SriLanka: What a way to end 2022 & welcome 2023!
I have always absolutely loved travelling. And marrying someone who loves travelling even more than I do, is a blessing.
We make it a point to end the year/begin new year by travelling. True to this ritual, we rang in 2023 together by travelling to SriLanka – in a Tuktuk!! Yes, we rented and drove around all of Sri Lanka in a Tuktuk of our own. And trust us, it was something!
Read on to find out about our 7 day trip in this beautiful country, which has it all – mountains, beaches, jungles, national parks galore, good infrastructure and most importantly, very hospitable and welcoming locals.
The Preparation
We discussed which parts of the country we wished to cover and the mode of doing so. After exploring all options, we finalized a circuit that would start from Colombo and end at Negombo near Colombo taking us through Galle -> Mirissa -> Welingama -> Ella -> Kendy-> Negombo. This would give us a flavor of urban life, coastal fun as well as mountains.
We had to skip the national parks of Sri Lanka altogether because they deserve a trip of their own – where you get to witness the majestic beasts that reside there as well as the beautiful flaura and fauna they give shelter to. And we shall definitely go back to SriLanka one day to take care of this unfinished business.
With the route sorted, next up was the question of choosing the mode of transport. While we don’t mind using public transport, we prefer a self driven vehicle as it gives us the freedom to explore unplanned destinations which we might get to know about while we are on the trip.
We started looking for cars to rent out but owing to holiday season, nothing was available. We had made up our mind about using public transport when we came across a couple of blogs mentioning tutkuk rental as an option of getting around. I mentioned this option casually to my wife Jasleen, not expecting a very positive response but got a HELL YEAH in return. So tuktuk it was!
We quickly found an online rental company and booked a tuktuk online.
Day 0 – The trip begins!
We landed at Colombo international airport in SriLanka around 2 a.m., bought a local SIM card and booked an Uber to our hotel. The location of the hotel Google Maps showed was incorrect and after driving around for 40 minutes, we found ourselves at a navy cantonment instead of the hotel. After a few attempts, we finally found our hotel around 4 A.M. Checked-in and slept off right away.
We woke up around 10 a.m. next morning feeling refreshed. It was a rainy day but as I pulled the curtains apart, we were greeted by an amazing sight. The hotel was a relatively new one & was built right on the coast overlooking the beach. There was a railway track next to the road running parallel to it, followed by the beach. As a welcome sign, a train dutifully passed the hotel to complete the view.
Good start, after which we quickly got ready and had breakfast.
Day 1 – Getting the Tuktuk!
I then got a call from the tuktuk guy – Mr. xxx. who had driven for 5 hours from Kandy in rain to handover the tuktuk to us. I left Jasleen to complete the formalities and borrow the tuktuk. The documents, test drive and handover took some time during which I completely forgot to update Jasleen on my ETA (as I was the only one with a local sim and internet which I had not switched on yet, so Jasleen couldn’t contact me). This resulted in a sour mood at Jasleen’s end, which was quite justified. Only an extra sweet ice cream some time later helped get her back into good mood.
Off to Galle.
As soon as we got the tuktuk, we left Colombo and started towards our destination for the day – Galle. By the way, Colombo is a great city and has enough to offer for one to spend 2-3 days exploring it. Since we had decided to give it a miss, we sincerely hope to do that some other time.
So off we went. When it came to driving a tuktuk, we had thrown ourselves straight into the deep end by starting on a 100+ km ride on the very first day. It was a longish ride as we both got accustomed to a tuktuk – me to driving it and Jasleen to sitting at the back.
While I was able to drive it decently well, I was very pissed with the top speed of this thing (only 40-45kmph) until I realized that I was driving with the handbrake engaged. My bad!
Once I figured this and disengaged the handbrake, the auto was eager to drive at speeds up to 70kmph. Much better.
We wanted to get to Galle before it got too late. So we only stopped for a few photo ops (once Jasleen’s mood improved) and a quick takeaway lunch at KFC where we sat in the tuktuk and had lunch since we did not want to leave our bags unattended. We later bought a chain and a lock from Galle and locked all our bags together and fastened them to the tuktuk itself during the rest of the trip.
Since there was no mistakenly engaged handbrake to hold the tutkuk back, we made good progress post lunch and were nearing Galle by 5 p.m. That’s when we came across a beautiful statue of Buddha and had to stop to take a few pics. We also decided to have an early dinner in a good restaurant we spotted on Google maps just outside of Galle. Food was expensive but average and shared by the mosquitoes with us.
We finally reached our boutique hotel in Galle around 7 PM and were greeted by the owner (a Sri Lankan who had lived in Italy, married an Italian and come back with her to Sri Lanka) of the place who was standing outside. He double checked with us if we really drove the tuktuk ourselves all the way from Colombo. Our vigorous nodding got us a big approval from him in the form of free water bottle supplies during our stay (which we would otherwise have to pay for).
The hotel was small but beautiful. The eating area was very beautifully done and the food here was absolutely delicious. We freshened up quickly after checking in and went for a stroll to Galle Fort area which was at a walkable distance. Galle fort which was built by the Dutch now houses boutique hotels, private properties, museum as well as a plethora of amazing cafes and souvenir shops. Most of the shops had closed by the time we reached the fort area so we came back after agreeing to come here the next day.
Day 2 – Galle Fort and off to Mirissa
Next morning, we woke up refreshed, had a yummy breakfast at the hotel (included in the stay) and then went out to explore the Galle Fort area. This time everything was open. So we started with a visit to the maritime museum and followed it up with some shopping. There’s so much to see and buy wherever you go. Thankfully, the fixed baggage allowance on airlines really helps here as it makes you buy limited stuff to carry back with you. There were a lot of shops selling all types of souvenirs including jewelery, art prints, key chains, magnets etc. Of all the things she could have bought, Jasleen decided to buy a pair of flip flops. Well, necessity trounces ambition. We finished our outing with a lip smacking pizza at one of the cafes inside the fort and got ready to move to our next destination which was Mirissa.
It was on the way out of Galle that we stopped at a hardware store and bought a lock and chain to secure all our bags when leaving them unattended in the tuk-tuk. This turned out to be a very good decision as we were able to enjoy the rest of our trip without having to worry about the bags.
The distance between Galle and Mirissa being only 35 km, we took it easy and reached Mirissa around 7 P.M. The highlight of the short trip was a very chic apparel store that we spotted on the way where Jasleen found an absolutely smashing dress for herself. She later wore it for a photo-op on the famous Coconut hill. We had a booked a hotel in Mirissa for 2 nights but when we reached the place, we did not like the vibes at all. The entire city as well as the hotel were sort of deserted and devoid of life. This made us rethink our decision. We had come to Mirissa to enjoy the beach life but it was nowhere to be found. So we decided to change hotels the next day. We spent the evening walking around in Mirissa and came back post dinner at a cool cafe we spotted.
Day 3 – Dolphin and Whale watching
Next Day was BIG!! We had booked a dolphin and whale watching session where the tour operator takes you deep inside the sea to spot whales and dolphin. The sightings are seasonal and Dec-Jan is the best time to indulge in this activity. In fact, this activity is one of the highlights of SriLanka.
We booked with a tour operator over the phone who charged us USD 90 per person. This included a quick packed lunch on the boat. Since we had to be at the pick u point by 7 a.m., we slept off early.
We were picked up by a tuktuk guy next morning (ah! got to sit & enjoy the ride in a tuktuk instead of driving it, finally) and dropped off at the sailing point. We boarded the big boat which had some 100 people on board. The entire activity was supposed to last for approx 4-5 hours depending on how deep in the ocean (and if) we sighted the marine life. The weather was nice and hot. And perfect for a sighting. So Jasleen and I started the ride on a good note – standing at the very front of the boat, excitedly waiting for the dolphins to appear.
And appear they did – after couple of hours of riding on wave after wave in patchy water, we caught sight of the first school of dolphins.
There’s something very endearing about dolphins. I guess it is a combination of their playfulness combined with their effortless swimming and the lovely shape of their faces(I hope we can call it that) which look smiling and mischievous in turn. The dolphins transmit this feeling of joy when you watch them skip, hop, jump and swim next to you, looking at you from the corner of their eyes.
We managed to get close to them since dolphins are quite used to presence of boats and humans, and hence very friendly. It was absolutely amazing to see them keep pace with the boat and swim a few feet from us, just under the surface, breaking off and jumping out playfully. Best 10 minutes of the day. And then we waved them goodbye to venture deeper in search of whales.
This is where our day, which had been good so far, took turn for the worse. As far as Jasleen and I were concerned, we had gotten our money’s worth and were happy to turn back and go home. The passionate crew had other plans though. As our boat went further, what was an exciting day soon turned out to be a nightmare. Sea sickness brought on by choppy waters combined with time spent under strong sun brought a great bout of vomiting with it. I was the first to fall, followed by Jasleen. Very soon, we were both standing next to the dustbin, emptying our bowels (which were already empty since we had not eaten anything) in plastic bags. On top of that, the trip which was supposed to be a 4-5 hour affair was getting extended. The only silver lining here was that between all the nausea, we did manage to catch glimpse of a whale and her calf, swimming together at super speeds. Our boat could never catch up with them though and we had to content ourselves with a sighting from afar. Jasleen and I were more than happy with that though, since we could now turn back and go home. This included another 2 hours of ride which we managed.
Watching the dolphins was absolutely worth it. The whale? Not so much.
As soon as we got off, we ran off to the cafe where we had dinner last night to fill our barren stomachs. Food certainly helped in lifting our spirits. We then went back to our hotel, had a refreshing shower and check out. Time to head to Weligama.
We had crossed Weligama on our way to Mirissa (hardly a 20 min distance between the two). As we had found Mirissa to be eerily quiet and devoid of life, we had booked a hotel in Weligama for the next day. Turned out to be a better hotel and a better decision overall as we found ourselves right opposite to a beach. We checked into the hotel around 3 PM and went for lunch in a nearby place. This was followed by an afternoon siesta and some couple time at the beach opposite to the hotel.
As night fell and temperatures cooled down, we took our tuktuk and went out to explore the Weligama bay area. One advantage of travelling with Jasleen is her amazing sixth sense when it comes to food joints. She is able to sense and spot good food joints just by looking at them. This ensures that even if all else fails (which is rare), we are assured of good food on our travels. We had dinner at a nice place and then proceeded to roam the bay area in the tuktuk.
Weligama is one of the top spots in Asia for surfing. Before going to bed, I booked a private surfing lesson with one of the surf schools for next morning. The charges for the same were 15$. We were exhausted and had a good night sleep but not before we spent some time next to the swimming pool where Jasleen read a book while I messed around with the frogs who were enjoying a swimming session.
Day 4 – Surfing Lessons in Weligama
We reached the surf school at 8 o’ clock next morning. There were quite a few beginners all around busy practising. I then proceeded to have a 1 hour surf lesson from a young instructor whose name I can’t recall. He was a cool guy though, like most surf dudes are. This was my first surfing lesson ever and I did manage to stand on the board and ride a wave for a few seconds at a stretch. I am now looking forward to doing more surfing whenever I get a chance. So we can call the session a success.
All this surfing and all the waiting had got Jasleen and me hungry. We had a hearty breakfast before going back to the hotel to check out and say goodbye to Weligama.
To be completely honest with you, these 2 days were not the best spent. While we had fun watching dolphins, there wasn’t much to do in Mirissa and/or Weligama. The days were hot, action-less and though I wanted to stay back for another surf lesson, it was good that Jasleen convinced me otherwise (although not before we had an argument). It would have been a waste of a full day for an hour of surfing. And we enjoyed our next destinations much more.
During these two days, we realized that some places are best enjoyed with friends. And places like Mirissa are best for full time surfing enthusiasts who are content with riding the wave in the mornings and evenings and lazing around during the day. We love to laze around but not when we are travelling. Then, it is all about covering as much as we can.
So, Mirissa (and Weligama) would have been better if we had more company!
Day 5 – 2nd Leg starts. Off to the mountains of Ella
It was time to transition from the beaches of Mirissa to the mountains of Ella. This meant a longish tuktuk drive of 4 hrs as per Google Maps.
We checked out of our hotel, loaded our bags and drove towards our final stop in Mirissa before we left the city – The Coconut Hill.
This is a beautiful vantage point (a small hill) which has coconut trees and on it and offers great views of the coastline. It is also a very popular photography spot. Jasleen was all ready in her new dress that we had bought from the store we spotted outside Galle. I was wearing my old clothes, so Jasleen spotted another shop enroute Coconut hill and bought me a cool looking shirt. I changed into my new shirt and we were both ready for Coconut hill.
We reached Coconut hill just when it was starting to get crowded. From the parking to the hill top, it was a 10 min hike. Jasleen looked resplendent in her flowy dress while I looked okayish. For some reason, I decided not to wear shoes and went to the hill in my flip flops. Also, the sunglasses I was carrying were not going with the outfit. These mistakes meant that the photos came out looking pretty crappy. Jasleen then insisted that I quickly go and put on my shoes, take my other pair of sunglasses and come back. But I was more focused on getting to Ella on time. So I did not oblige. This meant that despite Jasleen’s best efforts, I managed to ruin her mood by not getting even a single good pic of the two of us together, which, in hindsight, could have been avoided. And then we left for Ella.
It started raining as soon as we left the city. The bad weather and the sour mood took a toll on us and I had to stop the tuktuk just when we had barely come out of Weligama to communicate openly & honestly with Jasleen.
This is another reason why we travel. You are in a state of mind that makes it easier to discuss things you may not find easy to in regular humdrum of life. Moreover, you are more open to taking this option when your entire trip is at stake. So that’s what we did while it poured. Parked the tuktuk on the side, chatted away while it rained. And made up our mind that we will get to Ella no matter how late it gets. And we shall make the most of the rest of the trip. Good decision!
With this matter aside and rain slowing down, we continued on our journey. And came across another bummer. The route shown by Google included driving on an expressway. Unfortunately, tuktuk was not allowed on expressways. This meant taking the longer route instead – in other words, a 6 hr drive in a slow moving tuktuk. But it also meant a more scenic drive through towns and villages. As we started down this path and crossed our first village, we came across lush green open fields with an expansive view. The scene was rendered complete by presence of a peacock in its full glory. Peacock is Jasleen’s spirit animal and I stopped the tuktuk as soon as I spotted it to make sure Jasleen saw it too. We then got down and clicked a few pics. That certainly did our mood a world of good. It was all smooth sailling from here own.
I got in the zone while driving the tuktuk and we started covering ground very rapidly. There is something to be said about Sri Lanka’s roads. In our 700 km we spent on the road, the only time we came across some bad patches were when we were passing the villages on the way to Ella. Barring this, Sri Lanka has very well laid roads, with no speed humps (wow). The people drive really well with great road sense. I am not sure we would have enjoyed driving a tuktuk as much in any other country.
Also, we were only allowed a fuel quota of 5 ltr gasoline for our tuktuk in a day owing to the economic crisis in the country. We were carrying a fuel permit which had a QR code on it that was mandatorily scanned by the fuel pump attendant before filling fuel. It would only work once every 24 hrs. This way, if we tried to get fuel filled twice within 24 hours, the QR code would not get scanned the second time, thus making sure the rationing was followed.
You must be wondering how did we manage? While 5 ltr. fuel was good enough for most days (our tuktuk had an amazing fuel economy), on days when we travelled longer distance, we would easily come across fuel bunks in remote areas that were more than happy to sell us fuel without scanning the permit. In short, we got by pretty easily.
The traffic enroute to Ella was sparse, music was running in the background, Jasleen was sleeping away happily in the back seat and I was in my zone. Driving quickly on hilly roads, we reached our hotel in Ella by 8 PM.
Once we checked into the hotel, we vented out whatever residual feelings were left over from our discussion outside of Weligama. With this out of the way, we decided to make the most of rest of the trip.
Day 6 – Exploring Ella
The following morning was all about giving our tired bodies some rest and having a scrumptious breakfast. We liked the hotel but unfortunately, it was not available for second day of our stay. So we had to check out and look for another hotel. We still had 2 days in Ella so we shortlisted a few properties on Booking.com and since they were all close by, decided to pay 4-5 of them a visit one by one to finalize on the next hotel. Did not like what we saw until we found this hidden gem. This place was called Hotel Ella, and was right beside the main street of Ella. It had basic but clean room and a big neat bathroom. The rental was very low for its location. And the caretaker turned out to be a beautiful soul named Michael. Jasleen went in to take a look at the hotel while I waited in the TukTuk and came out happy. We checked in right then and there.
We then had a hearty lunch at a cafe which became our go to place for food for next 2 days. It was called ….Spread over 2 floors, the place was huge, almost always full, and served delicious food (with some good music to go with it).
We were feeling like ourselves after a long time. Post lunch, we headed off to the world famous Nine Arch Bridge in Ella. It is a beautifully constructed railway bridge and a mandatory photo point if you are in Ella. You have to see the pics for yourself. We managed to get the best shots possible. Instead of waiting to see the train cross the bridge (we took a ride in the train on our way back from Ella), we proceeded to a sunset point named Little Adam’s Peak. This involved a short hike. The guard at the starting point was initially not allowing us to take our tuktuk to the starting point but after some small talks, he agreed to let us take the TukTuk inside. We looked for him on the way back to tip him, but he had left by then. We parked our TukTuk and started on a 30-40 min hike to the top of the peak.
The hike was short, windy and soothing. We were among the last ones to reach the top which meant we had the place to ourselves. This allowed us to take some good pics and enjoy the sunset in relative peace.
We climbed down and headed back to the town. Getting to hike amidst nature, we felt in our element. This was the second best day of the trip. The best one was to follow the next day and it totally justified having our own vehicle to get around.
Once back in Ella, we did some shopping around. The place also had a lot of massage parlours. I have been brought up on a daily dose of massage courtesy my grandfather. Ever since, I have been a sucker for a good massage. I don’t know Jasleen’s back story but she has also been a SPA lover. No wonder we get along so well 😀
Since we were planning on another hike next day, we made a booking for massage post the hike. We then finished off our day with a hearty dinner at our favorite cafe – by managing to grab the only table that was available, tucked away in a corner. You see, when you are happy, things always work out for you.
Day 7 – Upper Diyaluma falls. Best Day of the trip.
We slept very well and woke up refreshed. Today was an exciting day. Date was 30th December and the plan was to end the year on the best possible note by making the most of our last few days of this year. Today we were visiting Upper Diyaluma falls, which is the second highest waterfall in SriLanka. And we did not plan to just see the waterfall from afar. We wanted to hike to the top of the waterfall and bathe in the natural pools that form there. We started around 8 in the morning. The drive was supposed to take 1.5 hrs. The first half was all paved roads and since it was downhill, it did not take much time. The second half was a mix of good, bad and broken roads. But there was hardly any traffic around. Apparently, very few people visit the falls.
We reached the falls without losing any time or our way. Just when we were approaching the falls, we were stopped a couple of times by guides who offered to ride with us and guide us to the top of the falls. But we did not take them up on the offer. Once we got to the falls (which looked tall and serene), we checked with a local on how to get to the top. Apparently, there were 2 routes that took you to the top. We decided to take the shorter one which was supposed to be a 10-15 min drive. The gentleman who gave us the directions mentioned enough markers for us to not lose our way. We immediately started towards our final destination. This route though turned out to be a completely off-road adventure, that too in a tuktuk, which I can proudly say, was navigated as well as we could have in a 4X4. At one point the road came to a dead end, and we had still not made it to the top.
That is when our saviour and partner appeared – in the form of a 14 year old lad who spoke English and informed us that we would have to park our vehicle here and walk on to the top. He offered to act as our guide, which we were happy to accept. He helped us park our tuktuk in a house (we paid a small parking fee as a token of thanks to the owner of the house, once we came back).
We then started hiking and immediately went off road. Having a guide was a good idea as there was no one else on the trail and we could not have found the way to the top on our own since the route had many detours. The hike was absolutely mind blowing with a soothing breeze comforting us in the strong sun. With sunscreen on and clothes off, we made it to the top in 40-45 minutes. That’s when the real fun began. We came across our first natural pool of water and I wanted to jump in it. But Jasleen insisted that we go further as she has seen people bathing in a pool right at the starting point of the waterfall, where the water starts falling down. So we moved on. We finally saw some people here. Some had come from the other route while some had camped here for the night. We reached the edge of the hill and instantly liked what we saw. Standing at the top, you could see for miles and miles. And there was a natural pool forming just at the starting point of the fall. So we got in here and our guide took some good photos of us. He was getting a bit adventorous in his zest to click perfect pics, getting to close to the edge. We did not want to lose him or the phone, so we had to ask him to take it easy. We had good fun here and then we moved to the other pools we had encountered first. We found one that was deep and long enough to swim in. One could also walk up the hill and jump into this one from a 15 feet height. But the water was not deep enough to risk such cheap thrills. We were already having a lot of fun. We swam around, clicked some nice pics, ate the snacks we were carrying and in general had the best time of our trip. Thank you, mother nature, for coming up with such places.
We were in no hurry and slowly made our way down, thanked and paid our guide, and started back to Ella. We were now familiar with both the roads and the tuktuk. So we had a lot of fun coming back as it was in the middle of the day. We had the long, winding, empty roads to ourselves. With beautiful tress hugging the corners, and hills on the opposite side, we had found our perfect day. It was made all the more better by some music blaring from our portable speaker. Lost in this fun, we made good speed. While turning on one of the bends, we were busy singing our hearts out when the speaker which was kept on the seat next to Jasleen went flying outside, thanks to the high speed at which we took the bend. We had to stop our singing as we realised that music was no longer audible, stop the tuktuk and Jasleen had to go back a few meters to retrieve the speaker which looked like it was enjoying lying in the grass it had landed on and didn’t mind staying there. Since the speaker was unhurt, we played the song again and continued on our journey.
Once we reached Ella, we left our clothes in the sun to dry (the hotel we were staying in had a beautiful lawn, similar to what we would like to have in our house some day) and headed out for lunch. By now, you would know where we had lunch. So no marks for guessing. Post lunch, we decided to take an afternoon siesta before getting our massage done. We had only one more day left with us in Sri Lanka. Our flight back was on 1st January at 3 am in the morning.
And there was another highlight of Sri Lanka which we did not wish to miss. It was the famous train ride from Ella to Kandy! I bet that you would have seen photos of the same without knowing where are they from. There was no way in the world that we would miss it. So we checked for tickets. Michael made a few phone calls and told us that us that his friend could get us 2 confirmed first class tickets. But they were quite expensive. And we were only 2 min away from the railway station in Ella. So we passed on the offer and post our siesta, drove to the railway station. On checking, we were told that we could buy the tickets on the spot next day for general class and third class. Getting a seat was subject to seats being available in these 2 classes as they are unreserved. The price was 1/10th of what we were getting the first class ticket for. And as informed by the clerk at the counter, seats are easy to find. So we decided to take our chances and take the train ride from Ella to Kandy (this train crosses the famous Nine Arch Bridge we went to earlier on its way to Ella).
But what do we do with the tuktuk since it would have been difficult to fit it on the train. Our service provider came to our rescue. They offered to send a driver to Ella who would pick up our tuktuk and drive it to a place of our choice. They’d charge us for this extra service accordingly. We could enjoy our train ride and our tuktuk would be waiting for us wherever we got down. That was neat! So we immediately asked them to arrange for a driver. Although the train goes all the way from Ella (it starts 2 stations earlier at ) to Kandy, which was our next pitstop to explore before we moved on to Negombo (near Colombo, and closer to the international airport) on the same day to ring in the new year before flying back, we decided to take the train till Nuwara Eliya (or Nanuoya) which was a 2.5 hr ride.
With everything sorted, we proceeded for our massage. I had booked a full body massage which was caried out by an old female masseuse and was not particularly great. Michael, our inn keeper later asked me about my massage and when I told him about the old lady being my masseuse, his response was that ‘Old was Gold’ followed by a hearty laugh. Well, we couldn’t help but join him in his laughter given how genuinely he enjoyed he was enjoying his one line response to my not so ‘Gold’ experience.
Day 8 – Famous Train Ride from Ella. Next stop: Kandy
We cleared our hotel bills before going to bed as our train left at 6:00 am the next day. As I mentioned earlier, the station was only 5 min from our hotel. We made it well in time and bought our ticket. There were very few people waiting for the train – a mix of locals and some tourists.
The train arrived about 15 min late. We boarded it and easily found a seat in the second class. But it was not the best seat in the house. So Jasleen moved around and finally called me to a perfect seat in the 3rd class compartment. The train was absolutely neat and clean and sitting in 3rd class compartment was not a problem at all. We soon became friendly with the our co-passenger who understood that we wanted to click pics and helped us in our quest – by ensuring nobody moved in and took our seat when we stood up to go to the door for the photo session (of which there were many, till we got the perfect pics) and by offering to click pictures of us.
About the route – the train crosses some absolutely wonderful scenery on its way down. You come across verdant forests, hills as well as big valleys where you can see far off into the distance. There is so much nature to enjoy on the journey that time flies. While we only travelled till Nuwara Eliya, I’d suggest that anyone who has time should go till Kandy. It’s totally worth it.
Between photo sessions and sightseeing, we did not realize how quickly we made time and reached Nuwara Eliya. Everyone waved us goodbye as we got ready to get off the train. Both Jasleen and I were a little sad at not having booked the train till all the way to Kandy. But what’s done was done. We spotted our tuktuk as we stepped out of the station. Our driver had been waiting for us for half an hour. Since, we had booked his services till Kandy, we were on our way as soon as we stepped out, which was about 9:30 in the morning. It was quite chilly at that hour and we had to cover ourselves with a light blanket we were carrying. Although we were not on the train any longer, the route was still pretty scenic. I, for one, was enjoying sitting in the passenger seat and being able to enjoy the views instead of focusing on the driving. We crossed some hill stations on the way that we would love to cover next time we go to Sri Lanka. There were also quite a few tea plantations and manufacturing units where we could see guided tours being carried out. Another good to-do for tea lovers. Another thing we frequently encountered on the way in and around Nuwara Eliya was strawberries. So we decided to buy some and communicated our wish to our driver who made sure he kept a keen eye on the roadside for strawberry sellers. We finally found one and bought a packet. While they were expensive, they were really big and juicy and worth the price we paid.
After this, we only made one pit stop for re-fuelling and reached Kandy around 1 PM. Our driver took us to the main market of Kandy and took his leave. The first thing we did after he left was google ‘Things to do in Kandy’. This threw up quite a few results including a botanical garden, some religious sites etc. but everything needed a couple of hours. As we had limited time on hand before we needed to start towards Negombo, we decided to skip everything and soak in the bustling main market that we were currently in. We parked our tuktuk and Jasleen quickly found a place for us to have lunch at. After a gap of many days, we got to eat Dosa for lunch. The place where we had it (I do not remember the name) seemed to be a very popular one as it was full when we walked in. The food was very reasonably priced, simply made and delicious. With our stomachs full, we decided to wander around on foot. Just a few shops further, we came across a big shop named Odel (which is apparently a big brand in Sri Lanka) selling all types of souvenirs ranging from mugs, key rings, kitchen accessories to fridge magnets, home decor items and stationery. The entire collection was based on Sri Lanka’s rich cultural heritage. Since this was our penultimate stop before heading home, we could shop without having to lug the stuff with us for the entire journey. We picked some tasteful mugs for ourselves with animals drawn on one side and Sri Lanka etched on the other. We also bought a few fridge magnets, with one aptly depicting a tuktuk in Ceylon (as SriLanka was known in British days and a pair of salt and pepper sprinklers made of porcelain and fashioned in the form of monkeys.
We then proceeded to the other side of the road where Jasleen found a super cool pair of bright Orange pajamas for just 200 SriLankan bucks. She tried it on before buying it (in the alley) and looked quite glamorous. Its been many months but she is yet to wear it. Hoping it will happen soon on another foreign trip.
With this, it was time to be on our way to Negombo, which was a 4 hr. drive. Negombo is just outside Colombo and decent sized town in itself (like the suburbs of bigger cities), with a lot of beaches, hotels, clubs/pubs and a happening night life. And it is closer to the International Airport. So off we went. Driving a tuktuk by now had become second nature and I was having a good time racing this pocket rocket against bigger machines. The fact that Sri Lankans drive politely and in a mature manner also helped. I usually love overtaking vehicles as I like to keep my average speed high and I got a lot of chances to satiate this penchant on mine on this stretch. The fact that the entire trip from Kandy to Negombo was a downhill one helped. We covered good ground and found ourselves approaching Negombo pretty soon. That’s when we went through some of the most beautiful interior regions of Sri Lanka where the smooth roads were flanked by lush green fields on both sides made all the more beautiful by the colors dispersed across the sky by the setting sun.
Just around this time, Jasleen and I decided to attend to nature’s call (which were growing frantic) and went off track on one of the by roads where we parked our tuktuk, relieved ourselves and then sat there enjoying the scenery.
Last evening in SriLanka.
We reached Negombo around 7 PM on 31st Dec. We were supposed to handover the tuktuk back to the lender by 8 PM. Since we had one hour to go, we decided to use it to visit a 250 yr old church dedicated to St. Mary (built by the Dutch) near Negombo’s main beach to pay our gratitude to the Gods for helping us have a remarkable trip and a memorable end to the year. We reached the church, parked our tuktuk, bought a few candles from the roadside and went inside. The church premises were huge and the church itself was beautiful. The interior had the life story of Lord Jesus on the wall in the from of text as well as paintings depicting the major life events. The ceiling had super sized murals on it, reminding one of Italy. Later, Jasleen, who is spiritually more advanced and picks up vibrations instantly, told me that her hair stood on end for the entire 10 minutes that we were inside the church, so strong were the good vibes there.
Time to welcome the new year.
We said our prayers and thanked the universe for another good year, for taking care of our health, providing us with the means to travel and explore, and for taking care of our loved ones. There was a big statue of Jesus on the cross on one side of the church which was beautifully crafted. We paid our respects here and with this, we proceeded to our final spot of the night – a pub shortlisted by Jasleen to ring in the new year while we had dinner (from a church straight to the pub – the commonality being the intensity of passion of people who frequent these two places). We were to head straight to the airport after that.
The pub was inside a busy street filled with a number of pubs/clubs on either sides and the crowd was only just starting to come in as we reached there. We parked our tuktuk and were welcomed by the manager at the entrance. He was a British national staying in Sri Lanka and a very likeable and hospitable gentleman. On learning that we were travelers carrying luggage, he got us to keep our bags in his office (where CCTV cameras kept a watch on the luggage) and gave us a good spot in the restaurant. I then got a phone call from the tuktuk company informing me that their pick-up guy had arrived and was waiting for me at a bus stop in Negombo where he must have gotten off of his bus. Since he was not from Negombo, I was requested to pick him up, bring him back to my drop location – the pub we were dining in, and hand over the tuktuk to him.
So I left Jasleen at the pub, and started following the Google maps to go pick up my man. Turns out, he was very close to the church we had just visited. We could have saved this double trip if we had asked for his location before we left the church to go to the pub. Anyway, no big deal since the distance was hardly 10 minutes. And when I reached the pick up point, I found out that our pick up guy was the same man who had drove us from Nuwara Eliya in the afternoon to Kandy. What the…..He had now been asked to come to Negombo to collect the tuktuk, so he had taken a bus right around the same time we left for Negombo in a tuktuk. He was busy devouring an ice cream when I spotted him, so when he asked me to move to the back, I instead pointed him towards the rear seat. This time, he sat in the back and enjoyed his ice cream along with a display of some spirited driving by a non-Sri Lankan in by lanes of Negmobo. We reached our pub in no time, and I handed over the tuktuk to him and said final goobye as we parted one last time, knowing fully well that chances of me seeing him again were quite remote. This thought always brings with is strange feeling which is difficult to describe, so I will not waste your time attempting to do it.
I quickly proceeded to join Jasleen who had been by herself, though not alone if you consider good food to be company. She had already placed the orders and some lip smacking food has started flowing in. We dug in as party music played around us and the vacant tables filled up one by one. The place also had a longish and narrow pool filled with small fishes who love to pluck at your feet, if you fancy. After a while, we tried availing of this free spa service but the tickling was too much to bear. Worth a shot, nonetheless. Some people might even enjoy it.
We counted down the final seconds to the new year along with other patrons in the pub and ringed in the new year like we always try to do – by travelling.
We then booked a cab to the airport, thanked the manager for taking such good care of us, and were on our way to catch the flight back home. On the way, we saw a lot of people who were very nicely dressed and on their way to the nearest church to say their prayers and celebrate with others. Such scenes really lifted our spirits. We also noticed some stretches of the road being cordoned off which were occupied by people sitting in large groups and listening to sermons. Everything was very neatly managed and there were no traffic snarls due to this.
Then came the heaviest part of the trip – going back! But with our hearts full of gratitude and head filled with memories, we made it back in no time with the time being spent in sifting and sorting through all the pics and videos we had taken and conveying new year wishes to our friends and family.
That’s about it. Hope this trip of ours gives you an idea as to what can you do if you ever go to Sri Lanka. For any specific questions, pls feel free to leave a comment. I shall leave you with some more pics to enjoy and feast on. Stay happy, stay wild.
Until next time.
– Wowlifer
