From the cold 10 degree C mountains complete with rainy weather, to the spice gardens, to the city of Kandy and the traditional dances, to the ancient cities with Buda Sculptures circa 200 BC, Sri Lanka is a place for all. I didn't even get to see the golden and white sand tropical beaches, diving and snorkling, nor anything outside the centre of the island known as the "tear drop of India." In 5 short days I went from the Colombo airport to the ancient cites, Dambulla, Polonnaruwa, and stopped by for some food somewhere in between a for breakfast, lunch and dinner (oddly enough, the same meal of Dal, Chicken (or your choice of meat) Curry, and something they call hoppers (I call it carbs), all of which is really really HOT, breakfast included!).
From there I took my driver with me to Sigiriya (the picture below of me on the top of a rock). An amazing ancient fort/palace used for the royalty of the earlier years AD to hide out in anticipation of an attack. Strategically a nice pick, top of a huge rock with nothing but visibility on all sides. This is arguably one of the most beautiful sights in Sri Lanka for those with an appetite for the ancient, but none of my pictures really do it justice, so go check it out for yourself.
From there I made my way from the north center of the island to the middle, and second largest city of Kandy. All the feelings of a small mountain town (felt like home, Grenoble'esque), but with many people around crammed in a very small area.
Up till this point my mode of transport had been my own privately hired driver, but I wanted an adventure and to feel really free, so I took other modes, like bus, train, and Tuk Tuk (seen in the picture above).
This is where I hung out for the longest time in one place, two nights. It just felt like one of those places where after a hectic travel itinerary you can just relax and have some rest, see some cultured things, meet some great people, and eat some notoriously spicy food.
The Kandy Botanical Gardens were amazing. I spent half a day there, only to realize that some of my pictures weren't as perfect as I would have liked, and I missed an entire section! I did get to take a nice picture of the "Princess" below, and the picture of myself posing in the row of colors. It was probably my highlight day on the tour...inevitably when you travel from the desert and so much around you is fake and/or yellow (sand), the best time can be in the subtle rainy botanical gardens with all the lush colors and wildlife. Especially for a northern Michigander and nature enthusiast like myself.
From there I took flight with my newfound Canadian travel mate Keith (from Edmunton) who joined me on a 4 hour, 80 km all-the-way-up the side of the mountains train ride up to 2300 meters through tea country (Ceylon tea is how Sri Lankan is known).
We finally reached our destination (and my final one for the trip) of Nuwara Eliya. This beautiful city was so cold I had to buy a Columbia Pull over to keep me warm. It isn't expected that during my stay in Dubai I would experience 10 Degrees C as a norm throughout the day. This is where we got to see the World's End, which will be a story left for my next entry...stay tuned for some good times :).
All in all, I'd say I have to agree with travellers when I hear stories referring to Sri Lanka as "Paradise." Fortunately I still left a lot of the Island undiscovered, including the Tsunami affected coast, beaches, and Tamil dominated area around the north and north-east. Perfect as I say, you always have to leave something worth coming back for in such an amazing country. Although for Sri Lanka, I would say this isn't necessary because the bright smiles of this poverity stricken country's people and their kindness and interest in tourists is enough to keep me coming back.
