Boarded the 0030 Emirate Flight From Singapore to Colombo. Flight was enjoyable, with extensive inflight entertainment and good meal. I was not feeling well before boarding the plane and thus did not sleep much on the plane. Watched a bit of the movie “Hitchcock” starring Anthony Hopkins.
Immigration and Customs clearance were straight forward and no hussle. We were greeted by the agency staff and were introduced to our driver Mr Rohan. We headed straight to Anuradhapura as we did not want to pay for a few hours sleep at a Colombo hotel and would prefer visiting Anuradhapura soonest.
First purchase in Sri Lanka was a SIM card costing Rs1,300. I would recommend getting one as it allows you to communicate with your driver and the tour agency. 
On the way to Anuradhapura, the driver was stopped for speeding and had to pay a fine of Rs1100 (S$1=90Rs or US$=120Rs). What a start to our journey!
Arrived 6 am at Palm Garden Village Hotel and the staff was kind enough to let us check-in early.
The first impression was good: Spacious lobby and the staff was generally efficient.
If you do not like walking, choose a room closer to the reception as some rooms (like mine) are quite a distance away. These rooms are however close to the lake where wild elephants roam at times. During my stay there, I did not see any elephants.
...but wild birds.
As a consolation, the walk to our room was pleasant.
Each chalet consists of 2 rooms. The facilities in our room was good, except that the TV channels did not have any English programmes.
The swimming pool looks great but unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to use it.
We did not have lunch or dinner at the hotel as we found the price expensive.
The breakfast buffet spread was good. However, the staff should ready the breakfast items by serving time. When we had our breakfast at 7 am, the waiters were still bringing out food at 7:30am.
Overall, I had a good impression of Palm Garden Village Hotel. I like it for its ambience and surrounding. The pool would definitely come in useful if you want to escape the hot afternoon sun.
For other entries on Sri Lanka, please visit Sri Lanka Travels
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