Nuwan, known personally to many of our clients, still enjoys to be on tour as a guide. If you are interested in Nuwan's service, just ask, if he is free during your holidays next year.

In South and Southeast Asia, it's the peak of monsoon season now. Currently, northern India ans Myanmar are the most affected areas, whereas weather conditions in Sri Lanka are windy but less extreme. Showers will occur in the southwest, as one would expect, but there will be thunderstorms in Badulla and further east and light rainfall in Anuradhapura and further north, too.

Let's continur the blog tomorrow with the weekly weather report...

Yesterday's blog post about the ruins of Anuradhapura's so-called Western Monasteries remained without image. To give you a visual impression of this less visited area of the archaeological zone, we add one picture today.

The ruins of the so-called Western Monasteries of Anuradhapura are worth a visit, although they are not large monuments. Due to the large amount of famous destinations in Anuradhapura, only few travellers find their way to the smaller archaeological sites situated just west of the ancient tanks. The area, which is sometimes called Thapovana, was once a crematorial place. One reform movement within the Buddhist Sangha lived a more austere live than the majority of Buddhist monks. One of their additional rules, which are otherwise not mandatory in the Buddhist order, was to accept no robes as gifts but to collect the wrecked clothes of the deceased left behind before the cremations took place. The reform monks are named after this practice, Pansukulikas. They remained attached to the large monasteries in the core of Anuradhapura but settled down outside the busy town centre. There monastic buildings were without built of large and precisely hewn blocks of stone, but remained without ornamental works of art, with one odd exception: the toilets of Anuradhapura's Western Monasteries were richly decorated with carvings, as another symbol of contempt for art.

Our next blog post will be about Anuradhapura West, a less frequented part of the archaeological zone.

In yesterday's blog post we mentioned, that besides peak season in April there is a second whale watching season in Mirissa at Sri Lanka's south coast from July till September. However during roughly the same period, starting in May and lasting till October, Sri Lanka's main destination for whal watchers is Trincomalee at the northeastern coast of the island. Though there are fewer blue whales than during Mirissa's whale season from November till April, chances are quite good to observe the largest creatures that have ever existed on earth. However, at both places there is no blue whale guarantee during northern hemisphere summer months, and there is no guarantee, either, that boats will leave for whale watching on any given day. So better check in advance by contacting your hotel.

Mirissa is situated at Sri Lanka's south coast, 35 km east of Galle and 10 km west of Matara. Mirissa has become one of the most beloved beach destinations in recent years, particularly independent travellers are attracted by the wide range of guesthouses ans small hotels. Mirissa crescent-shaped beach is popular with surfers and has a break ideal for beginners. The main surf spot is on the right end of the beach, where many guesthouses and restaurants are located. There is a low power right-hander break at the rocks and a left-hander near the port.

First and foremost, Mirissa has become  the island's main whale watching location. The whale watching season in Mirissa runs from November to April, April being the peak season. However, there is a second whale watching season starting just now, from July to September.

Read more abot Mirissa whale watching here...

Spells of light showers will occur in the Ratnapura and Kegalle area today, maybe also some thundershowers in Polonnaruwa in the afternoon. Mainly fair weather will prevail in most regions of the island. In Colombo, it will be partly cloudy today, but without precipitation. However, rain is expected in the following days in Colombo, with thundershowers in the second half of the week.