I wrote this
while still in Sri Lanka. The only thing missing is that my flight got cancelled
and there was a brief period of time where I thought I would be in Sri Lanka
for an extended period of time. I ended up getting a flight to Hong Kong to Taiwan
to Seoul and now life is almost back to normal in Seoul.
Thoughts on Sri
Lanka
Sri Lanka had
been on my radar for a few years. My brother’s wife adores the place and
planted the seeds for my eventual trip here. Sri Lanka being named Lonely
Planet’s country to travel to in 2019 was more evidence that this country
deserved some exploration. After being in Thailand for two weeks and with
school being delayed another two weeks, I started looking at flights. One-way
flight to Colombo was only $130. Sold. So, what’s the deal with Sri Lanka?
It’s hot! Super
warm. I am a fan of hot weather so I enjoyed it but carefully planning on
staying in places with air con and limiting getting lost in the streets during
the day is a must. Did I get lost my first hour outside of my guesthouse in
Negombo? Obviously. I initially booked a one-way ticket because of schools
closing in Seoul and an opening date not being set in stone. I figured I had
15ish days. (Ended up having like 9) The virus started to calm down a bit and
school looked to be opening March 23rd so I booked a flight back to
Seoul on the 21st. I found out today school is further delayed until
April 6th which will give me time in Seoul to unwind after a month
away.
My two priorities
for this trip were trying to learn how to surf and go on a safari. Sri Lanka is
known for having great waves and an excellent place for beginners to learn how
to surf. Safaris are also a famous part of Sri Lankan culture that I was
unaware of. Did I go either of these things? Obviously not. I had planned to do
the safari on Thursday March 19th but all parks are closed due to
the virus. Nature has been cancelled. Surfing was delayed for a few
inconsequential reasons. One, you really need to find a surfing school, spend a
few days learning and really commit. The two beaches I ended up at weren’t big
surf spots and after a few days, being at the beach becomes a little dull.
Second, I think it would be more fun to learn with a friend or a group of
people you know. Third, I might be slightly lazy and I just wanted to see more
of Sri Lanka instead of getting angry at a surfboard and losing my temper.
Let’s start at
the beginning. I land at the airport which is 15 minutes from Negombo and 45ish
minutes from Colombo. I did not hear great things about Colombo so I had booked
a guesthouse in Negombo. I took a taxi to Negombo, desperate for some AC, some WIFI,
a nap and a jump in the pool after waking up at 4:15am to catch my flight to
Sri Lanka. I arrive at the place and they let me know that the power is out so
internet and any type of cooling mechanism is not working. There were two older
people just chilling at the pool and I didn’t want to mess up their vibe so I
left in search of the beach. I walk through the town, find the sea and realize
this is not an interesting place to be. I proceed to get lost walking back to
my guesthouse and wonder why I am not better at traveling.
I finally found the
place, power still off so I make an executive decision to leave the guesthouse
I have just paid for and head south to an allegedly more beautiful area. The
owner is slightly confused why I was leaving hours after arriving but I feel
that as long as I didn’t write him a negative review, he would not care to see
me go. I took a bus to Colombo and then eventually figured out what bus to take
south to Unawatuna. If you believed that buses in Sri Lanka were super modern,
you would be mistaken. It looked like this:
By the time the
bus left Colombo, it was 108% filled with Sri Lankans and one awkward foreign
person from North Bay.
Was the bus
quiet? If your definition of quiet is Sri Lankan music playing at a level 9 out
of 10 for four hours then yes it was. Did I miss my stop and end up in the
wrong town, unaware of how to get the bus to stop for me with a dying cell
phone, no lunch or dinner and sweating in my seat like a pineapple at customs? Certainly.
I found a Sri Lankan restaurant; told them I was very hungry and would eat
anything they gave me and it was a big hit. Eventually found a cheap room in
Unawatuna and spent two days here:
Observation: Hot
Observation: Most
Sri Lankans speak English
Observation:
Super friendly
The second day in
Unawatuna, I set my alarm for 5:50am to watch the sunrise. What I did not take
into consideration was my phone was still on Thailand time so when my alarm
went off the next morning, it woke me up at 3:50 am. It took me 15 minutes to
realize my mistake and this news did not come as a shock to me. I stayed awake
and eventually made it to see this:
After Unawatune,
I made my way to Merissa. Nothing super fascinating happened during this time
period. One beach is called Secret Beach that you can find on Google Maps. It’s
almost like they don’t want it to be a secret.
If you wanted to
buy beer in Merissa, you couldn’t just walk into a store. You had to walk up to
a caged area where you tell the man what you want and they get it for you. I’m not
sure how I feel about this system other than the government doesn’t trust Sri
Lankans and finding alcohol in this country is not a simple task.
After Merissa, I
was not overly excited to take two buses to Ella that would take close to 8
hours so I hired a taxi to take me to Ella in under four hours. That cost about
$90 which I feel is not a crazy amount of money. Some Ubers around Toronto can
add up to more than that.
How many times
would you say is a reasonable amount of times to be stopped by the police on a four-hour
journey? Zero sounds about right but that was not my experience. We seemingly
got stopped at random about an hour into our trip. The driver got out of his
car, showed some papers and within 10 minutes we were set free.
“Why did they pull
you over,” I inquired.
“For driving
across the middle line on the road but I talked my way out of it,” he replied.
How can you talk
your way out of driving across the middle of the road? I feel like police
aren’t super into being told they were wrong. I do not believe a bribe was
exchanged and here is why:
About two hours
later, we get pulled over again. This seems unlikely but I was in no rush so
excited to hear his story.
“Why did they
pull you over this time?”
“I was going 90
in a 70 zone.”
Seems like a good
reason to be pulled over.
“How much is the
fine?”
“About a thousand
rupees” ($8)
“Why didn’t you
try and offer him 500?”
“I tried that to
be honest but he refused!”
So apparently in
Sri Lanka, once you get a ticket, you need to give the police your ID, then
drive to some station and pay your fine immediately then return to the police
with your receipt, then you are given your ID back and you are on your way. The
fact that he offered to bribe the second police officer makes me think that he
was being honest when he said he talked his way out of the first fine. I also
feel like I asked him about the first encounter after our second stop and he
said he didn’t bribe them so apparently Sri Lankan police are not super, super
corrupt.
We make it to
Ella which is known for its tea plantations and hikes. Ella is also where I
ended up meeting up with a couple from Australia who are friends with my mom
and ended up paying for my dinner so Ella was a win. The world isn’t that big
of a place. Here are some Ella pictures I have stolen from the internet
Which brings me
to a hot take I have:
Taking pictures
of most things is stupid. What’s the point of going to a place that actual
professional photographers have spent hours taking pictures of but you rock up
and take some pictures on your Galaxy S7. I don’t get it. It makes slightly
more sense to take pictures of yourself or you with friends but in general, can
we all just knock it off and enjoy being where we are at and just ‘borrow’
pictures from professionals later?
I will give you another example. Ella to
Kandy is supposedly one of the most beautiful train rides in the world. When I
got on the train, it was 92% empty which was great. The downside is that I was
worried about getting at least one great picture from this journey. This is so
dumb. I should have just put my phone away and enjoyed watching the scenery
pass me by. Instead, I probably spent 30ish minutes taking sub-par pictures and
when one of the more scenic views on the trip came into view, I wasn’t hanging
off the side of the train snapping up prime pics like these:
If I took that
train for a year, I doubt that I would get better photos than that. Thousands
of people taking pictures of the exact same thing just to show other people
they were there. I think we should all take a step back, quit it with the
amateur photography hour, borrow professionals’ pictures and live in the moment
more. Finally, not only are these pictures repetitive and inferior quality,
people are also dying when trying to snap the best train picture. Apparently 28
people died as of June 2017. 28 people died in 6 months trying to take
pictures. But it’s super worth it to get pictures like this:
Once in Kandy,
countries had started to shut their borders and panic was rising. I went to a
national park yesterday and was told it was closed because of the virus. My
plan to hit up a safari was dashed but after looking through these pictures I
feel like I got the just of it
I am spending my
last two day in Colombo then flying back to Seoul. Some final thoughts:
I read Island
of a Thousand Mirrors. A novel about two your girls growing up in Sri
Lanka. I recommend that you read a novel set in the next country you visit. I
felt like it enriched my trip and I learned about the history of Sri Lanka.
I’ve been
wondering what the main differences between India and Sri Lanka are. Here are
some things that I found:
Sri Lanka has 21
million people. India has 1.3 billion.
Sri Lanka has a
higher GDP per capita while India has more land and manpower.
India is the
world’s biggest democracy. To learn more about their president, this is an
interesting watch:
Both countries
have an abundant amount of wildlife and a love for cricket.
Sri Lanka is an
island while India is not.
Sri Lanka is
mainly Buddhist while India is mainly Hindu.
Sri Lanka has
three official languages while India has 22.
While both
countries have a caste system, it is followed much more strictly in India and is
not as serious in Sri Lanka.
India's movies are
a cultural phenomenon while Sri Lanka's aren't.
Sri Lanka has
better education, less pollution and better infrastructure.
Apparently, algebra,
the number zero, shampoo, diamond mining and the value of pie originated in
India.
Sri Lanka was the
first country to elect a woman as the head of a government in 1960
Should you visit
Sri Lanka? If you are into good, cheap food, train rides, beaches, nature,
friendly people, fairly safe, hot and somewhat touristy country then make your
way over. You can dream and start planning your next vacation whenever life goes
back to normal. Stay safe.
Abraham Lincoln
