Blue Whales of Mirrissa Sr lanka

Tabs swimming lesson, i am improving don't you think?

We went Whale watching in Mirissa.

We saw 3 or 4 whales

Moonstone Mine

We visited a Moonstone mine & factory in Meetiyagodo A moonstone is grey in colour and feels cool and smooth to the touch. When polished it has a glow like of the moon. Have you ever wondered where that pretty little moonstone on your finger actually comes from? Moonstone’s are in the semi-precious category and are an important component of the Sri Lankan gem industry. The finest are bluish in colour and are found in high concentrations in heading inland 7km to Mitiyagoda, between Ambalangoda and Hikkaduwa, where we stayed. Moonstone has been mined in these sweltering forests forever and the moonstone mines, little more than muddy rabbit holes, 6m or 7m long, are fascinating as is the process of filtering out the precious stones, cutting them up and polishing them up ready for sale. At the Moonstone Factory we saw into a narrow shaft where the stones are mined. I bought one for my necklace.

Sri Lankan Tea Plantation

Sri Lanka is very famous for its growing of Tea, we visited a Tea Plantation and saw how Tea was grown, picked and harvested.

Train from Colombo to coast Hikkaduwa

We got the train from Colombo down the coast to Hikkaduwa

The Train was very packed and they sold lots of snacks on the train. The men went up and down the train with baskets on their heads selling everything. I bought some pineapple....

Typical Markets

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The Markets were Selling fish, bananas, fruit and very cheap. I bought some oranges and a crispy green apple..yum

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is a Country located in the Indian Ocean situated just 28km from the Southern Tip of India, Colombo is the capital of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka has a population of 20 million, The religions of Sri Lanka are 70% Buddhist, 12% Hindu, 10% Muslim and 7% Christian.

We arrived here on the 10th of January and stayed two nights in the Capital Colombo, here is a typical Guest house.

Baby Turtles hatched out making their way to the sea

Betsey travelling

Betsey did not see the turtles.

Me swimming with the Turtles

Kangaroos

Agnes Water town of 1770 is a hidden paradise along the east coast of Australia and it is where you spot wild kangaroos, wallabies in the wild as well as watch one of the best sunsets on the East Coast.

This how big a sharks mouth can be ...quite big compared to me!

This is what a great white Shark can do to you and kill you of course!

Newspaper cuttings of people who have been attacked by Great White Sharks!

Great White Sharks.....We went to visit this frozen great white shark in a museum in Hervey bay Queensland.

Tabs summersaults

Australia

We arrived into Australia on the 23rd December. Australia is a large continent found in the southern hemisphere, it is on the other side of the world from England, so we are upside down when in Australia compared to being in England, this is why they call it down under, the reason it doesn't feel like we are upside down is because of gravity.

Australia was found by the famous explorer Captain James Cook In April 1770, Captain James Cook and his crew on the famous ship the endeavour became the first Europeans to reach the east coast of Australia, making landfall on the shore of what is now known as Botany Bay.

When Captain James cook and his crew arrived they found animals that they had never seen before, animals such as Kangaroos, Koala bear and Dingos (wild dogs) these animals aren't found anywhere else other than in Australia, also Australia has snakes, spiders, sharks and jelly fish that can kill you if you get bitten, don't worry as they are all very frightened of human beings except maybe the sharks. Australia is also very famous for what is called the Great Barrier Reef, the Barrier Reef is a coral reef that stretches a thousand miles just of the coast of Australia on the North East coast, it is home to thousands of verities of fish and mammals.

When Captain James Cook landed in 1770 he was met by native people called Aborigines, can you imagine what the Aborigines must have thought when they saw a great big ship arrive with white people on board, it must have been the equivalent us seeing a space ship arrive on Westward ho! beach with aliens on board.

Emerald Buddha

The Temple of the Emerald Buddha Wat Phra Si Rattanasasadaram, generally called the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in English or Wat Phra Gaeo in Thai, is a temple purpose-built to house a Buddha image carved from a large solid piece of green jadite. Chaophraya Chakri, who went on to become King Rama I, brought the image from Vientiane when he captured the city in 1778. King Rama I built the temple and enshrined the Emerald Buddha there as a symbol of Siam's regained nationhood. The temple does not house any monks. Rather, it is more like the personal chapel of the royal family. Tabitha says "We had to pray to the Buddha"

The grand palace in bangkok

We took a boat to get to the Palace, it was amazing so big and gold..this is a picture of when we arrived! Mummy and daddy and boys had to hire some clothes as you have to totally cover up out of respect..they put on shirts and trousers and it was very hot!

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Arrived at bangkok.....

There are lots of different types of transport in Bangkok which are big, small & long boats, ferries and Tuc Tuc's. We used them all and they are all very cheap 30p to use the ferry....