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  • Pol Salomó

Sri Lanka

A 13-day adventure by Pol Read more
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  • Trip start
    December 11, 2021
    Pol SalomóSri LankaTraveler

    Colombo

    December 11, 2021 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Quick enough I was done with all the procedures at the airport, so I took a night taxi to Colombo, where I got a few hours rest in a fairly disappointing hotel. I woke up at 9am to wander through Pettah before catching the 10:30 train to Galle.

    My first impression of Sri Lanka was that of a cultural shock. Although I've been to South East Asia before, the scenes from Colombo streets reminded me much more of an Indian movie. The first surprise was to discover that most Sri Lankans wear a facemask because of Covid. I didn't expect it.

    The feeling in the atmosphere was nice and exotic but the heat was suffocating. I had hardly walked for 5 minutes when I was stopped by a vendor to try his mildly spiced samosa for breakfast. I'm sure I'll love Sri Lankan cuisine! I kept marveling the busy streets of Pettah -the commercial district of Colombo- passing by stalls of 'ayurvedic' medicine, jewellery and fabrics. I made it to the train station just to discover that for some reason my train wouldn't work today.    Read more

  • Pol SalomóSri LankaTraveler

    Colombo to Galle

    December 11, 2021 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    For some reason, the 10:30 train to Galle wouldn't work today. Change of plans: no way to stay longer in Colombo with my heavy backpack, so I took a regular bus instead. Quite an experience!

    The old-fashioned vehicle had no air-con, though I could get on early enough -only after a Buddhist monk- and get a seat by the window where I could see the ocean view during the drive. How lucky! because the bus was to be packed and I could at least get some fresh air.Read more

  • Pol SalomóSri LankaTraveler

    Galle

    December 11, 2021 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    After nearly 3½ hours I arrived to Galle and headed to a local restaurant to taste the typical fish-yellow curry, which was delicious, at Elita's Kitchen.

    I walked around Galle Dutch Fort. A very different sight, reminder of the colonial past of the island. The sun was lower and clouds were showing up, so I got onto a tuk-tuk and headed to Dikwella. Thanks God I did so! After a few minutes ride it startwd to rain heavily. 'Heavy' like: rather than a tuk-tuk, the driver and me wished we had a boat...

    We spent the 2-hours drive talking a bit, despite his little English. He told me he loves football, seconds before I realized he was crippled. He had lost a leg during the civil war. He had joined the army but the Tigers -the Tamil guerrilla- attacked his battalion in the jungle of northern Sri Lanka. Quite interesting story. I tried to pull his tongue about the civil conflict. I wanted to know his point of view as a Sinhalese buddhist, but also as a victim. He wouldn't say much: he confusingly associated the Tamils with muslims and limited to say that muslims are good at making business.

    After the torrential rain we made it to Hiriketiya, where I'm staying at a modest guest-house. I took a shower, went for a well-deserved beer and I just finished my red crab curry. Delicious seafood!    Read more

  • Pol SalomóSri LankaTraveler

    Hiriketiya

    December 12, 2021 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    When I woke up in my guest house in Hiriketiya I was very disappointed about the weather. It was just very cloudy while I was having a heavy breakfast, but later rain shyly started pouring. I didn't expect much from the day and even considered changing plans and head to Tissamaharama, but the forecast there wasn't much better.

    It then stopped raining, so I decided to go for a morning walk to the beach. I discovered few surfers in Hiriketiya Bay, and then I walked through the jungle to Dikwella beach. These paradise beaches literally meet the jungle here. I had the whole beach on my own. After a while I headed back to Hiri, I got myselaf a 'king coconut' and even considered taking an 'ayurvedic' massage. The Sun was shining every now and then, so I decided to go to Tangalle and see Goyambokka beach.    Read more

  • Pol SalomóSri LankaTraveler

    Goyambokka

    December 12, 2021 in Sri Lanka ⋅ 🌧 29 °C

    Goyambokka, 7pm

    I first tried to get the bus from Hiriketiya road, but I finally took a tuk-tuk to Goyambokka beach. I discovered real paradise here despite the rain. I've spent most of the time in the village in a cottage bar by the sea, run by a friendly fisherman who invited me go fishing tomorrow. I had some drinks and a deliciously cooked fresh fish.

    Then I joined my new friend's friends in a Sri Lankan styled birthday party. Out of the sudden they brought some booze, so I could not refuse. They started to sing some rythmic sinhalese songs. I couldn't get a single word but it was fun. I even ended up singing an Estopa song after their insistent request. When the party was over I headed to the place where I'm staying: a nice cabana in the middle of the jungle where I can listen to the wildlife around. I've seen already a monkey, lightworms, a huge iguana, many birds and some stray dogs.    Read more

  • Pol SalomóSri LankaTraveler

    Fishing in Goyambokka

    December 13, 2021 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Goyambokka, 11am

    I'm sitting in front of the ocean with fantastic views of a sandy beach and coconut trees. This sight could perfectly define paradise. I'm at Bamboo bar, the place I've spent most of the time with my new fisherman friend. Today I woke up as arranged at 5am to go fishing. It was still dark night and the sea was rough, so it looked impossible to sail. We waited, smoked som 'ganja' (worst idea ever) and finally Nuwan told me to go throw the net on the beach. After a couple of unsuccessful stands, the sea looked much quieter, so... Why not?

    We walked to a super small secluded beach where Nuwan had his boat, we got all the stuff we'd need, jumped on the boat and started paddling. Fishing in the Indian ocean sounds exciting enough, but doing it in a incredibly narrow canoe, with no net but a couple of strings with hooks, is such an experience I will never forget. We catched a barracuda we kept alive so we could try to get a bigger fish. We spent around 3 hours out there. I got quite seasick. We weren't particularly lucky with the 'big fosh' but we did catch a couple of fishes instead.

    Then I went back to pack my things in the cabana and after a filling breakfast I went again to Bamboo to discover it was sunny! After helping out Nuwan and his brother with some refurbishment work for their hut, we started cooking the fish we catched and I learned how to spice it Sri Lankan way. I believe I haven't had any meat yet in this trip!    Read more

  • Pol SalomóSri LankaTraveler

    Goyambokka to Tissamaharana

    December 13, 2021 in Sri Lanka ⋅ 🌧 29 °C

    Tissamaharama, 8:15pm

    I've just finished my dinner at the place I'm staying tonight, a little family hotel by the lake. I already arranged a safari tour for tomorrow but I couldn't enjoy the sights from here because it's been raining for the last 3 hours. This place is full of mosquitoes! Anyways I'll go to sleep early as tomorrow I'll be picked up at 5am for the Yala National Park safari.Read more

  • Pol SalomóSri LankaTraveler

    Yala National Park

    December 14, 2021 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Tissa, 1:30 pm

    I'm completely soaked waiting for my tuna in Chef Lady restaurant. I thought taking a walk by the lake would be nice, but it suddenly started pouring. Lucky me a safari driver who was passing by gave me a lift to the restaurant.

    This morning I woke up super early again. This time not to go fishing but to go game-gazing from a Jeep in a safari to Yala. I shared the tour with a friendly young Swiss couple. I must admit it was not the same than self-driving in Namibia with my best friends. Fun enough, though.

    In Yala National Park had rained all-night long so the roads were muddy and some areas flooded. The driver warned us to lower our expectations for the day. Gates open at 6am, so we got in at dawn. A ten-ish queue of Jeeps followed. The first big animal we saw was a crocodile, from a long distance. Must say that after swimming with some of them in Darwin the experience here was 'meh'. And then... "Lucky! Lucky!" We stared to a big sloath bear less than 10 meters away. Usually this rare animal is super shy, even the drivers were surprised. We kept on driving to see some elephants, buffalos, spotted deer... and finally... YES! The leopard! Such a beautiful individual. We saw him in the bushes and climbing up a tree, but soon after he disappeared. Unlike lions in Namibia this big cat is super elusive. But after a while we got to see a second one! All in all we spent around 6 hours driving through Yala, chasing some other animals and enjoying the views.    Read more

  • Pol SalomóSri LankaTraveler

    Tissa to Ella

    December 14, 2021 in Sri Lanka ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    Ella, 8:20am

    I just woke up a bit hangover. I have a pretty nice morning view from the terrace of my tree-house style backpackers hostel.

    Yesterday, after my flavourful tuna steak lunch I arranged a ride to Ella instead of spending another night in Tissa. Great choice! After the scenic road to Ella -with a stop at Ravana falls- I made it to 'No-name hostel' where I met a German guy who I spent the evening speaking with. Later a Dutch girl joined us. After our 'kotto' dinner we headed to Chill café where we met some other backpackers and we shared some cocktails, shots and a couple of 660ml sized beers (Sri Lankan standards).Read more

  • Pol SalomóSri LankaTraveler

    Ella

    December 15, 2021 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Ella, 9pm

    I'm checking out at No-name hostel as tomorrow morning I'm planning to take the earliest train to Haputale. The day's been pretty good. In the morning I hiked the Little Adam's peak to see some nice views of the hills. It was very cloudy but at least I got no rain. In the afternoon I met again my German roommate and we went for lunch together and I chilled out a bit before taking my cooking class with Priya -and two girls. Besides the rice & curry dishes we learnt to cook we alsl enjoyed some conversation with this adorable Tamil lady about society and religion.Read more

  • Pol SalomóSri LankaTraveler

    Haputale

    December 16, 2021 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Haputale, 2:30pm

    Finally a bit of Sun! I woke up in Ella to take the 6:40 train to Haputale. It was much emptier than what I'd expect, so after accomodating myself in a 3rd-class carriage I strated enjoying the morning light in the hilly countryside. The ride was roughly an hour and the views were increasingly better as we approached Haputale. I was the only white person who hopped off here, though I didn't see many tourists on the train; none in 3rd-class. Once in this trading village I jumped on a tuk-tuk to go drop off my backpack in the guest house I'm staying. Immediately after we hurried up to Lipton's seat, as fog usually shows up around midday. Had a nice chat with the driver.

    Lipton's seat itself is a bit disappointing but the ride up was very picturesque. After a little -and cheap- breakfast break up there, I started my long way back on foot. An insane 18 km walk through tea plantations.

    The first part of the journey was sunny and you could really feel Mr. Thomas Lipton colonial lifestyle. The second part of the walk I passed by some Tamil settlements and I discovered how hinduism, catholicism and buddhism share the same space. I was a true stranger in those poor 'villages' but everybody was very friendly. Some villagers were not-insistingly begging for money, but the most of them just smiled and said "Hello!". The last part of the walk was closer to Haputale and the atmosphere changed drastically as the mist started coming up from the forest. It was otherwise beatiful and magic.

    I was quite tired when I arrived back in town, so after checking the train timetable for tomorrow I found myself a place to eat. I ordered chop suey, but the best was the panoramic view I had over tea plantations.

    I've just arrived to my guesthouse, taken a hot shower, met the family I'm staying with and I'm now ready to chill out a bit and enjoy a freshly prepared juice with some vistas.

    Haputale, 9pm

    I spent the foggy, rainy evening in the guesthouse, reading in the tea-styled living room and planning ahead the next days. I also had dinner: home made kottu. Very filling. I made a decision after reading some internet blogs about Sri Lankan cuisine: I will eat *less* and I will go *spicy*!    Read more

  • Pol SalomóSri LankaTraveler

    Haputale to Kandy

    December 17, 2021 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Train to Kandy, 8:30am

    Haputale wakes up with the chants of different temples. The one next to my guesthouse was a buddhist one. The morning mist looked incredible. I went to the station, the train was running late (surprise!), so I took advantadge and had my first sweet breakkie in a cafe.

    Kandy, 4:40pm

    The train ride it's been great. The landscape kept changing as the train was going through: from misty forest to hills full of tea trees, and then to lushy jungle with coconut trees (in cas we had forgotten we were in Sri Lanka). The train ride was accompanied by the singings of different groups of yongsters.

    On the train I met Musheen, a worker from a hotel in Anuradhapura who was going to Colombo. He wasn't super talkative but gave me some tips for my trip. During the ride to Kandy I couldn't help thinking of colonialism, past and present. The railway system was built to bring all the tea from the plantations to the sea ports. The British-style stations where still remains of that colonial era. But the feeling of the workers' present-day situation -still living in hardly bearable conditions- was quite disturbing. The way big Western corporations operate in third-world countries made me feel ashamed of my privileged situation.    Read more

  • Pol SalomóSri LankaTraveler

    Kandy

    December 17, 2021 in Sri Lanka ⋅ 🌧 23 °C

    Kandy, 7:40am

    I'm sitting in a hindu restaurant waiting for my 'dosa' breakfast. Kandy has a big Tamil population (both muslims and hinduists) but is also particularly sacred for the buddhist as it's home of the Tooth Relic temple.

    Today is 'Unduvap poya' -full-moon day- and many shops close. I was recommended not to visit the temple today as crowds congregate there to pray, so I went yesteraday. The temple looks nice from outside as it stands by Kandy lake -a human made reservoir for irrigation from ancient times- but it's still more impressive from the inside. After attrending a traditional dancing show I went to the temple for the evening ceremony. It consists of a sequence of drumming sessions and some flower offerings by the many devotees wearing white clothes (lucky me I was offered a 'sarong' to cover my knees so I could go inside). The temple and the poya ceremony was an impressive ans moving sight, I really want to do some more research about history in my upcoming days in Sigiriya.

    In the late evening I went back to my hostel. I shared the room with Jalisco, a Philipino american who's lived in India for 10 years. We had a very interesting chat about politics and society. Around 10pm I fell deeply asleep.    Read more

  • Pol SalomóSri LankaTraveler

    Kandy to Sigiriya

    December 18, 2021 in Sri Lanka ⋅ 🌧 23 °C

    Sigiriya, 4:20pm

    Today couldn't have started better. After a delicious 'dosa' breakfast I was picked up to go have an 'ayurvedic' massage in the outskirts of Kandy. It was so ridiculously cheap that I took a foot massage on top of my full-body one. The location wasn't as great as advertised, because they recently moved to a cheaper place due to Covid. The massage itself though was super relaxing and pleasant.

    After that I took the bus 41 towards Polonnaruwa, that drives along the A9 road. This road is the nerve of Sri Lanka (it crosses it North to South) as I learned from my readings of 'This Divided Island' by Samanth Subramanian, the book I'm reading during this trip. During the war the army used this road towards Jaffna to fight the Tigers. It's shocking to consider that such civil conflict ended only in 2009 and that there were still some riots afterwards. I'm super interested in the religious conflict and the situation right now.

    I've seen a mosque next to a hindu temple, literally *next* to it. Every person I talk to, every bus I take, every tuk-tuk driver I meet... I just want to kow what's their identity and their view about the conflict. This tuk-tuk driver -whose mobile wallpaper said "May Allah bless you"- I asked him "Are you a Tamil?", he answered "I'm muslim". Only after he added "I speak Tamil". I find it very interesting to see that the sense of identity is specially based on religious perspective. And this applies to every community in Sri Lanka. I wonder what would they think about me if I told them I'm atheist.    Read more

  • Pol SalomóSri LankaTraveler

    Polonnaruwa

    December 19, 2021 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Sigiriya, 7am

    I just woke up at Roy's Villa, a super cool backpackers hostel, chosen as the best small one in the world last year. It's surrounded by nature: jungle and rice fields. The morning sun is just rising... Awesome!

    I spent yesterday's afternoon and evening in this place hanging out with Roy himdelf and the other guests, very cool people. We shared some beers and cooked our dinner together: rice&curry. We also shared a cake brought by two funny Dutch buddies that arrived late as they were kite-surfing in the West Coast.

    The whole day had been rainy so I switched a bit the plans for today: I am going to Polonnaruwa! But I need to have my laundry fixed first.

    Sigiriya, 7:10pm

    After having my breakfast today I jumped into a Jeep with Div (an Indian boy living in London), Tom and Erik (the two Dutch buddies) and our driver to Polonnaruwa. Both on the way there and on the way back through Minneriya we saw big elephants crossing the road before passive Sri Lankan drivers.

    Polonnaruwa itself is a bit disappointing: it's basically the ruins -badly preserved- from the ancient capital of a Sinhalese buddhist kingdom from the 11th and 12th Century. It was interesting to learn about the history and to share the bike ride with some friends. The four of us actually spent several hours visiting the sparsed ruins, but the humid heat and the Sun made me feel tyred at the end.

    On the way back to the hostel we stopped for lunch and saw some more elephants. Actually one of them started chasing us as soon as we pulled over for some pictures.    Read more

  • Pol SalomóSri LankaTraveler

    Ederagala Wana Senasuna

    December 19, 2021 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    As soon as we arrived at Roy's we met him and offered us to go see the sunset from a buddhist monastery he knew. The place sits on top of a rock, so we had a 360º view. The red colours of the Sun, the evening haze and the siluette of the hills and rocks around made the moment pretty magical.

    Better than the sunset itself we had the chance to meet the 3 monks 'community' living there, taking care of such an old temple. Ederagala Wana Senasuna is more than 2000 years old. We even joined a monk who befriended Roy in their sunset prayer.

    We are gonna have dinner soon, so I'll go and join the crew. They are warming up with some 660ml Lions already.    Read more

  • Pol SalomóSri LankaTraveler

    Sigiriya

    December 20, 2021 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Sigiriya, 10:15am

    Today we all woke up very early to go see the sunrise from Pidurangala rock. From up there you have a really nice view over Lion's Rock (this is the meaning of Sigiriya). This time Julia (a German girl living in Colombo) and Stephan (a German man who looks like Putin and is fucking hilarious) also joined us.

    It's been very nice to meet all this people in the hostel. We teamed up quite a lot. Actually I'm gonna share a tuk-tuk drive to Anuradhapura with Div.    Read more

  • Pol SalomóSri LankaTraveler

    Sigiriya to Anuradhapura

    December 20, 2021 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Anuradhapura, 8pm

    The tuk-tuk drive was enjoyable. Slow but steady we made our way through the plains of Sri Lanka. A combination of junlge and rice fields was the main landscape around. And once again an elephant was sharing the road with colorful buses and tuk-tuks. Div and I had some interesting conversations about politics and about India, the place he's originally from. Despite living in London he is very fond of the place he was born: Bengalore.

    I checked-in in a little hotel called Andorra, in the outskirts of this sparse settlement called Anuradhapura. I put on my trousers so my knees were covered to visit the temples and I met Div in the ticket office of the site. I considered getting a guide to explore the place but I was scared of ending up paying a lot to a person who wouldn't really know about it. So I changed my mind and thought it would be better to wander around with the help of Wikipedia. We even decided not to pay the $25 ticket fee and skip the five temples that it included, and to just visit the ones for free. Best idea, as the ones we were more interested in were close-by. This included the big white 'dagoba' and the holly Sri Maha Bodi. Sri Maha Bodi is the tree planted 2300 years ago out of the 'bo tree' were the Buddha got enlightened.    Read more

  • Pol SalomóSri LankaTraveler

    Mihintale

    December 20, 2021 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    In the late afternoon I convinced Div to go to Mihintale, a holly hill 20 minutes away from Anuradhapura. It was a very peaceful and inspirational visit as the Sun was setting, the views were great and there was a lot of monks and devotees.

    I was very hungry, so after that we went to an early dinner to an Indian restaurant where I learnt about Div's country cuisine. He turned out to be as passionate about food as me. We parted ways, said good bye and I'm now chilling at Andorra's.    Read more

  • Pol SalomóSri LankaTraveler

    Anuradhapura to Negombo

    December 21, 2021 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Anuradhapura, 8:30am

    I comfortably slept for ten hours just before waking up wioth a terrible nightmare.I dreamed I tested positive of Covid and I had to miss Christmas at home. Once awake it even took me a while to realize everything was just a dream.

    I 've had a poor breakfast at Andorra. I've had though an interesting chat with the manager about Sri Lankan policies towards China. He was quite pessimistic. I'm gonna pack everything and head to Negombo, where I plan to chill out until my flight departs tomorrow night,

    Negombo, 5:20pm

    The bus ride to Negombo was arduous. The local bus to Colombo was quite full but I was lucky to seat again in the first row. Just before starting the journey I hurried to buy some deep-fried snacks. I met a couple of helpful people, but the 5 hours-long trip was a real experience. I suffered for my life trully. Instead of a driver and a conductor there was a group of four youngsters that kept changing their roles. The main driver was in his twenties and was an absolute dickhead. His agressive way of driving was far beyond Sri Lankan standards. Even the locals complained, both passengers of our bus and other drivers. I think he literally spent more time on the other way lane of the road than on ours. He seemed not to care at all about other drivers ans behaved as he was in a highway instead of a road.

    After that long, hot nightmare I hopped off in Negombo and took a tuk-tuk to Palms Villa. This little boutique hotel has a beautiful garden with a swimming pool with a hammock where I plan to spend the rest of the afternoon reading my book. By the way, Jasmine (the Swiss girl I met in the cooking class in Ella) is also staying here.    Read more

  • Pol SalomóSri LankaTraveler

    Negombo

    December 22, 2021 in Sri Lanka ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    Negombo, 7:15am

    I failed in my attempt to overlap my future jet lag by waking up late. After having dinner -a nice grilled meat- at the hotel I spent some time in my air conditioned room but eventually fell asleep around 10:30pm.

    I'm not sleepy anymore, so I am having a terrible coffee waiting for my breakfast. Yesterday I asked for a Sri Lankan one, so they ordered hoppers for me. There is a nice cool breeze and the Sun is not high yet si I think I'll go explore Negombo downtown.

    Negombo, 9:30pm

    I'm spending my last hours in Sri Lanka trying to stay awake for my flight at 3am. Today it's been a very relaxing day yet I've enjoyed it a lot. Food wise the day couldn't have started better: string hoppers with dhal and 'sambol'. With some energy in my body I went to see the fish market of Negombo. It was an impressive sight: many stalls of vendors selling all kind of fresh fish with no hygienical condition whatsoever. The vivid colors of the morning matched the strong smell of fish and the noise of the busy, loud fihermen.

    Immediately next to the fresh fish market, the beach served as a dry fish area. The wooden canoes and catamarans lined in the shore, were the background of dozen of nets laying on the sand with multiple varieties of fish drying up. I delighted the moment but eventually the smell was so strong that I decided to keep exploring Negombo.

    I went to Saint Mary's church, a neoclassical building from the late 19th Century fully decorated for the upcoming Christmas festivities. Negombo is mainly a catholic town, so many christian shrines and Nativity sets were everywhere, creating a very odd Christmas-themed subtropical place.

    After that the Sun was high enough to seek confort in the swimming pool of my hotel, where I spent the afternoon reading. I had my last rice&curry: a prawns one. Terrific! I will miss a lot Sri Lankan cuisine.

    I didn't want to miss the opportunity to enjoy my guilty pleasure: grilled lobster! So I went for dinner at Magrove Sea View in Negombo's lagoon. I can't tell if it was better than the one I had in Bali or the one in Belize, but for sure is a tradition I want to keep.    Read more

    Trip end
    December 23, 2021
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