Sri Lanka - Wonder of Asia

Upon arriving in Sri Lanka, we took a 2-day break on the beach in Negombo to recover from our culinary mishap in Delhi and spent a lot of time planning our itinerary and accommodation options for our travel companions for the next 10 days.

The surprise guests from home were Matthias' parents and we started our tour in Galle, a coastal city in the southwest, founded in the 16th century by the Portuguese. We leisurely explored the fort, the largest of its kind in Asia, and caught up on the past few months.

The next day, we delved deeper into the history of the Portuguese (16th century) and the Dutch (18th century).

We ended the afternoon at Jungle Beach.

In our next destination, Mirissa, we relaxed and took the opportunity to improve our surfing skills.

The next day, we went on a boat trip to see blue whales. Unfortunately, we didn't have much luck with the weather and spent a long time on a boat in rough waves. However, we were surprised by a spectacular show of dolphins and "false" killer whales.

We ended the day on the beach, enjoying some local delicacies.

Our next stop was the village of Ella in the Sri Lankan highlands. We arrived after a 6-hour bus ride and climbed the "Little Adam's Peak" to enjoy a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains and tea plantations.

We took the traditional way back, walking along the railway tracks...

...passing through tea plantations...

...and crossing the impressive "Seven Arch Bridge".

The next morning, we set off to climb another viewpoint in Ella. Unfortunately, we were a bit late and the climb turned out to be just a good workout.

Matthias and Gerhard enjoyed a refreshing swim in one of the waterfalls in the area on the way back.

In the afternoon, we took a bumpy tuk-tuk ride to one of the nearby tea factories.

There, we learned many interesting details about tea production and quality differences from an enthusiastic employee who seemed a bit nostalgic about the colonial era.

In the end, it's a bit comparable to coffee. A good black tea loses its flavor when sugar and/or milk are added, while a lower quality tea is more palatable with milk and sugar.

After these exciting days in the tea plantations, we went on one of the most beautiful train rides in the world towards the northern part of the country.

Our destination was Nuwara Eliya, which was used as a summer resort during colonial times and still retains a little piece of England in the Sri Lankan mountains.

We visited the post office...

...refreshed our golf skills...

...and visited beautiful English gardens.

After a restful night in Kandy, we spent the next day exploring the ancient kingdoms of Sri Lanka. We wandered through ruins of cities and religious sites that are up to 1,500 years old.

In between the sights, we even had the chance to enjoy a free safari 😉

The day ended with a clear view, and we climbed to another breathtaking viewpoint of this beautiful country.

On the last day of Barbara and Gerhard's 10-day tour, we visited one of the most important Buddhist temples in Kandy. According to legend, this temple houses a tooth of Buddha and is visited daily by countless Buddhist believers and especially during festivals. The architectural details are truly impressive.

Parts of the temple were destroyed during a bomb attack during the 20-year civil war, but the temple has since been fully restored.

After one final stroll through the city and the market...

...we bid farewell in the afternoon.

(We look forward to another visit on our next world trip! :D)

Since we hadn't managed to visit the famous "Lipton Seat," which overlooks a large part of the "Lipton Tea" fields, we didn't want to miss this highlight. So, in the morning, we took another part of the beautiful train ride from Kandy to Haputale, this time sitting on the ground.

However, it turned out to be a flop as the production was suspended for 5 days due to a festival and the employee who showed us around wasn't very interested in our tea-related education.

Determined to surf some waves, we headed to Arugam Bay, the surf capital of Sri Lanka, instead of exploring the north-eastern coast further as originally planned. We knew that the monsoon season may have started in this area, but we didn't expect the complete shutdown. Our host informed us that the season had abruptly ended 10 days earlier after rumors circulated that the better waves could now be found on the south coast.

And indeed, we didn't see anyone in the water for the three days we were there, and even our amateur eyes couldn't find any surfable waves.

So, we took the opportunity to rent bikes and explore the surrounding villages and beaches, away from the overcrowded Arugam Bay.

We watched the fishermen...

...made some animal friends as usual,...

...and pedaled away.

The next day, to celebrate Lisa's birthday, we decided to spend the day at a resort that we had all to ourselves, with a pool by the beach. That's how you turn 26 😊

Finally, we deviated from our original plan to explore the north coast further and followed the southern route to the next backpacker paradise, Hiriketiya. There, we enjoyed good food on the beach...

...and surfed the eagerly awaited waves. WUHOO!

One day, we rented a scooter and explored the surrounding beaches...

...and visited a Buddha temple on a rock.

Then we continued to practice riding our final waves of this trip. However, it will take many more hours of practice in the water before we can consider ourselves real surfers :D

Although many friends advised against it, we decided to spend our last night before our flight in Colombo. After all, it's the capital city. Our conclusion is as follows: you can do it, but you don't have to.

There is a fort, some colonial buildings, a chaotic market, and many shopping malls - a typical Asian metropolis.

In conclusion, we really enjoyed our time in Sri Lanka. So far, we have traveled to few countries that can pack such a diverse range of attractions into such a small space. Within 3 hours, you can go from dream beaches to mountains or from ancient cities to tea plantations in Sri Lanka. There is definitely something for everyone here.

And just like that, another month has passed, and we are heading to our last country of this trip. And once again, we are being visited by friends from home...

Where do you think we are going and who do you think is visiting? :-) 

See you soon,

Lisa and Matthias