Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka was a wonderful surprise for us. We expected to find a small version of India, but quickly realised it wasn't to be the case. Sri Lanka has a very unique personality and although it shares some cultural similarities with India, it really is worth a separate visit. Throughout the small country there is great diversity, from the landscape to the food, and even religion. Also, since it is an island nation, there is a very laid back atmosphere and general happiness in the air. 

The greatest thing in Sri Lanka is people's willingness to serve you tea and snacks. The kind lady at our homestay in Nuwara Eliya refused to let us go for an afternoon walk before first having tea and toast. The best part is that we were usually served whole pots of tea and could linger around for an hour enjoying the atmosphere. This is something that we missed in India, where we often felt rushed in restaurants. 

Our first stop in Sri Lanka was the beautiful beach town of Unawatuna. From the airport we got straight on to a bus to the railway station and caught the four hour train south. The main purpose of our visit was for Aaran to go diving in the Indian Ocean. Since it was so affordable, he was able to dive six times over three days. On his last dive he caught these delicious lobsters that the restaurant next to the dive shop cooked up for us. We sat on the beach and ate our free dinner, while people just a few meters away were paying upwards of $80 for the same meal!

From Unawatuna we went to the mountain town of Kandy, famous for supposedly housing a tooth from the Buddha. Our guesthouse was pretty central to the main town, and it was easy to get around by walking. We walked around the large lake in the middle of the city and eventually made our way to the Temple of the Tooth. The temple itself was pretty basic compared to the elaborate temples we had seen throughout Southeast Asia. The most interesting feature of the site were the paintings depicting the life of the Buddha. 

Next to the temple was the very well organised International Buddhist Museum. The idea is that every major Buddhist nation would contribute a display of their country's Buddhist history. There were over twenty rooms, each one uniquely decorated in the style of the country in question. It was incredibly interesting to compare how traditions and beliefs vary within the same religious. 

Taking the train is not only a great way to get around Sri Lanka but it's almost its own activity. The views are amazing and the landscape is always changing. Another highlight is the delicious train snacks served by countless vendors walking up and down the aisles. Our favourite was a kind of small lentil cake topped with a tiny whole salted shrimp.

It wouldn't be right to talk about Sri Lankan trains without talking about a major annoyance that we encountered.. You are not guaranteed a seat unless you get a first class ticket, which we didn't do. This means that we ended up standing for an entire journey on 2 different occasions. The train is not that bumpy so standing is not all that bad, but after 3 hours it gets a bit old. Luckily we had seats for our long train rides. 

After Kandy we went to the charming town of Nuwara Eliya which is appropriately nicknamed 'Little England' by locals. When the British colonised Sri Lanka they couldn't stand the heat during the summer, so they established settlements high in the mountains. Unlike most British settlements, this one has stayed nearly identical to how it was in colonial times. Walking around the lake on the nice wide roads you can almost forget that you're in Sri Lanka, until you see a speeding tuk tuk race past you. 

Nuwara Eliya is famous for tea production, so we thought we would go on a tour of a tea factory. We took a very crowded local bus for less than a dollar and went to the nearby Pedro Tea Factory. We were guided around by a knowledgeable employee who took us through the tea making process. Afterwards we were served complimentary tea overlooking the plantation. 

The tea estate was absolutely huge and had people working around the clock to maintain production. Every day they bring their product to the market in Colombo and sell to companies like Lipton and Dilmah. 

On our last morning in Nuwara Eliya we decided to go on a safari to spot some animals in the hills. It turned out that the view was the best part, and the animals were almost secondary. We left just as the sun was coming up so the sunlight on the mountains looked wonderful. 

We found out that the area we were in was a rehabilitated tea plantation. We could see fields that were still being repaired. Apparently growing tea is not very good for the soil and it takes a lot of work to get it back to good condition. 

The picture doesn't quite do it justice but these monkeys were huge. At one point we saw two of them running in a field and it felt like Planet of the Apes. When they climbed up the trees the branches were nearly touching the ground. 

We had an extra day before our flight and we felt like seeing something new, so we jumped on a train and went to the town of Haputale. It is just a few hours from Nuwara Eliya and brings you further into the mountains. The main sight in the town is the view from Lipton's Seat overlooking the valleys to one side and the tea estates to the other. Our tuk tuk driver took us on a winding road up to the top of the mountain and we were blown away by the site. 

In over 3 months of travelling we haven't been to a train or bus station that wasn't inhabited by bands of dogs. The weirdest thing is that most of them look quite healthy and well fed. They spend most of the day napping in whatever shade they can find and make the rounds to find scraps of food when people get on the trains.

Of all the places we have visited, Sri Lanka is the first country that we could imagine living in. As long as you stay away from the hectic big cities like Colombo, it's actually quite a peaceful place. When we were sitting on the beach in Unawatuna the owner of the dive shop perfectly described the Sri Lankan mentality. He said that money is nothing, you could surround yourself by wealth but it won't do anything for you. If something bad happens it's people that matter, people that will be able to help you if you have been kind to them.