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Jaffna

On Jaffna, the Long-Lost Home and the Sweetest Plain Tea at Karaitivu

January 1, 2018

On Jaffna, the Long-Lost Home and the Sweetest Plain Tea at Karaitivu

That one weekend we boarded the train, and went all the way to Jaffna for a mini fam trip.

Sharing a bit about this superwomen this Internati

Sharing a bit about this superwomen this International Women's Day ☀️✨💛

We love Aunty Mettha, and we first came to know about her when her lovely little Sri Lankan restaurant on the busy street of Unawatuna — Mettha's Home Cooking — was included in the Essence of Asia collection highlighted by Asia's 50 Beat Restaurants.

Aunty Meththa doesn't exactly know what it is, but she says she's happy about it, and she was taken to the "Sanga's & Mahela's restaurant (Ministry of Crab)" in Colombo.

When we met her in December, she said that her rice & curry business was slowly picking up after the pandemic, but not as much as other places. Her main customers are foreigners, mostly from the UK. "Locals rarely come because when they come here, they don't want to eat rice & curry...they it every day at home," she told us, smiling.

She cooks incredible curried and tempered vegetables, creamy cinnamon-scented dals, and flavourful chicken and seafood sides. Everything served at this little homely restaurant is cooked by her 🤗 In a nutshell, Aunty Mettha is a girlboss 💛

So if you are going to #Unawatuna, don't forget to visit her and have her rice & curry.

#natnzin x #IWD2022
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#internationalwomensday #iwd #iwd2022 #womenpower #girlboss #womensday #womeninbusiness #womenintourism #womeninfood #womanchef #goodfood #sosrilanka #srilanka #srilankatravel #srilankatourism #visitsrilanka #colombo #galle #wanderlustsrilanka #srilankancuisine #riceandcurry #srilankanfood

Loooove the lagoon crabs 🦀 What's the best se

Loooove the lagoon crabs 🦀

What's the best seafood meal you've had?

We decided to cook mud crabs for the first time and it turned out to be one of the best seafood meals we've had, and quite close to the 🦞 we had from a Maldivian isle, a crab and avo salad from the now-shuttered Tuna & The Crab in Galle and buttery crab from The Fat Crab paired with pol sambol and roast paan ✨

We got these from @live_lagoon_crabs_batticaloa

#natnzin
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#srilankatravel #srilanka #seafood #crab #crabmeat #crablover #seafoodrestaurant #mudcrab #sosrilanka #visitsrilanka #srilankatravel #srilankatourism #travelphotography #foodphotography #colombo #goodfood #srilankanfood #srilankancuisine #lagooncrabs #ministryofcrab #colomborestaurants

Bentota ✨ Definitely one of the most beautiful t

Bentota ✨ Definitely one of the most beautiful train stations we've seen — and it's designed by the late architect Geoffrey Bawa, who's known for his concept of tropical modernism 🌿🌿

#natnzin
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#beautifuldestinations #sosrilanka #srilanka #srilanka🇱🇰 #wanderlustsrilanka #travelblogger #travelphotography #travelsrilanka #railwaystation #bentota #galle #geoffreybawa #geoffreybawaarchitecture #colombo #kalutara #srilankatourism #travelgram

Some 📷 from the beautiful #Maldives. Also if yo

Some 📷 from the beautiful #Maldives. Also if you want to stay in a local, inhabited island in @visitmaldives, here are some recs ✨

Island 🌴🌞: There are so, so many local islands to choose from, but the ones close to the capital Malé can be a bit overcrowded with hotels/guesthouses and tourists. We loved Dhigurah Island which belongs to South Ari Atoll in the Maldives, about 100km from Malé — also a good place to see whale sharks 🦈 The island is only 4km long and about 300m in width. You can walk to the end of the island and come across a long sandbank, which is so, so pretty!

Transport to Dhigurah from the airport 🚢⛵: you've two options. You can take a 20-min flight ✈️ to nearby Maamigili Island (your local accommodation can book this for you!) and another 20 min speed boat ride. We decided to do this on our arrival.

Or you can get on a speed boat⛵ directly from the airport or Malé. It runs once a day to the island and back so check the timings. We did this on our way back. We prefer this method more.

Stay 💤: If you are going to #dhigurah, definitely pick @blissdhigurah. So beautiful, comfortable and value for money with literally the *best* staff ✨ They are fab and can organize anything you'd want to do — snorkeling, diving, sandbank visits, fishing etc.

Eat 🦞: Bliss has their own in-house restaurant @hermits_at_bliss, which is run by a lovely local and foreign team ✨ They've a mix of local, other Asian and Western foods and everything tastes so good. Try their homemade coconut 🥥 ice cream if you go!

#natnzin
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#maldives
#visitmaldives #maldivesislands #southariatollmaldives #southariatoll #maldivesisland #maldiveslovers #maldivestrip #malemaldives #dhigurahisland

From Bundala 🌿✨ Finally got time to go throug

From Bundala 🌿✨ Finally got time to go through the camera pics.

#bundalanationalpark #natnzin
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#bundala #srilankatravel #sosrilanka #wanderlustsrilanka #tangalle

From Tangalle 🌊🌿🌴 If you are going to T

From Tangalle 🌊🌿🌴

If you are going to Tangalle,
🏠 Sleep inside a very beautiful treehouse at @jaywa_lanka inside the jungle bordering the lagoons — only 500m to the sea 🌊
🏠 Or you could also stay by the beach at @palmparadise.tangalle in gorgeous Goyam Bay.

Eat:
- We loved @lounge_tangalle! The tuna wasabi was so, so good!
- @ceylonexcel is run by a lovely mum and son duo who cook the best seafood for you. Great value for money.
- @coppenrath_tangalle has great coffee. They also seem to have a pretty interesting breakfast menu (we couldn't try it though!).

Do:
- Absolutely nothing.
- Or a lagoon tour at Kalamatiya or go on a safari to Bundala. We found @bundala_safari_srimal_srilanka on Tripadvisor and highly recommend him! You can go in the wee hours of the day for birds or during the day for lots of wild animals. Bundala hardly gets any visitors so you won't come across many jeeps here.

#natnzin
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#tangalle #bundalanationalpark #bundala #goyambokka #medaketiyabeach #srilankatravel #sosrilanka #beautifuldestinations #beautifulbeaches #srilanka

We were in the south of the country last week and

We were in the south of the country last week and came across some really gorgeous landscapes 💙🌊

This one's from Bundala 🌿

#natnzin
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#srilanka🇱🇰 #srilanka #srilankatravel #bundala #bundalanationalpark #tangalle #ussangoda #hambantota

Equally love the Galle Fort streets and this print

Equally love the Galle Fort streets and this print from @shay_int ❤️✨

#natnzin
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#gallefort #gallefort #gallesrilanka #srilanka🇱🇰 #srilanka #wanderlustsrilanka #travelsrilanka #srilankatravel #sosrilanka #visitsrilanka🇱🇰 #visitsrilanka

NILAVELI 🌊🤗 Nilaveli is really really pretty

NILAVELI 🌊🤗 Nilaveli is really really pretty and one of the best places to watch the sunrise here. If you are looking for a place to stay that's closer to the beach and affordable, highly recommend @bellanilavelibeach 🌊🌴🌿 They also have cute cabanas with open air showers and only 50m to the beach. Also sleepy cats 😺 and friendly pooches 🐶

PS: the east coast still is heavily militarized, but that's a topic for another day.

#natnzin
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#srilankatravel #srilanka🇱🇰 #nilaveli #nilavelibeach #travelsrilanka #wanderlustsrilanka #exploresrilanka #srilanka #sosrilanka

Massive love to this really cute, family-run oldes

Massive love to this really cute, family-run oldest eatery in Galle Fort that's been there since 1932 💛✨

They open before everything else inside the Fort opens up, when nearby school kids and officegoers come here for a quick breakfast fix 🍛👨🏽‍🍳

#natnzin
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#gallefort #gallesrilanka #galle #srilankatravel #srilanka🇱🇰 #srilanka #visitsrilanka🇱🇰 #visitsrilanka #exploresrilanka #Unawatuna #wanderlustsrilanka

So many beautiful clips from Maldives so sharing a

So many beautiful clips from Maldives so sharing a few here 🤗✨

Love to see a good sunrise always (not that easy to get out of bed though!)

#natnzin #maldives #dhigurah #southariatoll #southariatollmaldives #visitmaldives #maldivesislands

11 places in Unawatuna we loved this time around 🤗

1. A lil outdoor cafe with cozy vibes, great coffee and homemade desserts at @unabeach.lk
2. Loved this sago + crunchy granola + cashew milk breakfast at @skinnytoms
3. @persian_kitchen_galle is our all time fav! Go try their food ❤️
4. Love Wijaya Beach for their location/views but not so much for the food, unfortunately. Not a fan of the super thin crust.
5. Absolutely love the welcoming space at @kohasurflounge
6. Tacos 👌🏾 at @thehideoutunawatuna
7. Organic natural ice cream from this gelato
8. 12/10 for this super friendly, local family run restaurant tucked inside the jungle 🌿 Find it and order their whole butterfish 🤗 — Sea Waves Restaurant
9. Nautilus Unawatuna has amazing seafood 🤗 Also local run!
10. Pink Elephant for good vibes 🤗
11. Ran out of post space but the wonderful La Boheme for 🍕🍕

#natnzin
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#Unawatuna #srilankatravel #sosrilanka #travelsrilanka #visitsrilanka #visitsrilanka🇱🇰 #wanderlustsrilanka #unawatunasrilanka #unawatunabeach #galle #gallesrilanka #srilanka🇱🇰

Hihi! It's been a while but here's wishing you all

Hihi! It's been a while but here's wishing you all a happy, happy, happy new year and hope '22 would be full of travels, sunshine and bright days.

Although we don't post here much (but we really want to!), we've been traveling for a bit and here's a picture from the week in beautiful #Unawatuna (before it got extremely crowded for the holidays).

#natnzin #unawatuna
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#srilanka #sosrilanka #unawatunabeach #unawatunasrilanka #srilankatravel #travelsrilanka

Always love the Maldives ✨❤️ Kinda left our

Always love the Maldives ✨❤️ Kinda left our hearts in this local island 🌴

#natnzin #maldives #maldivesislands #maldivestrip

BREAKING THE RADIO SILENCE 😌✨🥰 Thank you

BREAKING THE RADIO SILENCE 😌✨🥰

Thank you for coming to our wedding everyone, and to the friends far away who couldn't make it—we missed you, and wished that you were with us, always 💛

Like my little sister shared, Nathan and I've been together for so long, and neither of us thought it was necessary to have a wedding—like my friend @fareesness said, we've become each other's homes, for many many years. We never saw that it was necessary to have a wedding to validate what we had for each other. This wedding was a result of our parents—and, that was how, six years after we met in a backpack hostel in Colombo, slowly being friends over our love for Younis Khan and the Pakistan cricket team, we ended up getting married, and having a small, small wedding.

Being Tamil and Sinhalese (the two majority ethnicities who fought a civil war for thirty years), Buddhist and Hindu, and belonging to two very culturally and socially different families have never being a problem for neither of us. And like our absolutely gorgeous friend Shaheera (who's too cool to be on IG) shared (we miss you, always!!!), we've overcome politics and racism and everything else you could possibly think of.

Much love,
Nat & Zin

PS: We loooove the amazing crew who did everything to make this event so gorgeous as possible.

✍️📰: @weddingstoriesbysabrina
📸: @avishkasenaratnephoto
💄💋: @senishamakeupartistry
💐: @francesdecor
🍰: @caked_by_amna

#natnzin

Morning chores in #Nilaveli. . . . #natnzin #trin

Morning chores in #Nilaveli.

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#natnzin #trincomalee #Nilaveli #srilanka🇱🇰 #srilankatourism #srilanka #sosrilanka #travelsrilanka #srilankadaily

Beautiful Nilaveli ✨❤️ Not every day you wak

Beautiful Nilaveli ✨❤️ Not every day you wake at 5.30am to see the sunrise ✨

#natnzin #Nilaveli
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#srilanka🇱🇰 #srilanka #travelsrilanka #sosrilanka #srilankatourism #wanderlustsrilanka

a random video of the palms 🌴🌴🌴🌴 and t

a random video of the palms 🌴🌴🌴🌴 and the sound of the crashing waves 🌊🌊

#natnzin
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#srilanka #srilanka🇱🇰 #weligama

thambili aka king coconut 🥥 so integral to our

thambili aka king coconut 🥥 so integral to our lives here in the island that I can write pages about it 🤗

#natnzin #srilanka

the first sight of cherry blossoms in Meghalaya 🌸 Oct, 2019

#natnzin #meghalaya

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