All about my trip to Sri Lanka

 

The only good thing that happened to me in 2020 is the trip I took at the beginning of this year to Sri Lanka. I didn't know that 2 months later all of us would be stuck at home for the rest of the year(I hope everything gets better soon). This is everything about my trip and some tips which can help you. So, let’s get started.

Did you know that Sri Lanka was once called as SERENDIB, a name given by Arab and Persian traders which inspired the word Serendipity

Sri Lanka turned out to be everything I hoped it would be and much more. I found it to be very similar to India but diverse in its own way. Sri Lanka has stricter laws when it comes to traffic and maintaining cleanliness or at least that's what I experienced. One thing that absolutely surprised me is how every vehicle stops when I was going to cross the road which NEVER happened to me in India and in case you don't know me I'm very scared to cross the road and may take up to 20 mins(Or more, who am I kidding here?!) to do it if I’m alone. I observed this not only in the major cities but also in every place I've been there. 

This is how my 6 days in Sri Lanka went:

Day- 1 :

We reached the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport for our 5:30 A.M flight which we would’ve missed because of my phone. I spent 30 mins searching for my phone and finally gave up and got it in the car only to realize it was in the car all along. Thankfully we reached on time.

At around 2 P.M we arrived in Sri Lanka, filled all the paperwork, and moved to our first spot - "Pinnawala Elephant orphanage" which is an orphanage for abandoned and injured elephants. It's a good place to go if you love elephants and you can also see them bathe in the river which we missed. I had mixed feelings about this place mostly because some of the elephants were in chains then again it may be because of the protection of people who visit. 

Tips:

1.  It’s better to take a local sim card at the airport itself. It’s an easy process. You just need to select a plan, give your details and they’ll set up sim in 10 minutes and also having a local sim is very helpful in places where you can’t use your hotel Wi-Fi

2. If you are planning on visiting Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, try to visit at 10 A.M or 2 P.M to see elephants bathing in the river.

Day-2

We decided to visit Koneswaram Temple in Trincomalee as the first place on the second day. This temple is believed to be built 2500 years ago dedicated to Lord Shiva which was destroyed by the Portuguese colonies in 1622 who built a fort called Fort Fedrick from the debris which was then restored in the 1950s. The temple is surrounded by picturesque views of the ocean and beautiful scenery. You can also see deers and peacocks walking around.

Then we moved on to our next destination which is Dambulla Cave Temple. On the way, there were many small shops/stalls selling curd. Our guide said it is a very famous Sri Lankan delight called Mee-Kiri which is a curd made from buffalo milk through a natural fermentation process in a clay pot and is served with sweet honey-like palm treacle called Kithul pani. The curd was so fresh and creamy and combined with palm treacle, it tasted extremely delicious. Trust me, it’s a must-try dessert.

After that sweet treat, we reached our next spot.

Dambulla cave temple declared as a UNESCO World Heritage site is one of the biggest Buddhist temples constructed into 5 caves inside an overhanging rock with a total of 153 buddha statues and various wall paintings dating back to the first century. The paintings on the walls depict the life of Buddha.

Getting to the temple was the hard part because there are approximately 300 steps to climb which are quite uneven and steep. But it’s all worth it when you reach the top.

You can know more about the history of the temple here: Dambulla Cave Temple

Some tips which might be helpful:

1. Tickets for the entrance are available only at bottom of the climb not at the Golden Buddha entrance or at the top. There are two entrances to the cave temple but there's only one ticket counter where you can get the tickets for cave temple.

2. Carry a water bottle because you may not find them when you reach the top.

3. Make sure to wear modest clothes at all the religious places or else entry might be denied. Shorts are not allowed and shoulders must be covered. You can use a wrap or scarf to cover.

4. A good time to visit would be in the morning and during sunset.

A little friend I made at the temple

The temple was so beautiful and serene with a lot of historic and spiritual value. It was very peaceful and surely worth the effort. It's a must-visit. You can hire a guide who can explain the history, stories, and the meaning behind various positions of Buddha. The staff was also very helpful in giving information. The temple left a strong spiritual presence on me after discovering the history and teachings of Buddha.

With that we left for our next spot: Kandy and I fell in love with this view from my hotel. Sadly I could endeavor it only for one night and I ended up sitting in the balcony and stared at it until they turned off the lights giving me a sign that I should also go and sleep.

Day-3

After having an amazing breakfast with the view of Kandy city, we went to this spot where you can see almost all of Kandy.

It was on the way to the Temple of Sacred Tooth Relic. This is one of the most important Buddhist relics in Sri Lanka. 

I found this blog post which explains the history and significance of the temple perfectly: Temple of Sacred Tooth Relic

This is one of the most beautiful, grand temples I’ve ever seen. The atmosphere in the temple is so divine. The sacred tooth relic is not seen but is stored in a golden shrine that is worshipped. You can see many locals dressed in white and offering prayers and meditating. Even though there are a lot of people around me I could still feel the peace and calmness around me. This place is heaven for those who love architecture, history, and is certainly not to be missed. A spectacular place to visit in Kandy to experience tranquility.

Since the temple is in the center of the city, many places are close to the temple like Royal Botanical Gardens, Kandy city center, Kandy lake and gem museum, etc.

Streets of Kandy

Our guide suggested visiting Shri Bhakta Hanuman Temple which was an hour from Kandy and on the way to Nuwara Eliya which was our next place. This temple with an 18 ft Hanuman statue is located on top of a picturesque mountain. I had THE best lunch here on my entire trip where I tasted the local cuisine of Sri Lanka and I was impressed. If I go to Sri Lanka again which I will(you’ll get to know why), I am certainly having lunch here again.

View from the temple

If you don’t know already, Sri Lanka is famous for its tea called Ceylon tea and you can see it everywhere. I’ve visited many tea factories in India and also I’m addicted to tea(Thanks to my mom). So it’s only fair if I visited one here in Sri Lanka and I tasted various types of teas. We also visited a strawberry farm on our way to Nuwara Eliya.

Nuwara Eliya had to be my second favorite place after Kandy. It is a hill station surrounded by tea plantations. The weather is quite chilly and it is safe to say it is the coolest area in Sri Lanka. It’s a different experience because most of Sri Lanka is hot and humid.

Nuwara Eliya is called Little England

The town is quite small and our hotel was in the center of the city and every place was at a walkable distance. We went to Lake Gregory and spent a lot of time there.

We spent most of the evening walking through the town and just going to random places like the local market, post office, and just walking through the streets. I even spotted a theater playing Rajinikanth’s movie. I have this weird obsession of visiting local marts of any place I travel to see what it sells and shop there for no particular reason. So I found this supermarket called Cargills Food City and I visited it in every city just to buy random stuff.

Tip: It’s really cold in Nuwara Eliya and I ended up catching a cold. So if you are like me who can’t stand the cold climate, make sure you pack a jacket to not end up like me.

Day-4

Right after breakfast, we went to this temple called Seetha Amman Temple located 5 km from Nuwara Eliya which played an important role in Ramayan. Legend says that this is the place where Sita Devi was held captive by Ravana and prayed daily for Lord Rama. There’s a stream behind the temple where Sita Devi bathed. Also, it is said that the footprints of Hanuman can be seen on the rocks along this stream and it is believed that Hanuman burnt this area and hence why the soil is black in color. This is one of the very few temples dedicated to Sita Devi. Our next stop was St.Clair Major Falls on the way to Bentota. This viewpoint was surrounded by pretty views of the tea plantations with the waterfall in the background. St.Clair Falls is one of the widest waterfalls and is also known as “Little Niagara of Sri Lanka”

And guess what I found there. If you’re a Civil Engineer, you should know this. It’s a Pelton wheel and I did not expect to see it there.

Pelton Wheel

A cute restaurant we stopped for lunch

By late afternoon we reached Waskaduwa. Here we stayed at a beach resort and straight away my parents went to the beach where I took my sweet time to enjoy the view from my room and rest. We spent the entire evening till sunset on the beach and went into the town.

I knew that one of the famous tattoo artists has his studio here and I forgot to make an appointment and that’s how I missed an opportunity to get my first tattoo. He was sweet enough to recommend me to his friend in Colombo but we didn’t have that much time. That’s when I decided to come back here and get my tattoo.

Day-5

We visited Madu River and took a boat ride to Cinnamon island and a Buddist Temple. Madu River is known for its rich biodiversity and our first stop was the mangrove forest, home to a wide range of wildlife. We saw a few birds and some scary-looking reptiles. And then we had this fish therapy thing where I took almost 30 mins to put my legs in the water because the fish were rushing towards me. It’s a weird experience to have fishes bite your feet.

Our next stop was Cinnamon Island. It’s a small island where cinnamon is cultivated. We were offered a cup of cinnamon tea which was very refreshing. The people there demonstrated how cinnamon is cultivated and produced and what types of products are made out of the cinnamon plant. The lady explaining realized I had a cold and gave me some cinnamon oil which actually helped. On our way back we visited a Buddist temple which was quite small but very pretty and only a handful of people were there.

After the river safari, we went to a turtle hatchery where you can see how the turtle eggs are preserved and baby turtles are protected when they hatch. When they grow up, the keepers release them into the sea. There are many hatcheries where they keep turtles just for money and tourism purposes so it's better to research before you visit.

We went to the beach behind the hatchery and this beach was the best one than the others I visited. The sand was clean and the water had beautiful emerald blue hues. The beach was also not crowded, there were like only 6 other people with us. It was very calm with just the sound of ocean waves.

Then we went to Bentota beach which was the original plan but it was very crowded, so we went to another place where various water sports activities were there. My dad and brother did some of them and I wasn’t interested to do any cause I was very hungry. After that, we went to a KFC near my hotel because the restaurant I wanted to go to was closed. Everyone decided to spend the rest of the day on the beach or the pool but I just sat in my room and ate my extra KFC takeout.

Day-6

After a really good breakfast and a few photos, we left for Colombo. Colombo was our last place on the trip.

We had a mini-city tour of Colombo and shopped because I love shopping in new places and also I'm just a borderline shopaholic. We went to Taco Bell for lunch because I’ve never tried it in India before this trip and I’m not gonna lie, the Taco Bell in Hyderabad disappointed me when I went to eat after this trip.

Colombo

And then we checked into our last hotel which also had a very beautiful view of the sea and took some rest before going out again.

We took an auto to see if it’s the same thing as in India and funny enough the driver mistook us for natives and spoke with us in Tamil the entire time. We went to the beach for the sunset. We visited Sri Lanks during the Sankranti festival and I thought I’m gonna miss the kites this year. But there was a kite festival going on and the beach was filled with people flying colorful kites.

After that, we just walked around on our way back to the hotel.

Day-7

This was our last day in Sri Lanka and since we had our flight in the afternoon we couldn’t do much. We packed all our bags and checked everything cause I have a habit of losing things and left for the airport.

Back to Hyderabad

Here's a short video I made on the trip:

I had a really good experience on this trip and it was very memorable because right after this trip many sad things happened around and 2020 became the worst year for many of us. It was like finding something good in bad. Writing this blog post made me miss many things but also made me realize things like living in the moment because we don’t know if we will get to live those moments again. Let’s get through this pandemic together. So stay safe and stay healthy.

Hope you enjoyed reading. Click on the follow button to get notifications every time I post. Until next time Ri