Sri Lanka Recap
Written By mumma
Day 1
Ayu-Bowan. We have settled back into Sri Lanka, met our tour group. Early vegetarian omelette breakfast served with sausage and bacon on the side!! Next we travelled North East 4.5 hours from Negombo, where we started last week, to Dambulla. Negombo is now a popular beach location, being the nearest from Colombo Airport. The country was destroyed with the 2004 Tsunami killing 45,000 people in Sri-Lanka alone and suffered more devastation in April this year with terrorist attacks. Tourism has suffered badly but as we travel through rich countryside, bright green paddy fields, pineapple plantations, mahogany forests, monkeys, international cricket grounds and local people selling their goods on roadside stalls, we can see it’s a stunning place to be.
Britain ruled Sri-lanka for about 130 years, building roads and setting up the banking facilities. Fish and Ceylon Tea are big export products and even though we saw lots of ceramic roof tiles for sale, sadly still over 75% use asbestos, why? Well the asbestos is imported from Russia and they said if you stop buying it then we will stop buying your tea! Schooling is to a high standard, literacy is over 95% and many excel at university but their high skills come with low incomes here so they end up working overseas.
When we arrived in Dambulla today we went straight to the Royal Cave Temples. Up 400 steps, the most stunning views and ornate Buddha’s decorate this 2000 year old temple.
We saw monkeys make baby monkeys! The highlight however was Minneriya reserve Jeep safari in search of wild elephants. After spotting the water buffalo and peacocks the elephants started to appear. We searched for a while, saw lots, they walked past our Jeep but when we drove back to the hotel they were just walking down the busy main road in the bicycle lane!! A wonderful start to our Sri Lanka adventure, my first spot of a wild elephant going about their day unfazed by us in the Jeep. A lost wallet on the game drive track (fortunately not ours), and lots of photos to say for the day.
Big day, excellent day washed down with a simple tasty local dinner costing $4 for both of us with a drink!
Alarm set for 5am tomorrow!
Day 2 - Climbing Sigiriya
Up bright and early to drive to Sigiriya Fortress, home to King Kassapa and after our 500m, over 1000 stairs stairway ascent (I swear it was further than 500m!) we could see the wonderful views from the summit framing this archaeological world heritage site. Sweat dripping, heart pounding from the questionable dodgy built ladders, it was worth the sore body! After a quick breakfast we leave Dumbulla behind and head for our next stop, Kandy.
On route through the lush countryside we stop at the herb and spice garden. "I am a sort off spice girl after all!"-mum. Firstly we check out the citronella plant and learn why vanilla is so expensive in its natural form. The orchards are manually pollinated to eventually grow the vanilla pods. A quick cup of herbal tea and being shown the benefits of aloe Vera and seeing the peppercorn plant. Peppercorns are naturally green, with age they turn red, further old age dries them out becoming black pepper and the white pepper seed is inside the black one. Ginger and Turmeric are grown underground like potatoes but watch out if you eat too much ginger as it’s as aphrodisiac! After that we watched a curry powder making demonstration before “lion beer time”. Obviously Sri Lankan’s use these spices and herbs for natural medicines as well as for cooking and I couldn't go past a pain remedy massage and picking up some anti-inflammatory creams for home.
Our journey continued meandering up and up through the picturesque hillside and towns including Matale and the predominant Muslim town of Ambatenna. Arriving into the hustle and bustle of another heritage site, Kandy, it’s time to explore Sri Lanka’s most important Buddhist site, Dalada Maligawa otherwise known as the Temple of the Tooth. We arrived around 6pm in time for the 3rd Buddhist ceremony of the day. Visitors from afar bring offerings such as incense, burning oils, the beautifully fragranced lotus flowers and jasmine petals. Everyone wishes to see the striking golden shrine that encases Buddha’s tooth. The temple smelt absolutely devine from all the offerings as did our evening meal to conclude Monday.
Day 3 - Tea Time
Woke up Wednesday with sore calf muscles! Set off up through the beautiful countryside zig zagging our way up to the tea plantations. Ceylon Tea (Sri Lanka’s name before 1975) is a major export here. The plantations are stunning rows upon rows of lush green tea plants as far as the eye can see. 2 leaves and 1 bud are hand picked off each plant each day by hand for 5 days once a month. Workers pick 16 kilos of leaves a day earning around $9 for 11 hours work. Leaves are separated by machine according to weight and the stem used for compost. All varieties of tea, earl grey, green tea, English breakfast etc all come from the same tea plants. Black tea goes through the chopping process after it’s dried, leaves get sieved, fermented, dried more before changing from green to brown then black. This charming old fashioned factory with a touch of modern engineering is interesting and of course we got to taste the finished product.
The evening started with a cultural performance and a visit to a local home for a cooking demonstration. The family so welcoming, the time, love and traditional utensils used made the food even more incredible. The aromas amazing and food delicious, string hoppers, potato curry, chicken curry washed down with a desert of the middle of a palm tree trunk!
Last night in Kandy before heading south.
Day 4 and 5 - Trackside Markets
Yesterday, we drove the long drive south from Kandy to the ocean area of Unawatuna stopping in Galle, home to another international cricket ground and Galle Fort. We stopped at some local stall holders selling red bananas and juicy lychees. Unawatuna beach has rustic charm and lined with cool bars and restaurants, it’s not busy at all which is great but sad that tourism has taken a hit, Sri Lanka is a gem of a place. Had a chill day visiting jungle beach and relaxed at Angel Beach Club. Up early Friday for our early morning train to take us up to Colombo. The train line follows the coastline closely, I can see the local fisherman hauling in their enormous fishing nets from their boats with today’s catch of the day. Passing small villages squeezed between the train track and beaches, the washing hanging out, make shift homes and definitely seen the poorer side on this journey and the occasional local exercise boot camp happening on the beach. At train stations locals walk alone the tracks to get on the train and train doors don’t exist. We stepped off at a very hectic Colombo, walked through the busy market and high street. Colombo has both a president and prime minister, who happen to be brothers. The White House is impressive and parliament square has a statue of the first president. Our city hotel looks out onto the World Trade Center Twin Towers. Victoria Park named after Queen Victoria is tranquil amongst the busy congested streets and ornate temples and mosques add colour and decoration to the city centre.
Day 6 - temple Run
We have reached the end of our Sri Lankan tour, my 4th tour with Intrepid (mum) and can’t thank our guide Nandana enough for taking care of us, his passion, experience and knowledge of his country. We have free time today before flying home tonight and I’ve had the privilege to have shared the experience with a great group of people and one very special daughter who has embraced it all. Our last night was lots of fun with a really good band and dancing along with the locals out partying for Christmas. The rain has disappeared leaving the steaming heat in Colombo today, the beautiful temple sits on the Beire Lake. The Garamaramaya is the most renowned spiritual Buddhist Temple set in its own secluded oasis in the heart of the city with a striking interior. Getting chased by a foul and taking in the local parks and sceneries. So many temples everywhere and no shoes allowed. Just trying to keep cool before our flight and delays ahead unfortunately but a fantastic trip. Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year.