Rob and Anna's travel adventure

Anna's entry:

ARRIVAL

We landed in Colombo late at night, and the first night was spent on the airport floor (Rob) and plastic chairs (Anna).  We were used by now to such arrangements, but trying to catch some sleep at the Colombo airport was tough even for us.  Construction workers were drilling walls all night long, along with the non-stop music from American classic films blaring from the ceiling speakers...  Even an inspiring tune from the "Gone with the Wind" could not help my grouchy mood, when at 3 a.m. I got up from my chairs and headed towards the washroom.  When I nearly reached a door of one of the bathroom stalls, I was blocked by an older local lady (toilet attendant) who rushed ahead of me and rapidly began cleaning a toilet seat - just for me!  When I finished "my business" and headed towards a wash basin to wash my hands, the lady was standing there smiling, with folded paper tissue waiting for drying my hands.  I enthusiastically thanked her, and she seemed to be so proud to help me out.  We kept smiling at each other, and then, in a caring manner, she inquired where I was from.  Where else in the world could you find a service like that, when people are proud to help a visitor to their country in exchange of a cordial smile or a few genuine verbal exchanges?!  I went back to my plastic chairs and laid down...  The drilling noise did not seem as annoying any more, and the music seemed a lot more soothing as well...

In the morning, while exiting International Arrival-Departure area, we came across something for sale that you normally do not expect seeing at an airport - numerous stoves, fridges, washers, and dryers were for sale.  When we inquired what that all was about (and how can you possibly take this with you on a flight?), we were informed that the items were for purchase (for locals and flight attendants) just like any other duty-free option.  Well, that makes sense - for a "last minute shopping" should we pick up a bottle of wine or a washer-dryer combo?  We were up for a good start, we thought...

Rob and I had spent about six (fascinating) months traveling in India, so we were curious to compare how Sri Lanka compared to our experiences.  We headed back to the intense district of Pettah (which was very similar to the Indian way of life), and found a lot of similarities.  Market fruit stalls mixed with religious paraphernalia, genuine religious pilgrims mixed with professional beggars, expensive heels mixed with bare feet, business suits mixed with traditional attire, traffic fumes mixed with poignant incense, etc.  We also located a simple delicious cheap eatery offering the Sri Lankam staple - rice-and-curry dish.  As we found out later, we would end up eating that quite frequently during our 30 days in Sri Lanka. 

To balance our Colombo encounter, we also spent a couple of days in the Colonial (wealthier) parts of the city - with presidential palaces, guards, colonial architecture, and a lot less saris.  In more exclusive neighborhoods, we found a couple of streets turned into a huge parking lot (literally).  We wandered off in various neighborhoods from Pettah to Slave Island, from Cinnamon Gardens to Bambalapitiya, from the Light house area to Beira Lake with the (psuedo-in-my-opinion) Budhist complex, wild pelicans, and entertaining horny young couples exhibiting quite provocative (for Asian standards) display of attention.  I also managed to get in a discussion with a temple attendant educating him why ripping off foreign tourists in "sacred" areas is a bad karma.  And, we even located Arthur C. Clarke's house.  No matter where we walked around, we found local people super helpful and mellow.  As soon as we reached for our map, someone would offer us assistance.  If someone on a bus heard us asking a driver about a particular stop we needed, they (unsolicited) would look up that location on their i-phone and would be watching for that stop for us.  We rode a lot of local public buses, and at some point drivers began recognizing us - if they saw us strolling along the street, they would wave and start playing a honking tune for us - sort of like "Hi, how is it going?".  This is what we love so much about our travels - the genuine connection with real people, it just touches your heart forever! 

We finished our first visit to Colombo at the central train station.  And, came across our first Sri Lankan scam.  A (presumably) deaf-mute person is trying to really help foreign tourists to find their train - even though it is quite easy to do it on your own.  He categorically refuses to accept any tips, just a hand-shake, and really warms your heart.  And then, just minutes before a train leaves he jumps in, goes straight to foreign tourists he'd helped earlier (not local ones), and gives them a sheet with the (proposed) amount written down for the (hefty) donation for his mute school.  Clever trick, isn't it?  Psychologically, you don't have time to think it over (train is due to leave any minute), the guy has been helpful, he's refused the offered tip, and he also guilt you with images of mute kids, etc.  What he didn't know that on that train, at least two people had spent way too long traveling ans seeing all kinds of shenanigans.  I really appreciate the psychology behind the scam, but he really would have been better off accepting the tip.

The train ride from Colombo to Kandy was very picturesque.  We went around the mountains, valleys, forest, tea plantations, rice paddies, and occasional tiny villages.  When we arrived in Kandy, however, we had a rim out.  We wanted to stay at a Buddhist-run hotel, but it was all booked up.  We spent almost two hours wandering around town, and eventually settled in a hotel listed in our travel guide book - normally, we avoid popular places like this, but it had to do.  The hotel was fine itself - it was an old charming colonial building in the city center, with a comfortable room and a large terrace overlooking the square and beautiful trees, it was also cheap.  Unfortunately, being in a popular guide book in a popular city, the place attracted what we call "travel trash" - meaning Western backpackers who are loud, frequently stupid, and almost always smoke.  Because our room faced the terrace, we had one of those "travellers" sitting right in front of our door almost every night until about 2 a.m. smoking.  The manners are non-existent with those people, that's for sure.

Kandy is considered a "cultural capital" of Sri Lanka.  It is really not clear to me why, but it is...  It does have a pleasant center with colonial buildings, narrow streets, and a pretty lake.  The main significance of the city is probably its Temple of the Sacred Tooth - which presumably houses the real tooth of Buddha, and which was presumably "smuggled into Sri Lanka in the 4th century" as my book points out.  Many pilgrims and tourists make a bee line to that temple (and pay a hefty admission fee to enter).  I personally preferred walking around the temple grounds which were a lot more peaceful, had beautiful stupas, and genuine pilgrim puja ceremonies. 

One of the evenings also happened to be my mom's 17th death anniversary.  I walked around the large Buddha's complex - a group of pilgrims were singing and chanting something, flickering candles and lotus flowers were placed around altar blocks, incense scent was filling the air, and sunset with silhouettes of temples and palm trees seemed to be embracing the entire walled city - it was very moving and peaceful at the same time.  I wish my mom could see all of this - she was a person who could find and appreciate the beauty, which for most it would have gone by unnoticed...  I sat down near a large white stupa thinking back many years ago.  So many memories and associations ran through my mind...

I also enjoyed walking around the city.  The reason I said "I", and not "we" was because Rob got a flue, and really needed a rest.  When I suggested to him a list of things we could do, he (for the first time on this trip) said "No, thanks".  I called it "my troops rebelled against me", but had to comply with my "troops wish list".  To speed up Rob's recovery a few days later, I "dragged" him for a hike to a large Buddha statue on top of a hill.  I remember Rob saying to me, "Anna - most people spend their flue days in bed, not hiking!"  We were not allowed to enter the complex, because we refused to pay a (rip-off) admission fee (though we were offered a discount because we walked v.s. all other Westerners driven up by rickshaws), but we enjoyed watching a huge home-made kite flown from top of the hill.  In any case, the hike did a trick, and Rob was back on his feet a lot quicker. 

There was another cute cultural experience I encountered.  I went to a large fruit market to pick up some fresh fruits for us.  I almost selected oranges, but then realized they were imported from Europe.  I apologized to a local fruit seller and put the oranges back.  I explained to him that I really preferred local Sri Lankan fruits, they were so much better!  I thought, the seller would be disappointed with a cancelled transaction, but instead, he began smiling and thanking me enthusiastically!  He said he was so happy I liked Sri Lankan local fruits - that fact alone made him so much happier than me buying imported ones.  I still remember his smile!  In the same market, I also picked up locally grown papayas and pine apples, and then I saw some pumpkins.  I chatted with a seller, and explained to him my own gardening I do back at home.  He was so happy to find that type of camaraderie with me, that he proudly shared my stories with other fruit sellers, which was met with approving head nods.  And then, he also helped me to select a really nice pineapple. 

Eventually, it was time to leave Kandy...   While waiting for our train to Ella (our next stop-over), I got acquainted with the Kandy's rail station.  They had specially dedicated washrooms just for foreigners/Westerners (that means you can actually sit down on the toilet v.s. standing on top of it), but what impressed me the most were all the beautiful posts with encouraging famous quotes printed in various languages.  Who knows, maybe one of those quotes could impact some passenger's life...  I just love that kind of attention in public space planning!

We chose to stay for five days at a local homestay B&B run by a young lady who knew how to make a stay pleasant and make guests feel welcomed.  We had a beautiful room with huge windows and glass french doors over-looking the mountain vistas, and an attached outdoor terrace with wooden lounging chairs.  The Sri Lankan traditional breakfast came in the morning to our terrace and it was just a lovely way to start the day watching the sunrise over the mountains.  Did I mention that our accommodation was $25 per night including breakfast for both people?  Most importantly, our room was more secluded, and it really added to the peaceful feeling.  Occasionally though, we would be entertained by other Western guests that would arrive in cars (with personal drivers), wearing high heels and large British hats - they would typically stay only one night and would be complaining how "they really should have added a few more days" to enjoy it here.  Their choice of "travel" was really more of a joke (though they referred to themselves as "adventure travellers"); in either case, we felt so fortunate to be different.

I coordinated our days in Ella with a big traditional celebration of Thai Pongal (if interested, here is a detailed description of the festival - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_Pongal).  I spoke with several local residents and was given directions to several Hindu villages, where festivities would be taking place.  When we were walking around one of the hidden villages, a young local girl ran towards us and enthusiastically invited us to follow her.  She brought us to her house and introduced us to her large family.  Within minutes, traditional dishes of sweet rice cooked in milk with dates and spices arrived, followed by milk tea and other treats.  A young girl was the only one speaking English, and she kept translating back and forth between other relatives.  The family insisted that we would come back the next day to join them in another special celebration - when the cattle's horns would be painted in various colours.  We continued our away to other villages, and on the way, our foreheads were dotted with a special traditional red colouring (symbolizing true love).  We also went around another village among tea plantations where locals were celebrating with music and making a huge pot of traditional sweet rice.  It was so nice to be invited and accepted.  When we returned back to our homestay, we overheard the high-heel-big-hats travellers talking among each other about "some Thai Pongal" - that they had read in their books about...  It is so typical - some people pose themselves as such experts about the local culture, but they are so afraid to actually step our of their comfort zone and try to experience it...

Speaking about local culture - food this time...  Even though Ella seemed to be a popular stop-over on the "drive route" of Western tourists (i.e. over-priced restaurants catering to Western pallets and wallets), we actually managed to find several real Sri Lankan eateries.  Local tastes, local pricing, genuine hospitality, and traditional food - samosas, fried and baked vegetarian rolls, rotis, fresh papays, buffalo milk yogurt, etc.  That combined with a daily traditional breakfast freshly cooked by our lovely host - pancakes stuffed with coconut-cane sugar filling, hoppers (crispy pancake-type dish usually made of rice flower, has nothing to do with insects), omelets, local fruits, tea, coffee - that was quite acceptable.  One night we also tried a home-made dinner made by our host - a large variety of curry-rice dishes - we enjoyed it on our terrace just after the sunset.  It was lovely...

We took a local bus from Kandy, and the route took us again through a beautiful mountainous scenery.  At times we were literally in a state of awe - when the wheels of our bus were just a couple of feet away from the cliff edge - a nearly vertical drop off was right under us.  Rob and I choose different bus seats for various viewing options.  My seat head a window on one side, and a wide-opened door (not that uncommon for old buses here) on the other.  Perhaps, it's good that Rob (and other passengers) did not see all what was really happening...  The driver was super skillful though, and in a couple of hours we safely descended from the mountain tops to the sea-level town of Tissamaharama, or Tissa for short.  Tissa bus station seemed like a lot more real Sri Lanka - no English was spoken, the place looked very basic, and locals were a lot more curious about us - we were the only Westerners at the bus station.  Lots of warm smiles and curious looks trying to figure us out.  The smiles never stopped in the next four days when we would commute by a local bus to and from Tissa, being again the only Westerners on a bus...

We still had to continue our journey to Kirinda (where we would be spending our next four nights), but we took some time to look around town.  With a help of a local bakery seller, I got some insider knowledge where to eat a real good Sri Lankan food at real local prices.  We found the place easily - it was a tiny "hole-in-the-wall" family-run eatery with a smiling grandma cooking, grandpa serving, and grand-son translating.  Just for us, they brought out a fan and even spoons - all locals ate with their hands.  The food was simple, but very tasty.  The old lady couldn't stop smiling when we complimented her food.  Traditional rice-and-curry dishes served with several varieties of vegetables and accompanied by roasted super-hot chilies.  The family were very impressed and pleased when we would ask for seconds.  That became our place of choice for all lunches for the next four days. 

We stayed in near-by Kirinda at a B&B run by a German-Sri Lankan couple.  It had both very positive and very negative features.  First, about a positive side of things...  The place was unusual.  It was a large property with its own lake - a previously pig farm converted to a wildlife refuge and peaceful oasis.  First day walking around we saw huge wild peacocks flying like "feathered dinosaurs" just above our heads, and various kinds of birds including parrots, babbots, paradise flycatchers, blue-tailed bea-eaters, egrets, etc.  At night, the lake was a host to various wild birds that would roost on the trees just before the sunset.  It was super poetic.  Sometimes, I would hear splashes in the lake, and the owner explained to me that there were wild crocodiles living in it.  We were also given heads-up that several species of snakes (including cobras) were frequenting the property.  How could you not appreciate such an exotic aspect of this place?  Now, the negative side...  Kirinda (and Tissa) were the places on the way to Yala National Park (the best place to see leopards in the wild).  The owners were quite greedy, and had no problem pressuring their guests to buy their safari tours from then.  They attempted it with us on a number of occasions, and at some point it became very uncomfortable (and ugly).  You see, I do my diligent research months in advance, and I had already established a contact with a local safari operator who had outstanding references.  Months prior to our arrival in Kirinda, I had already reserved the safari person for the job, and we had kept in touch for a while now.  Well, that did not go very well with our B&B owners, they just could not handle their narcissistic (or was it just greed?) complex to accept that I chose a different safari guy.  I explained to them that I choose the best people for the job based on my scrupulous research, and owe no apology for that. 

And, at the end, my research paid off big.  Exploring Yala National Park with my local safari contact became the most special highlight of the trip.  A separate entry about this experience follows below...

-- 2 leopards (young adults, siblings) which we observed for a good amount of time

-- 2 elephants (one male who turned out to be quite an exhibitionist, and one female who was eating sand with her trunk)

-- many wild buffaloes

-- wild bores (with 5 really cute young babies)

-- 7 mongooses (2 of which were young siblings who were very curious about out jeep and kept coming very close to us)

-- 5 crocodiles

-- lots of deer

-- lots of peahens and peacocks (including several engaged in matrimonial dances, displaying their gorgeous wide-opened tales)

-- langur monkeys

-- monitor lizards

-- hundreds of migratory and resident birds (storks, herons, egrets, eagles, green and blue bee-catchers, kingfishers, weavers (the ones that make hanging nests that they light at night with brought inside fire flies), and jungle fowl - the national bird of Sri Lanka).

We did not see a single Western tourist staying over-night in this unusual Sri Lanakan town, which was one of many reasons we enjoyed our visit here.  The reason I said "unusual" because the entire town seemed to have been created to support a major sacred precinct where thousands of pilgrims of various religious believes, in all hours of the day and night, make their way to the enormous religious complex - which feels like a small city in itself.  Buddhists, Muslims, and Hindus - all co-exist in peace and full acceptance of each other within that religious complex.

As I mentioned, we seemed to have been the only Westerners spending the night (two nights actually) in town.  We stayed at a family-run hotel, our room had a balcony over-looking banana trees and vast rice fields; during downpours the balcony's floor would get completely flooded.  There were several eateries in town all offering various experiences.  We tried a traditional lunch buffet at a restaurant specifically designed for and catering to Sri Lankan bank employees - it was a good-looking place with a terrace, large wooden tables, crispy clean table cloth, ironed fabric napkins, well dressed waiters, and (over-priced) mediocre food.  We also tried traditional lunch at a family-run place catering to pilgrims - it was dimly lit basic place with simple plastic tables, re-usable metal plates, napkins cut out of old newspapers, casually dressed servers, and very cheap and super tasty food.  We also tried a local traditional specialty - kottu - prepared at a busy fast-food-type place with a guy cooking the food on a huge iron cast, banging it loudly (like a drummer) when he would chop rotis into noodles with his enormous knife (looking more like an ax) - the kottu portion was huge, it was tasty, and cheap.

And then, while walking around a temple complex during morning puja ceremony, we were invited by a group of pilgrims to try a traditional dish - sweet rice cooked in coconut milk with mung beans, raisins, nuts, and cardamom - cooked in a HUGE pan in front of a temple.  

The bus ride from Kataragama to the coastal town of Tangalla was completely packed.  Rob and I ended up sitting in different parts of the bus, and my seat companion turned out to be a policeman from Colombo.  He talked constantly, but had nothing interesting to share.  He also kept offering me a couple bananas (which I politely kept refusing), and then directly and unceremoniously asked me if I would buy him a ticket to North America.  When I asked him "Why would I?", he unabashedly answered "I don't know, a gift maybe".  I followed up saying "No, thanks", and he casually switched to another topic like nothing had happened.

Upon our arrival in Tangalla, we found a nice budget hotel along the beach, and settled on the top floor.  The lady owner was very nice and cordial.  The room was large and comfortable with glass french doors to the terrace over-looking the ocean.  Unfortunately, our bliss was short-lived.  Right after the sunset, a blaring music and rave party started, and never stopped until wee morning hours.  It was clear we had to move, which we did the very next morning.

We settled in another hotel, with a more modest room, but still located along the beach with a terrace over-looking the ocean.  Two brothers running the hotel promised and delivered the peace and tranquility.  Instead of rave music, we fell asleep to the soothing sound of ocean waves.  The following morning, Rob walked to town and brought us various freshly baked vegetable rotis and samosas which we enjoyed on our balcony watching the ocean and sipping coffee.

Despite of many Western tourists being present (i.e. local hospitality is tainted), the town center seemed more genuine.  There were normal stray cows wandering along the streets, pedestrian walkways and round-about areas; that part reminded us of India.  We managed to find a few (real) local eateries with (real) local prices and tastes.  One of them really stood out.  It was a small restaurant run by a few young guys (and also popular among the local young crowd), who made really nice dishes, especially the soups.  We complemented the young entrepreneurs every time we ordered it, and they seemed almost over-whelmed with the praise.  Rob and I also tried exploring other areas around Tangalla - the coastal scenery was quite beautiful.  Once while walking along the coast, we ended up at a Sri Lankan Navy base, which apparently was off limits to outsiders.  We had to abandon the photography idea (and we were allowed to follow only a walking trail, no stops of any kind along the base), but we did find other secluded beach stops to enjoy the tranquility of seascape. 

We also took a long bus ride filled with friendly locals via numerous villages and rice fields to a place called Mulkirigala Rock Temple Monastery.  It was so good to get away from tourist crowds, and experience the real Sri Lanka again.  This was probably the nicest I felt since arrival in Tangalla.  Mulkirigala had a large temple complex built on, around, and inside the rock formations.  We climbed to the very top and were awarded with incredible 360° panorama views of the area.  On the way back, while waiting for a bus back to Tangalla, Rob got his hair-cut at an honest local price at a tiny barber shop located near the bus station.  While waiting for him, I could see cows wandering along a busy road.  It sure was good being back to a normal environment, I thought...

MATARA 

I chose this stop-over for two reasons - it was a real Sri Lankan town (not catering to Western tourists), and it was a good base to explore other towns along the coast accessible by public buses.  After looking at several hotels, we chose a place facing the beach and the ocean called Dragon's Dream.  As the name suggests, it was a Chinese hotel owned by an enthusiastic young lady; the building painted in a bright burnt-orange colour could be seen a mile away along the coast line.  Our corner room was comfortable and peaceful enough.  One window was facing lush coconut palm trees with peacocks running around on the ground, and the other window was facing the terrace and the ocean. 

We were located a short walking distance to a small island with a temple complex upon it, which was connected to town by a bridge resembling the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.  Our hotel worker told me that coincidentally the bridge was also used for suicide jumping (usually by broken-hearted lovers).  The coastal line was quite interesting.  It was paralleling a busy highway, and frequently long-distance buses would make a stop over - passengers would pile out of buses and would create an impromptu picnics right on the pavement.  In addition, a beautiful beach seemed to be used as a large parking lot for buses.  Occupying a prime location, there were dozens of them parked in the most unexpected places strung along a beach.  Frequently, locals would be sitting right under the buses, and sort of using them as a large canopy providing a nice shade and escape from scorching heat...  The public scene was constantly changing along the coast, and it was fun watching a pragmatic metamorphosis of the beach throughout the day and night.  In the evening, Rob and I would find a nice breezy spot along the beach and would indulge ourselves in a box of ice-cream - our dessert after a supper at a local traditional restaurant serving tasty kottu, baked vegetarian rolls, rice-and-curry dishes at honest local prices. 

We also took numerous trips by public buses around Matara.  Bus routes took us along pretty parts of the coast, with fishermen sitting on stilts and along various coves surrounded by palm trees.  Sometimes, long bus rides would be very enjoyable, sometimes they would be annoying - over-packed, no leg room, hot and humid, crazy driving, passengers would be dozing off (and propping themselves against Rob's wide and comfy shoulders).  I seemed to endure our rides a lot better (probably better tolerance from growing up in packed public transport in St. Petersburg, Russia). 

Anyway, one of the bus trips was a day trip to the touristy Hikkaduwa.  It was supposed to have a preserved Marine National Park - wrong!  The park and coral was completely dead.  The entire Hikkaduwa seemed to be over-run by tourists - majority of them seemed to be Russian package-vacationers.  It seemed like Russian was the second official language after Sinhala - every (over-priced) restaurant in town was trying to get their attention.  So glad we did not stay there!  The entire beach was covered in baking-in-the-son bodies, lots of smoking, and low-IQ conversations.  What a relief it was to return back to our real-local-person Matara and its refreshing laid-back attitude (except for one incident when an out-of-town bus driver tried to hit me by his bus).  Over all, a good choice to spend a few days. 

Other trip we took around the area were to Galle, Dewi Nuwara, and Dondra.  The stories follow below...

...was a day trip from Matara.  Cleaned-up, not without charm, European (Dutch) town with UNESCO World Heritage Status.  It was pleasant to spend a few hours wandering around, but would be boring to be staying too long here - unless you are looking for an escape from real Sri Lanka.  My favourtie activity there was taking a swim along ancient fortress walls.