A Trip to Sri Lanka
The trip started wt packing up all my stuff from my place in Boracay and put it in storage. Since the wind was only good in the mornings for the last few days, I had enough time to do it.
We took the 2GO night ferry from Caticlan direct to Batangas, which is 2h bus ride away from Manila. We got a nice upgrade on the ferry to a private cabin, which is actually just 300php more than the usual tourist class and well worth it. I donno why u cannot choose this cabins at the online booking, u just have to be quick when u enter the boat and ask at the front desk about an upgrade.
There are plenty of busses waiting in Batangas which go to all parts of Manila.
We left the luggage in the airport and spent the whole day in Manila around the Fort area killing time to get on the night flight to Kuala Lumpur.
At the check in we had a to do some luggage shufflin from one bag to another till it all fit in…80KG.
The KUL LCCT (Low Cost Carrier Terminal) is exactly what it says. Everything reduced to a minimum. We had to spend 5h in the terminal and found a corner somewhere on the floor beside hundreds of other travellers.
Finally we made it to Lanka, bit sleepy but happy that we made it. Mischi reserved a hotel for us in Negombo and we went to take some more sleep before heading out into the city. We met Mischi at the Dolce Vita café on the beach and made some plans for a homemade dinner at his house.He prepared a very nice dinner for us and we had some yummie strawberries wt yoghurt for desert.
The next day we planned to take a train to the mountains towards the Cultural Triangle. Dilsiri and Leo came over to pick up our kite gear to bring it straight up to Kalpitiya, so we could travel a couple days over the mountains wt light backpacks.
So in the Negombo train station we bought a ticket to Anuradhapura, second class. When the train arrived it was already overflowing wt people, getting into the train was barely possible, but soaking hot. We decided to get back out and book the next train instead which had a more expensive but exclusive 1st class wt aircon , WiFi and tv! It was too hot to wait in the station for the departure so we took a ride to the Hilton hotel in town for some AC and a cold beer.
The train ride was amazing and very comfy, well worth the extra cash. A 5h journey through rice fields, little towns, 50s style train stations, tropical forest and an amazing sunset.
The hotel in Anuradhapura was a French guesthouse wt very clean rooms and friendly owners. We rented some bikes and took a ride around town, since this is the best and cheapest option to go to all different kinds of sacred places, temples and ruins.
First stop was the sacred Bo Tree, the tree itself is not really an eye catcher or especially old or big. The most interesting part is actually all the praying pilgrims wandering around the tree in the middle of the temple area and the hundreds of flags waving in the wind.
The second stop was a temple close by the tree. After this we decided that it was too hot to go any further and to go back to the hotel pack up our stuff and leave for Dambulla wt a local bus.
Dambulla has also some great temples and ancient ruins to see. Everything is free for locals and it cost a fortune for foreigners. 30$ to climb a rock, 25$ to see a few temples. We found a hostel right beside the golden Buddha, is called Saman’s resto and guest house. The owner is a very lovely old man and he serves some relly good Srilankan curry. It is a big pot of rice in the middle and a lot of smaller things around it. We had some spicy chicken curry, lentil curry, banana flower, coconut rasp wt spring onion, baby jack fuit, water spinach, cabbage and some flower starch crackers.
We passed by the golden Buddha and climbed the stairs up to the cave temple to enjoy the view.
The next morning was the highlight of the cultural triangle, the Lions Rock in Sirirya. It’s only 30min ride away from Dambulla, and the bus stops right at the gate to the rock.
U have to buy the entrance ticket for 32$ at the tickets office and follow the path through the ruin park towards the big rock.From here it’s around 800-1200stairs up to the top in 35+degrees and 80% humidity. If ur a little bit fit it’s no problem, but u can see people all along the way wt cramps and scared of heights.
The stairs are leading towards the rock first but then heading all along the steep walls, which is not for everyone since it can be up to a 100m drop beneath ur feet. In the middle of the wall u arrive at the mirror wall, some of the last remaining women paintings in the wall. Most of them were destroyed when the rock was turned into a monastery; it was too destructive for the monks.
Half way up is a big platform wt the Lions Paw gate, which marks the entrance to the last section of stairs. The iron stairs are not always in the best conditions, but definitely better and easier to go up then ancient steps build into the rock. Doesn’t look like an easy climb back then.
The view from the top pays for all the pain and muscle ache that will come the days after ;-) The ruins show some big temple like rooms and pools wt water drainage systems.
Our last stop up here in the mountains was Kandy, which is not really recommended by most books and guides, but I actually liked it. It’s a small city in the mountains, used as an entrance to the tea region. Lots of bakery’s and cafes and a few pubs and bars. We chose the “little chilled bar” on top of the lakeside wt a good view over the valley and the lake, they serve good food for a fair price and cold beers.
So from here on we went back down to the beach, since Becks had only a few days left before heading back to Norway and off to work. We took a bus from Kandy to Puttalam and from there to Kalpitiya.
Dilsiri gave me the instruction how to get to the Kitesurfinglanka.com site. It’s about an hour bus ride from Puttalam. The last bit from the main road is done wt a tuktuk. The resort and kiteschool is very idyllic in between coconut trees. The Kalpitiya lagoon is a 15minute drive away, which is arranged daily wt the Range Rover from the kite school or u can just take a 10minute down winder direct to the lagoon, the water is flat and the wind direction is offshore.
On the lagoon is plenty of space for at least 50kite surfers. The first half of the lagoon is a bit gusty, but a bit further down the wind is good and due to some sandbars the water still glassy flat. I think this season the spots here around the lagoons will kick in wt many Europeans to come.
We had some great first sessions already and waiting for the wind to come on steady and powerful.
More to come soon!!
Read Full...
