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[Music] we recently spent an entire month exploring the amazing island nation of Sri Lanka
a country rich in history culture and natural diversity although we tried to do as much research
as possible before visiting nothing prepared us for what ended up being the trip of a lifetime if
you've ever heard someone say traveling changed me and thought to yourself what do they mean by
that well we're here to tell you that our trip to Sri Lanka made a lasting impression on us one
that will ultimately change our way of thinking forever if you read the news reports about Sri
Lanka you will no doubt hear about the Civil War that ended in 2009 the growing issues with the
economy and civil unrest and protests that have plagued the country since 2021 this is the latest
video from the Sri Lankan government showing what it says is another victory in its 25-year fight
with the Tamil tiger Rebels SRI L but what you may not hear is just how beautiful and inviting
the people of Sri Lanka are to foreigners visiting their country we've traveled all over the world
in the past 2 years and I've met some of the most amazing people along the way but Sri Lanka had to
be the most welcoming country we've ever visited the local people will literally greet you with
open arms and welcome you into their Community as one of their own so with that being said here
is our ultimate travel guide to what is known as the pearl of the Indian Ocean Sri [Music] Lanka
before we get into today's episode we just want to say a big thank you to Surf shark for supporting
our Channel and sponsoring this video if you've been watching our channel for a while you would
know that we've been using surf shark VPN since the day we started our travels it's been a game
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shark for for supporting our Channel and thank you guys for listening now let's get into the
episode Columbo when flying to Sri Lanka you will land at Columbo International Airport which is
located about 40 minutes north of the city center but don't worry as public transport is generally
on the more affordable side well it's super simple to book a taxi upon arrival if you want to save
time and money you can actually get an Uber from the airport to your hotel for just under to make
it even easier we use Olaf eim when traveling which gives us an active Data Network as soon
as we touch down making it even easier to book an Uber right at the arrival gate alternatively
at the airport there are SIM cards available just right outside the baggage collection area
and you can expect to pay as little as $10 for 30 days of unlimited data using a local company
called dialogue this is a great option if you're planning an extended trip Columbo is the bustling
capital of Sri Lanka and the most populated city in the country located on the coast of the Indian
Ocean it is not only the epicenter of business and trade but has many cultural monuments that
can be viewed in a single day by Tuk Tuk we used Capital tours as our local guide to Columbo who
picked us up from our hotel in a convertible Tok Tok with drinks and snacks provided our
driver kavit was extremely knowledgeable on the city having lived there his whole life a herbal
potato herbal potato okay why is it so big uh we don't know M so he took us to many different areas
of Columbo including the spice District the famous Marine Drive and showed us all the old historical
buildings in the city including Dutch and English Colonial sites as well as ancient temples churches
and mosques but no trip to Columbo would be complete without tasting some of the amazing food
the city has to offer Capital tours also offer an authentic street food tour where you will get to
taste all of the local cuisines in one night just make sure you have an appetite cuz you'll need it
we stayed at two different hotels during our time in Columbo the first one being the grand Bell
Hotel Columbo which had an amazing view of the city and the ocean we also stayed in Pearl Grand
Hotel in Columbo which was a more budget option and not so fancy but it was actually really good
value for the location and the rooftop pool next stop is Sri Lanka's beautiful South Coast where
you can visit pristine beaches and national parks all in the same day getting to the south coast is
super simple using the public train one of our favorite parts about Sri Lanka is the incredibly
scenic train rides and this is the first of a couple trains that we will recommend riding
while you're here first class train tickets are as low as $7 per person to get from Columbo to
Gul which is where we recommend you spend at least a few days checking out the famous Gul Fort an Old
Dutch Colonial settlement on the water that has been extremely well preserved and even survived
the tsunamis of 2004 we wish we would have known before arriving in Gul about all the amazing cafes
and restaurants located at Gul fort because we would have allowed for more time to spend the
whole day there because there's just so much to see and do so we recommend you do that there's
also beautiful Fields where locals seemed to like to play cricket and have picnics in the grass and
there was cows wandering around and it was just a really Pleasant place to spend time we also
recommend checking out the Maha modara sea turtle Hatchery where you can see the great work they're
doing to help preserve these beautiful creatures the cost to enter the sanctuary was about $4 each
continuing your journey down the coast you can rent a Tuk Tok to drive the rest of the way using
tuktok rentals.com making your experience in Sri Lanka all the more authentic taking in the
breathtaking scenery while having some access to the best parts of the country on three wheels Tuk
to rentals will take care of everything for your journey including delivering your Tuk Tok to your
accommodation making you feel comfortable driving the Tuk Tuk before you take off and even getting
you sorted with a local license so the place won't bother you the cost of the license is just $50 and
is a requirement when renting from them the rental of the Tuk Tok was also about $18 per day you can
also add on having like an esy or having a speaker there's plenty of different options to make your
Tuk Tok Journey more comfortable believe it or not we managed to fit all of our luggage plus
two of us and a speaker in this tiny little Tuk Tok and driving it was much easier than
we thought it made our trip that much better having our own transport and having the Tuk
Tok made the trip for us honestly we really recommend experiencing this at least [Music]
once the next stop on the south coast is a cool little surf town of wellig Gama which feels sort
of like a throwback to 1980s Bali before it became a little bit more overdeveloped and
westernized here you'll find some of the best beginner surf spots in Sri Lanka as well as
many y yoga studios and healthy cafes there's not really a huge party scene in welli Gama
so if you're looking for nightlife then this probably isn't the place for you but it's a
great place to chill out even when you're not a surfer and the vibe is really chill
and peaceful and we really liked it we aren't really big Surfers but if we're going to head
somewhere to learn I think this would be the place it looked like the going rate for a surf
lesson was about $20 and there were plenty of people of all ages learning how to surf at the
main Beach on wama we also loved going to yoga at hangtime hostel just across the street from
the main Beach for $6 each and watching people serve from the balcony our favorite beach near
weligama was Jungle Beach but be weary of your personal items on the beach as pig pocketing
is quite common in the area as we were warned continue your journey along the south coast up
towards yala national park with quick stopovers at hiri Keta Beach all the way up to tissamaharama
where you can spend a day exploring the massive Temple and begin your journey to yala National
Park but beware of elephants if you happen to cross one like we did wait for a bigger vehicle
to help guide you past the animal and remember do not feed the wild [Music] elephants around
2 hours north of yala National Park is a cute little Mountain Village of Ella where there's
an abundance of cafes restaurants and beautiful homestays set up on the high hills with views
of the waterfalls and famous Ella Rock expect to pay anywhere between 20 $40 per night for
a fully equipped Airbnb don't forget to visit the Instagram worthy 9 Ares bridge where you can watch
the train traveling through the breathtaking scenery up to four times a day it's completely
free to visit but make sure you wear the right shoes to avoid slipping down the very steep
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descent after a few days in Ella we decided we wanted to take the train through the mountains
to head to our next destination which thankfully tuktok rands.com has a service where a local will
drive our Tuk Tok for us and meet us at the next destination and I'm so glad we did this because
the train ride was so scenic and we got to eat fruits and nuts from locals up the mountains it
was just a really special experience our next stop where we met our Tuk Tuk and the driver after the
beautiful mountain train ride is the quiet Town known as little England noira alah which is a tiny
little mountain town set on a huge Lake and as the name suggests draws very close similarities to the
English Countryside if you love tea then this is the place for you with hundreds of tea plantations
in the area you can be sure to find a great cup of tea here beside a warm fireplace and yes it
does get very cold here believe it or not so make sure you pack the right clothing for the journey
a rain jacket definitely wouldn't hurt also we stated beautiful cozy little cottage called The
Tea Garden where we paid just $35 a night for a room in a shared house we ate dinner at a super
cool local restaurant called temperatu which was a real Vibe and it had some delicious local food
as well as great music and a fireplace next stop on your trip will be the second largest city in
Sri Lanka candy to be completely honest we didn't love the city of candy it wasn't our favorite just
after spending time in smaller towns we realized we enjoyed ourselves more in laid-back atmosphere
of Sri Lanka but that was just our preference if you're a city person you definitely would like
candy although we did really enjoy visiting the famous Buddhist temple of the tooth which was a
great experience and you can couple your trip to the temple with a viewing of the local cand
on dance performed by local artists for just $10 per person at 5:00 p.m. every night right outside
the temple a couple nights in candy is long enough as the best of Sri Lanka is yet to come
sigara and Habana probably the most iconic stop on any Sri Lankan itinerary is the well-known
UNESCO world heritage site of sigara sigara is a ancient Rock Fortress located near the town
of dula in the central province of Sri Lanka it is a site of historical and archaeological
significance that is dominated by a massive column of granite approximately 180 M High On Top of the
Rock is an ancient city consisting of Buddhist settlements and rock shelters however there's
a rather large fee of $30 to enter the site we decided to climb the padur gala rock at Sunrise
to get an amazing view of the rock as well as the surrounding Landscapes we were told by many locals
that this alternative is just as good if not better than climbing the rock itself and with an
entrance fee of only $3 it was certainly much more affordable for us and less crowded as [Music] well
there are many hotels and airbnbs close by to the Rock itself we decided to stay in a nearby town
of Habana where we got to experience a local hom stay with a beautiful Sri Lankan family
at bis Villa the mother of the family cooked us all of our meals for 4 days including some
great local organic dishes all of which were sour straight from their backyard and nearby
Farms it was so delicious this was truly an amazing experience for us and really capped
off the entire trip not only did they take the time out of their day to show us around the
village but they even took us to the local temple so we could experience the Buddhist
holiday of Pua the once a month holiday where the whole country shuts down to reflect and
live peacefully without any distractions so don't be surprised if you can't buy alcohol
or go out to your favorite restaurant on POA day which falls on the full moon of every
month
all in all we truly loved our experience in sh Lanka the Simplicity of the way of life here
made us realize just how amazing this country is we would highly recommend anyone who might
be on the fence about visiting this country to give it a chance you will not regret it if you
have any tips for Sri Lanka fire them down in the comments and if you found this video
helpful at all please hit the like button and consider subscribing to our channel so
we can continue making helpful videos videos like this one for you thank you so much for
watching and we will see you as always in the next one [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music]
bye [Music]