In my experience, life has a way of throwing the kitchen sink at you, as a way of checking if you're still on the right track. Back in March/April of this year, it certainly felt like life had thrown the proverbial kitchen sink at me. If you've been following my journey, then you'll have seen my last blog post in ...

Well it would seem 2014 has kicked off with a loud bang ... in more ways than one. A small part of me wished for a bit of peace and quiet, but this was never going to be. And you guessed it, there were a few things that got on my goat. So, it's been loud, rambunctious and definitely a memorable ...

I was at a social gathering recently and one of the main topics of discussion was the state of play with regards to dual citizenship applications in Sri Lanka. The interested parties were mainly expat Sri Lankans (who had either relinquished their Sri Lankan passports in order to obtain a foreign passport or who were born abroad and have never held Sri Lankan citizenship) and other foreign

I have been M.I.A. or "missing in action" from this blog for a few weeks now... My sincerest apologies. It wasn't that I didn't want to blog. Actually, I was having too much fun tripping around the globe with my besties to jump on a computer! However, I will make it up to you because I have a lot on ...

Until a couple of weeks ago, I hadn't had a brush with this fatal infectious disease other than responding to a recent email from a traveler seeking some information regarding treatment for rabies in Sri Lanka. So it was a bit of a shock to find myself sat in the emergency room at the hospital late one evening after my ...

When you take any form of medical treatment, whether it is conventional or alternative, the importance of having faith in your chosen treatment needs to be considered. The mind and body go hand-in-hand so to speak. Quite often people may seek out alternative therapies but are skeptical or doubtful about their ability to heal. Of course, there are times you can't be blamed for having this view as

I have a long-standing love affair with ALL things associated with books, bookshops and reading. It probably started at a very young age with my parents taking me on trips to their favorite bookshops or our local library on the weekends. I would take my book bag and fill it up with lots of picture books and books that I'd ...

If you're an avid cricket fan, then you won't go through a game of cricket without experiencing every kind of emotion that's available. In my case, if the game is "on", then it will probably come as no surprise to those that know me, to see me yelling at the TV, throwing my hands up, punching my pillow or ranting ...

I could easily wax poetic about how Nuwara Eliya reminds me of home, hence it's nickname of "Little England", but it is more than just the end destination. For me it is has a lot to with "the journey"... the ways and means, the to-and-from Nuwara Eliya, that really lights me up. I've visited the Nuwara Eliya region many times ...

One of the things I quite enjoy about traveling (somewhat randomly at times) around this teardrop island is discovering new and amazing places rich in history and sometimes off the beaten track. A word of warning, "off the beaten track" usually entails trekking through the forest, potentially getting a little lost, working up a sweat, and inevitably (after all that ...

Over Avurudu season I took time to celebrate and honour what has been my life in Sri Lanka for over the past decade, and all the amazing relationships that have grown and been nurtured along the way.  It provided a wonderful opportunity to look at this spot where I find myself - at the crossroads - trying to decide whether ...

I thought I'd mention and provide links to Adventures in a Tuk-Tuk Blog's social media pages, just in case you haven't come across them yet. There are social media icons that are linked on the blog's website in the top right-hand corner under "Stalk Me", but sometimes they can be missed.The blog's Facebook page is regularly updated... probably more often ...

If you google search "volunteer opportunities in Sri Lanka" (or anywhere in the world), you're most likely to come across a plethora of foreign volunteer organizations based out of countries outside of Sri Lanka requiring registration fees and a fair whack of expense on your part. The two most common volunteer programs or projects that are touted through these ...

If you had asked me a few days ago how I'd be spending my first Sunday of the new year, my answer most definitely wouldn't have been at a hospital. If you're like me, weekends are meant for adventure, fun, or simply relaxing. However, when you find out a friend is fearful about an out-patient surgical procedure booked in for ...

People say I'm extravagant because I want to be surrounded by beauty. But tell me, who wants to be surrounded by garbage? - Imelda Marcos You know you're going to be getting your stinky on when the subject matter for this installment of "An expat in Sri Lanka: the Good, Bad and Ugly" is all about garbage (also known as ...

The Aluvihare Rock Temple is situated to the north of Matale (about 26km from Kandy) within Sri Lanka's Cultural Triangle on the Kandy-Dambulla stretch of the A9 highway. It played an important part in Theravada Buddhist history, following the Fourth Buddhist Council, being the place where the Tipitika was committed to writing in Pali . Prior to this, the ...

This week the Sri Lankan Government approved a series of amendments to the Immigrants and Emigrants Act No. 20 of 1948, which will mean favourable changes to existing visa regulations for foreign nationals and former Sri Lankan citizens.Many of these changes relate to longer stay visas and will be welcomed as positive change by foreign nationals or expats in Sri ...

I enjoy weekends where I get to hang out with a friend and catch up on life, love and everything else. You know the sort where you really get to spend time together, walk, talk, browse, joke, laugh, eat, drink, relax and unwind. Connecting with our friends at this level is quite a challenge when you consider everyone's fast-paced lifestyle, especially living in a capital city.  Often, I find

There's no better way to start off this installment of "An expat in Sri Lanka" than to tell you about my new found alternative remedy PEENAS OIL. Now, now readers and friends... before you freak out on me, it's not what you think. Get your mind out of the gutter people   Though, got to say, funny name! If you ...

As an expat living in Sri Lanka for awhile now, I'd say I'm relatively well-versed in the comings and goings of everyday life around Colombo and to a certain extent, Kandy. These are the places I've lived most of the time, as opposed to the various travel I've undertaken around this blessed little teardrop island. Very recently, I was invited ...