And so, after 65 wonderful days, the time has come for us to give back Kevin, and leave SriLanka.
We've had quite the adventure and we truly hope you have enjoyed reading about it!
SriLanka is an incredibly clean, safe, cheap, honest and beautiful country and we highly recommend adding it to your list of future travel destinations!

So, just how cheap was SriLanka?
Here are our finaly costs:

Accommodation: 105147 LKR (US$809)
Transport: 96339 LKR (US$741)
Food/drink: 81801 LKR (US$630)
Shopping:  15853 LKR (US$121)
Nappies/Medical expenses:  10303 LKR  (US$79)
Misc (including visa extension):  47382 LKR (US$364)
Misc (excluding visa extension):  31414 LKR (US$241)

(Or 340,857 LKR  (US$2621) excluding the visa extension costs.

* Indian visas and flights to India, as well as flights to SriLanka are not included.

Over 65 days, our daily average was:     5490 LKR (US$42)

(excluding visa extension): 5243 LKR (US$40)

Not bad for a family of 3!!!

It's not very often that you find the "PERFECT" guesthouse. 
A place that just works on every conceivable level.
We found that at Beach Hut.
Whilst we loved it the first time we stayed, after a further 10 days there over SriLankan new years,  it is now more like home to us than just a guesthouse. 

Roh didn't want me to write this blog, but I feel it is important for others planning to drive a tuk-tuk or even a scooter around SriLanka to be aware of.
In different parts of SriLanka, different "laws" exist.

One such example is in Arugam Bay - famous for surfing. 
The locals have created a "law," even enforced by some local police (with a little monetary encouragement I'm sure) that says you are not allowed to have more than 2 surfboards on the roof of any tuk-tuk, even though, including the driver there is room for 4 passengers.
The local tuk-tuk drivers explicitly forbid us from putting 3 boards on and even went as far as to block us from leaving the guesthouse whilst calling the police on their mobile phones when we objected to it being ridiculous. They then openly admitted it was so they could make more money. In other places, Midigama for example, we saw tuk-tuks with 4 or even more boards on their roofs on a daily basis. 
But not in Arugam bay. 
You see, the best surf spots are about a 1000 rupee tuk-tuk ride away. And when you can also rent and drive your own tuk-tuk for the same price, and take 3 friends and their boards, that means that they are losing money in their minds. Instead, even if you have your own tuk-tuk, for 4 people and their boards to go surfing you now, by "law" need 2 tuk-tuks. 
The local tuk-tuk drivers literally got together and decided that the new local "law" was 2 boards maximum.
Also, in Hikkaduwa for example, you see many tourists driving scooters with a surfboard side rack. These, in Arugam Bay, are also "illegal." I don't know how they would stop you from entering or leaving the area, but we were told they were not allowed there. 

Just a friendly word of warning for those planning a tuk-tuk trip with surfboards.

I'm going to call these "politically incorrect Oreos"..

"Seductively black"

"Sensually white"

...

Since when has cream been sensual??

With an extra 2 weeks to wait until we find our whether our Indian visas have been approved or rejected, and after spending 2 months here in Sri Lanka already, and not really having anywhere left to explore, we decided to revisit one of our favourite places!

We love diving! And we always jump at the chance to dive somewhere new, especially in a new country!
We had heard a lot about the diving in Sri Lanka and were keen to check it out, but by time we got to Hikkaduwa and Unawatuna in the south, the season was nearly over. We were told that the visibility was bad and that we were better off waiting until we got to Trincomalee where the season was just starting. I was also told that I might be able to do some diving work, so we were keen to get to Trinco and see what we could find. 
Unfortunately, we got to Trinco a little too early for the main season. So there was no work for me, but I decided to do a dive anyway, while Rob and Gypsy spent the day chilling out on land.

After the smog and crazy busy traffic in Kandy, we decided to head for some reprieve in the hill country. With Sri Lankan New Year looming and the fireworks starting to become a regular sound effect in Kandy, we were also hoping to find somewhere a little quieter...
Unfortunately, it seems, all of Sri Lanka had the same idea...

Applying for an Indian visa is NEVER straight forward, no matter where you are. And now that the entire visa application process has been outsourced to IVS (India Visa Services), there is even more confusion.
So here are some things I wish I knew about the whole process beforehand.

When we hear "tourist beach resort," I guess what normally comes to mind is similar to what we found in Hikkaduwa. A road with shops/restaurants/accommodation on both sides, and a beach near by. 
Or, even better, with shops/restaurants/accommodation on one side of the road, and the beach on the other like in Unawatuna. 
What we have found here in Sri Lanka however, is that most of the time, it's not quite like that. 
Resorts/ hotels seem to own the beach. So unless you are staying there, it can sometimes be really difficult to even get to the beach. And if, heaven forbid, you wanted to eat somewhere else, or go shopping, you have to get a taxi to take you. 
It's clever marketing on the side of the businesses, but really inconvenient as a traveller (unless you have a tuktuk like we do.)

Batticaloa, or Batti, as the locals say, is yet another example of how weird Roh and I must be. Literally every town the guidebooks say to bypass as it's boring/ugly etc, we LOVE! And the places the book raves about, ie Mirissa, Tangalle etc, were just OK for us.. lol