And back to India....

Day 9: 7th Mar, 2015

All good things must come to end and so did the trip to Sri Lanka. The much awaited trip came to an end before we even realized it! Our flight to Chennai, India was at around 2 am on 8th Mar. We had booked the vehicle until 10 pm on 7th Mar and hence had to reach airport by then.

The day started with a quick dip in the blue waters with some fun filled family time for one last time at the Unawatuna beach. Then we were served an amazing breakfast. My family was longing for Indian food and it came as a surprise when we were served delicious dosas! We were told that the staff heard us talking about dosas the previous day at breakfast and the chef prepared the dosas specially for us since we were the only Indian guests! It was a really sweet gesture from the sweet people of Sri Lanka.

Done with all the packing, we had to bid adieu to Unawatuna with a heavy heart. We wanted to visit the very famous Bentota beach on the way to Colombo. Hence, the southern expressway was not taken and we traveled by the old route to Colombo from Galle. This route, for most part of it, is alongside the beautiful sea which is very scenic!

It was around 12:30 pm when we reached Bentota. Bentota is a coastal town located in the Galle district 65 kms south of Colombo. It's famous for the luxury hotels lined across the Bentota beach. It was very sunny by the time we reached and we just relaxed for a while at the beach after which we were back onto the journey.

Bentota beach

Bentota railway station

We reached Colombo by lunch time and had kottu for lunch. We had not seen Colombo and since there was ample time left, we decided to visit Gangaramaya Buddhist temple and Galle Face Green. There is an entrance fee to visit the temple but its a must visit if you have time and are in Colombo. The temple also has a museum which displays ancient idols, elephant teeth, precious gems in their natural forms, huge elephant tusks used in the olden days, statues intricately carved from the tusks, items which were in use by the kings, different currencies and what not!

There is also a place in the temple complex where there are lots of statues of Buddha arranged in a structure which looks beautiful. Also there was an old lift made of wood! There is also the sacred Bodhi tree where devotees take water in a vessel and pour it to the tree while encircling it reciting prayers. And last but not the least, the main temple. The temple was very huge with high ceiling huge statues and paintings on the wall. It looked marvelous!

Elephant teeth

Lots of Buddha statues arranged in a structure

The temple

The temple

Just a few meters down the temple complex, is another place related to the temple. There is a small lake in the middle of which are three temples interconnected to each other. These temples are extremely beautiful and you feel like meditating endlessly in the calmness offered by the temples. The place where you buy ticket for the main Gangaramaya temple should also give you a ticket for this other temple. The ticket cost at Gangaramaya temple includes the entrance charge to this place as well.

Buddha statues at the temple in the lake

Temple in the lake

Time was slipping by and we had to visit Galle Face Green. Galle Face Green reminds one of the beautiful necklace of Mumbai called as Marine Drive. Its an urban park that runs alongside the Indian ocean for half a km approx. One will find a lot of activity here especially on a weekend with lots of different food stalls, vendors and many other things. Out of the many eatables lined up, we found one thing very different and thought of trying it out - Picked Ceylon Olives. These are very popular street food in Sri Lanka. The olives look green in color and taste tangy and spicy. I loved them so much that just the thought of them while writing this post is making my mouth water! Do try them out when at Galle Face Green enjoying the cool breeze.

We also saw the flag lowering ceremony while at Galle Face Green. The flag is brought down before sunset with respect and everything comes to a standstill as this ceremony is done out of respect. It was really a treat to the eyes to watch the Navy officers in charge of the ceremony to lower the flag with great respect.

Sunset at Galle Face Green

Soon it was dinner time and the driver had to drop us back to the airport. On the way we stopped at a restaurant where we had hoppers and kottu for one last time before departing from Sri Lanka.

The trip came to an end with the flight getting us to Chennai on 8th March at 5 am. The trip was indeed a memorable one with lots of fun and hoping us to get back soon to cover some parts which couldn't be included in this trip.

The old town of Galle....

Day 8: 6th Mar, 2015

The mornings at Unawatuna started with a dip in the sea! The clean blue waters always looked inviting to have some family time by the beach. After some time at the beach, we had a wholesome breakfast which was included in the tariff. After breakfast, it was time to explore the old town of Galle at Galle fort.

The Galle Dutch fort is around 5kms from Unawatuna. The Galle fort, in the bay of Galle on the southwest coast of Sri Lanka, was built by the Portuguese and then fortified by the Dutch. Many Dutch people still own properties in the fort. It has also been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. It also withstood the Boxing Day tsunami which had destroyed the coastal areas of Sri Lanka. The fort has some churches, museums, restaurants and a lighthouse.

On entering the fort, you can see the Dutch Reformed church. It was built in 1640 and was then remodelled in 1752 and 1755. The church is paved from gravestones from the Dutch cemetery. There is also an old vintage Organ in the church. Then you get to see a museum and next to it is the New Orient hotel which was originally built for the Dutch governor and his staff and then converted into a hotel and now taken over by Aman Resorts and named as Amangalla.

Dutch Reformed Church

From there we proceeded towards the famous lighthouse. The driver dropped us near the clock tower. You need to walk a while on the fort ramparts to reach the lighthouse from the clock tower. The clock tower was very old, built in 1883. The views from this place are just amazing. From there we proceeded towards the lighthouse. On the way, you can also see the Galle cricket stadium. We just kept wondering that it would be a treat to watch an international match here, with the cricket going on one side and the beautiful sea on the other! My brother, who is truly, madly and deeply in love with cricket, wanted to spend the entire day watching a local match which was going on in the stadium!

Clock tower

Galle cricket stadium

Galle fort ramparts

We saw lot of kingfisher birds on the way, some common Kingfishers and some white-throated Kingfishers. And it was a pleasure to introduce them to our parents as well! The walk becomes a bit tiring if you go there during the late mornings. Be prepared to carry an umbrella or a hat and water as you feel a bit tired walking in the sun. We spotted a small refreshment shop to have some soft drinks. The owner of the place was an interesting person who told us that the fort was designed in such a way that you could find all the basic necessities within 5 kms of the fort walls!

white-throated Kingfisher

A short break and we were on the way to the lighthouse. It was around 11 am by the time we reached the lighthouse. We took some pics and were back in the car. It was almost the last day of the trip since the next day would be spent in packing things and travelling back to Colombo to catch the flight back to India. And hence we decided to stop for one last time at Laksala, the government owned souvenir shop. I had read about getting very good gems at Sri Lanka. And what better place than Laksala! We brought some key chains, stickers and some things for our relatives back in India. I got a set consisting of a pendent and earrings with a gem fitted in sterling silver for LKR 3500 approx.

The lighthouse

Done with the shopping, we headed towards Rumassala hill which was one of the reason for choosing to stay at Unawatuna. Rumassala is a hill oddly out of the place in the landscape outside the Galle harbor. Legend states that during the Ramayana, Rama's brother Lakshmana was injured and Hanuman was sent to fetch medicinal herbs from Himalayas. Hanuman forgot the name of the herbs and hence he carried a large chunk of the peak containing many herbs. However, a part of the mountain slipped and broke into five pieces of which one fell at Rumassala.

A large statue of Hanuman, Ram, Sita, Lakshman and Ravana can be seen at Rumassala. There is also a large pagoda on the hill.

Hanuman's statue at Rumassala

Ravana's statue at Rumassala

Sita devi's statue at Rumassala

The pagoda at Rumassala

It was noon and time for lunch. We headed back to the resort for lunch and some rest. This being the last day at Unawatuna, we headed to the beach. The weather turned from sunny to cloudy in just few moments and before we knew, it started raining! It was fun to be in the waters while it was raining. Few hours later, we were back at the room to freshen up and the last day at Unawatuna was over.

Gregory lake, Seetha Eliya and much more....

Day 6: 4th Mar, 2015

The second day at Nuwara Eliya started on a cool note! The temperature was too low compared to the previous day. It was foggy and cold. The plan was to explore Nuwara Eliya. We had a breakfast of bread followed by some hot tea! The van and driver were ready to take us to all the places planned.

The first place we wanted to visit was Seetha Eliya which is supposed to be the place where Sita Mata was held captive as per Ramayana. It is a temple surrounded by trees and a small river flowing by its side, approximately 4-5kms from Nuwara Eliya market.

Temple at Seetha Eliya

We spent almost 2 hours at this beautiful place which provided peace and tranquillity. According to the Hindu mythology Ramayana, Sita Mata was held captive by King Ravan at a place called Ashoka Vatika and during her stay over there, Hanuman delivered her the ring which belonged to Lord Ram. The locals told us that it was supposedly at this place that all those events described took place. There are also some huge depressions on a giant rock which are believed to be the foot-prints of Hanuman. Also, since the soil color on the other side of the river is black, it is believed to be the part which Hanuman had set on fire.

Small river next to temple with the depressions

It was almost time for lunch by the time we were done admiring the place! We had lunch at Milano restaurant which is in the market area. Since there was not much option for vegetarians, we had Vegetable fried rice and Vegetable noodles. There is this sweet delicacy called Watalappan which is very famous in Sri Lanka and it was long pending in our must eat list! And I must admit it that a trip to Sri Lanka is incomplete without you tasting this dish!!

Done with our lunch, we were all charged to explore some more places. The next place on our list was Gregory lake. This lake is very well known among the tourists to Nuwara Eliya. There is a garden along the edges of the lake where you can take a stroll. I think the entrance fees for tourists is around 200 LKR.

Lake Gregory

The weather played a spoilsport here as it started to rain the minute we stepped out from our van. We got back in and were just waiting for the rain to subside as we were in no mood to skip a nice long walk along this beautiful lake. To our luck, half an hour later, the rains stopped. We took a walk around the lake, took some really beautiful pictures and had a lovely family time.

Fruit market

There is also a garden you can visit but we gave it a skip since it was a very rainy day. A hot tea was what was required in a place with dropping temperature! There is a fruit market near the main market where you get to see and taste different varieties of fruits. There are also many other attractions like Hakgala botanical gardens, Horton plains national park.Then we headed back to our hotel and were back to the town square for dinner. And it was the end of another day at Sri Lanka......

The world famous Ceylon tea....

Day 5: 3rd Mar, 2015

The day started with the chirping of the birds waking us up for a journey to the tea estates of Ceylon. Ceylon tea has been famous all over the world and Nuwara Eliya is the "Little England" of Sri Lanka.  Nuwara Eliya has a cooler climate compared to the other cities we visited. And it rains most of the time. It has the English country village feel to it with beautiful gardens and golf courses. We had an Indian breakfast of Masala Dosa and Idli at a small restaurant just opposite to the hotel at Kandy. After breakfast we were all set for Nuwara Eliya. Our driver took us through the University of Peradeniya and it was a very beautiful place with lots of trees and spot clean roads. We stopped near a huge tree for a family snap. On the way, we got to see a part of Buddhist culture as our driver stopped near a Peepal tree, got down from the van and prayed for a minute standing opposite to the tree. :)

At University of Peradeniya

The distance from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya is approximately 100kms but it takes around 4-5 hours since the roads are through the hills and you can also club in a Tea Estate tour en route. As we started the ascend, all that the eyes could see were beautifully pruned tea estates. It was time to take some snaps amidst the tea trees and we stopped at one of many tea estates on the way.

Tea Estate on the way

Our next stop was at Mackwoods Tea Estate where a guide takes you on a tea estate tour showing you how different varieties of tea from CTC to the expensive Golden Tips are produced.All the different varieties of tea are taken from the same tea tree but each variety has a different oxidation level. We were told that each tree has a life span of around 60 years and they need to keep pruning it to keep it short. The procedure of tea processing starts with withering where excess water from the lea leaves is removed. Next comes rolling where the tea leaves are twisted after which comes roll breaking which separates large clusters of rolled leaves into smaller ones. Next is Fermentation where tea leaves are spread out for oxidation. The last step is firing after which based on the oxidation, you get different tea leaves. It is a very interesting procedure and at the end of the tour, you will be guided to a cafe where you will be served black tea after which you can also buy different varieties of tea. I would recommend to buy the Orange Pekoe variety for its distinct taste and the beautiful blackish orange color after brewing.

Mackwoods Tea Estate

Different tea varieties

After a bit of tea shopping we reached our homestay for the next two days. We had selected Sherwood Cottage for our stay and I must admit, it was an awful stay with bad smelly rooms and a not so friendly host. I would recommend staying in some other resort, hotel or homestay than this one. Also the approach to this homestay is not good as the roads are too narrow.

We settled in our rooms, freshened up and were ready to explore Nuwara Eliya. Nuwara Eliya has a lake, a small market or town square, a temple and a golf course. We took a walk to the town square and shopped for a few groceries. By the time we were done, it was dinner time as the restaurants here close by 8:30 or 9 pm. There is not much choice for vegetarians here. We had Vegetable Kottu and Veg noodles. And then we took a walk till the homestay.

View from the homestay

The weather at Nuwara Eliya is very unpredictable. It was warm in the morning and too cold at night. It also rained the other day. If this town is in your itinerary, be sure to carry warm clothes, some winter wear and an umbrella. And with this the fourth day at Sri Lanka came to an end....

Ayubowan Sri Lanka....

It was in December 2014 that my family wanted to go for a long vacation. We went through a lot of options and finally chose to go to Ceylon. We started with all the search for good stays, travel, restaurants, places to visit and everything else. The best season seems to be from January to April and we chose to go in March. It was very exciting as we had just 2 months left for the vacation..:) We had booked the flights from makemytrip.com and it was SpiceJet on 28th Feb, 2015. Also Sri Lanka requires you to get an e-visa before you arrive at Sri Lanka. Its pretty much easy to get it done. You just need to log in to their website and follow the instructions. And be sure to use a credit card for the transaction.

We traveled for 10 days in total with 2 days in Chennai from 27th Feb to 8th Mar, 2015 visiting the cities Jayawardenapura, Sigiriya, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Unawatuna, Galle and Colombo. This post is a detailed account of our trip. The information provided here will be useful for those who plan a trip to Sri Lanka.

Day 1 and Day 2: 27th Feb, 2015 - 28th Feb, 2015

We were 7 of us including me, my husband, my parents, my brother and my husband's parents. The day finally arrived and we left from Bangalore to Chennai on 27th Feb, 2015. The flight was to depart from Chennai International Airport at 00:40 am. We reached Chennai at around 3:00 pm, had lunch and started for the airport. The local trains are a good transport in Chennai to reach the airport. Just opposite to the central station, is the Chennai Park station. Tickets cost you Rs. 7 per person and the destination station is Tambaram. We reached airport pretty early and had to wait there for a while before we could go in. At around 9:00 pm we were informed that the flight had been delayed due to bad weather and we were all a bit disappointed. But delays are a part of journeys..!! The flight was re-scheduled to 2:30 am. The check-ins and security check started. We were asked to fill in an embarkation form and submit it to the immigration officer at Chennai airport. The officer checked the form, asked us a few questions and stamped my passport. We boarded the flight and to my surprise it was a bombardier Q400.

When we landed at Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport it was 4:00 am. We had to fill in a disembarkation form and hand it over to the immigration officer along with our e-visa and passport. The officer asked a few questions and stamped the passport. We also got a free sim of Dialog from the immigration dept.

We had booked a rental van from Malkey - Rent a Car. You can contact them and share your itinerary and they will arrange a car/van for you. They also have self-driven cars. The driver was there to pick us up at 5:30 am. It was still too dark and probably all of us were too tired by a long journey we had from Bangalore. It din't take us longer than 10 mins to doze off..!! The airport is around 25kms from Colombo and it takes approximately an hour to reach Colombo.

We had booked Palm Nest home stay based on the reviews on Trip Advisor. We reached there by 7:00 am. The host was a lovely lady called Anomi and she received us with great warmth. Since the rooms were occupied by previous occupants, we thought of going out for breakfast and coming back by 12:00 noon. So we freshened up a bit and left for breakfast.

Palm Nest

The driver dropped us at a lake place in Jayawardenapura.  Jayawardenapura is the legislative capital of Sri Lanka. On the way we saw the various legislative buildings. We all were very excited to taste Sri Lankan cuisine and we ordered for Rice and Curry, Kurakkan roti. Rice and Curry is a famous dish in Sri Lanka which is readily available everywhere and it consists of white rice with a variety of different curries. Kurakkan roti is made of finger millet and coconut which looks like a small roti and comes with Coconut Sambol and dal. The sambol is usually made of coconut, some spices and maldivian fish but since we are vegeterians, we took sambol without fish. The rice and curry consisted of white rice, dal, sambol, sides made of jackfruit and some other things. I had read that the side dish made of jackfruit is a must have dish of Sri Lanka and it was amazing. I simply was in love with this cuisine which would satiate my appetite for the next 9 days.

We then left for a park called Vihara Mahadevi park. We got a bus near the restaurant and reached there by say 20 mins. Buses are very easy to find and get into in Sri Lanka as the drivers are very friendly and help you in every way possible. It is the oldest and the largest park of Colombo. The park is named after Queen Viharamahadevi, the mother of king Dutugamunu. The park includes a huge Buddha statue and a series of water fountains. We relaxed a bit in the park and headed back to the homestay. A good nap was what was needed by everyone after a long journey.

Near Vihara Mahadevi Park

In the evening we went for a small stroll around the area and visited a Buddhist temple. The temple was huge with some stupa like figures and a huge prayer hall. The prayer hall had a large Buddha statue covered by a curtain where people were praying. In front of the statue were a colourful variety of flowers offered by the devotees. After spending some time at the temple, we finally tasted Sri Lanka's famous dish Kottu during the dinner. And the first day at Sri Lanka came to and end....

Temple near Palm Nest

Sri Lanka's famous Vegetable Kottu