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Action Replay: March & April 2016

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I couldn't do an action replay post for March, thanks to the A to Z challenge in April. March has been a wonderful month for me in terms of everything. Work, personal life, travel etc. Cal and I finished three years of marriage this March and we went on a vacation to Sri Lanka for a whole week. We had planned to go to Sri Lanka for out honeymoon back then, but couldn't due to a lot of financial constraints. This time we planned well and took a week off from work just for some good relaxation time and a celebration. I've been to Sri Lanka before on work and I loved the country. The whole country was so clean and well planned. So unlike ours. I had decided back then itself that this would be a place I'd come back one day with Cal.

Our flight to Colombo was from Chennai and we took a train from Bangalore to Chennai. Our first train journey together and we enjoyed it completely. Chennai is a place that holds really bad memories for me and I had decided never to return to that place. But when Cal suggested that it was time I let go of my demons and made peace with it, I agreed with him. This time I looked at Chennai completely differently. Cal and I ended up having a wonderful time walking around the place and exploring different kinds of food. We stayed there for a night and I finally had made peace with this city. The next morning, we were on our way to Colombo.

Sri Lanka is a very beautiful place. We had planned a customized itinerary and everything was sorted from India only. We were welcomed by our driver at the airport and from then on, it was bliss. Sri Lanka is a beautiful country that is very well planned and very well maintained. We traveled a lot and covered quite a number of places. While the first day was reserved for the city tour of Colombo, we went to Bentota the next day. Bentota is beautiful with its pristine beaches that are so clean that the water is bright blue in color. Such a pleasure to the eye. We also went dolphin and whale watching in Mirissa. Seven hours in the sea was quite something and thankfully we did not feel sea sick. Although we couldn't catch a glimpse of a whale, we saw thousands of dolphins and beautiful turtles in the middle of the ocean. This was an experience that we would remember all our lives.

We also visited Kandy, Dambulla and Sigiriya. Buddhism is very prevalent in Sri Lanka and it is a religion I'm fascinated with. I like their practises. If I were a firm believer of religion and God, this is what I would choose. But sadly I'm not. We visited many Buddhist temples, monasteries and caves and saw Buddha in almost every form. It was such a beautiful experience. Cal and I spent a lot of time together and enjoyed every bit of it. We did not want to come back, but did we have a choice? Having made peace with the fact that we have to return, we came back to Bangalore feeling fresh and rejuvenated.

While March was mainly about anniversary and travel, April was primarily about the A to Z 2016 challenge. I did this challenge for the third consecutive year in a row, with a relevantly simple topic, but it was the hardest this year. There was a lot of work to be done at office and the Bangalore heat was not helping either. You get exhausted so soon that by the time you get back home after work, you're dazed. While I managed to write most of the weekday posts on time, the posts for Saturdays were always posted the next Monday. I hate using the laptop during weekends and I never write anything during my time off from work. This time is for Cal and me to do what ever we want to do. I crawled past the weekend posts and finally am done with the A to Z for 2016. But to be honest, I did enjoy it the same amount like the past two years. It makes you want to pull your hair out. But in the end it is always worth it. More on the individual posts and the topics I chose in the A to Z reflections post coming up on May 9th.

How did April treat you? If you were a part of the A to Z 2016 challenge, then congrats my friend, we did it!

Comments

  1. Sounds like a week of March was relaxing. Wonderful! I followed your atoz posts throughout the month n it was wonderful journey finding similarities.

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  2. So happy to know that you had an amazing time in SL. I have heard about SL a lot and we will go there some day :)
    April was busy for me too - work, blogging and cooking. Gosh! Too much to handle. I know you do all this and more but the lazy me, just had a very busy time in April. A to Z went well and it was my second year. already looking forward to the third :)
    Have a lovely May dear!

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  3. I was travelling this year in April as well! Hopefully next year I will take up the challenge.
    I guess I have to catch up a lot on the posts from the last month. And since I like personal posts the most, I'll get to them soonest!

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    1. You should do this again!

      I'm looking forward to a lot more comments from you now :)

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  4. Sri Lanka is on my list of places to visit. This was my 5th challenge and I loved it, though struggled to cope with it :) Congratulations on completing 3 years of marriage, we just completed 28 on 28th April 2016 :)

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    1. I'm glad you completed it and congrats on the 28th anniversary!

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  5. Glad to know you had a lovely time in March and also that you completed the A-Z successfully.
    I've heard so many wonders about Sri Lanka and really want to visit the city someday. Do share tour travel pics and write a travel post if possible. Would love to read it.

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  6. The vacation sounds truly exotic! I had a hectic april too!

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