Last June, a group of girls invited me to tag along on their backpacking trip to Sri Lanka. All the girls, like me, are Siargao transplants. Kitya is from Iloilo and runs a small cafe in General Luna. Dorothy is from Leyte and operates a laundry shop. And Jasmin is from Munich and has a guesthouse inland.
Left to right: Jasmin, Dorothy, me, and Kitya. At the Kuala Lumpur International Airport waiting to board the Air Asia flight to Sri Lanka. 16 June 2016. (Photo c/o Jasmin.)
Since Sri Lanka's airport is actually closer to Negombo than it is to Colombo, we spent our first night at a hostel in Negombo.
My first hostel bunk room! But because there were four of us, we occupied all the beds in the four-bed bunk room. And, because it was lean season, we didn't have to share the bathroom with anyone else. I still tried not to look at anything or touch anything in there that I didn't have to. <shudder>
First lesson learned: When backpacking, always bring a towel. The hostel may not always provide one. Now I know.
We were each given a key which, at first, I thought was very generous, until I realised that we needed a key each to activate the electric socket and a very bright white-light lamp next to our beds. Right-ho. (Note: Wear sunnies in bed.)
Thankfully, the gloomy weather in Negombo (and Jasmin's tight schedule - she was only staying a week) convinced all of us to hire our own van and driver so, for the next five days, we were in this big, cushy van most of the time.
Photo c/o Jasmin.
Sri Lanka is a year-round destination. The southwest side is rainy from May to September, which is the best time to explore the northeastern side. (From October to February, it's the reverse.) So we headed east towards better weather.
First stop was the UNESCO World Heritage City of Kandy, the last capital of the Sri Lankan monarchs.
Scenes of faith and devotion: Sri Dalada Maligawa or the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is so-called because it houses a relic of the Buddha's tooth. The relic was the Sri Lankan equivalent of Excalibur: whoever had possession of it was deemed the rightful ruler of the country. The temple is in the royal palace complex of Kandy, the last capital of the Sinhala kings. The inner chamber where the relic is housed is open for viewing three times a day and Jasmin and I were lucky to catch the evening viewing. Photography of the inner chamber is not allowed.
I would have stayed on for one more day to explore the city and its interesting architecture, but we were on a tight schedule.
The next day, we proceeded further east to Arugum Bay. On the way there, we stopped at Rawana Falls.
Apparently, if you're staying in Ella, you can do a trek that will lead you to the top of the falls.
It looks rather scenic at the top, doesn't it?
But if you're pressed for time and are doing Sri Lanka Lite, you can simply drive directly to the falls and stop for photos, like we did.
At Arugam Bay, Dorothy and I hung out at Upali Beach Resort, which has front row seats to the surf, while Kitya and Jasmin paddled out.
At night, we partied at Mambo's.
Me and Dorothy, grabbing a drink at Mambo's during the day, before heading for Upali Beach Resort to watch the surf.
The next day, we started heading back west, towards Kalpitiya, where Dorothy and Kitya wanted to go kite surfing (- Dorothy used to work as a kite instructor there for a few years).
That was the day of the Poson festival, which marks the day Buddhism came to Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BC. One of the ways Buddhists celebrate this festival is by giving food ("alms") to passersby. So, for lunch, we stopped at one of the roadside tents that was offering food.
Kitya thinks this is the best meal we had in Sri Lanka, but I suspect this was because she was ravenous, having skipped breakfast to surf the whole morning.
We stopped at Ella for the night.
We climbed Little Adam's Peak at sunset.
Then set out the next day on the three-hour train ride to Nuwara Eliya for the spectacular views...
Except that this also happened:
And this:
A Chinese bridal shoot at one of the stations!
Sadako, is that you? I loved their style so I played the paparazzi, and they gamely posed for me.
We saw this chick in Negombo and I noticed her straight away because of her hair and, even then, she had a fab outfit on.
From Ella, we stopped at this big-ass tree at the University of Peradeniya in Kandy for yet another photo-shoot.
We spent the night in Pinnawala so that we could visit the elephant orphanage first thing in the morning.
I'm not sure what this elephant orphanage was about because there was no one around to offer any explanation. The guards, with their limited English, insisted that all the elephants were wild, but the poor creatures looked frightened of their captors, who constantly hit them with sticks with sharp blades at the end. They said this was for our protection, but I would have rather viewed the elephants from afar than have them hit so that some dumb tourist could have his photo taken with the animals.
Photo c/o Kitya.
There were also a few elephants in chains and some were, obviously, working elephants.
According to its website, it first started out as a shelter for abandoned baby elephants in the wild. And then the orphanage started taking on injured and maimed elephants. Which would be well and good if it looked like their caregivers had some compassion for their wards, but we witnessed more cruelty than caring while we were there. The whole thing smelled more like a tourist trap than orphanage.
I wouldn't recommend going here. Use the Rs2500 instead to add to what it would cost for a proper safari at one of Sri Lanka's many national parks, where elephants roam wild and free.
When we got to Kalpitiya, I thought I’d be thankful to finally stay at one place for a while, but there was no wind and nothing to do so we got restless very fast.
We hung around Srilankakite a lot, where Dorothy used to work, together with the other Filipinos there. We were ten all in all, nine women and one man. Well, eleven, if we count honorary Filipina, Jasmin. (Photo c/o Kitya.)
One day, we all took a trip to Anuradhapura, the capital city of the North Central Province, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with all its ruins.
Someone tipped us that we should look for a guide so that we wouldn't have to pay at every site. He would take us through the back roads where we could enter for free. Of course this appealed to the backpackers that we were. And, as an added bonus, our guide spoke about "time travellers"...
I hung around a few days after Jasmin left to party a bit and check out Kalpitiya's nightlife.
If there's a party happening at Lak Laguna Bar, be sure to go! It's owned by the Swiss guys who also own the guesthouse in town where we first stayed, Gloria Guest Rooms, which I rather liked. Another kitesurfing school with a good bar is Kitesurfing Lanka.
"Dorothy, stop making faces! Let's do that again. Gaaaahhhhh, Joanne and Kitya!"
Last two photos c/o Maria.
And then I set off on my own adventure.
Watch this space for "Sri Lanka Part 2: On The Hunt For Duran Duran". I wouldn't hold my breath for it though... Am off to Europe on Monday.
***
Sri Lanka Notes:
- Filipinos can apply for a visa online. No need to print it. They'll have a record of it at Immigration.
- Remember that parts of Sri Lanka are Buddhist and some parts are Muslim. Be respectful of their culture and dress appropriately, especially at holy sites and on the street. Cover your legs, chest, and shoulders. This applies to women and men.
- When making a deal with van owners, make sure that the drivers are privy to what you've agreed on, otherwise you'll find yourself having to renegotiate terms with the driver later on. The drivers will try to take you to certain guesthouses that will offer them free accommodations. If you are on a tight budget, this may not be in your best interest, so make sure that you agree with the owner and the driver about your sleeping arrangements. (Nishan of Marine Tourist Guest House in Negombo referred us to his friend for the van. We paid a total of US$335 or LKR48500 for four nights/five days.)
Apart from the establishments mentioned above, others I recommend are:
- The Green Room Restaurant in Arugam Bay
Kitya having a lightbulb moment at The Green Room.
- Arugambay Day & Night in Aurgam Bay for rotis when you need them the most.
- Cafe Chill in Ella
Photo c/o Jasmin.
The lumprais.
- If you're totally desperate for cheap accommodations in Ella, look for this place. Directly to its right is a spa and Cafe Chill. The guesthouse is half done but the room we stayed in wasn't bad at all.
A room without a view. (Photo c/o Kitya.)
- Sun Wind Beach in Kalpitiya - Whatever you do, do NOT take the super budget accommodation! The mid-range ones are fine. Susanta, the owner, is very accommodating and his cook churns out really good food, but this has to be ordered in advance as they do not keep any stock and only go to the market when they need to.
Susanta Fernando and his crew (and me).
That entire meal was about LKR 800 each. That's only about P260 each.
Last tip: Apart from the rotis, the kottus, the curries, and the lumprais, you should also try the wadeh (pronounced "wah-dee", a.k.a. vada, vadai, vade, etc.). Fried savoury snacks. How can you go wrong?
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