Sri Lanka 2006

Sri Lanka 2006

Some things you may not know about this island:

·       Sri Lanka lies only a few degrees north of the Equator, but . . .

·       . . . if you travel due south of the country, the first land you reach is – Antarctica!

·       Sri Lanka is slightly smaller than Ireland

·       Romantic geographers have compared its outline to:

“a teardrop falling from the tip of India”.  The more practical Dutch likened it to a leg of ham!

·       Despite being a small country, Sri Lanka has two separate monsoon seasons – and two inter-monsoon periods!  This means there is always good weather somewhere on the island, but you can also get caught out by the rain. However  . . .  the temperature throughout the year remains virtually constant at between 27-30ºC

·       Sri Lanka has the dubious distinction of having the highest number of snakebite fatalities, per capita, of any country in the world!  We only saw two in a month – big, but harmless. 

So, on with the holiday now.

After landing at Colombo, we were met and driven down to the south west coast to Induruwa for five days beach relaxation after the long journey.  Superb hotel, in fact together with the beaches, the snorkelling (more on that later) and the lovely, gentle, ever-smiling Sri Lankans, one of the highlights of the holiday was the food.  Almost without exception delicious – and you should see the choice of desserts!

We spent a lot of time by the beach but ventured out by Tuk Tuk – those motorized three-wheeled rickshaws which ply the streets of every Sri Lankan town and village.  We visited a Spice Garden and a Moonstone Mine.  As you probably know Moonstone is usually white, but this mine is situated in the only village in the world where blue Moonstone is found.  

We also visited a Turtle Hatchery.  Local fishermen collect turtle eggs (unfortunately considered a delicacy) to sell but the hatchery buys the eggs from them at slightly more than the market price, re-bury them in safe locations, and when hatched, release the babies into the sea giving them a significantly higher chance of survival.  The man we met has been doing this for about 30 years!  We saw dozens of turtles in the holding tanks and were lucky to see a very rare albino.

After five days at Induruwa, we were picked up by our driver again and headed towards the centre of the Island through paddy fields and rubber plantations.  The first stop was at the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage.  It was set up in 1975 to look after seven orphaned elephants, but the project has grown and there are now over 65 residents making it the world’s largest collection of captive elephants, including orphaned and abandoned animals as well as those injured in the wild.  The Orphanage has also developed a major breeding programme and about one elephant is born here every year.

A highlight of the visit is the  bathing of the elephants when they are all brought down to a lovely river setting and just left to wallow and play in the water on their own. Certainly when we visited, the project was managed professionally and ethically.

Then on to our next hotel in Sigirya, close to the 200 metre high rock towering above the countryside. 

During the 1^st Century AD, Kassapa (a minor Royal) built an impregnable fortress – doubling as a pleasure palace – at the summit of the rock.  It’s a steep climb up and not for the faint hearted!  There are some hairy bits – including a metal spiral staircase pinned to the rock face leading to Sri Lanka’s most famous frescoes – busty beauties painted in the fifth century.  David doesn’t usually do heights!  Elaine went up the staircase leaving him behind but seeing so many people heading up this dangerous looking structure he took several deep breathes, prayed to several deities and headed upwards.  “Don’t look down, don’t look outwards, just don’t look!” he repeated to himself on the way up.  He made it – not happily – but it was worth it.  Pheeew!

Then up the steep paths again to the Lion Platform.  The final path to the summit with two enormous lion paws carved out of the rock on either side, once led directly into a carved lion’s mouth.  We both declined the final ascent up another narrow metal staircase attached to the bare rock face. Despite the horrors of the staircase, it was a windy day, too!  It’s quite ironic that the guy who built the fortress was apparently also afraid of heights.

On to our Hotel in Kandy where we were to stay for two nights - a famous old colonial building which served as Mountbatten’s Southeast Asian Headquarters during World War II.  Our room overlooked the pool area and out over the lovely Kandy Lake.

The following morning, off to visit the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens, covering over 150 acres of incredible varieties of local and foreign tree and plant species.  There are 10,000 trees in the gardens and on the Great Lawn, a huge 100-year-old Javan Fig tree whose sprawling roots and branches create a remarkable natural pavilion.  

One of the avenues is lined with Coco de Mer trees which produce huge coconuts – the world’s largest and heaviest fruit which can weigh up to 20kg!  

You walk through another wooded area when the thousands of Fruit Bats hang from the trees making a deafening noise – and you see families of Macaque Monkeys.  The Orchid House also has dozens of varieties, one of the largest selections of rare orchids in the world, and colourful water lilies.  It was a fascinating place.  We spent over four hours ambling around.

Then in the afternoon a visit to The Temple of the Tooth!  Yes, that’s right.  Sri Lanka is, of course, predominantly Buddhist and the Temple is Sri Lanka’s most important Buddhist shrine.  

It houses the Buddha’s Tooth, which arrived in Sri Lanka after journeying around India. Legend has it that when the Buddha was cremated in 543 BC, various parts of his remains were rescued from the fire, including one of his teeth.  The tooth is enclosed in a special chamber but you are not allowed inside – just a quick glance from a distance at the large gold casket which holds the tooth.

In the evening we went to a performance of Kandyan dancing - colourful costumes, lots of drumming, acrobatics and even fire walking.  A spectacular show.

The following morning we headed for the Railway Station.  We had booked a five hour rail journey through the hill country villages and tea plantations.  It was listed as one of the world's great rail journeys.  It was certainly a spectacular trip - but would have been better being a couple of hours shorter. 

The train was late leaving and consequently being on a single track route, we missed our ‘landing’ and ‘take off’ slots at all the stations on the way, having to wait at each station for the train coming in the opposite direction!   

Here is one of the village stations on our route.

So we were very late arriving at our destination.  It was actually dark – extremely dark, as for the final 20 minutes of the journey ALL the lights went off throughout the train! 

Our driver met us at the station and we drove to our next hotel in the village of Ella, surrounded by hills and tea plantations and with good walking possibilities.  Our hotel was ideally place with views straight through the so called Ella Gap - a cleft in the hills looking through to the plains below.  The description of our hotel in the Rough Guide states:  “The owner’s two cute dogs take guests for walks in the surrounding hills.”  Yeah, we thought.  Course they do!

Anyway, on the first morning we decided to head for a lovely waterfall we could see from our balcony.  Out to the road at the front of the hotel where three dogs were waiting, wagging their tales expectantly.  They barked for us to follow then so we obeyed, one of them obviously the leader of the pack.  Down the road, we saw a path to the right which headed in the direction of the waterfall, so we followed it.  The dogs didn’t!  They just stayed at the beginning of the path, yawning and obviously thinking, “They haven’t a clue where they’re going.”  And we didn’t.  Dead end!  Back towards the dogs who jumped up and started to lead us off again knowingly.

They guided us off the beaten track on to lovely hillside paths we would have never found.  We were very impressed – for a while!  Suddenly, where the path divided, Top Dog decided to chase off after something more exciting and we didn’t see him again.  The other dogs just looked at us as if to say “Which way now, then?  We’ve no idea.”  Neither had we!

We chose one path which eventually led us through someone’s garden and then down some steps into a school playground.  I’m not sure who was most excited, the children or the teachers - or the Headmaster who came out of his office in the middle of lunch to greet us!  Anyway we found the way back towards the hotel and left on another track towards the waterfall.  The only remaining dog decided he’d had enough and headed off for the hotel and home!

A nearby spectacular waterfall wasn’t too easy to find either.  We walked along the railway track (everyone does it - trains are not all that frequent!) for about a mile but seemed to be by-passing the falls to the left.  A local soon put us right, taking us off along an almost hidden path, down some steps, along a stream – and there we were at the bottom of the falls where we had a lovely picnic.

Two nights at Ella followed by a fairly short drive down to the South Coast and our next destination, the Yala National Park. 

We checked into our hotel in Tissamaharama, not too far from the park, at about 11 a.m. and the safari jeep was due to pick us up at 2.30, so we went a stroll into the town and sat by the lake.  Surprise, surprise, a young entrepreneur persuaded us to have a short trip round the lake to the island in the middle where there were literally hundreds, probably thousands, of birds – kingfisher, egret, pelican, Indian darters, ibis, etc., etc.

Then off to the Yala National Park, about a 40 minute dusty drive from the hotel.  

We went on a second afternoon safari the following day and the wildlife we saw during the two days included, herds of wild elephants, including a baby, crocodiles (not easy to get close up to, or advisable), spotted dear, sambar, langur monkey, pair of jackals (rare sighting), mongoose, land monitors (small iguana-type creature, seen everywhere in Sri Lanka), water buffaloes, black-necked hare, egret, heron, ibis, kingfisher (you see these all over the Island, too), Indian darter, green and blue bee eater, hoopoes, parakeet, bulbul, peacocks (including one showing off all his feathers), peahen, jungle fowl, painted stork, pied hornbill, black-headed lapwing, etc. 

The 2004 tsunami hit the coastal area of the park and dozens of tourists and staff were killed and some buildings destroyed, but not one of the thousands of creatures in the park was injured or killed.  They all moved well inland half an hour or so before the waves hit.

The morning before our second safari we spent swimming in the lovely hotel pool on the edge of the lake.  A nice relaxing few hours before another dusty ride in the jeep.

Off again to commence our south coast beach hopping – we’ve done the wildlife and culture bit, it’s now relaxation time!  All the beaches are idyllic. Quiet, with white sand fringed by palm trees.  

We drive to our first port of call, Tangalle, through salt flats and via the town of Hambantota, the place where the tsunami first hit Sri Lanka on Boxing Day, 2004.  There is still evidence of the disaster along this coast.  Red Cross fresh water stations, temporary and new, permanent houses and still visible damage to property and trees.  

But there’s a positive feel and “Bounce Back Sri Lanka” is the country’s slogan for the rebuilding and regeneration programme.

The most poignant comment we heard was from a tuk tuk driver, when he commented how much visitors love to hear the sounds of the waves, especially when it lulls them to sleep in their beachside hotel room at night.  But now he said, many locals fear the sound of any heavy waves as it brings back painful memories of that day which brought so much death and destruction.

Our accommodation in Tangalle was a Cabana – a wooden chalet - in a coconut grove, just back from the beach and with an uninterrupted view of the sea.

It was really well equipped and none of the Cabanas overlooked any of the others.  It had all been very well planned.  We didn’t do much here except swim, stroll along the beach, read – and play cards on the balcony listening to the waves and watching the fireflies.

After five nights there, we made our own way to our next destination, Mirissa – about an hour’s drive away.  Here we stayed in a brick-built Cabana, very spacious, right on the edge of a headland overlooking the ocean – and with colourful murals of mermaids on the ceiling!  It was a brand new complex and they were in the process of building a new reception area and restaurant overlooking the sea.  One evening we sat on our balcony and were thrilled to see two shooting stars in quick succession.  Again, just lazy days on the beach, excellent accommodation and superb food.

Then our final beach hop – to Unuwatuna, chosen for its location close to the Buena Vista Coral Reef and some of the best snorkelling on the island.  It was the busiest resort we had visited, the long stretch of sand lined with beach bars.  Unuwatuna has become Sri Lanka’s most popular spot for independent travellers and backpackers.

We had read about Jungle Beach, from where there is easy access from the shore to the coral reef. The beach is only accessible, by boat, a 45 minutes walk over the hill and through the jungle (spot monkeys and land monitors on the way!), or a tuk tuk ride and a then ten minute walk from the road down to the beach.

We did the boat ride on the first day and on subsequent days went by tuk tuk.  No, we didn’t do the 45 minutes walk through the jungle – well it was over 30ºC and initially uphill! 

The snorkelling even close to the shore was spectacular.  It was like swimming in an aquarium.  

We spent every day there – it was certainly THE highlight of our stay. Here is a map showing the journey from Unawatuna Beach to the red marker at Jungle Beach:

Now the penultimate day of our holiday – not filled with too many laughs!  We (or rather David) decided it would be ‘fun’ to hike through the Sinharaja Rain Forest for a couple of hours on our way to Colombo., where we were due to stay overnight before our flights back.  Well, before too long, he said, there aren’t going to be any rain forests left on the planet, so we’d better experience one while we can.  Makes sense, doesn’t it?  DOESN’T IT?

So, up at 5.30 as the car is picking us from our hotel in Unuwatuna at 6 a.m.

We drove for about three hours when the driver informs us he’s never approached the forest from this direction before, so we stop to pick up a guide/navigator/friend – who knows?  What we do know is that he’d no idea where to go either!  It becomes clear as we are ascending up a few thousand feet along a very rough track that we’ve also missed/lost the official guide who was supposed to accompany us through the forest.  

On the way up we passed some foresters/trackers/unemployed woodcutters (who knows?) and our driver commandeered one for them for the purpose of seeing us safely through the undergrowth.  This is a picture of our intrepid forest guide:

The one thing in his favour is that he did seem to know his way through the forest but we were ever so slightly worried as we left the path at the edge of a tea plantation to enter the dense undergrowth, to see him place his hands together above his head, then in front of him in prayer-like fashion. Doesn’t do a great deal for your confidence!

To be honest, we didn’t see a great deal of wildlife apart from a few purple-faced langur monkeys high up in the trees.  But there were the leeches of course – always included in abundance in any respectable rain forest.

Then a long drive onwards to Colombo – a few hours less would have been a bonus - and our overnight stay before flying out the following evening.  A lovely hotel on the outskirts of the city where we spent the morning by the pool – made more interesting by seeing a typical Sri Lankan wedding and a fashion show around the pool.

A great holiday with so many new adventures and experiences.

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As this Blog was written in early 2007, please refer to the Helpful Tips at the end of the Sri Lanka 2017 Blog for more up-to-date information.  Just click HERE.