My best holiday – Sri Lanka

I have been the unofficial travel ambassador of Sri Lanka ever since my trip there in December 2012. I still think about that holiday a lot. In our 10 days there, we literally covered the hills one day and the safari the very next day and then the beach the following day, travelling on almost all forms of public transport from bus to tuk tuk to taxi, and of course, the wonderful train, especially the one going up the hill from Colombo to Kandy, and the one which runs along the Indian Ocean from Galle to Colombo. Small island, but has so much to offer from culture to nature.

Whenever Sri Lankans from writers to taxi drivers asked where we are from and we said “Singapore”, they would be very envious of how much our country has progressed over the last 30 years. In the 70s, LKY visited the then prosperous country and envisioned to make Singapore the next Sri Lanka, and now they hope they will be the next Singapore. In instances like that, I would be very proud of being Singaporean. Then again, last December, I met a (rich) Burmese lady in Yangon, even she said that Singapore is getting more crowded and dirtier.

We were transported back in time to Singapore in the 1960-70s. If not for the long civil war, Sri Lanka might have been more developed than Singapore. The planning of their efficient train system points to that. Nonetheless, the people are all resilient, friendly and most speak English. (OK, there were also some dishonest people, from tuk tuk drivers to strangers who chatted us up and tried to sell my very trusting Singaporean friend gemstones. But we usually get smarter after every trip). The tourist areas and the country in general are so clean. The most memorable place… a difficult choice because they were all amazing!

Inside a local bus

The comfortable and efficient train. We travelled on first and second class. The counter refused to sell us third class tickets which  was for the locals.
 

• Nuwara Eliya (2 days to visit the tea plantations and do nothing)

Left: Future mother teresa

Relaxing time reading and drinking tea in Sri Lanka. My only gripe was the lack of good coffee. My instant Owl coffee was a saver. Unfortunately I only brought 2 satchets for the 10-day trip.

Very peaceful place, almost a little England. This was where the British colonial masters built their resorts. Cool weather and even cold at night at some 8 deg C. We couldn’t shower in the evening and had to do so in the afternoon. Victoria inn on Park Avenue (I think) is a cozy little inn, but not advertised on the internet (I have since included them in my agoda review), so we could just walk in, looked at all the different rooms and took our pick. Only SGD10 per person, per night for the stay. Breakfast not included.

There is a post office, community library which we walked into to chat with the librarian. They were always friendly and eager to talk to foreigners to learn about other countries. We also ventured into a girls’ school and played a bit at their playground, on their tiny see-saw made for kids. They were all made of iron// metal. It was seemingly school holidays but some girls came around, giggled (at us the oversized kids) and then showed us their kitchen. 2 of them were preparing food for the other 40. One said she hoped to go to the university in Colombo to study, grow up to be the next mother Teresa.

• Safari in Tissa – second largest national park in Sri Lanka.  

Beauty beyond words, or someone like us from an all-city country. We were lucky to go close to a wild elephant with long tusks, snacking; a big, fat owl; and a leopard sleeping in the tree. For safety, we had to stay in the jeep at all times, and all jeeps had to leave the national park by 6pm. This made the experience such an adventure! The silhouettes of the animals against the setting sun, and all the jeeps racing towards the exit made a wonderful picture which still stays in my head.

• Sigiriya, the lion’s rock (half day, but some 4 hours’ drive from Kandy)

The ancient king seized the empire from his brother and built his on the rock, so attacks would not be easy.

It was a challenging but satisfying climb up the rock. We met a 70+ year old man guy from Sweden in our hostel in Kandy and he spontaneously joined us for the day’s trip. He made it to the top! BTW, he was happy that I knew ikea.

Lots of paintings on the war which craftsmen were restoring. Hope they are mostly done by now.

Not Sigiriya, but the old city of Anuradhapura. My best shot of the trip.

• Galle – Fort and beach facing the Indian Ocean.

Couple taking their wedding shot.

Small town, like Penang or Malacca. Expensive place to be, especially with the tourists.hot place and our guesthouse owners were not friendly. I wouldn't be back.

• Other unforgettables would definitely be food: The milk tea, curry (the stunner was the beetroot and banana curries) and rice, hopper (what the Indians here called “appam”) – literally all sorts of fillings can go in, “kuttu” (pancake chopped into slices like noodles, then fried with egg, chicken etc, which is Indian food. The best were the chilli burger we bought at the Nuwara Eliya bus terminal for some SGD0.20, which was just 2 slabs of bread sandwiching super fresh, spicy chilli sauce, wrapped in old newspapers or used exercise books, as well as the bedeviled chicken cooked by a hardworking young guy at the guesthouse in Tissa. We pre-booked our safari tour with the owner as well.

Kuttu

Bedevilled chicken. Bedevilled anything is nice.

Chilli burger

Colombo is for the airport and Kandy is on the way from Colombo to Nuwara Eliya, so I would have skipped them as attractions. Next time, I will want to cover Negombo this time for the fishing villages and fishermen fishing on stilts, as well as go out to sea to whale and dolphin watch. Negombo is only under an hour from the Colombo airport, so one can go straight to Negombo to spend a day before moving towards Kandy.

When we were passing through the immigration upon arrival, we saw the beauty of Sri Lanka from the tourism board’s promotional video and were doubtful. Now, I know I will definitely be back some day.