Day 6 - Unawatuna - Galle - Bentota

Unawatuna is a coastal village in the Galle district and is a major tourist attraction and famous for it's beautiful beach and corals.

After the much needed night's sleep it was time to hit the Unawatuna beach for some sun, sea and sand... well, almost. The sun god wasn't as kind that morning and with a lot of cloud in the sky we still decided to make our way to the beach nice and early. The beach is connected through many different tiny alleyways and usually most hotels are about a 5 minute walk from the beach.

Off the coast of Unawatuna, beneath the India Ocean lies a number of coral reefs, shipwrecks, and a great variety of fish and turtles.It really is a haven for deep see divers.

Also connected through the beach is the Unawatuna beach temple. Situated on a hill and connected by a few staircases it is a perfect spot to enjoy the landscape and take the magnificent views in.

Day 5 - Nuwara Eliya - Unawatuna

With a calm mild and enough tea to last us a lifetime we set out to Unawatuna longing for the beach. The reason we picked Unawatuna was because of it's proximity to Galle city centre and it's unspoilt beach.

The journey time from Nuwara Eliya to Unawatuna is 6 hours and the road (although beautiful with more tea plantations) are narrow and winding for at least 4 hours. People suffering from travel, altitude sickness might want to carry some medication and most definitely a few sick bags.

There is really only one road that leads out of Nuwara Eliya to the plains down south and is full of some beautiful sceneries and waterfalls. To make the most of these visual delights there are many hill-facing cafe's where you can refresh and re-energise yourself.   

We spent most of this day travelling but made the most of it by stopping at as many places as we could and interacting with locals. It does truly make the whole gruesome journey more worthwhile. 

Once you hit the plains, travel time to Unawatuna is around 2 hours depending on the traffic on the national highway that runs from Colombo to Galle. Unfortunately for us, we took a lot longer than imagined to get to Unawatuna and only reached there towards the end of the evening just in time to catch the beautiful sunset and a relaxing stay at the Thambapanni Retreat. http://www.thambapanni.biz/thambapanni_retreat.html

Day 4 - Kandy - Nuwara Eliya

Sri Lanka is presently the second largest producer of tea in the world. If you are a tea lover like myself you're in for a visual treat and a treat for the taste buds. Nuwara Eliya also known as 'the city of light' is a picturesque town situated in the central highlands of Sri Lanka. Located at an altitude of 1,868m, the temperature in Nuwara Eliya is much cooler than any other city in Sri Lanka making it perfect for tea plantations.

The journey time from Kandy is nearly 4 hours but worry not, there is plenty to see and do. Other than enjoying the winding roads and the waterfalls, there are umpteen number of tea factories - most of them with a tea cafe and shops where you could purchase cheap tea.



The selection is truly mind boggling; flavoured tea, variation in green teas, morning tea, afternoon tea and evening tea - who ever knew that existed? The wonderfully friendly people over the counter are very knowledgable and always happy to help should you get lost in tea heaven.  I found myself buying bags of them for friends, family and of course myself.

Tip: Do not get carried away by the wonder sounding flavours. Some of them don't always work as tea so I suggest you taste them before you buy them.



Nuwara Eliya is a small town with not much to do other than enjoy a walk by the lake and take in the breathtaking views. It's always a popular getaway for locals because of it's weather. Our visit was restricted to one night at the Grand Hotel, Nuwara Eliya which frankly was slightly disappointing. The appearance of the Grand hotel might be deceiving as the rooms are on the smaller size with squeaky floors and extremely thin walls (we could hear the telly from our neighbours rooms). On the positives the hotel had a very good selection of breakfast - anything and everything you could think of - Sri Lankan, obviously.

For fans of Indian mythology here's a little place worth visiting. You probably know the story of Ravana abducting Sita and bringing her to Sri Lanka. Now the place where Sita stayed while she was under captivity is now called the Sita Temple and is here in Nuwara Eliya. It's a small temple that has statues of lord Ram and Sita and at 10 minutes from the city centre I think it's worth a visit. 

Enjoy the evening strolling around the hilly town and exploring the local markets for fresh fruit and vegetables. 

Day 3 - Kandy - Polonnaruwa - Dambulla - Kandy

Happy new year! The clock has struck past 12 as I write this post and the world is welcoming 2012 with a big bang. It's been a year of excitement and much travelling - one of which I'm writing about now. Back to day 3 in Sri Lanka.

Covering quite a few places meant an early start on day 3 but the plan was soon altered because of the weather being overcast with predictions of occasional rains. Our original plan included Sigiriya between Polonnaruwa and Dambulla which we later found would have been a stretch too far to cover in one day.

Tip: It might be a good idea to live either in Dambulla or Sigiriya if you wish to cover the three in the same day.

The distances to both locations from Kandy are pretty far. It took us a good 4 hours to get to Polonnaruwa but once there it was totally worth the travel.

The reclining Buddha, GalVihara, Polannaruwa

Polannaruwa - symbolised often by the statue of the reclining Buddha (above) is also a UNESCO world heritage site and was the second capital of Sri Lanka  after the destruction of Anuradhapura in 993. It comprises, besides the Brahmanic monuments built by the Cholas, the monumental ruins of the fabulous garden-city created by Parakramabahu I in the 12th century.



 Polonnaruwa is one of history's most astonishing urban creations, both because of its unusual dimensions and because of the very special relationship of its buildings with the natural setting. It is also a shrine of Buddhism and of Sinhalese history.

Ruins of the Royal Bath, Polannaruwa

Vatadage, Polannaruwa

 

Vatadage, Polannaruwa

A trip to the Polonnaruwa museum will give you a fair idea of the expanse and importance of this city in the history of Sri Lanka. It also makes you aware of what the craftsmanship of the original structure of which only a fraction remains today. Spread over a huge expanse of land are ruins of the Royal castle, the Royal bath, ministers quarters and the Royal chambers. There are also a few dagoba's (pictures of which you can see below)

It would be difficult to explain the history of Polonnaruwa in one page of a blog so it's best if I let you enjoy the structures through some of my photographs.

Sandakada Pahana, Polannaruwa





Ruins in Polannaruwa



Rankot Vihara Dagoba



Gal Vihara, Polannaruwa



Gal Vihara, Polannaruwa



Gal Vihara, Polannaruwa

The journey from Polannaruwa to Dambulla takes about an hour and a half to two depending again on the traffic on yet another one way road.

Dambulla

The city of Dambulla is situated in the Matale District in the Central Province of Sri Lanka, situated 148 km north-east of Colombo and 72 km north of Kandy.

Dambulla has quite a few little sites to see but the one that is not to be missed is the Dambulla Cave Temple also known as the Golden Temple of Dambulla.

The rock towers are situated 160m over the surrounding plains. There are many more caves in the surrounding area but the major attractions are spread over 5 caves, which contain statues and paintings. These paintings and statues are related to Lord Buddha and his life. There total of 153 Buddha statues, 3 statues of Sri Lankan kings and 4 statues of gods and goddesses. The latter include two statues of Hindu gods, Vishnu and Ganesh. The murals cover an area of 2,100 square meters.

We arrived at Dambulla in the evening hours and so cut the tourists and locals that crowd the temple during the day. We caught the sunset from the top and it looked absolutely blissfull. There are nearly 350 fleet of stairs to climb before you get the the caves and there isn't really anywhere you can sit if you ae tired other than the stairs themselves.

Tip: If you are climbing the temple in the evening make sure to carry a torch with you as it might get dark by the time you decide to ascend. And although there are lights along the way they didn't seem to work the evening we were there.

Day 2 - Kandy

What better way than to be woken up by the sound of chirping birds and a flowing river. If that wasn't a perfect start, one opens their eyes to a vast expanse of trees and hills all around. Kandy is predominantly a city inhabited on various hills around Kandy lake.

Things to do in Kandy:

Temple of the Tooth:

Temple of the Tooth exterior

The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic or Sri Dalada Maligawa is a Buddhist temple in the city of Kandy. It is located in the royal palace complex which houses the Relic of the tooth of Buddha. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country. Kandy was the last capital of the Sinhalese kings and is a UNESCO world heritage site partly due to the temple.

The cascade of the tooth

Monks of the two chapters of Malwatte and Asgiriya conduct daily worship in the inner chamber of the temple. Rituals are performed three times daily: at dawn, at noon and in the evening.
We visited the Temple on a Monday and so missed a lot of the local crowd that normally crowd the temple on the weekends.

The main temple at Temple of the Tooth

Tickets: SLR 2000 (foreigners) SLR 1000 (locals)

Tip: Be particularly cautious about what you wear as the Temple has a strict dress code on shorts, skirts and sleeveless clothing.

Kandy Lake:

Kandy Lake is situated right in the heart of the city

Situated in the heart of the city and next to the Temple of the Tooth is Kandy Lake. The lake was created in 1807 by Sri Wickrama Rajasinha, the last ruler of the kingdom of Kandy. Some of the local chiefs who
protested about their people labouring on the lake were put to death on stakes in the lake bed. The central island was originally used as a harem. The British later used it as a ammunition store, adding the fortress-style parapet around it.

The lake is a particularly pleasant place to take a stroll around and enjoys some beautiful views of the city situated around it.

Peradeniya Royal Botanic Garden:

Stretched over 147 acres of land, this botanical garden is one of the best there is in Asia.  It is renowned for its collection of a variety of orchids. It includes more than 300 varieties of orchids, spices, medicinal plants and palm trees. It takes a good few hours to take a look around the garden and enjoy its true beauty.

A section of the garden also attracts a particularly large number of bats. The botanical garden is a perfect place to unwind away from the hustle bustle of the city but beware of the thousands of couples cuddled behind trees.

Ticket: SLR 1100 (foreigners)

Lunch at The Royal Mall restaurant: A nice place to have lunch after a site-seeing filled morning is the royal mall restaurant. It offers a fine lunch buffet consisting of traditional Sri Lankan and continental food.

A few minutes at the famous suspension bridge also used in Indiana Jones (or at least so we're told). This suspension bridge is on our way to our Hotel Chaaya Citadel. Although not a famous bridge, it is prettily situated on the rive Mahaveli and offers some amazing views.


Kandyan Dance Show:
This show is on every tour company's list of must-see things in Kandy. Organised by the cultural centre of Kandy the show comprises of traditional music and dancing of various forms. If you are remotely interested in world music and performing arts then this show will cheer you right up.

Tickets: SLR 500

Municipal Market: Situated in the heart of the city the municipal market is like any small town market with fruit and vegetable vendors.
It might be a good idea just to take a stroll and get the feel of the city within the locals.

Other interesting building is the Queen's Hotel: The Queen’s Hotel is considered today as a historic building to be conserved and held for all time as a part of the history of Sri Lanka’s Central Province. The Queen’s was originally a Governors Mansion with a small structure of buildings constructed to house troops.



Queen's Hotel

This was later to become the main complex of the Ceylon Riffle Regiment. Today the Queen's Hotel which is one of Kandy’s prime properties set on an extent of 217.5 perches of land is one of the finest and grandest architectural buildings and one of the finest hotel properties of its kind in Kandy.

Day 1 - Airport - Pinnawela - Kandy

Heritage Rest Ambepussa

There are quite a few options of towns and cities to start your Sri Lankan adventures from. Some tourists travel to the nearest beach town called Negombo (app 20 kms from the airport) but because we were going to visit the south coast later we decided to skip Negombo and travel to Kandy instead.

Travel Tip: All cities and towns in Sri Lanka are connected with single roads. So often the distances might not be much but the time taken to cover the distance might be longer than average because of the traffic.

Destination numero uno :

En route to Kandy is the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage - a must-see tourist destination. It takes 2 and a half hours to get from the airport to Kigalle – the location of the orphanage.

I am an absolute foodie and for me no travel is complete without a taste of the local cuisine. It was time for our first taste of the Sri Lankan breakfast.

Destination Heritage Rest Ambepussa, Ceylon Hotels Corporation: 

CHC - Heritage Rest Ambepussa

On the way to Pinnawela lies this beautiful, traditional rest house cum restaurant. Also our stop for breakfast. Located in the greens, this restaurant is one of many chain of restaurants and hotels owned by the Galle Face Hotel group so be rest assured about the hygiene and service.

A traditional Sri Lankan breakfast:

Sri Lanka is primarily a rice eating country and hence there is no doubt that the most traditional dishes are made out of rice. The most commonly found Sri Lankan dish is the hopper aka appa. It is a mixture of fermented rice batter, coconut milk and yeast that's poured around a bowl-shaped utensil and left to rise on the cooker. The end product is a thin crispy bowl of rice batter. There are many kinds of hoppers like the egg hoppers, milk hoppers, string hoppers, and sweeter varieties like vandu appa and pain appa.

Along with the hoppers there are also varieties of curry (yes, we are talking curries for breakfast). There will normally be a fish or a chicken curry, a dhal curry and a coconut curry - all of which you can have with the string hoppers.

My favourite and a must try dish is the 'Pol Sambol'. It's a accompaniment made out of freshly ground coconut mixed with finely chopped chillies, onions and lime juice. It's very different and refreshing to the palate.

Sri Lankan Hopper

Most places also do the traditional western breakfasts so if you're not the kind to taste different food, you will still have something to suit your taste buds.

Tip: Sri Lankan food much like Indian cuisine is naturally spicy and doesn't suit most western palates. It might be worth checking the intensity of the dish before you try them. Most restaurants alter their food to less or medium spicy according to your preference so do not hesitate in asking them to mild it down.

Ambepussa - Pinnawela 

Elephants being fed

The travel time from Ambepussa to Pinnawela is around half an hour. The Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage was started in 1975 by the Department of Wildlife on a twenty five acre coconut property on the Maha Oya river at Rambukkana. The orphanage was primarily designed to afford care and protection to the many baby elephants found in the jungle without their mothers. In most of these cases the mother had either died or been killed. In some instances the baby had fallen into a pit and in others the mother had fallen in and died. Initially this orphanage was at the Wilpattu National Park, then shifted to the tourist complex at Bentota and then to the Dehiwala Zoo.From the Dehiwala Zoo it was shifted 1975 to Pinnawela. At the time it was shifted the orphanage had five baby elephants which formed its nucleus.It was hoped that this facility would attract both local and foreign visitors, the income from which would help to maintain the orphanage.

There are only a few elephant orphanages in the world. Pinnawela has now become one of the bigger orphanages and is quite well known world wide.

Situated in this picturesque town the elephant orphanage is a big tourist attraction so expect huge crowds at most times of the day and especially during the feeding and bathing times. 

Approaching the river with the mahouts

If you are travelling with a guide they will tell you exactly where to stand to get the best views of the elephants being fed but there is ample of space to stand around so don't worry about missing it. The mahouts are usually helpful and with little money give you the opportunity to feed the elephants.

The feeding takes place at certain times of the day. The first and also the one we witnessed started at 9.15 am.

Making their presence felt

After the feed, the elephants are taken for a shower in the close by river. The scene of the elephants approaching the river in groups and emerging from huge clouds of dust is nothing short of something out of a movie.The sight of 30 odd elephants of all sizes in one river at once is quite spectacular to watch.

All of them at once

Most tourists would cover this place anyway but if you are in doubt trust me, it's like nothing you have seen or ever will. The highlight of the elephant orphanage for me were the two elephants imported from the war zones in the north - one of them blind and the other with an injured leg. It was so satisfying to see them being cared for.

The orphanage runs on donations and ticket purchases. Please be aware that most tourist sites around Sri Lanka have different charges for westerners, residents of SAARC countries and locals.

Pinnawela - Kandy

After a few hours well spent at Pinnawela we headed for Kandy - a 65 kms journey. Kandy is a city in the centre of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka and is one of the most scenic cities in the country. Much like Britain, the weather around Oct - December is quite uncertain and it's advisable to carry an umbrella at all times.

On our arrival at Kandy we checked-in into our Hotel 'Chaaya Citadel'. Although a little away from the city centre, it is situated between the hills in an incredibly quaint location overlooking the river Mahaveli. One really does get the sense of being secluded and if, like us, you are lucky enough to have a room facing the river, it's truly magical.

Room at Chaaya Citadel, Kandy

After a few hours rest and pouring rain we decided to visit a gem stone company - Prasanna Gem Stones, Kandy. Sri Lanka is one of the biggest producers of precious stones and hence there is no doubt that gems are a lot cheaper in Sri Lanka than anywhere else in the world. Be it Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire or any semi-precious stone, there is plenty to choose from - the clarity, cut, colour and so to no body's surprise the jewellery shops are often crowded with tourists buying exquisite jewellery.

The gem stones are originally sourced from the south of Sri Lanka from a region called 'Ratnapura' meaning the town of gems but most companies have their showrooms in cities like Kandy and Colombo. Moonstone is the most common semi-precious stone available in the country.

Tip: Make sure you insist on a guarantee card on purchase of a precious gem stone.

Shopping: Gem Stones

Sri Lanka - Introduction

This blog by no means is the know- it-all guide to Sri Lanka but it sure is a fair account of the experience I’ve had in the beautiful country I visited this month. Like most avid travellers I too tend to find the prettiest in the diverse and different.

Blessed with stunning sites of the mountains and seas alike, Sri Lanka has something for everyone - a sunny beach for the lovers of the sun and sand, the perfect cup of tea for a tea addict like me and plenty of Buddhist temples to calm those overworked nerves down.

Elephants at Pinnawela

Sri Lanka has for years been in the news for its share of problems with the LTTE and only last year was a victim of the most devastating natural disaster known to most of us as the tsunami. It’s back on its feet and how – the sea-side resorts are better than ever and for the locals, its life as normal.

Throughout my travels across Sri Lanka I found cultural similarities with India. The culture of tipping, the hawkers on the streets trying to persuade you and the humility of the people but it’s the differences that stood out more. The country has 98% literacy –almost everyone can either speak or understand English and the cleanliness can put most south Asian countries to shame.

Kandy lake, Kandy

My trip across Sri Lanka lasted 9 days – not near enough time to see a country that has so much to offer. In this blog, through words and pictures, I will share my experiences on places to visit, restaurants, food I enjoyed eating, shopping, culture and general observations and tips.

Getting off at Bandaranaike International Airport was somewhat of a refreshing change after a rather uncomfortable flight delay at Mumbai, from a faulty aircraft to a 30 minute journey to get to the new one, it was all happening. An early flight arrival time of 5:30am meant we were welcomed by the silence at the airport and some tastefully decorated duty-free shops.

Exchanging mullah:

Buddha at Temple of the Tooth

At the airport towards the exit are stalls of various banks and money exchange companies. Since we had to get some changed ourselves, we decided to do so at the airport and what a wise decision it was as we soon discovered that there are no standard exchange rates. They vary at every hotel, shop and store.

The exchange rate at the airport are pretty much standard but vary on commission rates. It is advisable to get your money changed at the airport as the chances are you will get the best rates there.

Getting a local SIM card:

Most people use their roaming network and chances are it will work perfectly but we decided to buy a local SIM as it’s both cheaper and will guarantee you coverage no matter where you are in Sri Lanka.

Dialogue is a local mobile service provider and fairly cheap and easy to get. A SIM card be bought for as little as Rs. 200 and we topped it up with Rs.500 which lasted us until we left. All they need is your passport for personal details.

Drinking water in Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka being a coastal country has hard water but the hardness of water also varies from north to south. It is not advisable to drink tap water atall and hence always carry a huge stock of bottled water for the entire duration of your stay.

Traditional Sri Lankan dancers

Getting around Sri Lanka:

In terms of public transport, there are trains, buses, or three wheeled vehicles called tuk tuks or rickshaws but the frequency is sloppy and might take you longer than normal to get from A to B. You can also hire a car but it’s not recommended as there are no directions and the driving is nothing less than scary.

There are lots of travel companies that provide you with a car and driver/guide for the duration of your stay. You can either hire them daily or like us, for all of your stay. They are fairly reasonable (depending on your itinerary) and provide you with some local insights too.

There are a few companies that provide this service but the reliable ones are Red dot, Malkey, walker tours.