Sri Lanka 6

Unbelievably my time here is nearly at an end. I hope I have been able to convey some of the magic of this place in my blogs

If you have enjoyed it or it has been interesting, or you just want to stay in touch, mail me at bigmikeontour@gmail.com

In conclusion I offer you some  thoughts and handy tips for a Sri Lankan visit

-          HISTORY

Too much for me to deal with here, many world Heritage sites each of which could occupy a life time of study. Many unique historical places coupled with very important religious sites for Hindu and Buddhist followers. You will never get bored if this is what floats your boat

-          FOOD

Do sample the local cuisine everywhere – in particular the fish alters quite a lot according to where you are- and eat like a local for maximum payback, (pizza and chicken and chips is not what you come here for) even going as far as discarding cutlery and  eating with your fingers.

 

Their food is naturally quite hot (chilli wise) which I love, but if you ask, most places will tone it down for you.

Village food has been the highlight for me, roadside pull ins, places that usually just cater for locals using traditional open hearth fires with clay pots serving  great food, and it can be embarrassingly cheap.

Breakfast of ‘rice and curry’ sounds a bit weird but here it is normal although the rice is normally string hoppers, tasty rice noodles. Today it was hoppers, roti  (like a chapatti), 3 small bowls of potato, lentil and fish curries and a coconut sambal,( fresh grated coconut, chilli, onion and lime juice), followed by fresh fruit, fresh coffee, and toast to follow, all for less than £3.50 !!

Tonight a delicious whole baked fresh fish, pineapple and chilli salad and chips, 4 beers £10

-          GETTING ABOUT

Personally I would not be happy driving here without some considerable exposure to what goes on, it is wild!

Get a driver who knows how things work and can guide you and advise you, but, you get what you pay for and mine was not cheap It wil take away a lot of hassle and save a lot of time on public transport which is not too bad but quite basic, very full and leaves you dying for a shower

 City driving is crazy as I have referred to before, but rural can be just as worrying especially with what you might encounter, especially at night.  

The post war government  has spent billions on new road construction and a lot of it is excellent but they are also undertaking massive road renovation, and this is ongoing - and when they go for it it is all or nothing,

The A12 is approximately 120kms of roadworks!!! It took about 5 hours to cover and was like negotiating Port Stanley airport after it had been carpet bombed and then covered in red powder paint.

Fed up with the air con I had opened the window of the car for some fresh air......bad move........ a bus  steamed past before I had time to close the window and left us looking like two tomatoes. Edward was not amused!

WILDLIFE

Everything from multicoloured termites to whales, swarms of butterflies to eagles, an unbelievable diversity in keeping with the range of climates and vegetation here

My experience with wildlife on the road has been that most dogs, cats, goats, monkeys and birds will get out of the way, but do look out for mongoose, peacocks and large monitor lizards, who seem to consider themselves a bit posh and expect you to wait!

 Slow down and most cows will move, maybe a little beep on the horn will help.

Water buffalo get a bit more respect as they will seriously dent your Toyota and tend to move at their own pace and do as they please- we met one standing in the middle of the road before dawn one morning, only just seeing him in time to stop, about 25 yards in front of us, they are seriously big chaps,

And elephants.......yes..... ELEPHANTS.....  although not easy to do....don t panic,  leave the area with as little fuss as possible.....in reverse if necessary..........!! !if they are in a bad mood this can be a big problem

There is quite a large wild elephant population here and the control seems to be by electric fences, but  particularly at dusk you may well see one on the roadside or even in the road. I saw two one evening, one causing  traffic mayhem, as he wandered around on the highway, the other on a grass verge, a little bewildered at the fuss he was causing as cars pulled over to photograph him. You stay at your peril as they are easily spooked and quite capable of turning a mini bus full of people over if angry

We stopped to buy fruit at a roadside stall on a side road we took as a shortcut, and I was admiring a treehouse that looked newly built. I was told that it was the ‘safehouse’ where the family of 6 had spent the last few nights, as elephants had been around the house after dark and if they had been startled by noise inside the house they could quite simply smash the house so the family feared for their lives at the moment and had moved out to sleep where it was safer......staggering!

VARIOUS

-          If you intend to wash your own gear, bring a plug, they are very rare beasties in mid range accommodation, alternatively most places will arrange cheap laundry service

-          (One for the chaps)  Bring a ‘harp’ toothpick. Putting your Asian adapter into the mains is very difficult as the top (earth) hole, internal cover, prevents it going in. Locals use a key!!! My suggestion prevents pushing a metal object into a plug socket which is a bit of a result

-          Be aware that tipping is expected but not expensive ‘100Rs (50p) for carrying a bag, 200Rs for a waiter if service charge is not included, 500Rs if you are very impressed by someone would be acceptable’, was advice to me from a local .... I tended to double it

-          At every site of interest you will find beggars and hawkers. They are persistent but no threat. Speak in Welsh, even if it is gibberish, refuse to recognize English and they go away

-          Mosquitos, but very few other bugs or crawlies, live here, If out after dusk ask for a mosquito coil to be lit under the table.

-          Many ATM s are rubbish and will cause your card to block for 24 hours I found Commercial Bank to be the best

-           My pants!! There was much hilarity pre tour about my research and quest for the ultimate tropical underwear. I can now state officially that it was all worth it. I have trialled my usuals by way of a comparison and the new ones are so much more comfortable in hot weather FANTASTIC buy, Ex Officio are the way forward

-          AND FINALLY

Book more time than you think you will need it if you want to learn about this wonderful place, although quite a small island on the map there are so many things to see and do.  If you just want to laze in the sun that is very do able as they sure get a lot of it, but it might be considered by some a wasted opportunity Doing quite as much as I have done has been  unrelenting, but so rewarding

It is as diverse an island as you could imagine ranging from desert like scrub to towering mountains, thousands of acres of un-navigated ‘jungle’ and even more under the many crops including coconuts, bananas, pineapple, rice, tea, coffee, rubber etc etc...honestly the list is endless.

There are enormous lakes, sea lagoons, spectacular beaches and stunning waterfalls but for the most part it is very green and teeming with wildlife

There are a lot of poor people here and you wonder how many of them survive, but almost without exception I have found everyone courteous, helpful, interested, extremely polite and what will remain with me ..... always smiling

I will remember Sri Lanka very fondly and certainly plan to return

 Next stop New Zealand, but I can t see this amount of blogging continuing!!

A few more photos from the nearly 500 I have taken, they are not that easy to get on line with poor internet and videos ( of which I also have 200+!) are very problematic. I hope these are successful..