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Published: December 7th 2013
Trucks
A bit overload you think...We were on the home stretch now with 170 km to the finish line. We were planning on staying at a town called Puttalam, just along the coast, for the first day (a 75 km ride), but good roads and a tail wind allowed is to reach there by 9:30, which was a personal best for this trip (actually the best riding we had this trip was from Dumbulla to Puttalam). Ironically, the worst roads we had were around the two major cities of Colombo and Kandy. With the wind still behind us and Shauna, for the most part, recovered from her illness, we headed direct south for the town of Chilaw. As we cycled along the coast, we could see the predominance of Christian towns through the area -- something we really hadn't seen to date on this trip. Chilaw was no different. Centuries of European colonialism has left its mark on some of these coastal towns. It does concern me though to see such strong religious segregation from town to town. I had originally thought that the Christian and Muslim minorities were just that - minorities. In general, that is the case, but in certain areas and towns they
Trucks
Some of the colour of Sri Lanka were the majority.
The funniest moment of the day was when a middle-aged man pulled up to me on his motorbike for a chat. That in itself was not unusual other than the length of the chat, but what was funny was that he had his cell phone squeezed between the side of his head and his helmet. I am not sure how it quite stayed in there without dropping, but nevertheless one of those random moments. I guess headphones are not big here yet...
For our last riding day, we had a short 45 km, with which I let Shauna sleep in for an extra hour -- 5:15. See how nice I can be to her… ;-) We were at our Negombo guest house by 9:00 and in early enough for breakfast.
The Morning Star Guest House was our best overall stay of the trip with beautiful grounds surrounded by eight little bungalows. There was even a pool that I used a couple of times. All of this made for a very relaxing and comfortable stay.
Negombo is a town in transition and it certainly had more polish than I was expecting. Sri Lankan towns
Dried Fish
On the beach in Negombo, fish were being dried everywhere can be somewhat "scruffy" to say the least. The contrast within Negombo was very evident as one walks along the beach. New resort style hotels and the slums (might be a bit harsh with that, but definitely a strong contrast between the old and new Negombo) co-exist.
When I reflect on my tour through Sri Lanka, I certainly put it down as one of the best I have done over the years. It ranks up there with the Middle East in 1997 and Cambodia in 2006. Given that I have enjoyed my stays so much in Buddhist countries like Thailand, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka, I wonder if there is a reason for it and whether there is a connection to the Buddhist religion they all share. Ever since my first visit to Thailand in 1990, I have always been curious about this religion. So much so, I have even thought of taking two to three-weeks to learn more about it in one of the countries mentioned. I am aetheist, but what makes these people so hospitable and so happy when it most cases they have so little? When you combine this with those infectious smiles I see along side
Little Boy
Trying to fit into dad's big shoes... the road, it all makes me wanting to come back for more. One nice difference with Sri Lanka though was the lack of visual prostitution, which is so prevalent in Thailand and Cambodia.
Upon my return home, I will encourage friends and family to visit Sri Lanka. To help with that job, I have jotted down my top 10 reasons for visiting Sri Lanka. It has such great tourism potential.
- Hospitality - Right from our first stay, we were blessed and grateful for the kind hospitality of the Sri Lankan people.
- History - Like much of South Asia, Sri Lanka is rich in history that goes back thousands and years and is supported by three ancient historical capitals to visit.
- Food - Outside of Thailand and Korea, I have not been as overwhelmed with a cuisine as in Sri Lanka. I had tried it before, but it still didn't compare to the real thing.
- Honesty - We rarely felt like we were being overcharged and on a number of cases we actually gave our vendors more money than requested.
- Safety - With the civil war now over, peace has finally arrived here. We
Lizard
All kinds of strange creatures in Sri Lanka NEVER felt our personal safety at risk. I was always much more concerned about road safety than personal safety.
- Value - While Sri Lanka is not the cheapest country in the world, it certainly offers good value. This is more the case with food than accommodations.
- Culture - The Sinhalese are a proud people and hold on to their unique culture.
- English - While not the first language, english is widely spoken. We easily made it through the country with know no other words than "thank you" in Sinhalese.
- Compact - There is lots to see in this country, but it is rolled up in a very small space. We could literally get anywhere in the country in three-cycling days.
- Colour - Sri Lanka is photogenic with lots of colour emanating from both its landscape or culture.
This doesn't even touch on how appealing Sri Lankan is for the cycling tourist. If all of this was not enough, we never watched a minute of television during our three-week stay. We had a lot better things to do. :-)
KM 763
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Visiting Sri Lanka
Loved the top ten list...Dave Letterman may be calling you. Sounds like a fabulous place. We hope to visit some day.