Sri Lanka

In January 2019 I went to this little beautiful pearl just outside the southern part of India. Depending on season and ticket planning you can get here for around 4000-6000 sek.

There is also possible to book a charter ticket and get it even cheaper, but I´m not the charter ticket kind of guy even if it is cheaper. My flight was via Amsterdam and Bombay. It is definately possible to do a nice combo with India. Sri Lanka is magnificent, There is something for almost everyone. If you like party and loads of beer and pub crawls...choose another destination!In Sri Lanka you enjoy beautiful views, yoga paradise, vegetarian food, trekking, surfing and a lot of religous history.

The people are very nice and the country is widespread with access to good hostels. During high season it could be a very good idea to prebook at popular sites. My trip took part in the end of high season and sometimes it was a little hard to get accommodation for a bargin. I had a rough plan as always to se the ancient fort of Sigirya, the leopards in Yala and trekking in the mountains, and between all that there is much more.

After my landing in Colombo I decided to skip the capital and go directly to the middle of the Island and the city of Kandy. I jumped into a local bus that took me to the trainstation in Colombo and got lucky with a ticket with the rusty, charming train to my first destination.

The train tickets are very cheap. The tickets cost normally around 400 rupiah (2 euro), but during high season the tickets are hard to get because the local agent buy all the tickets and sell them for triple price (still cheap, but who wants to get scamed).Kandy has some pollution and was not the kind of city I thought it would be, but the Temple of Tooth is a must see and from Kandy there is a nice access to tea farms and Sigiryia.

With a shared taxi wich is a good choice to do a lot of things in short time I went up north and via hindu temples and vegetable markets it was finally there in front of me. Sigiriyia fortress. A 150m rock lying in nowhere with an ancient fortress on top. After all the stairs to the top you reach the stunning view and the time to soak in all the ruins to get a mind picture how it looked like many years ago. Make sure not go with shorts on daytrips or at least bring a sorong bacause at many temples you are not allowed to show shoulders or knees.

To continue the journey from Kandy if you decide to go south (as I did) there is only one option to make. The Train!!The train ride is amazing. Going on top of the mountains, on the mountain back, over old bridges and sitting in the doorway with your feet out. The train goes slow but thats the way you want it. It´s a lovely ride, especially just before the city of Ella.Make sure to do the stop in the middle and stay a night or two and hike to the top of Adams Peak and Horton plains. The base is good in Hatton or Nuwara Eliya. Ella feel like a must, from here you can do really nice hikes and also some awesome cooking classes. Top choice of cooking class, Matey Hut....do it!!

Ella is the place where everyone seems to want to stay an extra night because it is so relaxed and beautiful. But the real story in my eyes is that this place is becoming the partyplace (if there is one?). It´s loads of restaurants, bars and cafées on just a small street with a lot of traffic. But it is still beautiful and really good coffee. So maybe it is perfect after days of trekking and stunning nature just to come back and enjoy whatever you like in the small town.After the mountains I took the 3 hour bus to the south and Thissmaharama to take the visit in the largest national park in Sri Lanka, Yala. A one day of safari is enough to see the animals and if you are lucky also the leopard. I was but just a little due to the distance to the beautiful cat.

After Yala there is the next side of Sri Lanka...all the beaches. If you surf, this is a paradise. Easy access to the waves and also good for just taking a dip in the nice water to cool down. The beach hopping is easy. The roads are close, maybe to close sometimes and the buses are cheap and many. They drive totally crazy though.

I stopped first in Hiriketiya, and that was for me the best place as well. Small place, stunning beach, relaxed, good food, clean places. A little touristy but in a good way. You have to feel it yourself. Make sure to prebook the great hostel Dots bay (little pricey but really nice). Perfect place to relax a couple of days.I went further to another very nice place, Midigama and then further to Galle Fort. This is a place where mostly people just stop for a daytrip at this Unesco site, take a photo of the light house and maybe watch the Sunset. But I like this kind of rustic old towns. Good food, native people in a good mix of tourism. The Sunset is beutiful and a good spot to end my Sri Lankan trip. From Galle it is direct buses to Colombo airport twice a day and no problem to get a seat.

The Unesco world heritage site, the nice old town in city of Galle. Not to be missed. There are several affordable places to stay in the old town and that is the place to be. Enjoy the local food, the architecture and the sunset.

Many people is relaxing in the evening at the oceanside around the old lighthouse to enjoy the late evening and the beautiful sunset over the ocean.