Sri Lanka & India closing thoughts

Blogging isn't easy! I took quite a while to write everything and the longer you wait the harder it gets. But now I also had some time to progress everything and all the experiences.

Sri Lanka is an undiscovered paradise, where you can do and see so many different things. Travelling with public transport isn't always easy, but with some preparation and common sense you won't encounter many problems. I travelled alone but never was, you'll find many other travellers, and this was even during the 'low' season! I can recommend Sri Lanka to everyone, but urge you to experience it now, while it's still untouched by mass tourism.

'India is Sri Lanka on speed'. This quote has a lot of truth in it! Sri Lanka accustomed me a little bit to some aspects, but India takes it to a totally different level. It was hard, especially the first days in Madurai where I  felt really stressed and alone. Kumily and Koochi were 'less' crowded and showed me the more beautiful side of India. Bangalore is not beautiful, but it's fascinating because it works, even though it hasn't many of the things we consider essential in Europe. Many foreign people who lived lived there for a longer time told me you don't really get used to the culture, but just learn to handle it. The stories in the blog were sometimes quite negative, but these are the things I recall most lively. If you're willing to face these obstacles, you can experience a diverse and impressive country. 

The last picture of the trip shows the unobscured Alps. Having witnessed so much and seeing now such beauty close to home, I think to myself, what a wonderful world.

Sri Lanka: Colombo

The things I heard about Colombo were bad: too busy, too noisy, no highlights... but I find it quite refreshing. There are big offices, bank headquarters and businessmen are running around in their suits in the blazing sun. I leave my hostel and walk in my shorts trough the banking area. There is an old man who finished working and has to go the same way. He asks if I want to see the baby elephant being fed in the temple. Sure! He stops a tuktuk and off we are. The temple is free but you have to make a 'donation'. It's part temple, part museum and part baby elephant prison. I can feed the poor fella for free, but afterwards the caretaker demands a big tip.

The old man says there's a must see place further south. Reluctantly I agree. Back in the same tuktuk he tells about Colombo and his work and family. He sounds like he has plenty of time and just wants to show me some of his city. Second stop is the independance square, third is a shopping center/gallery. During every stop he makes the tuktuk driver wait. Fearing this will cost me a lot, I say I will continue on foot the next time. No no you must see this statue, and the town hall, and the museum. After the unimpressive statue I say it's been enough and will continue alone. The tuktuk driver demands 4000 rupees (25 euros) for all the waiting time which is extremely expensive! And then the old man also asks me for a big tip!

Displeased by all the greediness I continue on foot in my own pace. This give me more time to enjoy the nice Viharamahadevi park. Somebody points me to the direction of a big tree filled with big bats (flying foxes). There are even more crows in the park, and they are very aggressive. I wonder when scenes from 'The Birds' will become reality here.

The sun is setting so I hurry to 'Galle Face Green', the peer where all the locals gather every evening. They eat, talk, play and sport, all under a magical yellow glow. Sitting and enjoying the view is the perfect end to my very nice stay in Sri Lanka.

Link to the complete gallery.

Sri Lanka: Galle & surroundings

The most remarkable part of Galle is the old city inside the fort area. Constructed by Dutch traders in the 17th century it's still standing today. I stay in a hotel inside the fort and am impressed how nice, clean and relaxing it is. The next day I head out to Kosgoda, where there are many Turtle Rescue centres. It's all very small scale but they are really trying to do a good thing so I give a big donation. The tiny turtles are adorable and the big ones have very strong fins.

Afterwards I search a clean beach with some palm trees and dip my feet in the Indian Ocean. There are also many little crabs :) One hour is enough for me and my skin. Back in Galle I embark on a quest for after sun, taking me to the very busy new town outside the fort area.

The next day I get up at 5 to go again to the Indean Ocean, but now with a boat for whale watching. The small boat is moving a lot but I manage by looking at the horizon. Then we stop because there is something in the water... FFOOEEESJJJJ it's a whale! Blowing water trough its blow hole to breathe and going under again for 10 minutes. Because the engines are stopped the boat is moving in all directions making half the people throw up. We lose the whale and I have to leave the observation deck because I feel my tuna sandwich coming back up. The boat continues but the ocean is even wilder now. Half an hour later we see the back of a whale in the distance, but me and most other people don't care because we are to sick. The captain announces we've seen enough now and we'll go back to the harbour. The passengers breathe a sigh of relief, the 5 hour ordeal is over!

To sick to take pictures, but it looked a bit like this.

The rest of the afternoon I stay inside to recover. Next day I see all the museums (nothing too impressive) and take some good pictures of the beautiful fort area. I also meet AJ again who is nearing the end of her stay in Sri Lanka as well. And hooray for pizza!

Link to the complete gallery.

Sri Lanka: Adam's Peak

The three jolly companions go separate ways, with me advancing towards Adam's peak. With its 2243 meters, Adam's peak is the fourth highest mountain of Sri Lanka, but the most famous one. According to tradition, the rock formation at the top is the footprint of Adam or Buddha. During the season of dec-may, many pilgrims make the ascend which is lighted by torches. It's a very busy affair, with queues on the 5200 steps and many small shops selling tea and religious souvenirs. But now it's low season, so most shops will be closed and it will be not too crowded. It takes me 3 long bus rides to get there. During the last one, I'm the prize for a tug of war between 3 different guesthouses. Most of the rooms are empty and they all want my sweet money. In the end, I settle for White House Hostel.

I go exploring in preparation of the real climb tomorrow. There are some very nice waterfalls in the area and some not so nice leeches! Near a river I feel a slight movement on my leg, and when I look down my shoes are covered with about 20 of them. 2 have reached my tasty leg and require hard pulling to remove. It's a small bite but because of the anti-coagulant they inject your blood keeps flowing. There are many stories about them. Some presumed repellents are salt, tobacco and even gunpowder. Some people recommend fire to remove them, but then they can vomit in the wound causing an infection. This is my first encounter with these creatures and they are much more agile than I thought. Video here.

In the evening I spoil the other guests their appetite with stories of leeches. Jeff, from Australia, beats my story with his tale of vomiting in his respirator in a shark cage. There is also a big discussion what is the best time to make the ascend to Adam's peak. The French go for the traditional 2.00, the Australian couple will leave at 5.00 and I decide to leave after breakfast at 8.00 because it will be very cloudy. This turns out to be the best choice: the sunrise is blocked by clouds, the path is slippery when raining and there are no torches. Leaving at 8 gives me a dry ascend, I can look out for leeches and take pictures of the pretty surroundings. Everything is closed but it's still a very nice climb, with a lot of statues, monastery and shacks. I cross the Australian couple, they petted a stray dog last evening and it followed/guided them all the way to the top! A bit later I see another dog descending with her dead pup in its jaws... very sinister. The top is quite disappointing, the temple is closed and clouds block the view.

The descend goes faster but is harder on the legs. Total time: 2,5 + 2 = 4,5 hours. In the hostel, it's a relaxing evening with more Arrack from the owner! Off course, the next day there are no clouds at all. But I don't want to make the ascent again so leave for Galle. I try to get a taxi but it's taken by a couple for their honeymoon. So I start a 8 hour bus journey, and see Adam's peak slowly disappear in the distance.

Sri Lanka: tea time! Nuwara Eliya

I'm on the most beautiful train ride ever from Kandy To Nuwara Eliya. Sure it is slow, noisy and rocky but the landscape is amazing. I pass lush forests, shanty towns, temples, waterfalls and a lot of tea. The hill country of Sri Lanka is renowned for its plantations, constructed by the British and converted from coffee to tea after an epidemic of fungal disease.

Getting to my hotel proves quite difficult because there are 3 places named King Fern, an consequence of the Lonely Planet recommendation. I settle for King Fern Bungalow and take a short cut trough the some backyards to Nuwara Eliya centre. It's also called Little Britain because it housed a lot of British tea owners. There is still a golf course, Victoria Park and a colonial style post office. Here I stop to send my post-loving friends some personalised cards.

Back in the hotel I meet my travel companions for tomorrow: AJ and Deborah. AJ is a fun girl originally from Australia, but she's lived in sooo many places I consider her a true world citizen. Deborah is an energetic and extrovert lady from the States who has been everywhere and more. After a short night, the gang wakes up at 5.00, energetically chit chatting all the way to Horton's plains. Here we follow the popular trail passing World's End, wondering how nice it would've been without rain and clouds to block the potentially brilliant view. Because of the varied flora and pleasant group it was still a very fun trip.

Our driver suggests to visit a tea factory. This time, undisrupted by a suicidal deer, there is some snoring in the back of the car. We arrive at Mackwoods, and visit the factory. Interesting but not that impressive compared to my 1300-tonnes-a-day factory at home. Very worrying is the lack of safety measures and the abundance of women. They are valued for plucking because of there 'skill-full and agile hands' but are still paid less than their male counterparts. After the visit we have some really delicious tea and chocolate cake.

A very chaotic evening ensues: I lose my debit-card, we hear about a nation wide train-strike, a travel-weary English couple arrives and there are squirrels running around in the ceiling. We (not the squirrels) all end up in front of the stove, drinking Arrack, the tasty local rum. One of the nicest days of the entire trip!

Link to pics.

Sri Lanka: Kandy

The Kandy Downtown Hostel is, like the name implies, in downtown Kandy. This is just too far, you have to walk 30 minutes to get anywhere. Also, only 1 bathroom for 10 people and in the middle of the night, I wake up and see a huge cockroach crawling over my backpack... I recommend to go for another place closer to the centre, preferably with a view of the very nice Kandy lake.

Sure the lake is beautiful, but you have to ignore all the noise and smelly traffic, Kandy is a big city. A recomendation in the Lonely Planet urges me to grab a drink in Helga's Folly. It's an expensive hotel built by the Sri Lankian architect Esme De Silva. It features bizarre paintings and creepy decorations. The rooms are supposed to have individual themes, but the only guests willing to try it seem to be some devious monkeys who have to be chased out by the barkeep. After this I join a friendly German couple who followed the same Lonely Planet recommendation.

Having absorbed enough wackyness, we continue together to a traditional Sri Lankian dance show. The venue isn't very professional but it's still packed (lots of locals!) and the show is very good. Especially the fire walking at the end.

Afterwards we have some good Indian curry and okay Sri Lankian beer and exchange stories about the trip. It's nice to meet some organised and prepared travellers with a similar itinerary. But because they travel counter-clockwise we have to say our goodbyes.

Rai from Bangladesh was not so organised. We meet in the morning at the hostel and I suggest to go together to the temple of the tooth, the must-do thing in Kandy. Now I'm used to big festival crowds, but this is entire another level. The place is packed with shouting, praying, pushing people. They al want to catch a glimpse of the cask supposedly containing Buddha's tooth.

Thank you google for the better picture :) After the glimpse, there is also a museum, temple and stuffed elephant. Running out of ideas, we decide to tuktuk to a big Buddha statue looming over the city. Up close it's not that impressive, just a huge concrete construction, but now I can say I have been inside Buddha's head! We make the descend and take a wrong turn to a dead end. When we turn around there is a gnarling dog awaiting us. 'Don't look into his eyes and slowely walk past it' says Rai. So I do until it gives me a bite in my calf! Luckily the owner arrives (with another barking dog) and takes the biter by the neck while we quickly speedwalk away! It wasn't a hard bite but dogs will put me ill at ease for the remainder of the trip.

We recover in the hostel before going to eat & drink something. Daniel from Germany joins us, and tells about his crazy travel plans. You can see his video blog here. Afterwards we decide to return to the hotel on foot, but this takes us trough a bad neighbourhood with little lighting and many scary dogs. Daniel explains in German. The next day I leave by train onwards to new adventures!

See the complete gallery here.