Travel Inspired

Hello: Ayubowan 

Currency:  Sri Lankan rupee; ATMs can be finicky, and this is one country where it’s a good idea to withdraw cash at the airport. 

I traveled with Explore on the Sri Lanka Adams Peak itinerary. I had been curious about Sri Lanka for years probably prompted by the conflicts within the country and the scant coverage in the news.  What exactly was going on there?  I had heard great things about the beautiful landscapes and the wonderful people.  And I was planning a winter break in Asia, so the timing was perfect to coordinate travel with a small group.  I only had a couple of weeks to see the southern part of the large island, so it was easier to stick with a group to cover the miles and make the most of my time. Before you go, I suggest reading Elephant Complex: Travels in Sri Lanka by John Gimlette to have a better sense of the country.  Gimlette spent time traveling throughout the country and offers history and the context of the recent unrest as well as describing the ancient sites and the curiosities such as the numerous man-made lakes scattered across the interior of the country.

I flew into Colombo via London from the U.S.  Although the flights were long, the 4:30 a.m. arrival into Colombo seemed to be a normal course of business.  Ours was not the only flight arriving in the pre-dawn darkness.  A young woman from Norway sat next to me on the flight. Her destination was Kandy, where she was volunteering as a teacher’s aide to teach English.  I recommended that she write a short story each evening about an experience from the day. I said she would enjoy reading about the details she had forgotten one day when she was older.  I hope she took my advice. 

Overall, there were amazing sights – ancient temples set in complexes serving thousands in the past, the wild beauty of Horton Plains, the manicured and lush tea plantations, and the coastal towns.  Food was better than expected with the variety of local vegetables along with chicken, pork, and fish. For temple visits, you need to cover knees and shoulders and the preference is to wear white, although it is not mandatory.  You’ll need to remove your shoes for temple visits, so I recommend wearing socks to keep your feet covered, a necessity for walking on hot stone paths and a way to keep your feet cleaner (not so for the socks!). And be prepared for the heat.  Of course, this is southeast Asia so heat and humidity are the norm.  Be sure to pack plenty of sunscreen and a large water bottle for your day trips.

Even with a group, there can be travel snafus.  Be sure to reconfirm any airport pick-ups before you board the plane to travel out of your home country.  And keep an eye on your bags, even when collected and transported for the group.  Every day we would send our bags to the hotel lobby to load in the luggage van.  On the first day, someone at the hotel managed to pull one of the bags from our group and it was loaded on the wrong van.  Luckily, the owner had a tracking device inside the bag, and we were able to locate it and reunite it with our group.  Disaster averted. As a consequence, it inspired everyone’s diligence of making sure they saw their own bag loaded on the van each day.

Full Moon Holidays:  One interesting cultural practice was that every full moon day is a religious holiday, known as “poya”, so be aware when planning your itinerary.  For instance, the full moon day might not be the best day for climbing Adam’s Peak since many people will be using the holiday to plan the same ascent. It also means temples are more crowded on those days.  But what a wonderful excuse for a holiday!

Meals:  Although the travel company said to be prepared for an unexciting culinary experience, I found most of the food was delicious.  In one restaurant, I ordered a dish our guide referred to as “street food”, a mix of meat and vegetables chopped and cooked on a flat grill pan and served with a big chili.  The chili was the needed touch of spice to make the dish.  Many of our lunch stops included rice served with multiple curries and were delicious.  There were chicken and fish curries, jackfruit, snake melon, eggplant, a type of local bean (one of my favorites!), and salads made from a watercress-like vegetable.  Another lunch offered 30 different curries prepped in a small farmhouse kitchen (the Priyamali Gedara Farmer lunch in Polonnaruwa) where we enjoyed our meal while looking into the gardens displaying the source of our lunch.

A few meals were uninspiring such as a dinner of overcooked fish with vegetables.  Many dinners were hotel buffets and were nothing special but did offer a good variety of choices.  And God forbid you should order from the menu in the hotel, which was presented as an option to the buffet.  Be ready for an extra hour wait even if it is something simple.

Hotels:  Most hotels had a pool (refreshing considering the heat); all had WiFi; some had spas. If staying two nights, there was an opportunity to have affordable laundry service. A list of our hotels below:

Negombo - Hotel J:  Basic but functional, it had a pool and was located right on the beach!  The surrounding area had shops and restaurants, so it was a good place for a stroll up and down the street.

Anuradhapura - Lakeside at Nuwarawewa:  Nice, big rooms and a lovely pool.

Polanaruwa - Giritale Hotel: The beautiful location sits high on a hill overlooking the Giritale lake and is perfect for watching the sunset.  Rooms in the hotel were very nice, sporting a stone shower with frameless glass doors and optimal views of the lake.  

Sigiriya - Sigiriya Jungles: A nice hotel complex with large rooms and a pool.  Buffet meals were served in a large room.

Kandy - Hotel Casamara Kandy:  A perfect location to walk over to visit the Temple of the Tooth.  It was about a block from a small lake, great for an evening walk to see birds and egrets going to roost and bats flying off for the night. There was a small pool off the lobby and restaurant.

Delhousie - Punsisi Rest Guest House: Rooms were located high on a hill, preparation for anyone interested in a pre-game challenge for Adam’s Peak.  The hotel room was beautiful and spacious with a great view of the valley, Adam’s Peak (the mountain path lit by a string of lights), and the gorgeous bright orange full moon. 

Nuwara Eliya - The Blackpool Hotel: We experienced a few short blackouts.  The rooms seemed a bit tired and in need of an update.

Ella - Oak Ray Ella Gap Hotel: Convenient for a walk about the vibrant town full of restaurants and shops.  The WiFi was finicky.

Udawalawe - Athgira River Camp:  A permanent tented camp, right on the river.  Each tent had a fan for cooling.  As expected, next to the water, there were lots of mosquitoes, but the beds did have mosquito nets. 

Koggala (close to Galle) - Koggala Beach Hotel:  Located about 40 minutes from Galle, our rooms looked onto the beach and ocean.  The rooms were huge, and the hotel had a spa where I was able to book an amazing massage.  Perfect after almost two weeks of travel.

Colombo - Fairway Colombo: Beautiful hotel close to the water, with an easy walk to the market area and other restaurants and stores.

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Overview of Experiences

Our journey started in Negombo on the southwest coast and just north of the airport in Colombo.  We spent the two weeks traveling in a large circle as we headed east into the interior, southward to the coast, and then west again to return to Colombo.

Fish market, Negombo:  You’ll want an early start to walk through the fish market.  We found long tarps filled with dead fish, salted and drying in the sun to sell to the interior of the island.  The birds tried to get in on this great deal and although it may have looked like a free meal, the birds had to contend with the equally earnest fishermen protecting their catch.  The smell was…fishy. 

Toddy Tree Tapper:  On the road to Anuradhapura, we made a quick stop to see a toddy tree tapper.  A man scurried up a coconut tree to show us how he would tap the flowers so that the nectar would run into a small bowl poised beneath it.  They use the nectar to make a local alcoholic drink called Arak.  We tried it and it must be an acquired taste – to me, it tasted more like vinegar than anything else.  

Wilpattu National Park:  We took an afternoon safari in an open jeep on very bumpy roads through the park and were able to see spotted deer, many peacocks including one in full display, water buffalo immersed in a small lake and a couple of new mothers with babies, some mongoose, jackals, several pretty little green birds, an eagle, a stork, lots of egrets, one crocodile, another solid colored deer who was very shy and quickly ran away, and several large monitor lizards.  It was quite refreshing to be in the open-air jeep since we mostly drove through trees and shade.  The trees don’t seem to get very tall in that area as it seems to be relatively dry.

Mihintale Mount:  The story behind this site is of a rumored meeting between the monk Mahinda and King Devanampiyatissa, which resulted in bringing Buddhism to the country.  We started by climbing up many stone steps.  Our guide said there were a total of 1840 total steps, which we did not count to confirm.  A select few in our group circumnavigated the steps by staying on the bus for the ride to the ticket counter.  Cheeky!  Once we had our tickets, we powered up more steps, greeted by chattering and fighting monkeys, looking for snacks, I’m sure.  And as in many Buddhist countries, we had to remove shoes and hats before entering the temple or sacred sites.  Once we reached the main complex, there were three options to contemplate - a path to a Buddha, one to a Stupa, or a view from the top of Missaka Mountain.  We started by walking, no pulling ourselves up a rather steep and slippery bit of rock allegedly posing as steps to reach the summit of Missaka.  Removing our socks helped our little monkey feet adapt and search for purchase, toe by toe, as we made our way up the steep and slippery rock to the top and the amazing views of the valley, rivers, and lakes.  It was a challenge made possible by a very sturdy handrail. And it was manageable.  Visiting the Stupa and the Buddha were next on the list, mere walks after mastering Missaka.

Anuradhapura:  We arrived in the late afternoon to begin investigating the area, walking down a pathway surrounded by vendors selling flowers, snacks, and various trinkets. Described as the third largest monument in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage site, we walked around the huge brick stupa with the white dome known as the Ruvanvalisaya Dagoba, watching the crowds gather. The area was packed with people for evening prayers.  It was getting dark as we went to the main temple, everyone wearing their white and carrying flower offerings.  It was a beautiful sight under a rising full moon as people prayed at this holy site.  Our last stop was to see “Buddha’s tree”, a sacred Bodhi-tree, where a woman had brought her newborn baby for a blessing.  The site also featured a traditional moonstone which included carvings of four animals – elephants, horses, lions, and bulls.

Standing Buddha of Aukana: A standing Buddha on a hill, carved from stone against a rock wall, and measuring more than 14 meters (about 46 feet) high. Tourists and worshippers visit the area, carrying flowers as offerings.

Caves in Dambulla:  A World Heritage Site, these amazing cave temples are filled with multiple frescoes and buddhas, some reclining with their heads laying on stone pillows painted to look like plush cushions.  The Buddhas demonstrated numerous poses – standing, sitting, reclining, and one with a cobra’s hood spread over his head, said to protect him from the rain.

Polonnaruwa Site:  Famous for the ruins, a World Heritage Site, and an important part of Sri Lankan history.  There were three important kings at this site built along a 7th century man-made lake.  We encountered the largest number of tourists wandering about as we investigated the site.  There were several structures to inspect with gorgeous moonstones, other carvings, and some impressive Buddhas.  One note on the stray dogs – they are everywhere and although most seem to be surviving, others are walking skeletons.

Minneriya Park: An afternoon elephant safari where we were lucky to see a herd of about 30 elephants including several young and a few baby elephants.  We watched them graze and were joined by multiple other jeeps full of tourists, all jockeying for the best view and winning the contest sporadically as the elephants wandered the large area, crossing the road and navigating around the numerous vehicles with ease.  A little further on, we were able to park and walk to the top of a hill for spectacular views of the park and a chance to watch the sunset.

Sirigiya: An early morning start to climb Sirigiya for the sunrise. This 5th century site is known as the “Sky Fortress”, but you don’t realize the magnitude of the site and its position in the sky until you see an aerial view.  It seems to be suspended in air, situated atop a stone pillar with no evident path to the top.  It was an amazing complex once we reached the top after a steep climb first on stone steps and then a metal stairway clinging to the side of the rock.  At the bottom of the metal steps, the famous lion paws etched from the stone give Lion Rock its name.  On the descent, we stopped to see the Sigiriya Damsels, famous frescoes on the side of the mountain, under an overhang of sheltering rock. And the complex is not just the stone pillar, it also includes the gardens and long walkway extending on the plain below.

Dalada Maligawa, Kandy: The group met for a morning excursion to see the tooth relic in the “Temple of the Tooth”.  Large groups assembled around the site including a young class of school children dressed in white and groups of Chinese also dressed in whites posing for photos by the lake, immediately next to the temple. Stalls along the road were selling bunches of flowers for people to bring as offerings to the temple.  Since this was a precisely timed ceremony, our guide directed us as we queued in the mass of anxious humans filing up the stairs to peek for two seconds (yes, the actual time allowed per person) into a room decorated with red and gold and a tiny little box containing a tooth from Buddha.  No photos!  To accompany this religious event, men were in the atrium playing music, the pounding of drums and a flute-like instrument filled the building as everyone slowly and deliberately inched forward in the line for the viewing of the tooth.  Our guide made sure we were in the CORRECT line as there were two lines, one that actually looked into the tooth room and another that was on the other side of us, adjacent but with no opportunity for a look into the sacred room.  

Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya: I’m never disappointed when I visit a botanical garden.  The care in curating the plethora of trees and plants also provides an illuminating view of the natural world.  Why not wander through the trees and flowers?  There were interesting large trees with buttressed trunks, a “cannonball” tree, and trees planted by dignitaries including Queen Elizabeth at the beginning of her rule.  Surrounded by the Mahaweli River on three sides, it was a nice escape for families and anyone wanting to wander among the trees, flowers, and other foliage.

Adam’s Peak: This holy site is where pilgrims gather to ascend the mountain known as Sri Pada to witness the sunrise and see Buddha’s footprint.  Our guide arranged for those interested to leave at 12:30 a.m. to begin the ascent.  I decided to sleep a few extra hours and then walk up the mountain in the morning.  I watched the sunrise as I left my room and begin the walk up the wide trail, surrounded on both sides by multiple kiosks selling food, drinks, or other items.  I was almost alone in my journey, which was nice.  I don’t normally like to walk with hordes of people and not being Buddhist, I had no religious goal.  I witnessed just about everything – people walking in flip flops, multiple people using walking sticks, parents carrying young children or babies, and many seniors, slow and steady in their ascent to see the remains of Buddha’s footprint, a depression in the stone at the top of the peak. I walked for about 3 hours and covered about half the distance.  I can see it would be challenging but not impossible for those interested in making the ascent.  And not on a timed schedule. 

Tea country: One of the most beautiful drives was through tea plantation country.  The beautiful hills of green and manicured tea plants were lush, but the curvy hilly roads could throw your stomach into knots.  We visited a tea factory and learned about pekoe tea, OP (Orange Pekoe), BOP (Broken Orange Pekoe), BOPF (Broken Orange Pekoe Fanning’s) which are the grades in order of strength.  The strongest were dependent on bigger leaves while the “tea dust” was normally used to fill tea bags.

Horton Plains: A pre-dawn wake-up for the drive to walk Horton Plains and watch a sunrise.  A wonderful place for a morning hike, with clear skies, beautiful fields, stands of trees to cool you off, a couple of lookout points, and a hidden waterfall.  We saw some sambar deer, a few monkeys, a rhino-nosed lizard, a mongoose, and heard a chorus of frogs as we crossed the wetter areas. This was one of my favorite excursions.

Nine Arch Bridge: Most groups include a ride on the train to travel over the famous nine arch bridge, known as the Bridge in the Sky.  Once we crossed the bridge, we left the train and rejoined our bus driver to continue to Ella, a cute town with an active night life and tourist center.  This seemed to be THE destination for young backpackers, and we could see them wandering the streets, looking for bars and things to do.

Ravana Ella Falls: A quick roadside stop to see the widest waterfalls on the island.

Colossi of Buduruvagala: This was an AMAZING temple with buddhas carved in stone on a huge rock face, the largest one standing 51 feet high.  Incredible! 

Udawalawe: An afternoon safari where we saw more wild elephants, and multiple birds such as egrets, herons, peacocks, and bee-eaters in brilliant greens and blues.  Water buffalo were chilling in the …water, and we even saw a few crocodiles.  The bird watching is perfect for those especially interested in birds.

Elephant Transit Home: A stop to watch the timed feeding of baby orphaned elephants.  And there were so many!  It is entertaining to watch more than 40 young elephants squeal and trumpet and push each other a bit for more milk, grain, or greens.  In the end, every little elephant seemed to fill their stomach.

Koggala and Galle: Koggala and Galle sit by the sea in southern Sri Lanka, and both were devastated by the tsunami in 2004.  It was hard to push this out of our minds since our hotel was right on the beach.  The ocean was very rough so a swim was a bit risky with unknown currents and you couldn’t help but think how the ocean rushed in on that fateful day in 2004, catching people completely off-guard and destroying the city.  

Galle was an interesting city with plenty to keep you busy, offering shops and restaurants inside the city walls.  You can walk the city ramparts of the Portuguese Fort, a World Heritage Site. Keep in mind, it will be a very hot excursion, 🥵, but offers great views of the sea and surrounding area including the city inside.  Several large pillars of rock were offshore and from the ramparts I watched a group of young boys crawl up the rocks and then jump into the ocean.  The rocks were several stories high and like young boys anywhere, they seemed oblivious to the height and the risk.  The sea was very clear but old tires lying in the shallows in some areas ruined the splendor of the beach.  After an afternoon of exploring, shopping for souvenirs, and eating ice cream, it was easy to catch a tuk tuk back to the hotel.

Colombo:  Our key destination was the Gangaramaya temple, a very busy and ornate temple and the biggest in Colombo. It was filled with relics including many buddhas, jewelry, bowls, weapons, and displays of various objects in no particular order.  Further down the road was another building that was part of the temple complex and sat on a little island in a small lake.  There was a stone bridge to provide access to the island.  The temple provided an amazing contrast to the modern buildings in the skyline behind it. An easy walk across the street led us to a modern mall with shops from the Western world where we grabbed salads or sandwiches for lunch.  We continued to drive around the city, passing markets and the Red Mosque which we would later inspect, walking to the area from our hotel.  As we wandered the city streets, we also discovered an elaborate Hindu temple which required further inspection.  

Other excursions and experiences:  As we drove from site to site and city to city, we made some additional cultural stops.  These are usually part of any tour and provide an opportunity to learn about local crafts and help local artisans to sell their goods.  Remember, you are not obligated to buy anything but if something strikes your fancy, it can make a great gift or souvenir.

·  Spice garden – This stop was an education on the spice industry in Sri Lanka and included a hard sell on natural and spice products to cure every ailment.  

·  Batik factory – We were able to watch artisans practice this traditional wax-based process creating intricate designs that can involve multiple colors.  

·  Cultural show, Kandy – Almost every time I travel with a group, there seems to be an obligatory event showcasing a historic dance or ceremony.  This one did not disappoint with the Kandyan dancers, the elaborate costumes, the talented acrobats, and the fire walking. 

·  Gemstone factory – An opportunity to learn about the mining industry in Sri Lanka.  All gem mining is done by hand.  The miners dig a pit that looks to be reinforced with bamboo sides and stuffed with leaves to keep it intact, and then they shovel loads of dirt for sifting to find the gemstones they sell for cutting, polishing, and setting into fine jewelry.  Sri Lanka is known for the beautiful sapphires, and they can be yellow or red or blue and are very hard; only the diamond is harder. They had some beautiful jewelry on display for purchase.

·  Wood carving factory - We learned about different types of wood, how they are used for different needs, and how they use wood shavings to create dyes.  

·  WWII cemetery - A meticulously maintained gravesite with headstones for soldiers from many different countries.

·  Pottery - A stop by a roadside hut to watch a man make a clay pot.  He demonstrated an interesting technique to use wooden paddles to cover a hole in the bottom of the pot to make it complete.

·  Traditional lace making (Beeralu Lace) in Tangalle

·  Sea Turtle Hatchery in Habaraduwa (www.seaturtlefarm.org) - Baby sea turtles and rescues. 

·  Sri Lankan Stilt Fishermen – A display of an old tradition, on the beach in the Koggala vicinity.