Welcome to Sri Lanka!
This island off the coast of India has long been on my bucket-list for loads of reasons,
like having the best safari outside of Africa, boasting eight UNESCO World Heritage sites
to explore, and lots of lovely, gorgeous beaches complete with idyllic white sand and crystal
clear water that's perfect for surfing.
In fact, for an island about a ¼ of the size of the UK, there's loads to see and do, depending,
of course, on what you want out of your trip.
Coming up, I'm going to tell you about getting here, some tips on transport, then some stuff
on food, money and language and some awesome places to visit.
So, let's get on with it…
We flew 10 hours direct from Heathrow to Colombo, which is Sri Lanka’s capital city. Flights
arrive at Bandaranaike International airport, which is 30km north of the city.
Taxis are very cheap in Sri Lanka, and this can be the easiest, and certainly quickest
way to reach your destination from the airport. If you’re heading straight into Colombo
you can catch the express bus which takes about 25 minutes, but to be honest the taxis
are so cheap it’s a no-brainer.
To enter the country, you’re gonna need a visa. Now this can be done when you get
here, but, after ten hours in the air ..why bother with the extra admin!?
Get it done before you leave. Applications cost $35 and take around 24 hours to process.
Also, you’re gonna need to make sure that your vaccinations are up to date, like your
tetanus and typhoid. Check with your GP beforehand.
What do you need to know about public transport in Sri Lanka? Well, in all honesty, quite
a bit…
Public transport conditions aren't great, but are popular with locals as it's very cheap
Buses tend to leave when they’re full, so for anyone on a schedule we’d give them
a miss. Also, trains are often slower and less efficient
than simply getting a taxi. My advice: take anything described as luxury
or express with a generous pinch of salt.
The key thing in Sri Lanka is that your money goes a long way, for example our two-hour
taxi from Colombo to Unawatuna cost 9000 rupees, which is actually about 40 quid, so for this
reason we made the most of getting around with private car hire and tuk-tuks.
Hiring a driver to chauffeur you around is surprisingly affordable and, let's face it,
way more luxurious! It's also a big timesaver which is a massive a bonus.
The roads are in surprisingly good condition..
..just watch out for the tourists, the cyclists, the buffalo, stray dogs, and massive lizards
they all make it a little hair-raising at times.
We used Uber to navigate Colombo and Red Cabs for everywhere else.
Failing that you could always haggle for a tuk tuk, which are ideal for quick journeys.
There are a couple of things you need to know before you start off. Number 1 always agree
the price before settings off and number 2 be direct about where you want to go, don’t
settle for any detours or any other places they might want to take you.
Anyway, up next, here are some of my favourite things to do in Sri Lanka.
Unawatuna is loved by locals and tourists alike, and with palm trees, white sands and
blue waters, it's easy to see why it’s one of Sri Lanka’s most popular beaches.
Right behind the beach is a small shopping strip for souvenirs and restaurants...
… And Ladies, going topless on the beach is a definite no-no, and if you're a couple,
make the P in PDA stand for PRIVATE, not PUBLIC.
OK, Newsflash!!! Sri Lanka has the best safari outside of Africa since the country has one
of the highest rates of indigenous plants and animals in the world. Udawalawe National
Park is a personal highlight of mine and home to some 200 different species.
If you're looking for Elephants it's the best place to see wild ones, especially early in
the morning and later afternoon when they're avoiding the midday heat.
If you're looking for stunning views, and clichés about breathtaking scenery, take
a look at this...
Ella is gorgeous – really take the time to explore the area's natural beauty and ample
vista points.
Of course no trip to Ella would be complete without stopping by 9 arches bridge for a
selfie!! As you can see, the train, is super loud!!
We took the iconic 6 hour train journey from Ella to Kandy, and since we've already established
that you don't get trains for speed and convenience, it’s all about the views...
Fares are really cheap and upgrading to first class, with allocated seating and ceiling
fans, genuinely won't make a impact on even the most stringent of budgets, just bear in
mind that tickets can only be purchased on the day of travel, so arrive early to avoid
disappointment.
… Remember what I said earlier about having realistic expectations? Well... at one point
we passed through a storm and our first class carriage leaked. Bear in mind that Sri Lanka
has a tropical climate and this rain lasted for HOURS. Our seats and bags were soaked... So
yeah, the trains aren't comfortable but they're certainly an experience.
When you get to Kandy visit Sri Dalada Maligawa, or The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. It's
a beautiful, sacred temple that houses a tooth which belonged to the Buddha! To enter the
site, you’ll need to cover up appropriately and remove your shoes.
Dambulla is most famous for its epic rock cave temple which is filled with huge Buddha
statues. Here's some stuff you need to know about visiting this important holy place…
Posing for pictures with the Buddha is frowned upon because it's custom never to have your
back to him. As with all temples, Buddhist or Hindu, guests must be appropriately dressed
– take off your shoes and any headgear and make sure that legs and shoulders are covered.
If in doubt, follow the locals and do what they do.
Speaking of locals, these cheeky chaps will swipe even the most well-hidden snack, so
don't leave your bag unattended.
Also in Dambulla is Sigiriya, it’s an ancient temple at the top of a mountain carved out
of the bedrock. It’s also called Lion Rock because of the giant paws that guard the entrance
way. Now if tourists aren't your thing, and let's face it, they can be quite annoying,
you might want to check this out instead…
Pidurangala; It's less well known but offers stunning views of the main attraction. It's
also significantly cheaper at 500 rupees, rather than the 7,500 at Sigiriya, though
we’ll say the climb is definitely not for the faint-hearted. Go around 4:30 in the afternoon
and make it for sunset.
Polonnaruwa is divided in two parts: the new and the old, and it's the old town which is
made up of the ancient ruins of the royal city, which put me in mind of a Sri Lankan
equivalent to the Roman Forum in Italy.
It's a great place to pretend to be Lara Croft and spend the day exploring the hundreds of
ancient tombs, temples and statues.
This is colombo, what you need to know is it’s big and it’s busy. There’s lots
to see and do here but what’s great about it is you can start spending on your card,
there's uber to get around and there’s fast food restaurants that you might recognise
from home.
Fast-food isn't for everyone, so for something more authentic, this stop-over city is the
perfect place to sample traditional Sri Lankan cuisine.
Mmm… they’re really good.
Food is always a big appeal to my travels, and there's plenty of it here in Sri Lanka,
with my personal highlight being egg hoppers and a side of breathtaking view in Ella. Another
delight was the street food in Kandy…
So I’m here in a very noisy Kandy, just bought some street food from the market. Got
a really long journey later so I’m gonna snack on these on the way up, but I couldn’t
resist having a bite of this vegetable roll, it’s really good.
I met up with my friend Isuru to try some of his favourites...
And this here is Dhal and then Pol Sambol which is made out of of coconut scrapes, a bit of
lemon in it and some green chillies. So this is like the authentic Sri Lankan way, not
made for you, so be careful!
It’ll be spicy!
If you just show this to a Sri Lankan person as this, this will be like Sri Lankan breakfast.
Oh, ok.
Ah you’re having breakfast.
So breakfast.
But yeah, the more you add, like more items you add, the more you add like white rice
it could be like your lunch.
Ok, so the meals get bigger as the day goes on.
Yeah, yeah.
Wow.
We talked more about food and then Isuru taught me how to eat like a real Sri Lankan.
Like lower than this point, you shouldn’t touch food. So it’s like mostly you touch
from the top, yeah fingertips. My mother always like, you know, shouted at me if I, if I put
food like…
Dirty hands!
Yeah dirty hands. So that’s, that’s the only rule that is given by parents. So other
than that you can mix and match anything…
Ok.
…and eat it.
Does it matter what hand you use, I’m right handed?
So mostly, like people eat from right hand.
Like shake you hand?
Yeah. So right hand is good as your eating hand as well, yeah.
Ok.
That was really good. Mmm! It’s really spicy, it’s really tasty.
It’s really spicy and that’s one reason that I love it because I love spicy food.
Yeah it’s delicious!
Shall we carry on, but we’re gonna catch up in a little while to talk about some language.
Yeah!
So we’re gonna carry on eating and I’ll see you in a bit.
We do have two main languages which are Sinhalese and Tamil.
Sinhalese and Tamil.
Yeah Sinhalese is the most spoken language in Sri Lanka.
Karunakara is like please.
Karunakara.
But yeah, but you can use please also.
Please!
But then, thank you is a very nice thing to say all the time, so, stutiyi.
Stutiyi.
Yeah, stutiyi.
Stutiyi.
Yeah, you can make anyone happy by saying stutiyi.
I’ll remember that!
Yeah, stutiyi!
And then as in any country, we also do have a welcome phrase, which is called ayubuvan.
Ayubuvan.
Ayubuvan and when you say ayubuvan, you should like put your hands together and say ayubuvan
like with a little bow.
Ok.
Yeah.
So, ayubuvan.
Ayubuvan is like even, there are images in the airport and like many other places with
this sign which usually means ayubuvan or welcome.
Ok.
Yeah.
Ok.
And also, say, you know, mostly when a guy see’s another guy, you know there’s this
like phrase that we use called machang.
Machang.
Yeah.
Machang.
So, you can also say it like ‘Hey machang'.
‘Hey machang’.
So you get into a tuk-tuk, you say hi and then there’s the tuk-tuk driver in front
and you’re in the back and then you want to go straight first.
Ok.
So, you say kelin yanna.
Kelin yanna.
Perfect!
Kelin yanna.
So left please would be like vamata and dakunata.
Dakunata.
Yeah dakunata is to your right.
To your right.
Yeah, vamata and dakunata.
And then you can say also navatvanna. Navatanna is like stop. But that’s longer…
Ok.
…So if you just say like ‘Oh, oh’.
Oh… oh.
That’s stop… stop.
And how do I say goodbye?
It’s usually bye, but we say see you again would be nævata hamuvemu.
nævata hamuvemu.
Yeah.
So, on that note, stutiyi…
Stutiyi.
…And nævata hamuvemu.
Yeah, nævata hamuvemu.
There we go. Thank very much, thank you!
Fortunately, English is widely spoken and will be used in most public or commercial
environments.
Thanks again Isuru for you help… Now let's talk money.
The currency here is the Sri Lankan rupee. It’s a closed currency, which means you
can only get money when you’re here. Now you'll have to change it up but if you’ve
got Scottish or Irish pound notes, they won’t be accepted so bear that in mind.
One thing to remember is that cash is much more useful than your bank card, particularly
when you’re in more rural areas.
So here's a breakdown of what we spent:
Return flights with Sri Lankan Airways cost £468 per person
Worldwide travel insurance with Holiday Extras cost £16
3 hours in the No1 Lounge Heathrow, also with (you guessed it) Holiday Extras, cost £32
each a guest room in Dambulla cost £40 per night
This street food in Kandy was 145 rupees (that’s about 66p!)
This authentic Sri Lankan curry was 400 rupees One and half litres of bottled water costs
around 95 rupees. And while talking water, the bottle must be sealed and definitely don't
drink from the tap Entrance to the Cave Temple in Dambulla 1500
rupees Elephant safari at Udawalawe National Park
was 17000 rupees each
Donations, when visiting free religious sites we’d suggest 500 rupees
If you’re planning to spend your remaining rupees in duty free, bear in mind that they
only accept American Dollars, so make sure you change them up before going through security.
For up to date exchange rates you can check xe.com or download their app, and as our time
in Sri Lanka comes to a close make sure to subscribe for more awesome travel guides.
So that's it for Sri Lanka. I have had an amazing time. We’ve explored the country,
we’ve gone on safari and seen wild elephants, I’ve eaten far too much food and I’m now
gonna go home and tell all of my friends and family to do just come and do the same.
Anyway, on that note, I’m gonna go and I’ll see you next time. Bye bye!