Day 12: At sea. Day 13: Colombo, Sri Lanka Disembark ship and transfer to Dambulla hotel for 2 nights. In the afternoon visit the Dambulla Cave temples which were built by King Walagamba, after he used the caves for shelter during his 14 year exile from Anuradhapura. Return to hotel for dinner and overnight stay. Day 14: After breakfast, visit what is probably Sri Lanka’s most dramatic sight – the near vertical walls of Sigiriya Rock Fortress soaring to the flat-topped summit containing the ruins of an ancient civilisation. You will then proceed to Polonnaruwa – World Heritage site and the capital of Sri Lanka from 11th – 13th Centuries which contains some splendid and spectacular statues. In the afternoon enjoy a Jeep Safari at Minneriya National Park famous for its large population of elephants. Return back to hotel for dinner and overnight stay. Day 15: After breakfast leave for Kandy. En-route, visit the Spice Gardens at Matale, famous for kohilla (a type of VISIT BARRHEADTRAVEL.CO.UK OR CALL 0330 094 0191 watercress) and enjoy lunch. On arrival in Kandy, experience the city on this relaxing and fun-filled Kandy city walking tour before arriving at your Kandy hotel for dinner and overnight stay. Day 16: After breakfast depart on a scenic train ride from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya stopping en-route to visit the Ramboda Falls tea plantation and tea factory where you can learn the process of making the world-famous Ceylon Tea. On arrival in Nuwara Eliya, you will see why the area is known as “Little England” with British influences highlighted in the country cottages and Queen Ann style mansions. Check in to your Nuwara Eliya hotel for dinner and overnight stay. Day 17: After breakfast, proceed to Yala. En-route visit Ravana Water Falls, Nine Arches Bridge in Ella and Ella Gap. Arrive at your Yala hotel for dinner and overnight stay. Day 18: In the early morning proceed to the Yala National Park for early morning safari then continue to Colombo. En-route you will be able to see traditional Stilt Fishing and visit the Galle Fortress, built in 1752 by the Dutch. Arrive in Colombo for overnight stay. Day 19: After breakfast transfer to airport for your return flight to the UK. Day 20: Arrive UK.