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Published: November 19th 2007
Mask dancer
Performed to drive away evil spirits.I have been in Sri Lanka for 3.5 weeks. Being the off-peak rainy season and given the recent attacks by the Tamil Tigers, in hindsight 2 weeks would have been long enough. This country is eerily quiet, and sometimes I would be lucky to meet another soul in the various guesthouses I stayed in. Who knew it was such a small island? But once you're on, you can't bloody well get off. It's a crying shame; the 10 days could have been better spent in Iran.
I have been hassled and hustled everywhere I've been, and even been proposed to (give me a break!). There's something about needing to be in a certain frame of mind to deal with the rigours of travelling in a 3rd world country. Undoubtedly I was a little weary after my recent travels. After a while you get sick of haggling for everything from the cost of a room to some freshly cut pineapple. I've been told that India is 10 times worse - at least I'll be prepared for it when I visit there someday.
You can also waste a lot of time cross-crossing and back-tracking to various destinations. I've been to Colombo
Ves Dancer
Ves is the traditional attire of the Kandyan Dancer. 3 times, Negombo 3 times, twice to Unawatuna and Galle, and twice to Kandy. But you can't really complain when the bus and train fares are a maximum of A$1.75 each (for an air-cond express bus) with the cheapest fares only 5-10 cents equivalent; and the scenery can be quite lovely. People are quite devout (2/3rd's are Buddhists) and will donate some coins to the bus conductors who stop frequently at the major temples. Probably praying for a safe journey - every bit helps in these uncertain times; plus the drivers are raving lunatics.
There are a lot of security checkpoints - the militia strike me as being very jittery after the recent attacks in Anuradhapura and near Yala National Park. Sometimes you get stopped and asked for ID. Plus the soldiers have been actively searching the long-distance buses. I never had to get off as they're not really interested in foreigners.
Briefly I've been to the following places, and seen/done the following sights/activities -
(1) KANDY - Elephant Foundation (goddamn exploitative & to be avoided at all costs); Peradeniya Botanical Gardens (quite pretty & peaceful); spice garden (interesting talk of the medicinal properties of each plant/tree &
Curry in a hurry
They don't call it jungle curry for nothing. Hand that dude a lassi. you get a free head massage afterwards); tea factory (tour of the tea-making process with a free cuppa afterwards); Cultural Show and fire dancers (an entertaining hour and dirt-cheap at 300 rupees).
(2) DAMBULA - Rock Temple dating from the 1st century BC. Lots of buddhas in 5 separate caves and wonderful frescoes on the walls and ceilings. Then again they are now charging foreigners US$10 for the privilege, whilst locals get in for free.
(3) SIGIRIYA - Ancient hilltop Buddhist monastery ruins dating from the 3rd century BC.
(4) KAUDULLA NATIONAL PARK - Jeep safari to see wild elephants and other wildlife/birds.
(5) POLONNARUWA - Royal capital ruins of both the Chola & Sinhalese kingdoms during the 10th to 13th century.
(6) ANURADHAPURA - Hired a bicycle and saw the Sri Maha Bodhi (a cutting of the sacred bodhi tree under which Buddha sat when he achieved enlightenment); royal capital ruins from 380 BC (not as impressive as those in Polonnaruwa); archaeological museum (nice exhibits); and various dagobas.
(7) GALLE - Walked around the 17th century fort and ramparts (occupied at various times by the Dutch, Portuguese and British) and local markets.
Scorched feet
Man, that's gotta hurt! (8) UNAWATUNA - Swam, read, ate tons of seafood, listened to music, and did the previous things continuously for 9 days until I died of sheer boredom (life's a bitch for all those who are working and reading this).
(9) NUWARA ELIYA - Firstly I paid the princely sum of 600 rupees (A$6) to ride in the 1st class observation train carriage from Colombo, which was well worth the expense. The views of the tea plantations were spectacular. I met up with a Dutch dude named Ivar. Poor guy, I don't think he foresaw that I'd be gatecrashing his holiday, but he seemed to take it all in his stride. It was nice to have some company and someone to walk with (the guidebook highly recommends not walking around on your own) and to share some travel expenses (tuk-tuks & taxi's). We tried to go for a hike up the highest peak in Sri Lanka - Pidurutalagala at 2524 metres - but it is topped by a radio transmission tower and thus a high security zone. We were warned by the locals that it was very dangerous and the army/police would rob and shoot us. I have to admit
even without the warnings I was getting a major-league bad vibe when we were near the mountain. It was just as well we turned back as the heavens opened up and we got seriously drenched. The decision was made to instead take a trip to Horton Plains National Park and World's End (so named for its sheer enscarpment of 880m). I loved the hike (around 9.5 kms) - it was great to stretch the legs in varying terrains of lush forest and open savanna-like plains, and despite the complete white-out at World's End. The road to the park went through a forest of eucalyptus trees. I'm no tree-hugger, but when I saw them I was really tempted to stop the car and go hug one as they reminded me so much of home.
(10) COLOMBO - I stayed at the YWCA which is run like a nunnery. But can't fault the location which is near the American Information Centre (I joined the library for A$10 which got me free internet access & lots of books to read in a nice air-cond haven) and a Delifrance (good sambo's, but full of foreigners), or the high security (located around the corner
Lovely curry
A veritable feast with fish, pumpkin, dhal, okra, eggplant and zucchinis. You usually need to pre-order the curries early in the day so you can pig out at dinnertime. from the Prime Minister's residence), or the cheap digs (500 rupees per bed per night; and 125 rupees for brekky). Even so, I decided to check out of the Y after 2 days and treat myself for my last couple of days in Sri Lanka by checking into the fancy-schmancy Galle Face Hotel. Did nothing but lie on the pooldeck looking out over the Indian Ocean. Managed to move myself to enjoy High Tea and later cocktails on the Verandah. Very very nice.
(11) NEGOMBO - The place to stay to be near the airport for those early/late flights.
Finally I will make mention of a particularly nasty incident which I hope other travellers will take fair warning. I went to Polonnaruwa to not only see the ancient ruins, but also to see wild elephants in one of the national parks. I was joined by a Czech girl whom I met at a guesthouse in Dambulla. On the recommendation of the Lonely Planet, we decided to stay at the Samudra Guest House as it said they could organise a jeep safari for us to Kaudulla National Park. I don't deny the digs were cheap at 600 rupees/room, but
Bathtime
At the Elephant Foundation. I had a bad feeling about this place as soon as I walked in. The staff were indifferent and only interested in extracting the maximum amount of money from you, and the elephants did not look well cared for. cheap turned out to equal NASTY! The famed Sri Lankan hospitality was definitely lacking. It was a major drama to get some towels & bedsheets, and the room upon closer inspection was quite filthy. Plus the lady of the house denied our request for a pot of tea (which we would have paid for) as she couldn't get off her fat arse from the TV lounge. Despite this, we ploughed ahead with our plans to visit Kaudulla the next morning. What was supposed to be a 4-hour tour for 3500 rupees, ended up only being 2.5 hours. Upon complaining to the owners, we were immediately threatened and insulted, and then summarily marched to the Polonnaruwa Tourist Police. The police didn't take us "women" seriously and thought it was all a huge joke. Their verdict was that we pay up, or go to the courts. We decided to pay up to get rid of the owner (who had been hurling insults at us all this time) and asked to lodge an official complaint. The police had an even better laugh over that request. We thought to ourselves - "Enough already" - and decided to leave & try to forget the whole
Bible Rock
Admiring the view with a furry friend nasty experience. As it happens, when I was next in Colombo I went to the Sri Lankan Tourism Board and sought their advice. They sent me upstairs to the Colombo Tourist Police, and I thought to myself - "Brilliant, another bloody waste of time". My complaint went up the chain of command until I ended up talking to the Big Kahuna himself - the Chief Inspector. He advised me that he would take the matter seriously and for me to lodge an official complaint. I don't have anything against Lonely Planet. What pissed me off more than anything is that as their guesthouse was in the LP guidebook, the owners knew that they only had to sit back and wait for the foreigners to show up and then proceed to rip them off. You'd think with the Tamil Tigers scaring tourists away they'd be happy to accommodate us, but NO, they could only short-sightedly think of their greed. Travellers don't seem to have any rights in Sri Lanka - the only power we have is Word of Mouth and the Internet.
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