Hello everyone!

It has been quite some time since we last wrote a blog, about two and a half years. We realised that we never shared our adventures in Japan via this platform, but hope that you have heard some of our stories nonetheless. If you haven't and would still like to, please do not hesitate to let us know!

Currently, we are in Waskaduwa, Sri Lanka! For those of you who don't know, we flew in on April 1st (not kidding) and we brought our bicycles. We will be touring the beautiful pearl of the Indian ocean for two months! Travel in SL is allowed provided you can tick a few boxes. Specifically, produce a negative test prior to departure, do three tests in SL, have a specific insurance, and stay in "Level 1 Safe & Secure" hotels for the first 14 days. Sounds easy enough right?? Miraculously, everything went about as smoothly as it could have gone, besides from the 24h delay that we commenced our journey with. Upon arrival in our first hotel, we were greeted very politely by several people in biohazard suits who sprayed our luggage with disinfectants. We were allowed to drop off some stuff in our room before we had to do our first test. After that, we participated in some X-TREME RELAXATION. All jokes aside, we spent the week doing very little but lounging at the pool sipping drinks, playing beach volleyball, and swimming. The food offered by the hotel gave of us a great introduction to local cuisine, with tourist-level spiciness. Many curries, chutney's, and chopped coconut mixed with different spices referred to as "sambol", not to mention the toothachingly sweet desserts; it's a miracle we can still fit our pants.

Oddly enough, we even socialised with our fellow-quaramates (often without appropriate distance, see pics). We met some great people who will also be traveling SL for some time, so there's a good chance that we will get to see them again at some point! As can be expected from an island around the equator, the climate really is something else. Seeing some images and videos of snow in the Netherlands was just crazy. It's hard to imagine what 'cold' feels like when the averag temperature is 30 degrees. We're curious to find out how much water we'll be drinking while cycling: just assembling the bikes was enough to have sweat drip from our bodies.

Before we can really start our adventures, we have to chill, read, swim, and be bored in a hotel near a beautiful beach until the 15th. On that day, we will hop on our trusty aluminium steeds and head south towards Bentota and to the old Dutch fortress, Galle. We are vigorously excited for the actual commencement of our next adventure! This two week wait is very relaxing and it introduces us gently to the food, climate, and local culture. We couldn't imagine a better start.

We will try to post a few photos with every blog, provided we can muster the internet connection. Please do not hesitate to tell us about the highlights we must see, foods we should eat, or places to avoid. All inside information is good information.

Until next time!

Myrthe & Tenzing