We had enough time (little more than a week) for our India visas to get processed, so we explored the southwest quadrant of Sri Lanka starting with the capital, Colombo. The city center is jammed with everything from vendors to commuters to hustlers and everything in between. Organized traffic evidently does not exist here, as you'll see cars, trucks, bicycles, tuk-tuks (rickety three-wheeler taxis), and pedestrians all vying for street real estate. Come to think of it, I don't recall seeing too many street lights either...
Above all, the people of Sri Lanka are the greatest. They're helpful, respectful of their tourism industry, and never did we feel misplaced. We stayed at guest houses throughout the country, and our initial stop in Colombo is run by a engaging Norwegian who gave us the rundown of places to visit in and around Colombo.
Using Colombo as a jump-off point, we took a train to Kandy, known as the Buddhist spiritual capital. It was a nice town but in the temples, any holiness was neutralized by the collection basket that seemed around each corner. I get the monetization of popular destinations, but there's something off-putting about that repeated concept in a religious monument.
A nauseatingly winding bus ride took us to Ella, a peaceful hill country village. With its lush forests and waterfalls, it was a great couple of days to see the more rural south.
The next bus ride to Galle alone was worth the plane ticket to Sri Lanka. Five hours of wicked hills, driving at breakneck speeds, standing for 4 hours of the 5 hour ride, and seemingly body surfing for half of it. I was standing on one leg for a good hour - I gave up the floor space at some point...and just didn't get it back for a while. And yet, no one was shoving their way in/out, no hostility - those boarding even offloaded their bags to perfect strangers who were seated. Though we were without question the only tourists on board, there was no sense of cultural discomfort.
Galle's walled historic town was one of the first we've visited that still operates as a modern city on its interior. Much of the appeal lies within walking the streets and seeing the Dutch-colonial buildings and oceanfront. Rented a scooter to see more of the south coast, and contributing to the chaos I felt like a real local.
Back on a quick bus to Colombo, picked up our visas and we're off to India, maybe the place I'm looking forward to most.
SS: I'm not sure if I can truly explain the charm that Sri Lanka has. Not knowing a lot about the country or places to visit, everyone (taxi/rickshaw drivers, guesthouse owners, bartenders, ect.) were more than happy to give us their take on destinations to visit. None disappointed. In fact, I wish we had a little more time to venture out farther than we did.
The India visa process, although fairly easy in Sri Lanka, is a nightmare - a full day venture to get it 'perfect'. But we managed to submit it with only minutes to spare and set out on our excursion.
Local train to Kandy, winds into the mountains with stunning scenery of the endless tea plantations throughout the hillsides. We were a day early of the expected arrival of Prince Charles staying at the historic Queen Hotel.
Ella is a charismatic backpacker town that hosts excellent food, a laid back vibe, multiple hiking options and the top guesthouses in the country that also provide home cooked meals. Waterfalls surround the area and the train tracks are the main walking path through the hills. Sir Thomas Lipton (Lipton tea) has a rather interesting story; along with other successes he purchased his own tea plantation in this area, making it a world wide brand name.
In all fairness, we were warned that the buses would be busy to Galle as it was a Sunday and Poya (full moon day and public holiday), but I don't think we ever imagined a bus already tightly packed with 55 seats being able to hold almost 90 people. I mean they (and we) were holding onto the railing, standing in the back steps hanging halfway out of the nonexistent back door - eventually getting pushed and shoved towards the middle of the aisle that was only 18" wide packed two deep.
Fortified by the Dutch and taken over by the British, Galle is a must see. We ventured out via scooter, dodging not only the regular traffic of impatient buses, cars, rickshaws, bicycles and overpacked trucks but the roads are jammed with random cows, donkeys, dogs and the strangest lawnmower like tractors pulling a carriage. Headed to Unawatuna, a lazy beach town settled along a horseshoe bay that was once destroyed by the 2004 tsunami. On to Mirissa, a surfer's paradise but even lazier than Unawatuna - yet blissful. Mirissa is also home to the Big Blue Whales where they offer water safaris to see them. In between these two places the water is lined with colourful fishing boats and the famous fishermen on stilts. Getting a picture of them is their prime business ($$$) next to actually catching and selling the fish. John negotiated a 'fair' price but nearly ripped his entire toenail off getting the perfect shot. I spent 2 days digging out sand hoping for it to heal before digging into the dirt of India.
There are many other places we would have liked to visit here, will have to save them for another time.
Oh, and John's beard is in full force - Thanks Movember.
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