27 June to 12 July
I am glad that Lars single-handedly planned the Sri Lanka trip. I just sat back and enjoyed the show. As a result, the two weeks we had in Sri Lanka was more relaxing and slow-paced, compared to my typical Chinese, cram-everything-in style! We had a bit of everything in Sri Lanka - wildlife, beach time, landscape, temples, gardens and shopping. I told Lars this should be the way going forward!
Lars went for the driver option under his friend's recommendation. It is not the cheapest way to travel in Sri Lanka but we saved a lot of time and hassle. Its interesting to see the drivers have their own network and help each other out. Our driver Ishan is also a licensed tour guide and speaks 5 languages. He happens to be Muslim so was fasting during the trip - I really cannot imagine not drinking water for the whole day. He is a nice guy, but he chewed our ears off by the end of the trip!
We got lucky with the weather and barely got any rain despite it being the rain season. Our itinerary for the 2 weeks:
Day 1 to 3: Sigiriya
After a horrible delay in Shanghai airport, where we sat inside the plane for 5 hours, we finally arrived in Colombo airport red-eye around lunch time. Our driver took us to Sigiriya directly from the airport. We caught up on some sleep in the car (well, at least I did). On the way, we had a round of King coconuts, a welcome drink from our driver.
We stayed at an eco-lodge place called Back of Beyond under Lars' friend's recommendation. It was a very interesting stay in the middle of the jungle. We had all kinds of insects and animals inside and outside of the room. We liked the fire flies as they lit up in the evening outside the room, and even inside the room. There were also frogs is the open air bathroom and they seem to be permanent residents there. We also heard the monkeys and once an elephant outside. The mosquito net proved to be very useful. Ironically, our driver did not enjoy the wildlife as much as we did! The food was decent and after 3 days, it occurred to me that the classic Sri Lanka dish is anything "devilled" - e.g. devilled chicken, devilled fish or even devilled potatoes. The place was a little strange with only 2.5 staff (the manager being part time), but was a novelty for us.
We loved the Elephant Safari (Minneriya National Park) even though there were only about 50 of them this time of the year. We got some romantic elephant moves on video!
We also climbed the Sigiriya Rock Fortress (Citadel of Sigiriya). Good view on top. It's inconceivable that people build a palace on top of a gigantic rock so many years ago. The museum is a worthy visiting, because the documentary video and pictures show a better aerial view of the fortress.
Lars went for the driver option under his friend's recommendation. It is not the cheapest way to travel in Sri Lanka but we saved a lot of time and hassle. Its interesting to see the drivers have their own network and help each other out. Our driver Ishan is also a licensed tour guide and speaks 5 languages. He happens to be Muslim so was fasting during the trip - I really cannot imagine not drinking water for the whole day. He is a nice guy, but he chewed our ears off by the end of the trip!
We got lucky with the weather and barely got any rain despite it being the rain season. Our itinerary for the 2 weeks:
Day 1 to 3: Sigiriya
After a horrible delay in Shanghai airport, where we sat inside the plane for 5 hours, we finally arrived in Colombo airport red-eye around lunch time. Our driver took us to Sigiriya directly from the airport. We caught up on some sleep in the car (well, at least I did). On the way, we had a round of King coconuts, a welcome drink from our driver.
We stayed at an eco-lodge place called Back of Beyond under Lars' friend's recommendation. It was a very interesting stay in the middle of the jungle. We had all kinds of insects and animals inside and outside of the room. We liked the fire flies as they lit up in the evening outside the room, and even inside the room. There were also frogs is the open air bathroom and they seem to be permanent residents there. We also heard the monkeys and once an elephant outside. The mosquito net proved to be very useful. Ironically, our driver did not enjoy the wildlife as much as we did! The food was decent and after 3 days, it occurred to me that the classic Sri Lanka dish is anything "devilled" - e.g. devilled chicken, devilled fish or even devilled potatoes. The place was a little strange with only 2.5 staff (the manager being part time), but was a novelty for us.
We loved the Elephant Safari (Minneriya National Park) even though there were only about 50 of them this time of the year. We got some romantic elephant moves on video!
We also climbed the Sigiriya Rock Fortress (Citadel of Sigiriya). Good view on top. It's inconceivable that people build a palace on top of a gigantic rock so many years ago. The museum is a worthy visiting, because the documentary video and pictures show a better aerial view of the fortress.
Day 4 to 8: Polonnaruwa and Pasikuda Beach
We visited Polonnaruwa (ancient ruins) on the way to the East coast. Some structures are a bit similar to the Angkor complex in Cambodia, but others are quite different and impressive - I like the main Tooth temple, and stupas.
We visited Polonnaruwa (ancient ruins) on the way to the East coast. Some structures are a bit similar to the Angkor complex in Cambodia, but others are quite different and impressive - I like the main Tooth temple, and stupas.
Some rest and relaxation was long overdue. Lars booked us a 5-night stay at Amaya Beach, a four star hotel at Pasikuda Beach. The East coast was safe from rain in July. The hotel did not disappoint - spacious and modern room with sea view. And great buffet! We did nothing but sleeping, eating, and a bit of pool time in between for 5 days. A real holiday.
Day 9 & 10: Dambulla and Kandy
After recharging our batteries, we left for Kandy and visited the Dambulla Cave Temple on the way. It was interesting to see how people painted the ceilings of the caves at that time. We then stopped at a spice garde for lunch and it was tasty, all for less than 5 pounds per person! The tour about the spices or medicine was okay interesting and we bought some curry power from the shop.
Initially we were a bit worried about the weather at Kandy as it had been raining for days. Luckily the weather had just turned for the better when we arrived. We stayed at an odd hotel, but it had over 150 TV channels!
We visited the Temple of Tooth. The structure of the temple is nice but nothing extraordinary, but the hype over the Buddha Tooth Relic is incredible. We waited to view the opening of the golden cascade where the Tooth lies and were amazed by how crowded it got. We finally got a glimpse of the cascade, which is shiny and filled with treasures, but the tooth was not visible. Interesting experience.
The Royal Botanic Garden is definitely a highlight for us. There must be a few thousands fruit bats in the garden and some of them are huge. We had never seen bats outside caves at this point. We have also seen the oldest and oddest trees here. Too bad I couldn't steal the largest coconuts I have ever seen. Now, this is a proper botanic garden!
Our driver recommended a Culture Dance show in Kandy, which I found a complete waste of time. We also visited the jewellery museum nearby and it was semi interesting. Our driver took us to another place for some jewellery shopping. We only bought gifts for our mothers. Since I don't know anything about Blue Sapphires, I decided to stay away from investing in one.
Day 11 & 12: Nuwara Eliya (known as Little England)
Even though we have a car, we decided to do the scenic train ride from Kandy to Nanu Oya (near Nuwara Eliya) and we are so glad we did it. The view from the train is stunning! We have no idea how we got the best seats in the observation carriage. I got my terrace fix - this time is about tea plants. The mountain range of tea plants is absolutely beautiful. But be warned, the train shakes like hell. We had to take motion sickness pills. :P
Our hotel was essentially a big and old English house! It reminded us so much of London. The night was cold and we had to use the heater! Considering we were sweating madly a few hours ago, Sri Lanka is full of surprises.
We decided against going to the World's Ends (a long hike you can do nearby Nuwara Eliya), because of the weather and none of us wanted to get up at 4.30am in this cold weather! Instead, we visited MacWoods, the largest tea company. It was OK, but the staff was a bit rude and unhelpful. We drove around to appreciate the landscapes and scenery in this area. We also went to a local dairy farm (Ameleva) and bought some fresh yoghurt.
Our driver took us to see a few fancy hotels in the area. St Andrew's has a beautiful garden, but our lunch service was really slow. The Grand Hotel also has a nice garden and a grand lobby. The best bit is that the Indian restaurant in the hotel is excellent. Food was tasty and very cheap.
Day 13: Yala
Before we reached Yala, our driver had a surprise stop for us at Gal Vihara. It was interesting to see the giant stone stature carved out of the rock.
In the late afternoon, we went to the Yala National Park. We did not expect the roads to be so bumpy! We were getting car sick. We saw many other animals (green bee-eaters, peacocks, monkeys, elephants, water buffaloes, crocodiles, mongoose, jackal and lots of different birds), but we did not spot any of the leopards the park is famours for. Guess we have to go to Africa to see more big animals.
We stayed at the sister eco-lodge of Back of Beyond in Sigiriya. Lars and the driver loved it. I absolutely hated it as the leaves they used for the hut's roof were constantly making noise with the wind and I couldn't sleep! But the food was much better, especially the breakfast. We had a stroll along a beautiful nearby beach, which was surprisingly purplish. Unfortunately, we couldn't stay long as our driver was already waiting or us to leave.
Day 14: Galle
I was so happy to leave Yala and we took the express way to Galle. It was raining a bit on the express way, but there were barely any other cars. We found a nice B&B inside the fort on TripAdvisor. The owner Ravi is really helpful and made us a delicious breakfast.
Galle is very different from the other towns. It felt European, but with a Sri Lanka twist. We walked around the Fort, which is beautiful and watched the sunset by the ancient wall. We ran into lots of young school kids and they asked for my name.
We also walked around the streets filled with shops and restaurants. We had good ice cream (sorbet for me) on the street. For dinner we went with the set menu from a small local restaurant. It comes with 10 different home made curries - I liked the jack-fruit one the most.
Day 15 & 16: Colombo
Our driver drove us around Colombo and gave us a city tour. We liked the look of Jami-Ul-Alfar Mosque and the Gangaramaya Buddhist Temple. The city is definitely more modern than any other towns in Sri Lanka, but it cannot really compare with any of the big Western cities.
Lars finally met up with his good friend Sanjiva, who took us to Café Galleria for a great lunch. My fish and chips was more flavourful than in the UK, but Lars' pork curry was better. After lunch, we had the honour to tour Sanjiva's state-of-the-art office of his company WSO2. It even has a basketball court on the rooftop with a very nice view.
We stayed with Glen and Fiona at 27 Spathodea, #1 ranked B&B on TripAdvisor. They are super nice and helpful. Their house is beautiful and filled with antiques. We even played with their little star tortoise in the garden. They also offered us dinner and that's when we tasted cashew nut curry for the first time! Very yummy. Fiona took me shopping for clothing and I returned with Lars on the second day - that's how good it was. Real branded T-shirts for a fraction of the price. It was hard to leave them behind. If we return, we will definitely stay with them again.
In general, we feel Sri Lanka is not as cheap as the other SEA or Asia countries. Hotels are expensive - you will not a decent one for much less than US$100 per night. If you book online, be mindful of the additional 25% taxes. The attractions are also costly. Many places (including safaris) charge $30 per person for foreigners whereas the locals pay 250 rupees ($2). Hiring a driver is definitely easier, but not the cheapest option to travel. But food is fairly cheap. A typical lunch buffet costs the locals less than 350 rupees ($3). Sometimes the locals will try to charge more for tourists.
Although Sri Lanka is reasonably expensive, it is good place to get a bit of everything in a short period of time. The road condition is much better than in India. Lars said the food is similar to South-Indian food, so he loved it. Other than Colombo, we did not see any high rises or modern buildings. The country side is beautiful. Given the history, Sri Lanka is a relatively new country and no doubt the tourism will continue to develop in the future. Its a good place to go on a 2-week holiday.
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