Srilanka -------An epic journey

 E VERYONE has a bucketlist of places to visit in their lifetime and srilanka was not in my bucket list.. the reasons are quite simple..it is hardly an hour for people from tamilnadu and it is so near and it is almost like kerala.. also we think going to exotic places in europe america and australia would be a memorable one rather than visiting places in south east asia and rest of asia.

But , nature has other ideas.. I was going to srilanka for a function as well as for a short trip.. My wife’s room mate was a Srilankan in her UG days.. and also most of her friends were from lanka.Her roommate’s Sons marriage was in Colombo and she wanted to go and meet her buddy as well as the function.

So we decided to go for that function for two days and also visit Lanka and cover whatever we can in four to five days.

Everytime when we go for a trip, I do intense research about that place and try to tweak lot of things from the original itinerary from the tour people. This time, I was not that much interested as my wife and me were only going and not my son and others who usually accompany us in all the trips..

As usual, the tour people put up with lot of temples, mosque and church and a very relaxed itinerary.. I made only one condition.. we are here in Srilanka for not doing a pilgrimage trip.. we want to see lot of nature .., beach ..greens..trees..and we were not disappointed in the end and had plenty of things we sought…

Day1:

We were in Trichy airport by 8:15 AM and our flight to Colombo airport by 10:15 AM and we were there in Colombo by the blink of the eye.. hardly 45 mts and the captain’s announcement came and we were there in Colombo..As promised by our tour operator, there was a man waiting with the hoarding..and we packed our luggage and we started to mainland Colombo which is nearly 40 kms from the kattunayakkan airport..

The road to Colombo from the airport is called southern expressway and it starts from katanayake airport upto down south Mattara…It was 185 kms long stretch and it was a travel sans potholes, tollgates, speed brakers,barricades, men, animals and shops… it was just a road and nothing else and the travel to our hotel was blemish free.. we took a detour in Colombo and landed in our hotel..

I always have a habit of talking to the driver to make him at ease as well as to know about much the place ..but .. unfortunately.. whatever I ask him… there were only three words.. Yes .. No … alright .. as Rajini spoke in a cinema with a white lady.. only then I realise that the guy behind the wheels did not speak neither English nor Tamil… only Sinhalese which we did not know,,bit worried about how are we going to manage six days in Lanka with this man.. but thanks to all, we did not see him after that and all our drivers thereafter were fluent in both English and Tamil..

Our programme on day 1 was to attend high tea in Hotel Taj Rathnadeepa at 3PM .. no other schedule other that that .. so we planned to take a city tour with Tuk Tuk and visited President’s palace,clock tower,famous mosque and some skyscrapers before going to Taj rathnadeepa for high tea ..

Th hotel was like twin towers of Malaysia and there was interconnecting bridge .. which was called Akasa hotel.. rightly so..and high tea was organised there in Akasa… It was a beautiful hotel and the view from akasa was mesmerising…fully glass building and on one side .. it was the sea with it’s magnificent view and Lankan port which was handed over to Chinese to build a project like Dubai that was in nascent stage.. but the view was too good to explain.. On the other side, we could see the other skyscrapers and the Beautiful Beira lake and this gorgeous Taj just saddled between two lovely views.you need more than two eyes to behold the beauty . High tea means not only having everything like pastries,desserts,chicken, lamb and all vegetable sandwiches and cakes and et al.. but Also having it in the highest place with a very high view of the sea and the lake.. After finishing tea, we called out the same tuk tuk to cover the Colombo..

First , we went to Galle face green beach … beautiful beach ..with towering skyscrapers lining the beach was a great sight.. The tides were high and we strolled along the promenade enjoyed the sea on one side and the skyscrapers on the other side including the Akasa hotel of Taj RathnaDeepa.Standing in Galle face green, saw the lotus tower changing it’s hues to a vibrant colour at a distance. It was a beautiful sight looking at the lotus tower .

Then, went to lotus tower, another iconic spot in Galle face green.. and it was the highest tower and from there we could see full view of Colombo and even distant peaks like Nuwara eliya..there is a floating restaurant in level 5 which we were not alllowed to go that time..There is an observation deck in Level 7 of lotus tower . We strolled along the deck having a beautiful view of Premadasa stadium and all important monuments. The tower’s lift is fastest in South Asia and it takes only 48 sec to go upto 240 metres.

After finishing lotus tower, went to Lake Beira, man made lake , which has a Buddhist temple and also called Gangaramana temple . The Buddhist temple and lots of sitting buddhas are built on platforms over the lake. and then finished off day 1 loitering on Tuk tuk ..

Day 2:

Today was marriage function at Shangri la, another star hotel at 7:30 pm and before that we decided to go to Galle and planned to have lunch at Hikaduma beach and reach our hotel by stalest 7 PM. So we started early to Galle to see the beautiful beach and fort.It was a Dutch fort and everywhere were cannons in the highest point signalling troubled fights in the past with colonisers…we went to museum and saw rich culture and catastrophic description of wrecked ship.. And from the fort, we could see the beautiful Galle cricket stadium and players in white throwing their bat and ball.. Till now , I thought Dharmasthala stadium and capetown stadium were most beautiful but this Galle stadium stands right in the top echelon.. after finishing Galle and played in the beach.. we went to Jungle beach… trekked nearly one km deep in the trees to reach jungle beach .. which was very colourful with some bikini clad ladies holding a glass of whiskey and others sunbathing .. we went into water and got fully drenched because of high tides.. and with heavy heart and not willing to leave that jungle beach,slowly trodded upto our car and headed into Hikkaduma beach resort.. we had great lunch by the beach .. with tides touching our foot, we had all kinds of sea food..

And, then we headed to room to get ready for marriage function..Again, we took the same tuk tuk to shangri la hotel where there were securities checking every person and the vehicle before letting them into the hotel.And there were all high end cars veering past us , we took tuk tuk.. The security was having a bemused look at us and even our driver was not certain whether we would be let in..but with bizarre look,after thorough checking and a satirical smile, we were let into another gorgeous hotel in Srilanka.. and it was a marriage beyond our imagination.

I thought Indians only would spend ludicrous amount of money in marriage But Srilankans were not behind. They are even far ahead of us. .Great decoration .. great function.. live concert.. rich people..extravagant dinner .. opulence personified and a mesmerising gift for all invitees.. had great time with all and the ambience of the hotel was electrifying…

Day 3

We planned to Nuwara eliya, the highest mountain range in Srilanka with mesmerising tea gardens, multiple Beautiful falls and the coolest place in Lanka via Kandy…Kandy is famous for temples, botanical garden, and gems.. we were lured by gems.. Precious and semiprecious gems both adorn the innumerable shops around the Kandy.. Gems are extracted from the land .. Anuradhapura.. by drilling vertically into earth and then making a L shape into the earth.. the stones are unearthed and brought into Kandy where they cut polish and make it glitter.. Blue sapphire is the costliest precious stone and it glitters beautifully..we had a glimpse of semi precious stones like amethyst,topaz,garnet, moonstone, cats eye and citrine. Kandy is the best place to buy gems and they do give certificate of authenticity.

And then we went to Nuwara Elliya and we crossed the Mahaveli river, the longest river in Colombo.On the way we saw another majestic falls .. Ramboda falls, who were like twin sisters.. falling from a great height..At one of view points, we could see Ramboda falls, Punewalla falls and mahaveli river, the longest river in Lanka originating from Nuwara eliya, all adding glitter to our eyes in the mountains.After passing through the Ramboda tunnel, headed into a resort from where we could dine at the reach of Ramboda falls.. Having placed the order, went near the falls and enjoyed its maganamity amid lush green mountains and had lunch at its gushing sounds.

After Ramboda falls, headed towards Nuwara by winding through the curvaceous mountains, reached the tea factory and saw how the tea was really made.. making tea entails nearly 10 processes and need great machines to produce seven grades of tea..the seven grades are OP ( orange pekoe).. the highest quality which has fine young wiry lengthy leaves that gives rich aroma and very light in colour .. this is of export quality and it takes longer time to brew..Next in quality is OPA,then pekoe, then BOP ( broken orange pekoe), BOPF ( broken orange pekoe fannings), and dust tea..we all drink only the left overs of OP .. which is of lowest quality.. yet it gives a rich colour and taste to our buds..After going through all the tea process, we had a cup of tea in second largest tea producing company .. that is blue field tea factory.., The biggest tea producing company is Damro.. which also is the main furniture company, is headquartered in Colombo.. Another leading company in sewing machines is Singer.. which is also based in Srilanka..

Yet with such large natural resources and huge companies and vibrant people and tall skyscrapers ,Srilanka went into recession and its LKR is abysmally low compared to USD and INR.. thanks to Rajapakse family who swindled everything from Lanka.. as per the comments from the local Sinhalese..The local people had high regards for Rajapakse family as they had decimated LTTE and Prabhakaran and let Lanka breathe free after years of insurgency and turmoil in Lankan heartlands.. but the massive corruption from the extended Rajapakse family had brought their downfall and in this election , the Rajapakse’s were defeated comprehensively in 23 out of 24 provinces .. and the locals expect the present communist government, the first in its history,to bring life back to Srilanka.. Everything is costly in Lanka.. one litre petrol costs Rs 330/-and yet , to my amusement, I saw all high end cars including Tesla and Benz and BMW veering past in the immaculate highways as well in the cities.. Toyato is the No1 brand and Srilankans have a penchant for buying all cars from all brands..you name a brand and that car just passes the highway.. no two people seem to buy the same car.. our Maruthi Alto costs 35 lakhs LKR and yet people buy all costly vehicles and there seems to be a huge craze for costly and sporty car.

Coming back to Nuwara,with hands shivering, legs trembling and teeth cluttering we entered the resort and took a nice rest as the tough trek was anticipated tomorrow in Horton plains..

Day 4

Today .. we started earlier by 6 AM.. the hotel people were gracious enough to give great breakfast in package for three of us to have it later during the trek..It was more than a hour travel to Horton plains base point.. on the way we could see Ambewala farm which has hundreds and hundreds of cow and vast grasslands stretching into many hectares..strawberry farms add colour to the grasslands.. and Pattipola… last village in Srilanka which also has the last railway station and then into Horton plains..

It was beautiful reaching Horton plains.. there was nothing.. end of the world.. we could see only Sambars freely roaming all around the huge vast lands of Horton plains..

Horton plains is the largest cloud forest in Srilanka and it is a UNESCO Heritage site. From the base point of Horton,after getting the entry pass,we had sumptuous breakfast brought from our resort. Then we had a security check to see any plastic in our bags and any other unwanted items and only then we were let off into plains.. It was a moderately difficult trek of around 9 kms.. and this plains could anytime become totally shrouded in fog ..climate could be the gamechanger and we were lucky to not get shrouded by clouds and rains.. we could see the world end,, that is called so because we could see the sea from that height and falls and parks and tea valleys..then we trekked to baker’s falls .. another mesmerising falls in full throttle. Then saw a dam and a point where the great Mahaveli river originates.. and then trekked back to plains ..

Then we went to Lake Gregory in Nuwara, a very huge lake in the midst of mountains all around..It was beautiful and in there we went for Jet skiing in the lake.. A very enthralling experience as the jet ski zoomed around the lake in jet speeds and I was struggling to hold to the jet ski at that speed and everyone there was amused and seemed to have mocked at us including our car driver..,”sikkinaan daa sekaru.”and somehow escaped from being thrown into the lake. It was a near fall into lake experience and if so, anyone would froze in that water. Happy to have survived at that painstaking yet fantastic ordeal.

Then , after having a delicious strawberry milk shake , headed to Ella.. another hill station. On the way, we had a glimpse at Seetha Amman temple.. presumed that Sita was here in Asokavanam and this is the place where Hanuman saw Seetha first ..Opposite to the temple was Sanjeevani mountain, it was told that Sanjeevani is still full of medicinal plants and Hanuman took the whole mountain in his shoulder for treating Sita’s illness.. Till the locals believe in medicinal properties of mountain and no visitors were allowed into that Sanjeevani mountain.

Day 5

Today we planned to cover a lot of places .. First and foremost is Nine arch bridge built in 1920s purely with brick and mortar and cement and no steel was used.. It was an architectural wonder and assigned an UNESCO heritage site..people usually take a train from Colombo to Ella via this bridge.. it is the most scenic route covering the valleys, mountains and tea fields in Lanka … but takes six to seven hours..just like our NMR and DMR..and people ask the vehicle to come to Ella and on return journey, they will take their car. And then , we saw Ravana falls, majestic ,cascading falls falling from huge heights,,As there were cyclone before and heavy inflow of water, we were not allowed to take bath in the falls.. but the view of falls was breathtaking.., Taking a detour , we went some 10 kms off-road to see another highest waterfall.. Dunhinda waterfalls..and it was so beautiful falling from almost 1000 feet above MSL..

we could not go to Adam’s peak.. another trek of 10 kms into the mountains which would take nearly seven hours.. we saw the peak from the plains itself and bid a bye to Ella ..

On the way to bentota, we saw udawalawe national park, the home of elephants..and the famous Hambantota board.. about 10 kms from the road we were travelling.. This hambantota village is the hometown of Rajapakse family.And he built an airport in Mattala, near to Hambantoota , which is of no use today for his personal use.. the locals say..

Now we headed towards Bentota, another wonderful beach village, the most famous of all beaches, because of it’s crystal clear waters where we could swim due to less tides..In addition, we could go for boating in Madhu river .

We went to Maadhu river for boating.. This river drains into Indian Ocean and we tried to go near the Ocean .. due to high tides , could not go near the ocean..Maadhu river is a rich Mangrove forests with lot of endemic Flora and rich fauna.. there were 45 islands in the Maadhu river.. we went to cinnamon island and saw cinnamon being made from the tree.. other islands that are unique are Snake island, which is full of snakes.. People catch large snakes from plains and leave it in this island.. other one is bird island where we could see thousands of birds during peak time and also many exotic birds coming..

And there is one island deep in the Maadhu river where 250 families live.. they have a iron bridge connecting their island to mainland in which only two wheelers could ply.. we saw two wheelers plying in the bridge as if they are flying in the road. Lot of crocodiles are there in Maadhu river and is totally unsafe to swim in that river..

After that river safari, we headed to Ahungalla sea turtle conservation and breeding place… largest in the world.. There are five types of turtles.. Green turtle and olive Ridley turtles which are seen in large numbers in India and Srilanka..other types being Hawksbill, loggerhead and Leatherback turtle, which is the heaviest and biggest of all types..

Here, in Ahungalla, they rear the injured and small turtles , which the local fishermen brought from their fishing nets and leave it to this centre..the small olive Ridley turtles , after being in captivity, were released slowly into beach in the late evening to avoid being eaten by the eagles and dogs..and finally we went into spice gardens and got free facial and knee massage with ayurvedic products.

Day 6

The final day of epic journey of Srilanka..in benota.. Initially, we planned to go to Mirissa beach, famous for whale watching… but due to lack of time and chances of seeing whales are less in last two days, we abandoned that Mirissa beach and let ourselves soak in the beautiful bentota beach and swam and enjoyed to the core in the island nation.

And after packing, we headed to southern expressway, the beautiful highway , with lush green plantations everywhere on either side of the road. We stopped in the highway, which is not allowed, to take a photo of beautiful Na trees, the national tree of srilanka.

Just kms before kattunayake airport in the southern expressway, saw Negumba beach and village.. it was as beautiful as bentota… people tend to stay here in negumba beach after a hectic visit before heading to their own country.The Europeans and Australians, who are main visitors, usually plan for three weeks to cover the entire srilanka from Jaffna in the north to Mattara in the south. They usually lease a tuk tuk for three weeks and drive through the length and breath of Srilanka.Anyone planning for Srilanka must have at least 10 days to enjoy the rich culture and biodiversity of Srilanka.

Bye bye lanka

An epic journey.., not only the journey was epic, the people who took to the north and south of Lanka were Epic travels.. we had a great time with their hospitality.. the special mention must be given to driver Indiga, who was not only a driver.. he became guide, friend and an excellent photographer and a needed companion also.. he was there everywhere., even during the strenuous trek in Horton plains..

Thank you Epic travels and epic Srilanka