The Travelling Life of Silvan Colani
April 2006 - Sri Lanka (cont.)
Next day we were on a four-hour drive south, first along beautifully winding roads through endless tea plantations, then out of the valley into large shaded forests and eventually back into lower altitudes with more tropical climate and vegetation. The drive was beautiful apart from our guide intermittedly telling me to “slow down”, “be careful”, “honk at the bend” and “don’t get us killed” – all while I was driving at my most sensible (especially compared to the local road users who often had little respect for neither the laws of traffic, nor the laws of physics in some crazy cases!)
In the afternoon we were taken on a trek through the Sinharaja Forest Reserve, a stretch of rainforest that is home to 147 specie of birds. (“Look! It’s the Green Beat-eater!!!”) I don’t know what it is with birds in this country, but I much prefer a monkey or an elephant (“Look! That monkey has a white butt!!!”)
Overnight at the Boulder Garden, a strange eco-resort built into and under some huge rocks. I say “strange” because for an “eco-resort” it had a Jacuzzi and a TV in a room with terribly tacky furniture. Weirdest of all was, as we switched on the TV next morning we saw our travel agent on “Good Morning Sri Lanka”. Apparently aside from his travel agent business he also writes, produces and co-hosts this daily program!
Another three-hour drive through beautiful countryside brought us back to the west coast, near the beach resort of Bentota, from where we headed south to our final destination – Galle. A historical city at the southern tip of Sri Lanka, Galle was an important trading port established by the Dutch in the 17th century. The most prominent part is the 36-hectare Galle Fort, built by the Dutch in 1663 and which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Fort, while crumbling in some places, is in excellent shape and you can do a pleasant walk along the perimeter of its walls. Looking down into the sea from the various bastions of the Fort, we caught a glimpse of a small baby shark as well as numerous turtles feeding at dusk. As the sun slowly sets on the horizon in spectacularly colorful fashion you can watch the local youngsters showing off their cricket skills inside the walls of the Fort.
Inside the Fort life seems stuck in another century. There is a collection of fantastic old buildings and churches dating back to the Dutch era. Some are beautifully restored while others are crumbling and overgrown but full of character. Because we visited during the Singhalese and Tamil New Year the streets inside the Fort were eerily quiet, adding to the otherworldly charm of the place. We stayed at another great boutique hotel, the Fort Printers, an exquisite building from 1825 that used to house a bank, a college and most recently a printing company. It only has five rooms and a pleasant courtyard with a small lap pool.
Another superb place inside the fort is the Amangalla, the former New Oriental Hotel, painstakingly renovated and upgraded by the Aman Group. The rooms are bright and airy with huge windows overlooking the harbor, but prices are steep (US$ 450++ for the cheapest room!!!)
5kms from Galle lies Unawatuna, a decent beach with numerous guesthouses and small restaurants. The beach isn’t quite as picturesque as those in Thailand or the Philippines, but it is a good enough place to unwind for a day after ten days of criss-crossing the country. Walking along the beach on our way back from lunch, Mei was caught out by a strong wave and pushed against a couple of rocks. Fortunately she suffered only a few minor cuts and bruises (and a damaged ipod and mobile phone) but it was a reminder of the power of nature in an area that was significantly affected by the tsunami.
Although Galle faces south-west (i.e. not directly in the path of the tsunami), the damage caused by the massive waves is still clearly visible along different stretches of the coast line. Also, at the hotel they had a photo album with pictures of the “day after” with upturned buses floating around the center of Galle. Apparently some of the vehicles were swept all the way to India!
On our final day we decided to take the train back to Colombo, as we had given our driver the weekend off since it was both the local New Year and Easter. Also, we enjoyed having some time to ourselves and traveling more independently.
Maybe it wasn’t the smartest decision. The train was packed full when it arrived in Galle and nobody seemed to get off. So we squeezed in with our two bags of luggage and made ourselves “comfortable” in the doorway between two carriages for the three-hour ride to Colombo. Numerous additional people crammed in along the way and I counted at least fifteen people in the little doorway alone – some of them simply clinging to the outside of the train. But at least we had a decent view: out the “door” (there weren’t any) on the left we had a fantastic sea view as the train line moves along the ocean shore for most of the trip. Inside the carriages it was less scenic, as fruit and snack vendors tried to climb their way through the tangled mess of people and luggage.
Arriving in Colombo after what felt like an eternity on the rickety old train we decided to check in to the Hilton Hotel for a couple of hours since our flight would only leave late at night. Colombo was surprisingly quiet (due to the holidays) as we went on a brief shopping trip to Odel’s, where you can get designer labels at cheap prices (thanks to local overproduction; garments are Sri Lanka’s biggest export)
The old “fort” part of Colombo has an understated charm to itself, in a curious mixture of old and new buildings along the open sea. There is a strong and visible military presence all over the sensitive parts of the capital, providing a pointed reminder of the ongoing conflict between the government and the Tamil Tigers (LTTE). While we were never directly affected by the conflict during our entire journey, it is obvious that it puts an unnecessary damper on the economy in general and tourism in particular.
For dinner we were invited to the Royal Colombo Golf Club (the second oldest outside Britain) by a local friend of a friend. Our conversations over dinner confirmed my initial impressions of a young, well-educated and sophisticated urban middle class that is full of potential. And if it wasn’t for the holidays, I was assured there is an excellent nightlife in Colombo, too.
Overall, Sri Lanka is a destination that I can highly recommend to any traveler. The country offers an intriguing variety of history, culture, natural scenery and wildlife that can easily be explored in a 10-day trip. But to get the most out of your visit, I strongly recommend to pay the extra money and “stay in style” at some of these fantastic boutique hotels, which are a unique and highly rewarding experience in themselves.
Useful information:
Lonely Planet: Sri Lanka – I know, I know - everybody uses it... Some stuff is outdated, but it's still my favorite.
www.travelonlanka.com (ask for Kevin Gauder)
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