The Sri Lankan Itinerary
I have begun this post with a message our driver Anura sent us after we had exchanged our goodbyes once he dropped us off to the airport - "I am very sad to leave the airport after being with you for a week. I'm sorry if I made a mistake during the journey. Thank you very much for the money given to me, it is very important for my daughter's education. Thank you again for everything and God bless all of u to come to Sri Lanka next year."
We have traveled quite extensively but it is only this time that we experienced the warmth and hospitality of people in a country. I have never felt this anywhere in India - our own country. With an economy that is largely dependent on tourism, textiles and tea and political cum economic crisis that Sri Lanka recently went through, this trait will definitely take them a long way.
Before I dive into the itinerary, I will take a moment to gush about this country's small but aware population - just 2 million in an island country - every little kirana stocks brooms and cleaning tools and agents - while driving across towns and villages we noticed people conscientiously sweeping away to keep their environs clean. That is how ingrained cleanliness is in them - the smiles of the people warm one - their greeting and 'how can I help' attitude are a sea change from what we are used to in a busy and overpopulated country like ours. Although a geographically close, possibly technologically and economically less advanced neighbor - there is much to learn from them India! The country has a much smaller land mass, fewer people. The climate in early May was amenable - mornings were sunny but cool, few hours of harsh sun and then showers to relieve the heat.
This trip was planned in a rush because there was much uncertainty in terms of available holidays - there were unfinished projects, uncertainty about school start dates and conferences which led to the uncertainty. Why Sri Lanka? - The trigger was a conference Pari had to attend there, which was equally last minute. This triggered the idea of having Sri Lanka as our holiday destination this time. It had never really been on our holiday list so there was little known/ explored by us. All we knew about it was that it was known for tea, textiles and spices. I had never heard any visitor/ tourist rave about it. Often perspectives matter.
How we went about designing the itinerary? - we took help from a friend who was posted there a few years ago, checked with a school friend who had traveled there before, an old neighbor who visits it often for business, sister(s) who had been there in the past and of course good ol' google. We realised while we were at it that with the limited time at hand, we will need to restrict it to few spots and not try to spread ourselves too thin.
We set out late night on 29th April - it was decided that we will all attempt to travel light. While 2 out of 3 of us did manage to, some struggled :) I will choose to keep the names a suspense :)
When one travels with a late riser, one needs to keep in mind that any site seeing or fun in the mornings is a distant reality. We accepted that and worked out an itinerary which allowed us to get up early and do the kind of site seeing that the late risers wouldn't really be keen on.
Day 1 : Negombo which is quite close to the airport
We were welcomed into this town by a shower by the rain Gods...a thunderstorm really.
Negombo felt much like - Mangalore. I was reminded of the multiple summer holidays among the narrow roads dotted with well maintained houses with Mangalore roof tiles, a well kept front yard, trees of mango, jackfruit, rose apple. Our teen rightly observed - the whole town looked like it had been freshly painted. Well manicured lawns, spic and span exteriors.
The property where we spent the night belongs to Crisette Appuhamy. It is very beautiful and over 130 yo. Mostly managed by a team of 5. The lovely lily pond won my heart - the lilies bobbed their heads when the sunlight shone on them. The caretaker Vasant was so interested in knowing if I bumped into SRK every day as we stayed in the same city :) ..sadly I disappointed him.
We visited beaches and churches. The latter dated back to the late 1800s or early 1900s. We had the cream bun, some iced coffee, some fresh orange juice, egg bun, hot dog @Nyaomi's by the lagoon . While I was tempted to try the soursop juice and also the woodapple juice, I did not. We had our breakfast by the lagoon - which I learnt is a water body fed by the sea and thereby has brackish water.
Krishan villa - a homestay belonging to Chriset Apusammy
Enjoying the surf
Nyaomi by the lagoon
Day 2 : Nuwara Eliya
We reached here late evening - a road trip from Negombo. We were tired and so had a quick meal and knocked off to bed. The next morning the sight we opened our eyes to was a complete treat! we were nestled among a variety of flowers and vegetation - tiny sri lankan melons, orchids, hydrangea, oranges, mangoes, bigoneas and many more, bird calls and guess what ?! later in the day when we stepped out to site see we left the door to the balcony open and it was clearly an open invitation to some surprise visitors. In our absence the monkey visited the room - munched away on some mangosteen and cheesecake that had been left behind by us :) To our good fortune it (pronoun not known) did not damage anything else.
The temperatures here are 12-18deg c. It's a lot like Cunoor, Kodai and Ooty - just more beautiful and a lot cleaner
Day 3 : Nuwara Eliya
To be honest, while I loved every bit of the country and the company, this time I am struggling to document it. However, since a few friends have been closely following up with me and requesting me to post, I am doing so. This time, I find no soul in my writing, but well that should not matter because for a traveler who is hoping to be inspired by this trip, I hope there is enough.
The few places we visited here are the colonial post office, Victoria park, Seeta Amman Kovil / Ashok vatika - mythology states that this is the place Ravan held Seeta hostage (ref - Ramayana the Indian epic). During the early hours we also visited some farms and tea estates - Jagro (which is into strawberry farming) and the Ambewella farms (New Zealand farms) which is into dairy farming. There were other vast estates of tea viz Edinburgh and each equally breathtaking than the other. The Victoria park reminded me a lot of the botanical gardens of Singapore and SIMS @Ooty or the park at Kodai. I have a lovely pic of Pari that I captured, which reminded me of Vijay Kapoor of New Amsterdam.
Our pilot had told us to pick some Avocado here as they grow in abundance. I asked around for some Avocado toast, juice or milkshake - but could only sample the latter once. The second time I got unlucky as the milkshake was bitter and so I had to let it go. Since our travel was for an extended period of time I chose to only pick a few avocadoes as they may get squished and I clearly did not want messy luggage.
There were other fruits at the vendors - the lankan melon, pineapple, jackfruit, variety of mangoes, soursop - quite an interesting mix not seen much in our urban markets. While at Nuwara, we visited the Grand hotel - beautifully manicured lawns and gardens. The place has been around for many decades and attracts a lot of expat tourists.
Day 4 : Ella
This day @Nuwara Eliya we had breakfast at Remarko, lunch at DSilva and then proceded to Ella by the popular train - the blue and red one. We could not reserve the Class 1 tickets and thought we missed an opportunity for comfortable travel. We were mistaken, the second class facilities exceeded our expectations. It is better than our Indian first class! and the advantage was that with such excellent weather, we could open up the windows and take our instagrammable pics. The train journey was breathtaking as the train veered through hills and valleys. We boarded the train at Nonu Oya and disembarked at Damodara, from where Anura picked us up and drove us to Ella. We reached there at 6:30pm ; already quite dark and stayed the night at The Ella Crest. Dinner was at Cafe Chill - the Srilankan fare was enjoyed by Pari while the teen and me chose the baguette and spaghetti carbonara respectively. I thought the Srilankan meal was the tastiest although it was vegan, I did not miss the dairy or the the meat.
While the room @Ella crest was simple, it was clean and had a breathtaking view. We witnessed the waterfalls and the sunrise the next morning. The breakfast which was a part of our package was simple and delicious - dosa with coconut sambol, fresh tangerine juice, crepes rolled with jaggery, cardamom as filling, coconut roti (we did not quite take to it here) and a nice cuppa coffee. This was a well earned breakfast because earlier that day we had trekked the Mini Adam's peak and also enjoyed the Nine Arch bridge - yet again a popular instagrammed site. Later by around 11:00 the teen decided to pack in some adventure by opting to do the zipline. We proceeded to Yala- a national park zone. The drive was extremely rainy. Heavy showers. The property was by the lake and believe me, the thunderstorm had turned the lake into a stormy and treacherous water body. We stayed at Ekho Trissa at Yala. Our dinner that night was at this delightful place called the Chef Lady. After the meal we were surprised when they asked us our nationality and offered us a discount as we were friendly neighbors of their country! :)
Victoria park
A lovely and sprawling property Ekho Trissa. We loved the swing which was by the lake - early hours swinging on it balanced delicately was a delightful experience. But then we had a bit of an accident when the slipper fell into the lake and the obliging staff retrieved it for us - they seemed like they quite expected it!!! Due to the thunderstorm the previous night, the pool needed some clearing but the staff was at work since wee hours and had it all cleaned up before one could plan the pool dip. Our breakfast was at Refresh -delicious English breakfast.
Unfortunately we decided to drop the idea to take a safari to the national park as we did not expect to see any animals at the watering holes - not with the whole place drenched. Besides, my last experience of having visited a national park soon after rains was a sad reminder to not repeat the torture. The bite- the fever- the dengue which took me a awhile to recover from. This time, smarter, we skipped the National park and instead enjoyed our stay a the property. We proceeded to Bentota that afternoonand enroute dropped by at the Dutch township Galle. The centuries old Budurgwala estate with a 5th centre Buddha statue adorning it was a wondrous sight. Our lunch was much delayed as there was no spot agreeable to all of us and so finally we visited this little cafe called Lake View Cafe @Budurgwala. Simple, inexpensive and tasty fresh food. We were told the chef had earlier been trained at Cafe Chill @ Ella
Ekho Trissa
Day 7 : Galle
The day at Galle was indeed bright and sunny. Hottest it had been until now. The town was beautiful - the dutch precinct had the hospital turned shopping/eating complex, the light house, the mosque, the reformed church. Each piece of architecture was breathtaking. Had it been a little more cooler, we would have walked a while longer. By evening, the cool breeze made up for the time spent in the heat early on in the day. Lunch was tough - a typical case of spoilt for choice. The place is dotted with fine dine spaces and cafes. Each had their menu with the prices displayed right outside their restaurant. Each place was quaintly done up. We opted for the secret garden which seemed a little more inviting and oft frequented than the rest. Pari once again opted for Sri lankan fare, the teen for fish and chips and me - I tried brown rice with Sri lankan coconut curry with chicken. Each was served with a generous helping of freshly sauteed carrots and beans. While the carrots were enjoyable, I hv never enjoyed par cooked french beans - mostly because they are the huge variety and not the slender tender ones. We walked through the churches, mosque and around the light house. The place was a treat to the senses. By the time it was sunset, we walked upto the sunset point to enjoy the breeze and some Magic ice cream (that's the local brand, there is also Elephant house ice cream). We liked that the vanilla variant was a faint yellow and not the bright white we usually see.
We admired the colorful tuktuks - red, blue, green and yellow. No strict regulation on the colors used on the license plate.
The clouds gathered, darkened and showered while we moved onto Bentota - the beach town. We landed here on the 6th evening. It was pouring as we reached Bentota from Yala. The sea was stormy and wild that night but by morning, there was sea change when the rains subsided and the cool breeze made the holiday amazing. The property Pandanus we were told is named after a local fruit (not edible) which looks a bit like the pineapple but grows on trees (not short shrubs). The property was beautiful, right by the beach. Very hospitable and warm staff, excellent rooms (the bathroom was for some reason a weebit tiny). After strolling around the property we opted for dinner at The Vintage Place - excellent butter garlic prawns and even the Sri lankan fare. The food was super tasty and quantity more than sufficient. We got back to Pandanus and crashed. The Galle walking had tired us out.
Day 7 : Bentota
At Pandanus, the next morning, the breakfast excellent! what a spread. What we loved about it was that it had a variety of Sri lankan fare and we could sample the egg hoppers, string hoppers, Senne and kattu sambol and milk rice cake - all of which we had missed in the earlier destinations. While we did not enjoy the quality of fish (it was tough and not tender), the rest was all worth a repeat.
We grabbed lunch on Day 7 at Boiling lob after we visited a Buddha temple and also Lunuganga Estate - the weekend home of Geoffrey Bawa. It was an absolute delight to walk through ~18 acres of lush green estate. Bawa was a lawyer turned architect - Muslim and Dutch parentage (and clearly lot of inheritance). He was eccentric too as he was creative. The entire property is dotted with bells to call on to his staff. Acres and acres of manicured lawns. He seems to have planned the shades of green he planted as his vision was to see the hues of green while he sat in his home atop a cliff. He paid for the waterworks department to be repainted and restored as he could see it while he was relaxing in his home. The view had to be perfect. He passed away around 2014 and his remains have been buried in the estate close to his nanny's who passed away a little earlier than him...she was well over 100 yo when she passed on, we are told. We could not have enough of that sprawling, beautifully designed estate. The restored church doors and windows and curios collected over years each made us realise his passion for his art.
Our lunch at the Boiling lob was fun because we engaged with a senior german coouple. While the gentleman was from the mission , the lady - a doctor was with the MSF medicines sans frontier (Doctors without borders). They had spent time in Yemen, Sudan and many such strife stricken places. They made interesting conversation. While we were enjoying our lunch we noticed a snake slither by at quite a speed. Interestingly none of the locals seemed perturbed. Guess it is nothing unusual in this part of the woods. The afternoon was spent at the beach lazily walking by and enjoying the breeze. Although it was afternoon the sun was not so harsh. The teen enjoyed swinging the tyre while I simply sat and watched the waves. Pari decided to retire to the room - he had some business to take care of.
Our goto place for dinner that night was Pier 88 - for some reason we were already stuffed so we settled for some garlic bread, veg au gratin and an oreo milk shake among the 3 of us. After spending the night at Bentota and enjoying their breakfast spread the next morning we set out to Colombo.
Day 8-9 : Colombo
We landed in Colombo the night of Vesak - Buddha purnima (a very important and well celebrated festival in this part of the world which has ~70% buddhist population) - so that night we settled for MCD burgers as most places were shut by the time we steered through the relentless traffic. The whole city was lit up and celebrating. Next morning not a soul would believe that the entire city was on the roads - everything was clean and as good as new - we as a country have a lot to learn - the state of our cities right after Ganesh festivals, Durga pujo are earth shattering. A small country, tropical, quite close geographically and climatically to us - even though economically and politically less stable, has a lot to teach us. Are we listening?!!!
Sri Lanka is swathed in lush rainforest, rice paddies and tea plantations. It is a tropical island gem that captivates visitors with its idyllic beaches, abudant wildlife, verdant hill countries and wealth of ancient Buddhist and Hindu architecture. We highly recommend a holiday here :)
For those of my readers who are always short on time and only need the itinerary, I have put it down for reference :
|
Day |
Description |
What we did |
Stay |
Contact details |
|
1 |
Landed
from Mumbai in Colombo. Proceeded to Negombo.
|
Visited –churches
and beaches |
Krishan
villa @Negombo (lovely) – |
write to me |
|
2-3 |
Drove
from Negombo to Nuwara Eliya |
Visited
@Nuwara Eliya – Victoria park, Colonial post office, Seeta aman kovil/ Ashok vatika,
Ambewella/ New Zealand farms, Edinburgh tea estate, Jagro strawberry farms Walking/
driving around Nuwara Eliya is a delight Food –
Remarko (avg), Da Silva (above avg), Mariner’s (avg), picked avocados, mangosteens,
strawberry
|
Sherwood
cottage (lovely)@Nuwara Eliya- |
write to me |
|
3-4 |
Nuwara Eliya
to Ella |
Visited @Ella-
Lil Adam’s peak, 9 Arch bridge, Zipline Food – Dinner
@ Café Chill(excellent) |
Hill
crest (neat & clean & excellent views of waterfall and sunrise)@Ella |
write to me |
|
5 |
Ella to
Yala |
Spent the
night at the property
|
Ekho
Trissa (huge property, well landscaped)@ Yala |
write to me |
|
6-7 |
Yala to
Galle to Bentota |
Visited @Galle
– Dutch hospital precinct, light house, Mosque, Reformed church, Galle fort,
Galle sunset point, Food – Lunch
@Secret Garden (avg) Galle Dinner
@The vintage (excellent) Pandanus
|
Pandanus
(Excellent) @Bentota |
write to me |
|
8 |
Bentota
to Colombo |
Visited @Bentota
– buddhist temples (Khanda vihar, Kaluthara), Kesgoda turtle hatchery, Geoffrey
Bawa’s weekend home @Lunuganga Food – B/F
@Pandanus (excellent with a wide spread which included Srilankan counter too),
lunch @boiling lob(avg) |
Pandanus(excellent)
@Bentota |
write to me |
|
9 |
Colombo
and exited early next morn |
Visited –
marine drive, buddhist temples Seemamalakaya, Gangaramay, Red mosque, St Anthony’s
church, shopping @ Odel, Lakhpana, Paradise road,House of fashion, Massage by the blind - recommended Food – |
Ramada (avg) |
write to me |
Picture credits to Parijat Punj whose insta handle is https://www.instagram.com/parijat.punj/
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