Sunday 8th February 2026

This was another restful weekend day, where I got up late, had a bit of breakfast, then proceeded to sort out a few key emails for Tea Leaf Trust. Just after 11:00, I was summoned by Madam Sandra to come to her house for lunch, after which we would drive to her friend Anthony's home the other side of Kandy. He runs a beautiful guest house there called Rangala House, whilst also owning a Sri Lankan restaurant in Bristol called The Kandyan.

We had lunch around 12:00 but we didn't set off for Rangala House until 14:00 and the journey took just over 2 hours. It felt wonderful to be back there, as it is a very special place, and Anthony and Sam gave us such a warm welcome. We only stayed just short of 2 hours, then had a 2-hour journey back again. You might think that a 4-hour journey for a 2-hour stay wasn't worth the effort, but I would do it again in an instant, as it is such a magical place.

I was very reluctant to leave after only 2 hours, but I have promised myself that I would stay there for at least 2 nights at some point. That won't happen this time, sadly, as I am running out of time, but I would love to go back there with Val, as there are various walks that you can do from there, so I know she would love it. I can highly recommend Rangala House as the most gorgeous and welcoming place to stay if you ever make it out to Sri Lanka.

Although it was a 6-hour all round trip, it hasn't been so hot today, so I arrived back at the apartment just after 20:00 feeling far less tired than I have on previous days. I heated up some chicken fried rice that I brought back from Olu last night in the microwave and then managed to get my blog and diary done well before bedtime. It has been a wonderful day, and sometimes I have to pinch myself to convince myself that all this is real! I am a very lucky guy indeed!

Today's photographs are a couple from Madam Sandra's garden, then a few from Rangala House, although they don't seem to me to do the place justice, as the views are stunning, but the photographs are really quite ordinary.









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