beautiful, friendly, clean, green Sri Lanka

Saturday, December 23, 2017
Kandy, Central Province, Sri Lanka
Our holidays over Christmas and New Year we spent in Sri Lanka and had a wonderful time there. It was an absolutely fantastic getaway!
Our flight from Hyderabad to Colombo was less than two hours. From Colombo we took a local bus to Kandy and spent two nights there. Kandy is a bustling city and the cultural hub of Sri Lanka. We hired a rickshaw for a day to explore the town and the surrounding countryside, tea plantations, temples as well as the city.
From Kandy we took the train to Ella - and what a journey that was! It's around 140km only but took seven hours to reach as the train wound its way leisurely through the beautiful and hilly countryside. We came past tea plantations, forests, small villages and clear rivers. With the holidays and high season, we were lucky to even get a seat after just one hour of standing in the aisle. At times the train was rocking so hard from side to side, we found it astonishing and amusing, that it actually stayed on track and didn't derail. 
In Ella we spent two full days hiking in the surrounding hills. It was just fantastic to be able to walk and being out in the green. 
Our next stop was in Uda Wallawe where we visited the National Park and got to see loads of Elephants really up close and personal. We also saw lots of birds, lizards, crocodiles, buffalos and monkeys. We stayed at a small guesthouse with just two bungalows and really got to experience the Sri Lankan hospitality. People are just so nice and helpful here!
The last few days we spent on the south coast on a beach between Matara and Mirissa. Upon check in in our hotel, Roger mentioned that he likes fishing and the manager said, that he would enquire about the possibilities. The next day he had bought a fishing rod for Roger to use - just like that, incredible! In that way we spent a few days as we like it with Roger fishing and Claudia swimming in the sea and relaxing on the beach - bliss!
On our way back to Colombo we took once again the train along the coast. Travelling with public transport is definitely not fast but very relaxed, easy and enjoyable. With the sad history of decades of civil war, we were glad to see how well the country is doing. The roads were in pretty good condition, people speak English very well, the infrastructure seemed good and it was clean! Of course there are still lots of problems to be solved and improvements to be made but - especially coming from India - we were quite impressed by Sri Lanka and its people. So yes, we will definitely be back to explore some more of this beautiful island!
Sidenote: Our first driver had brought us to the airport and it was agreed for him to pick us up upon our return. However, while we were in Sri Lanka, we received his message 'not coming for duty'. Thus he resigned just like that as the commute to work was too long for him. There are no written contracts for such positions and all is based on trust. Fortunately he had left the car keys with our friend Shweta and luckily she was able to source for a new driver right away. In the meantime we are actually very happy about this change. Our new driver, Ashok, is very reliable, trustworthy, punctual (!), nice and careful. So, fingers crossed that he will stay with us!

Comments

Tom
2018-01-17

Wow, sounds and looks fantastic - great to hear you're having such a wonderful time. Thanks for providing us with these cool pics & reports, always a joyfull read here in cold & stormy Switzerland... All the best, Tom & Moni

Nogi
2018-01-17

Thx for sharing your experience and the beautiful pictures. I am reale impressed!

2025-02-10

Comment code: Ask author if the code is blank