On December 24 last year, my friends and our families went on a trip to Yala. 

On the way, we had a short swim at the Tangalle beach. It was really hot, but the water was welcoming. We had fun in the sand, though. After a while, we headed towards a vast land area, known as Ussangoda. It is said that the war between the Indian King Rama and the great Sri Lankan King Ravana had taken place here and many parts of arrows have been especially found here. It is a vast grassland now, ideal for some games! We then went to our hotel and we all had a swim in the pool. It was extremely joyful to be in the water with your friends around you, doing whatever you want.

We later had our usual game, had a walk by the nearby paddyfields under the moonlit sky and went off to sleep to start fresh on the next day.

The second day was our planned day to visit Yala. The climate was quite hot. As we went in our safari jeeps, everything was open. We saw many herds of buffaloes lurking under trees and some standing lazily under the hot sun. We came across many wild boar, deer and some birds of prey. The most exciting part was when we came across an elephant just a few inches away from our jeep. Some people in the other jeeps panicked, but we managed to control ourselves as the elephant walked past our jeep. Mind you, we were less than a few inches away from the majestic creature’s trunk! Unluckily, though, we didn’t see a leopard, whom some of our friends from another jeep had had a glimpse of. What we felt is that animals are reluctant to come out, as there are many vehicles going about all the time, and they are quite loud too. Maybe the control of such vehicles might allow people to see more creatures.

However, we had a great time in the evening, as we were back in the pool.
At night, we had a fearful time, because all of my friends and I were in one room, watching a horror movie on a laptop. It did result in seeing shadowy figures everywhere I looked, but it was amusing to hear everyone scream and laugh at the same time!

The third and final day arrived quite soon. It was saddening to say goodbye to the hotel, as we had so much fun there. However, the trip did not end there.

We passed by the Mattala airport, and we went to the safari at Hambantota. Here, we had to travel by bus through the cages of many animals, including lions, horses and camels. It wasn’t full of animals, as the animals were still being brought to the safari. But it was satisfying enough. We sang songs in the bus thereafter until our throats were sore.

It was an amazing trip, and I look forward to go on another one soon.

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