Hanky Panky in Sri Lanky

Mmkay well let me just start off this blog post by saying that if I suddenly am not in Dubai when you are looking for me, it’s because I’ve moved to Sri Lanka. My goodness it is gorgeous there. 10 out of 10, would recommend. The trip started out a bit rough but got progressively better each day, which is actually a nice way to do a vacation.

Day 1: Negombo

We landed in Negombo around midnight and made our way to our hotel, naively commenting the whole time on how dark all the streets and buildings were. Once we made it to our guesthouse we were told that the power had been out for a few hours and they weren’t sure when it would be on. That doesn’t seem like a huge deal with phone flashlights, but you guys it means the AC wasn’t working. Our first introduction to Sri Lanka was a definitely baptism-by-sweat. Part way through the very restless evening the power kicked on and I sang praises and fell asleep sharing a bed with both of the friends that I was traveling with, because we had discovered a cockroach the size of a my hand in the other bedroom so we decided to let the cockroach have the room all to itself.

(cockroach not pictured because I honestly wasn't even brave enough to go look at it)

The next morning things were bright and pretty and we explored Negombo a bit.  We made our way to the beach and then spent the rest of the day there riding on rickety catamarans, swimming in the ocean, and eating at lovely beachside restaurants.

That night after a lovely dinner we were walking down the street when two men on a motorcycle grabbed my purse off of my arm and drove off with all of my cash, my phone, my bank cards, and IDs. I was obviously devastated, but the Sri Lankan people were so kind and helpful. They instantly gathered around and offered comfort and help. They drove me to the police station and then someone else drove me to my guesthouse to get my passport (which luckily was not in the purse) and then to the police station where they waited and translated everything for a couple hours. It was all frustrating and sad, but I was determined to not let it ruin the trip.

This is the nice man that helped at the police station.

Then I was phoneless for the rest of the trip. Do you know what is weird? Not having a phone. How did people live without them? I expected the difficulties that come with not being able to have contact with family and friends every second, but I also never knew what time it was or how hot it was or how many steps I had walked. Also how do you live a life without just being able to google things every time you don’t know something? It was a refreshing change, but I am definitely happy to be reunited with a phone.

Day 2: Cave Temple, Sigiriya, Kandy

We got up early the next morning and met with our driver for the day. He took us to Kandy with some cool stops at a cave temple and Sigiriya.

We visited so many temples on this trip. They’re all cool to see and have a million stairs to get up them.  The cave temple was no exception.

Sigiriya was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Thousands and thousands of years ago it was a giant fortress carved like a lion, but now just the feet remain. It  followed the theme of the trip: climb one million stairs.

After Sigiriya we made our way to Kandy where we met the sweetest guesthouse hosts of the trip. They were like our own Sri Lankan grandparents and fed us constantly and gave good suggestions of places to visit. And the view from their house was lovely.

Day 3: Kandy

Our itinerary for the day was designed by our Sri Lankan grandpa and it included many temples (with, of course, many stairs), lovely views,  and finished with a show that featured cool Kandayan dancing and drumming and some fire walking.

Day 4: Train, Ella

This is one of the most adventurous days of the trip.  We heard that the train from Kandy to Ella is the most beautiful train ride in the world, so we knew we had to do it. Once we got to Kandy we found out that first class tickets sell out months in advance. We got second class tickets which meant we were guaranteed a spot on the train, but we were not guaranteed a seat. I cannot even express to you what an insane situation this was. There were so many people jammed into that train car. I was standing literally body to body with strangers who have never even heard of deodorant. We could not have been closer together. There were families of 5 filling up the space of one seat. People were literally hanging out of the doors and windows to fit onto the train. Then men with big baskets of smelly seafood were pushing up and down the nonexistent aisles, trying to sell snacks that you couldn’t even raise your arm up to your face to eat.

That madness lasted for 3 hours and then the train cleared out and we got a seat. One whole seat! To ourselves! For the rest of the 4 hour trip. Now that we were sitting down we could see out the windows and the views were absolutely breathtaking.  

We made it to Ella and got a tuk tuk to our guesthouse. Tuk tuks are the main transportation in Sri Lanka and I love them. They’re usually safe, but sometimes you get chased by rabid dogs trying to jump in the open doors and sometimes it’s dumping rain and the tuk tuk almost slips down the mountain roads.

Day 5: Ella

My heart belongs in Ella. We woke up to the most stunning views. Everything is the most beautiful emerald green and there are steep, impressive mountains.  We started off the morning with a hike up Little Adam’s Peak. Don’t worry, it had its share of stairs.

After the hike and some lunch we visited a waterfall and an old train bridge.

Ella is a very relaxed but touristy town. There are cute restaurants and fun bars, which is something we hadn’t experienced yet in Sri Lanka.  The nightlife was good and it was fun meeting travelers from all over the world.

Day 6: Udawalwe National Park, Tangalle

We dragged ourselves out of bed at the buttcrack of dawn and headed to the national park. You have to get there early to see the elephants before they all go to sleep and hide to escape the heat.  It was so worth it. Elephants are the absolute cutest and they were so close to us that we could have
reached out and touched them. We also saw lots of birds and iguanas and chameleons and even a crocodile.

Tangalle is one of the first beach towns that we hit. It was lovely and quiet. We spent the first night at the hotel eating Sri Lankan curries that were so spicy they caused literal pain.

Day 7: Tangalle

Today we ventured to the beach near our hotel. The ocean is too rough to swim in Tangalle, but our lifeguard from the hotel showed us a rock cove that broke the waves so we could get in the ocean. It was so lovely.

At night we went to a stretch of beach that had cute oceanside bars and restaurants. Tangalle is very quiet so it was a nice and relaxing night.

Day 8 and 9: Mirissa

Mirissa is a more lively beach town. We spent the day at the pool and then hit the town. Mirissa has a long and very lively stretch of beach restaurants and bars. Every night one of the bars throws a beach party. You can tell where the party will be because they have a spotlight shining from the spot and then light off fireworks when the party is starting. It was every bit as crazy as you can imagine and it was awesome.

Our hotel had an absolutely insane view of the ocean. This was taken from the shower.

On the second day at Mirissa we went snorkeling, which was lovely. It wasn’t the most impressive snorkeling that I’ve done. The locals said that most of the coral was destroyed in the 2004 tsunami.   There were still cool fish and some coral and most importantly SEA TURTLES. I loved them and I asked them to say hello to Nemo.

Day 10: Bentota

We spent the last day of our vacation in a beach resort with an enormous pool, beach access, lovely views, and nice restaurants. We didn’t set foot out of the resort, we just tried to squeeze in as much tanning and eating as we could before we had to face reality and fly back home.  

It’s interesting that the vacation ending wasn’t as traumatic as it often is. Dubai is an exciting place to come back to and we didn’t have to say goodbye to the beach or pool life. Plus I got to buy a new phone and reconnect myself back with the world.