The Pearl Of Indian Ocean
Travelling the world has always been a passion for me. The freedom and self-discovery that I attained through travel is always treasure-worthy. So here I am, jotting down the memories from my last travel to the land of Ceylon, Sri Lanka!
I make the most impromptu travel plans among my friends. So in two weeks span of time, I was done creating the itinerary, booked the flight tickets, got the currency exchanged and hostels booked.
The Process
It’s easy to plan a vacation in Sri Lanka. Acquiring a Sri Lankan visa was quite easy, since they provide Visa On Arrival for Indian tourists. I exchanged the currency from a currency exchange centre in Bangalore (India), who gave me a good rate of 1 Sri Lankan Rupee for 0.42 Indian Rupees.
I also carried a Niyo card, which turned out to be amazingly helpful for me. You can just swipe it at any place you dine or shop (that accepts visa cards). Best part was, I could also withdraw a pretty good amount of cash in Sri Lankan currency with no additional charges to the global exchange rate. I believe there is a limit to the number of withdrawals until they start charging you, but it does save a lot of effort and time in finding a currency exchange office during your vacation and also helps you to not have to wander around with a lot of your home country currency in hand.
On Arrival at Colombo Airport, I also took a Dialog sim (most widely used network in Sri Lanka), so that I could use the internet to book cabs/tuk-tuks through PickMe(Sri Lanka) App or Uber. The local cab drivers charge a hefty amount, so I mostly traveled by booking through these apps wherever they were available.
Sri Lanka is a very small country that was thriving in tourism before the pandemic of Covid-19. Referred to as ‘The Pearl Of Indian Ocean’, its major revenue source is tourism and therefore, the people are quite friendly and helpful over there. Ofcourse, like anywhere, nothing is perfect without imperfections.. And to say the same about people in Sri Lanka, you could get cheated by the tuk tuk drivers, guides etc, whereas some are extremely helpful enough to take you to your doorstep even if you don’t ask them to. So it’s always best to do your research about places you would like to explore before heading out.
Through The Journey
The plan was to cover most of the central and southern parts of Sri Lanka over 9 days. Even though I was skeptical about it, I could cover most places with little exemptions and few inclusions.
Day 1–3 : Dambulla
Stay : BedStation Hostel (more like a shared Homestay)
Transportation : Tuk-tuks shared with fellow travellers from homestay / Buses / Walking
I landed in Colombo and straight away took an airport bus to a small town in the heart of the country called Dambulla. It takes around 3–4 hrs to reach Dambulla from Colombo.
Dambulla is a very calm and serene countryside and I enjoyed the stay there. Cave temple was an alluring experience. Pidurangala rock and Sigiriya rocks are one of the not to be missed places in the country and I would say that the early morning trek to Pidurangala and then watching the sunrise and also the Sigiriya rock from up top is one of the best sunrise experiences I have had. I wouldn’t recommend walking out alone in this town after it gets dark, since it’s considered unsafe by even the locals in that area.
Day 3–5 : Kandy
Stay : The Oasis Hostel
Transportation : Tuk-tuk / Uber / PickMe / Buses / Walking / Train to Ella
After Dambulla, my next stop was Kandy. Kandy is a hustling city which is mostly crowded with people travelling in and out of it for work and since I wanted a vacation away from crowds, I spent less time in the city. One of the days, I took an uber to Gampola for the most exciting Ambuluwawa tower experience. It was an utmost unique experience which took my breath away (literally!). The tower was built on a hill top and to reach the top of the tower, one has to climb a series of stairs. And as the altitude increases, it gets more chilly and hard to breathe. It is advised to be avoided by the elderly, pregnant women and the ones with weak lungs. But once you reach up top, it feels to be on the top of the world. The view is just absolutely mesmerising! After returning from Gampola, I explored the city a bit and got back to my hostel. The next day was going to be the most awaited part of my trip. The one I could no longer wait to experience — The train ride to Ella.
Day 5–7: Ella
Stay : Sunrise view campsite
Transportation : Tuk-tuk / Buses / Walking / Uber / PickMe
Train ride from Kandy to Ella is considered to be the most scenic train ride in the whole planet, and I can assure you that it indeed is! The train passes through Nuwara Eliya with the most captivating views of tea estates and tunnels and takes you through other amazing views. Some tourists got down at Nuwara Eliya to explore the tea estates and waterfalls in this region. Unfortunately, due to lack of time, I had to stick onto my schedule and hold my excitement until I reached Ella. And as expected, I was not disappointed, I was rather enthralled by it. It felt like ‘Kasol’ of India — chilled out people, amazing view from my homestay, cafes open until late nights with music and karaokes, cool climate and great food. (Even though I am not a foodie, I can say I enjoyed most of the food I had there!)
While in Ella, do not forget to visit the Little Adam’s peak which is quite a refreshing trek to be done in the early morning. Also don’t miss out on purchasing the flavoured and processed tea leaves from the tea estates of Ceylon. I am still in awe with the berry flavoured tea leaves which I bought from there!
After Ella, I had planned to end my trip by unwinding at the most talked about beaches of the country in the south. Since I have always preferred less crowded places, particularly in case of beaches, I chose to stay in Mirissa.
Day 7–9: Mirissa (Matara district)
Stay : HappyShack Hostel
Transportation : Tuk-tuk / Buses / Walking / Uber / PickMe
Even though my initial plan was to do beach hopping across the southern coast of Sri Lanka, I found my peace at Mirissa beach and ended up spending most of my time there. One day, I walked around Galle and visited the Galle fort and explored the beaches in Galle. I still spent most of my sunrises and sunsets on Mirissa beach.
It felt quite difficult to leave, especially realizing that it was the end to an amazing vacation I gifted myself… Well, until next time! ;)
Travelling has always brought out the best in me, and it has always felt therapeutic. I would encourage all of you to travel, explore and find a bit more about yourselves. Life is too short and there’s a whole lot left to experience.
And as I always say, let’s travel responsibly and make this world a better place!
