Bitten by the Travel Bug: June 2018

Buddhist temple in Dambulla

Sri Lanka, the island nation, known variously as Emerald Isle of Asia, Ceylon, Serendip - is beautiful and captivating. It is a tropical paradise that is green and clean. It offers many things to the tourist – its sun-kissed beaches are a haven for the young and jolly beach revellers; the Buddhist temples and the Hindu temples dating back to more than 3000 years and the Ramayana offer salvation to the religiously inclined; its elephant sanctuaries and national park provide the right environment for the nature /animal lover; while its hill stations provide the much needed respite from the intense heat and are extremely scenic.

General Information for planning a trip to Sri Lanka

Our first step on Lankan soil - right outside the Bandaranayake Airport

Flights

Flight tickets to Sri Lanka are very reasonable. Mihin Lanka, a low-cost Sri Lankan airline, offers tickets for as low as Rs.6000 from Chennai. Indigo also offers round-trip fares - Bangalore –Colombo-Bangalore at an unbelievably low cost of Rs.10,000! This is far lower than air ticket costs for travel within India.

Visa

Sri Lanka offers both visa on arrival and online e-visas that one can apply for before the travel date, once the flight tickets and hotel accommodation have been booked. For Indian visitors, visa fees amounts to US $20 (e-visa). Visa on arrival costs US $25. Hence it is better to apply for e-visas which is a simple process. The approved visa is sent by e-mail and is given within a few minutes of applying for the same.

Here is the link to the visa page - http://www.eta.gov.lk/slvisa/visainfo/weta.jsp

With our friendly AirBnB Hosts in Kandy

Accommodation

Air BnB offers the convenience of booking homestays or booking complete homes for various budgets. It is easily the best option for people travelling in larger groups. When we with our extended family of 7 members visited Sri Lanka, we booked complete 3-bedroom homes in Colombo, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Galle. All of us had comfortable rooms and the price we paid was fairly reasonable. Similar accommodation in regular hotels would have cost us quite a bit. In addition, we got to use the well-equipped kitchen to prepare breakfast (when it was not part of the deal) and dinner on days we decided to have a simple Indian meal.

Food

There are plenty of Indian hotels in Colombo that serve tasty Indian fare. In most places, we were able to get vegetarian food. We also tried Sri Lankan local food like String hoppers – which are basically rice noodles or Idiyappam served with a curry. Kerala cuisine like Aapam, Puttu, Parota are also popular here. Pol Sambol is an accompaniment that we tasted – very similar to the thenga molazhapudi . Our hosts in Kandy offered this for breakfast and it tasted extremely good. It is made of freshly grated coconut, onions and red chillies.

We also picked up fresh milk, thick curds, fruits, cucumbers, onions and tomatoes, and rice from the local store in Colombo and Kandy and prepared simple meals of cooked rice with MTR Puliyogare powder (which we had taken from Bangalore), salad, and curd rice. Pineapples and jackfruit are also available in plenty and we gorged on them.

It is best to carry some essential food items like Puliyogare powder, Pickles, Indian snacks and ofcourse, the all-time favourite of Maggie Noodles. With 5 youngsters who were ever hungry, our one large suitcase dedicated to food and snacks came in handy.

In Galle, we had a Sri Lankan buffet lunch. It was fantastic – some lip-smacking memorable items were the jackfruit curry cooked in coconut milk, and their version of the brinjal curry.

Budhi - our Tour Guide welcoming us!

Transportation

We hired a vehicle from Erenga Kurera Tours. Their driver, Budhi picked us from the airport and took us all over Sri Lanka. We traversed the roads in a Toyota Kdh van. It was most convenient and quite comfortable for the seven of us and our luggage. Budhi was a silent but friendly driver. He drove carefully and acted as our tour guide.

Here are the highlights from our trip -

We were a family of seven – 3 adults and 4 children (2 teens, and 2 pre-teens) who set out to visit the beautiful island country of Sri Lanka. Considering the motley crowd, we had to plan the trip to cater to everyone’s needs. We needed to pack in some adventure, some amount of history and culture, a little bit of leisure, plenty of beach-time, and of course great food. After reading up and researching online, we zeroed in our 10-day vacation with the following itinerary.

Colombo – Pinnewala Elephant Sanctuary – Kandy – Nuwara Eliya – Galle – Colombo

Our Sri Lankan itinerary

We covered a total distance of nearly 1000 kms over the 10 days. We wanted to visit the Udawalawe National Park to the south before reaching Galle but could not fit this in. We will have to plan another trip to Sri Lanka to include the northern territories and the eastern coast.

Our 10-day trip to Sri Lanka can be described as one beautiful holiday. We got up close to the Sri Lankan way of life -their food and cultural flavours, their rich history and relics, the amazing temples, Buddhist shrines, the picturesque locales both on the mountains and near the sea. It was a great pot-pourri of experiences.

Colombo

Near the Independence Hall - statue of SriLanka's first Prime Minister - Don Stephen Senanayake

Our Mihin Lanka flight from Chennai landed into Colombo which is a fairly large city with beautiful, broad roads. It had a Victorian feel to it, with a blend of modern buildings and the typical British structures with wide open spaces and plenty of trees. In fact, it reminded us of the quieter and beautiful Bangalore of yester years. We visited the

· Independence Memorial Hall which was constructed to commemorate the gaining of independence from the British in 1948. It is a multi pillared hall that stands majestically.

· Surrounding the Hall is the Cinnamon Gardens - a great open park with plenty of greenery and situated right in the heart of the city. One can take a stroll, jog, cycle or just ramble around.

· Galle Face Promenade - This is a beautiful stretch of road right beside the sea and is ideal for taking a leisurely walk while enjoying the sea breeze. The vendors with push-carts provide local street food –a unique way of trying out new cuisine.

· House of Fashions – A great store to buy branded clothes at decent prices.

· Opel Store - A good place to pick up Sri Lankan knickknacks and gift items.

By the Galle Face Promenade

The famous Galle Face Hotel

In the Cinnamon Gardens

The Colombo Town Hall

Pinnawala Elephant Sanctuary

At Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

While proceeding to Kandy from Colombo, we stopped at Pinnawala to visit the Elephant Orphanage. There are more than 50 elephants here and the place is well-maintained. We got a chance to feed the elephants, give them a shower with a hose-pipe and also watched them enjoying themselves in the river. We witnessed almost 40+ elephants walking down in a procession to the river close-by. We had balcony seats in the restaurant beside the river and had a ring-side view as the pachyderms played and frolicked in the river.

Elephants bathing in the Maha Oya River

Feeding time! The young calf enjoys its drink!

Kandy -

The Botanical Garden, Kandy

We arrived in Kandy, the second largest city in Sri Lanka. It is also considered as the administrative capital. It is a very old city with a lot of history and religious importance. It lies at an altitude of 1600 ft. above sea-level and hence has a more pleasant climate. Being a hill town, its roads are narrow; traffic jams are very common and frustrating. Kandy has dense trees - plenty of rubber plantations are found on the road from Colombo. We visited the following in Kandy

Royal Botanical Garden – is a vast space of greenery right in the heart of the city. It is beautifully maintained and has several attractions like the Hanging Bridge, the colourful orchid park with flowers of several sizes and shapes, an artificial lake, rubber trees.

Temple of the Tooth Relic – is a prominent and sacred Buddhist temple. It houses the tooth of the Buddha. We don’t actually get to see the tooth - it is kept secure and covered in a jewel-box of sorts – but the temple itself is a big attraction. It is well maintained and exudes serenity. The vast building and grounds of the temple were earlier part of the royal palace.

Lake – the Lake lies right in the heart of Kandy, next to the Tooth Relic temple. Similar to most hill-stations in India that were developed by the British, this is also a man-made lake. Several well-known administrative buildings can be found adjacent to the Lake.

The Sri Lankan Cultural Performance – This 2-hour dance and music programme is a great way to learn about Sri Lankan customs and culture.

A Sri Lankan breakfast - String Hoppers with Sambol

At the Orchids Section of the Royal Botanical Garden in Kandy

Temple of the Tooth Relic, Kandy

On the roads of Kandy

Sigiriya and Dambulla

Sigiriya - The impregnable rock

From Kandy, we set out early in the morning around 5:30 AM to Sigiriya. Our Air BnB host was good enough to pack sandwiches for us which we had before reaching Sigirya. It took us two and a half hours to reach Sigiriya. We wanted to start the climb of the fortress before it became too hot. Sigiriya is an imposing huge rock-fort that looks impregnable. When King Kashyapa built it in 300-200 BC, his intention was just that - a strong-hold that could not be breached. Apart from the actual climb, the technology used by him is mind-boggling. He built gardens and water storage tanks to make good use of the rain water. His keen sense of art is displayed by the beautiful paintings created on the cave walls and a huge set of lion’s paws cut out from the rock surface. He built his ancient palace and other dwellings on the flattened area at the top of the rock summit. The climb is a little arduous but definitely doable. The view from the top is breath-taking and well worth all the effort.

After getting down from Sigiriya, we then proceeded to the Cave temples in Dambulla, also known as the Golden Temple. In the foreground, there is a huge temple with the seated Buddha’s golden sculpture rising mightily into the sky. Towards the rear, a climb up a series of steps leads to the cave buildings. There are 5 sections or levels in the caves and all of them are covered with beautiful paintings and Buddha statues of different sizes and in different poses. A huge 15-metre long reclining Buddha statue is a magnificent piece of sculpture dating back to more than 2200 years.

TO READ MORE ABOUT SIGIRIYA, click here

An imposing back-drop

The climb up the rock fortress

Huge set of lions paws engraved in stone

The Lotus Temple in Dambulla

Statues and paintings inside the caves

Nuwara Eliya

Tea estate in Nuwara Eliya - with the tea-pluckers

This is a cool and pleasant hill-station filled with tea estates. It reminds one of our very own Munnar, with beautifully manicured tea gardens. It is a great place to escape the sultry climate of the sea-side towns. The British built a lake right in the centre of the city called the Gregory Lake. We visited

· The quaint colonial building that houses the Post office.

· The Seetha Amman temple – on the rock beside the stream, Hanuman’s big foot print is seen. Seetha is believed to have stayed here – near the Ashoka vanam.

· A 10km walk through the Norton Plains with beautiful view points and waterfalls.

· Tour of the Ambewala Dairy Farm – we got to see the milking of cows using machines, the huge male studs, the cheese factory

Aim and shoot - at a view point

The iconic Post Office in Nuwara Eliya

The Norton Plains - before the start of the walk

On top of the world!

World's End - a beautiful View Point

The Hills are alive!

Baker's Falls

Galle -

At the Turtle Farm in Galle

Galle is a beautiful sea-side town to the south-west of Sri Lanka. It is famous for its lovely and clean beaches. It instantly reminds one of Goa and the carefree spirit can be felt in the air. Of all the places we visited in Sri Lanka, I think Galle remained the favourite. It is a great place to unwind and relax - walking and playing in the sands, feeling the salty breeze on our faces, and watching the waves lap around our feet. We did the following in Galle

· Visited the Fort area which is a little walled town, built first by the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch. No automobiles are allowed inside and the place can be explored by walking around the clean but narrow lanes that are lined with offices, quaint shops selling antiques, and pretty little cafes. View from atop the fort is breath taking. We also get a good view of the picturesque Cricket stadium.

· Had a slow and lovely dinner sitting on the beach and facing the sea.

· Visited a Turtle Farm. Saw several s varieties of turtles that were bred in the farm. Also got a chance to let a newly hatched Oliver turtle back into the sea.

· Japanese Peace Pagoda