Travel Information About Sri Lanka

[mcbride]

My wife and I are thinking about visiting Sri Lanka, but know absolutely nothing about it, and haven't made up our minds yet if it is a descent place to visit.. I would like to ask a few questions to the people on this forum who have traveled or have lived there. We are average middle aged travelers. No flames please, as we are serious about going there if it is an interesting place to visit.

1. Is Sri Lanka a nice place to visit ? What is your opinion of it?

2. Is it dangerous?

3. Is November a good month to visit?

4. Is one month too long a visit?

5. What hotel and area do you recommend we stay in Colombo? Our hotel budget is approx. $75 a day.

6. What places, towns or cities should we see?

7. Any other information or advice you have or think I should know?

Thank you for any information or advice

[ballzafire]

(note to the mods: This topic should really be moved to the S.E. Asia forum...)

I was just there (early Sept).

To answer your questions:

1. How do you define "nice"? It's still somewhat third-world, if that's what you mean, but still worth a visit, IMO. I found the food to be generally unappetizing, tho, but then one has to remember that experiencing odd local foods is part of the adventure. Even in Colombo near the train station it was hard to find a restaurant serving what I would call a "balanced meal." Very limited menus, let's just say...

My primary purpose for this trip was cultural, anyway, and I must say I was not disappointed. I did the Colombo -> Dambulla Buddha Caves -> Sigiriya Lion Rock (!) -> Anuradhapura Ancient Ruins -> Colombo circuit in about a week. (I skipped Polonaruwa due to time constraints and the fact that's its ruins are not very old compared to Anuradhapura and was advised by my guide to pass it up if pressed for time. So I did).

If your plane arrives early (My AirAsia KUL -> CMB flight arrived at 07:15am), here's what you might do:

Take free airport shuttle to Awariwatta station, then pick up bus 187 or minivan to Colombo bus station (these will also stop at Fort Train Station, too). Then ask when is the next bus to Dambulla. Overnight at guest house in Dambulla, then it is strongly recommended you visit the caves EARLY (they open at 7am; 10 USD; about 1.5 hours visit time) before the heat and crowds, then go back into town, have lunch, then wait for the next bus to Sigiriya. Then overnight in Sigiriya or, if you arrive by mid-day or 1pm, you will still have time to visit the museum first and then starting around 2pm begin your exploration of Sigiriya (25 USD) and still be able to finish by 6pm closing time. Both of these sites require a little climbing but it is well worth it. Then take early morning bus from Sigiriya back to Dambulla and catch next bus to Anuradhapura to visit the ruins there (25 USD) . Note that you can also purchase a combo entrance-fee deal (50 USD) if you want to explore the big three (Sigiriya, Polonaruwa, and Anuradhapura) which many people do.

By far and away, Sigiriya is an absolute MUST-SEE. Unique in all the world (did you know that, during its heyday in the 5th Century A.D, when Sigiriya Lake began to fill during the rainy season, the conduits they built from the lake to the water gardens below created natural, gravity-driven foundations? Is that COOOL or what?) And don't let the climb discourage you, either. Just take it one step at a time and you'll eventually have your reward of the stunning views from the top as well as be able to explore the old palace grounds up there. I don't have time to go into all that Sigiriya is about so I recommend reading up on it as much as you can first. Better yet, do some reading AND visit their free museum on-site there before your climb to get an adequate background on the place.

Suggestions for where to stay for the budget traveler:

Dambulla: Saman's Guest House and Restaurant, Matale Rd (right down the street from Dambulla Buddha Caves; upstairs rooms 800 rupees; serves chicken curry for 350 rupees; friendly staff; nice little fruit stand across the street where you can supplement your diet)

Sigiriya: Flower Inn, Sigiriya access road (800 rupees, two double-bed front room; 1000 rupees for LARGE two double-bed rooms toward the back; friendly staff; serves only vegetarian curries and related dishes; clean rooms)

Anuradhapura: The Grand Tourist Holiday Resort (and restuarant), Harischandra Mawatha (1000 rupees and up; friendly staff; near the lake with a view of the famous Mihintale Buddhist Relics from the upstairs restaurant; accepts credit cards)

I also received advice from locals as well as some internet sources that both Tricomalee in the north and Hikkaduwa in the south are both nice beach resort areas to visit, particularly Hikkaduwa which is popular with westerners due to the decent surfing found there. Unfortunately, I was unable to visit either of these places due to time constraints (I had actually just purchased a train ticket to Hikkaduwa from Colombo on my second to last day but they canceled that particular train at the last minute due to some poorly-planned track work, and anything later would have not been worth the ride down there for only a half-day stay. So, I had to forgo the visit. Argh! Oh well, maybe next time...)

2. Is it dangerous? Not that I could tell. Just be vigilant with your valuables like you would anywhere else.

3. November should be fine.

4. One-month? You might get bored. After you visit the key cultural sites, all that's left is to lounge around on the beach...

5. For regular hotels, I recommend to just check web resources. But one suggestion: avoid the Good Wood Airport Hotel. That place is on its last legs. Stayed there one night and regretted it...

6. (see above)

7. Drink only bottled water and make use of the mosquito nets!

[ballzafire]

re: natural, gravity-driven foundations...

Er, slight typo there. That should say fountains, obviously...

[hekra]

"4. One-month? You might get bored. After you visit the key cultural sites, all that's left is to lounge around on the beach... "

I lived in Sri Lanka for about 5 month.

There are many more nice and interesting places to visit!

Ella... Candy... the beautiful beach in Unawatuna... the natives called "Weddas"... the biggest laying Buddha... have a look at travel guide!

Bisides now you are free to travel all over the beautiful island, as the war is finally over!

The only incovenient thing are the beggars! They somtimes get very ugly, if you stop given rupies to them.

The prices are far too high for whatever they offer.

[tig28]

Several years ago my Australilan wife and I visited SL. We were to stay for a 6 weeks. The plan was to travel around the (small) country ....... select the places we liked best and return for extended time to that/those places.

We had a driver/guide (surprisingly inexpensive) which helped in those initial travels. After about 2 weeks weeks we surrendered ......... canceled the rest of the trip and flew over to Thailand. God bless Thailand! My wife's first visit.

I remember reading a comment in one of the guide books I read prior to the trip. (wish I had listened)

"As rice is one of the staples in SL it is surprising they don't know how to cook it!"

Obviously there were some places and people in SL we enjoyed ---- but if you offered to pay my way to return I would respectfully decline. Sorry --- but true --if you go I hope you find it better than we.