Sri Lanka is a small country but it’s relatively difficult to get around. The easiest option is to hire a private car, but this is expensive, partly because cars in Sri Lanka are extremely expensive (we’re told a new car you might pay $50,000 for in the US can cost $300,000 in Sri Lanka, with tax accounting for the difference). Large air conditioned tourist-friendly buses and shuttles (ubiquitous in most other places we’ve visited) are rare, a sign that Sri Lanka’s tourist infrastructure is still a work in progress (which we can forgive since the country is still recovering from a 25-year civil war that only ended 5 years ago). For backpackers not willing to fork out for overpriced tour packages, this leaves a choice between packed public buses on congested roads and slow trains on an antiquated network. To get to our second destination, the historic southern city Galle, we took the latter.
After a mad dash we managed to get on the right train (trains aren’t labelled) and find some nice seats in second class. The ride itself was quite enjoyable, as the route followed the coastline for almost four hours, allowing us to see lots of pretty white sand beaches along the way. Getting off the train was just as chaotic as getting on, with the very friendly, but apparently very confused, fellow passengers unable to agree on where we should be getting off. The station we did get off at (not the right one, but close) had a 20-meter platform servicing a 200-meter train, so disembarking involved a dramatic backpack-laden leap into overgrown trackside foliage, much to the amusement of all except for us.
After a mad dash we managed to get on the right train (trains aren’t labelled) and find some nice seats in second class. The ride itself was quite enjoyable, as the route followed the coastline for almost four hours, allowing us to see lots of pretty white sand beaches along the way. Getting off the train was just as chaotic as getting on, with the very friendly, but apparently very confused, fellow passengers unable to agree on where we should be getting off. The station we did get off at (not the right one, but close) had a 20-meter platform servicing a 200-meter train, so disembarking involved a dramatic backpack-laden leap into overgrown trackside foliage, much to the amusement of all except for us.
After 4 hours of sight-seeing in the chaotic capital city, we felt exhausted (the heat didn’t help). Luckily, the owner of our very 1-star hostel had a dodgy arrangement with the concierge of Mt Lavinia’s iconic very 5-star hotel that allowed us to spend the afternoon in and around a beautiful terrace pool, enjoying panoramic views of the surrounding beaches. The only catch was we needed to spend the equivalent of $10 each at the terrace restaurant/bar, which was a very small price of admission compared to the rate for the cheapest room in the hotel.
Our first stop on this second part of our gap year was Colombo, Sri Lanka. We weren't able to book flights until the last minute because we were waiting for our passports and Indian visas to arrive in the mail, so the only affordable flight available required us to endure a 10-hour layover (luckily at Kuala Lumpur’s beautiful new international terminal).
Having arrived 24 sleepless hours after we left, only to be greeted by the constant sound of car horns in a ridiculously long (for the distance traveled) transfer to our hotel, there was, admittedly, a moment or two where we questioned the wisdom of putting our backpacks back on. We were staying at Mount Lavinia, Colombo’s nicest beach, about 8km (or half an hour in light traffic) south of the city centre, and with the last of our energy reserves we wandered to a beachside bar to watch the sunset. Although the taste of the national beer (Lion) was questionable, the sunset was beautiful, and we went to bed in a much more positive frame of mind.
Having arrived 24 sleepless hours after we left, only to be greeted by the constant sound of car horns in a ridiculously long (for the distance traveled) transfer to our hotel, there was, admittedly, a moment or two where we questioned the wisdom of putting our backpacks back on. We were staying at Mount Lavinia, Colombo’s nicest beach, about 8km (or half an hour in light traffic) south of the city centre, and with the last of our energy reserves we wandered to a beachside bar to watch the sunset. Although the taste of the national beer (Lion) was questionable, the sunset was beautiful, and we went to bed in a much more positive frame of mind.
We had earmarked the following day for Colombo sightseeing, but felt too exhausted to do it ourselves, instead opting for the lazier option of booking a private tour. It turned out to be an inspired decision because the main attractions in Colombo are quite spread out and the self-guided option would have taken us twice the time and wouldn’t have been any cheaper. We visited a couple of buddhist temples, the Sri Lankan parliament, the president’s residence, the Galle Buck light house, the converted Dutch hospital, independence square and the floating market (among others). The highlight for Sam (not at all for Cindy) was getting into the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, the headquarters of Sri Lankan cricket that has hosted plenty of international matches.
That afternoon we toured the Unesco recognized Galle Fort, which was built firstly by the Portuguese in the 16th century and later fortified by the Dutch. We really enjoyed touring the fort around the perimeter of the city, which offered a beautiful view of the surrounding ocean and beaches. The most enjoyable part, however, was getting stuck into our first truly Sri Lankan meal at a small family restaurant deep inside the old fortified city. The 10-curry smorgasbord was full of flavor, and incredible value at less than $10 for the two of us. On the way out of the Fort, Sam stopped to marvel at the beautifully located cricket stadium, which he’d seen plenty of times on TV back in Australia (as in Colombo, the significance was lost on Cindy).
The other reason we had travelled to the south of Sri Lanka was to see a couple of the country’s top beaches. The first, Unawatuna, was probably a much more beautiful beach a few years ago before increased tourist numbers resulted in the overcrowding that we experienced.
After a night at Unawatuna, we headed to the second beach, Mirissa, and this time were definitely not disappointed. Longer and less crowded than Unawatuna, Mirissa is densely lined with palm trees and features beautiful turquoise waters. It also features a peaceful, clean and modern guesthouse, where we stayed and enjoyed a memorable home cooked Sri Lankan dinner.
After Mirissa, we headed north to the mountains and cultural triangle. More details on that in our next blog.
After Mirissa, we headed north to the mountains and cultural triangle. More details on that in our next blog.