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Old 29th March 2019, 16:33   #1
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Backpacking through Sri Lanka

It's been really long since I took a break or a trip long enough to be considered as travel. There have been flashes of me being annoyed by the mundane monotonous job and going away for a few days to camp in and around Bangalore or to some other place nearby. Last trip I did was just 4 days long in Udaipur. Where I was backpacking alone and did realize that it might have not been the best place to go alone! With the couples in every corner for a pre-wedding, post-wedding, pre-baby, post-baby; shoots! I had decided back then, to take a holiday where I can be alone backpacking without being looked at as a weirdo! Udaipur was a good cultural experience, but I wanted something more intense a little more daunting and a little more longer than a half-hearted attempt to redeem the whole idea of holiday!

I was fixated on the idea to do north east India which I have on my cards for more than a few years now! But, looks like the whole idea of north east does not workout for me just yet. The last time I had a plan charted out for NE they had a political unrest and I had to cancel. This time around, I just thought NE and while looking the steep flight prices I ended up booking tickets to Sri Lanka! I just booked the round trip tickets with no plans nor any idea of what I wanted out of this trip. So, the prep time for the trip had begun and oh man! I just realized maybe I took a few days too little for Sri Lanka. But since the rescheduling was as good as buying a new ticket I stuck to the number of days I had and decided to chart an outline. Not pinning down the exact specifics, but I have always loved having an outline. Gives a fair idea of what to expect where and not to waste immense amount of time trying to figure out things while being on road!
What I figured out in the course of next couple of weeks was this :

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I would reach negembo around evening and had decided to stay there just for the night and move onward towards the cultural triangle and then the beaches down south! Ain't it simple? Yay, I had a plan now!

I packed as little as I could and carried enough supplies of ready to eat along. Knowing that I will be using public transport, I wanted to have just one bag! Few days before the trip I figured visa on arrival might still not be the best bet! I went ahead applied for it and it was really easy and confusing at the same time! I got an acknowledgment and followed by a generic mail which said my application has been approved. Well, at least this was sorted and after this, I sorted my stay at negembo at a hostel close to airport. There were 2 things which I was very specific about in this trip
1> Public transport
2> Hostels

The not so flashy airport of Colombo/Katunayake :

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-airport.jpg
However, the moment I got down at the airport I realized the buses were private one at that hour in the evening to go to katunayake and were asking me around 400 for a drop! I downloaded an app called pickme and there came a tuk tuk on the main road which is just a meters walk from the arrival gates and voila! I was dropped at the destination for just 250 lkr which also included the wait time of 10 minutes, because the police had decided to check my auto guy!

Few notes to myself while being dropped : he stopped at a auto stand where at least 10 auto guys were asking him if he could accept the ride and start the ride! They were more than happy that he could pick me up. When he had stopped there, I was a little scared honestly, imagine 10 tuk tuk drivers in a lonely area and they try to bargain with you or even worse loot you!
The auto, err I mean the tuk tuk guy was really trying hard to talk to me and making me feel welcome and was confused while using the app! First instinct was Sri Lanka has still not faced the devastating waves of data and apps!

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-hostelairport.jpg

The hostel was apt and certainly had hostel vibes! Met a few people made a few friends and everything just felt natural! Infact, even though I had a long day, I ended up chit chatting with people from all parts of world until about 3 in the morning! Next days plan was to go to Sigiriya, I found a mate who had a same plan! She was more than happy to check if we could do that leg of the journey together! Knowing that a kilometer in tuk tuk should cost about 50 lkr we hired one from the street to the katunayake bus station where we got a bus to Kurunegala from there a bus to dambulla and then a final bus to sigiriya! Woah! That sounds a lot of interchanges and a lot trouble. But honestly it was more than simple, the tuk tuk driver got us down at the stand where there was a bus and subsequently each bus was eventually dropping us off to the connecting bus! In-fact in sigiriya, the bus dropped me off right in front of my hostel! All of this cost me around 300 lkr! 150 kms for 300 lkr as an "international tourist" not bad eh?

This would be my usual scene for 10 days, with me squirming for space while the bag (all my worldly possessions other than the passport and wallet) was left near the driver :

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-busjourney.jpg


Once I was in Sigiriya, caught up with the hostel mates and went out for a wholesome lunch,

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followed by an amazing hike to pidurangala rock

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then walk through the jungle at night holding on to our lives and witnessing a beautiful starry night. Well, it's not advised to walk through this path at night. But, we however did this as there were only 2 tuk tuks at the pidurangala rock and they were asking 1000 lkr to drop us a distance of 3 kilometers! The issue was not the money, the issue was they were intoxicated with arrack, or something worse I suppose! It just did not make sense to go with them and we decided to walk instead! With flash lights and courage we marched on through the jungle part and onto the main road. The walk was beautiful nonetheless! It was a sky filled with stars and fireflies! It was not scary it was adventurous, after the walk through the forest and a delightful cuppa we were soon enough in bed snoring away to glory!

The morning was interesting filled with hornbills, rollers, babblers, sunbirds and loads for birds which I have still not ID'ed em yet! The plan was to move from sigiriya to Dambulla and then to Kandy. It was a Sunday if I recall and I was walking on the road for almost an hour and there was no bus in sight. I was split with the idea to either walk all the way to inmaluwa which was a major road and I was sure to get a Bus there, but then the 4 kilometer walk would have certainly taken time and energy. With a tuk tuk it was simpler I thought and ended up taking one all the way to the golden temple in dambulla! It was 20 kms away and the thumb rule of 50 lkr which meant I paid 1000 lkr to the tuk tuk and I was there within no time!

The entrance grand :

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The cave temple's entrance and the ticket counter is positioned in a weird way, it's way out of the normal path! It was a long and steep walk, especially with the load on my back and heat over my head! It was manageable but certainly not easy. There was nothing eventful about the morning other than how the priests in the temple do not like tourists and when they do rituals to the idols they literally shoo you away, they don't even let you sit in the beautiful corridors! Which was acceptable, because temple is a place of worship and calmness I suppose. But with a whole lot of tourists flocking in and out with fancy clothes and cameras certainly makes them feel a loss of their own heritage and peace!

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The caves were spectacular and had stories to tell!
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Bumped into a few old hostel mates and then I moved on with a promise to probably see them again elsewhere soon enough!

The travel from here to kandy was simpler than I thought! The bus stop was just outside the temple and I waved at the first bus which was passing by and they told they were in fact going through Kandy! I had to unload my luggage right next to the driver and since this was a crowded one I ended up standing for about half of the journey. But the breeze was getting cooler as we were ascending the mountains and it was manageable to stand with ease.

As it was Sunday more than half of the market was shut in kandy, the streets were clean and the little city next to the lake seemed very pretty to look at!
The agenda was to get to kandy, to get to ella by train next morning! There was also the temple of tooth and the lake! Since, I had time at disposal I visited the temple of tooth and the museums in the vicinity!
But a yummy portion of our Indian uttappam before that :
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The lake was serene, clean and calm :

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It had ducks, snakes, fishes and komodo dragons as well !

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The temple is a huge complex and this has long stories and a lot of importance in Buddhist culture, if you are interested to learn about it like I was here is most of the things covered :
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_the_Tooth

Offerings :

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Kandy was a commercial yet a small pretty town, with most of the buzz due to pilgrimage and tourists. It was fairly an upscale city compared to all the ones I'd been to!

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The morning train from kandy to ella is just always crowded, it's not the local crowd it's the firang crowd and has barely any space to stand on it! There are many people who have advised to use the station ahead of kandy (Towards colombo) which is about 10 kms away from kandy called 'periyadenai' and we (yes I had another hostel mate who was planning to do the same trick to get on to the train!) set from our hostel at 7 A.M sharp in the morning to the railway station!
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We were fairly surprised by the number of tourists already there! They were huge in numbers and we were one among them. The reserved tickets were already sold out and there was huge queue for grabbing the unreserved tickets. The second and the third class. They costs 300 lkr for second class and they were issued only at 8 A.M for the 8.45 A.M train. We hopped on to the train and there were huge number of people pushing to get in, most of us were backpacking and hence the fuss! Either ways, as the train arrived from Kandy all the local commuters got off and voila! We had seats for ourselves. At kandy there were huge number of people which came in and they barely had space to stand. A couple of hours into the journey we were swapping seats with people standing nearby and it was nice journey! Everybody had their own travel stories and experiences. However, the train broke down! It was an hour long stop at one of the small stations and the people heading to nuwara elya were asked to deboard.

Last edited by bhansali_hardik : 16th April 2020 at 18:12.
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Old 16th April 2020, 20:28   #2
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re: Backpacking through Sri Lanka

The beautiful Train journey had begun post all the chaos

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It was a cloudy day

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and a little moist! the perfect weather for the journey perhaps!

The train was relatively empty and there were seats for everyone! However, a couple of hours into the journey things changed and there were more tourists getting from many other smaller stations. It was a packed situation! A few stops later there was absolutely no space left for anyone to get in and I reckon Indians like me cannot relate to the situation like the one below! where you have so many goras trying to get in

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-overcrowddedgoras.jpg


Nevertheless the beautiful journey was still on

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It was a foggy evening and the visibility was poor, really poor!

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I was supposed to walk from kithal ella or ella station. But as it was dark and the fog was thick I decided to get to the ella town and then made a call to my hostel and asked them to pick me up from the town. It was so far, that the ella rock was in the view from the property and it needed a proper 4x4 to reach the property!

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This was on edge, with a great sit out over looking a pretty garden with train tracks running through and paddy fields with ella rock in the backdrop! It was one of the best hostel locations that I had come across! Yes it was away from the town and that had it's own inconveniences, but hey! I would any day trade city light for fire flies!

The hostel was buzzing with loads of backpackers and the staff was very accommodating! They had a an open counter for making unlimited teas and coffee as you like! This and they were also setup with an in house store which had all the basic things one might need sold at MRP! I was loving this place more and more already!

It was not that late but I was pretty worn off with the train journey and after a shower, loads of free tea and a heartful meal of rice and curry I was ready to hit the bed. But, yes there's always a but! I ended up chit chatting with the hostel mates and there was a plan charted out to hike the ella rock at morning 5! Well, it was already 12 and we hit the bed! I was not keen on doing this hike on this particular day, but the company of people is certainly compelling and I ended up giving in!

We were up by 4.30 there were 5 of us initially who had planned to go but only 4 of us turned up! Sipping the hot tea (yes the free one) we were on our way with flash lights and gps on our phones.
The Ella rocks hike is complex just because of the nature of the trail. There are too many trails and in dark you really get confused! Also, there are paths which are easy but are blocked by the local people living on the hill to confuse you and you get stranded!
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Which will get them to help you for money. Yes, it's a scam but the hike if done using the paths and the signs put up and using the 'map me' app it's fairly doable!

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We were 4 of us with a guy from Spain leading the group and a stray dog from the mountains! Yes, you read that right! There are dogs on the hills and they just start leading. There was a point where the trail was blocked by the bushes (deliberately by the villagers) and the dog jumped over it and we followed it through and we were at the peak by 5.50! It was a steep hike, a great one though. The views were mesmerizing and the sun was coming up, we had a spectacle to witness.

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There were around 20 people to see the sun rise, we made a move after an hour or so and the we were following the trail which we took to hike up but we missed a turn or a cross and we ended up stranded in the jungle! The dogs were still at the peak with the other tourists hoping to get a meal! We flipped the phones out and figured out we were walking parallel to the actual trail, but not on the trail itself. So we decided to get to the actual trail, it was just like a parallel road on the maps but there was just a small problem, there was a stream running between these two trails.


Also, we were at a lower trail! So, even if we crossed the stream it was a steep climb to get to the actual trail! We were walking along the stream for quite sometime and finally after 30 minutes or so we found a makeshift bridge which would get us across the stream and on top towards the actual trail! We were out from the dense forest onto a path now!

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We were a little hazy with the directions and then a villager was walking past with firewood and she showed us the right direction to get the railway tracks! And yes we did make it onto the railway tracks soon enough to get to our hostel!
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To give you a fair idea of how lost we were, it took us 50 minutes to get to the peak, which was steep incline climb! But it took us around 2.15 hours to get out!

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Through the trail and thickets we were out :

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We had a healthy breakfast and the plan for the day was to actually rest, but ended up walking on the railway tracks for more than 12 kms at the least! It was simple, I walked on to the front yard of my hostel, through the patch of garden onto the railway tracks and then kept walking towards Ella station, walked past the Ella station and on towards the nine arch bridge!
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Tracks

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Ella Station

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It was fairly a long walk but it was a refreshing one. With loads of people little restaurants along the way, tender coconuts and fruits!

The Irony of the whole thing is, govt here has 2 boards put up at Ella station, they look confused about the proposition of walking or not walking on the railway tracks! One of the board read, 'Walking on tracks is prohibited and is a punishable offense' the other read 'Be cautious while walking on the railway tracks' So, yeah? I think the whole area around ella is heavily influenced by tourism due to the railways tracks and even the only way to get to ella rock is via the tracks! So, the livelihood and extra moolah that govt earns will never make walking on tracks as punishable offense!

The nine arch bridge

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Once this was done I started walking back towards ella and then decided to grab food at the chill cafe! Yes, the place was indeed very chill! The love for srilankans for India and the indian cricket team is weird in many ways! They religiously follow cricket and support indian team! There was some match live on the screen and waiters were excited to see an indian sitting in the cafe and an indian match being telecasted live! I had to literally do nothing to make them feel disappointed, all I said was I don't follow cricket and they went from 'You are from India!' to 'why the hell are you from India'

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I moved on to go see the Ravana Falls, honestly it was underwhelming at it's best! But however, it was clean and peaceful. I had already done a lot for the day and was not inclined to go hike the little Adam's at this point. I started back to Ella from the Ravan Falls and I used the normal govt buses to and fro. Interestingly the fare from ella to the falls (which is a descend) is cheaper than the ascend! Not sure if we have similar fares in India, but this was a surprising yet logical thing implemented in SL.

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I started walking from the Ella station back to my hostel, this walk felt like I'm getting back home! The scenic route now felt like a part of everyday routine! I certainly got used to this the hawkers recognized me! I recognized them, I used to carry a pineapple almost everyday in SL back to hostel! It would cost 200 lkr on an average (I know,steep!) but they were the true tropical produce with an amazing taste!

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Would chop up a pineapple in hostel everyday and pass it around to the mates! Well, my way of being social to people I guess!

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The next day I ended up waking up early yet again and hiking the ella rock! Which was really nice, it was right in the front yard of my hostel! Post another breakfast and the tea. I was on my way to the bus stop where I was planning to take the bus to matara and then to mirissa. However, I had read about this journey on various forums which claimed it might take 8 hours plus to do this leg and the buses are generally crowded also I might have needed a couple of changes for the transit. This did not look like a good proposition! While I was in the jeep for the drop from the hostel to Ella's bus stop my driver quickly happened to tell me the same thing! About the long route and the time it might consume. He then suggested there are shared vans, which I can probably take and they will cost around 3000 LKR. The bus was around 700 LKR and the van was around 3000 LKR. The difference was huge, however I was ok with the van as I saw one of the buses being overly crowded and hence I chose the van. The van had 4 members already but we ended up waiting another hour before a few more tourists came up and then we were total of 7, before the van made a move! It's a great business for the local as most of the people move down south towards matara or towards the udawalawe national park. This journey takes long, like real long! But the catch here was we were transported in one van until the half way mark and post that we were transported in another van. This was an efficient and great way for the local drivers to take half way trips and make twice the money!
Incidentally there was another weird incident which I had witnessed during this journey. I had a good chat with almost everyone in the van including the van driver and it was a pleasant drive. But there were 2 people who did not even break a smile! You might have guessed it right by now! Yes, it was a couple from India! I tried breaking the tension in the air, with the generic questions and I got the response of India, Delhi. I was reading the recent thread on Bhutan and it did ring a few bells!

The Shared Cabs

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There were these wild elephants on the way too in the Udawalawa
national park



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Last edited by bhansali_hardik : 16th April 2020 at 20:48.
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Old 16th April 2020, 22:38   #3
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re: Backpacking through Sri Lanka

Great interior roads which the cab guy took
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The moment you enter Matara the things change and reality catches up. No more serene mountains, no more fields of paddy, nor any signs of peace! It's a hustling city with crowd coming all over from all the sides and chaos everywhere! Almost felt like I'm in Tamil Nadu! The drive through the city was slow, filled with traffic and loads of people. But, honestly the traffic sense of people made it easier to actually negotiate and get through! Mirissa was my first destination. There were few things which I absolutely wanted to do here, catch a wave on the board and watch some whales.

Got off at the main street and my hostel was at a walk able distance. The whole town had the surfer vibes to it and there were murals, small cafes and loads of surf boards all-round the place. Also, almost every restaurant offer these equipment on rent!
The hostel where I stayed in Negombo had it's chain in a few more places in SL and Mirissa was one of them. I was more than happy to choose 'hostel first' mirissa. The moment I walked in, I had friendly faces greeting me! One of the guys managing the Negombo hostel was here for a few days to overlook a few things. I felt right at home the moment I walked into this beautiful property.
Great clean hostel
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As, usual the other folks and staff were super cool and friendly! To be honest, this place had a party vibe! Since the cultural triangle was done and this place was more commercial where they were heavily invested in the beach restaurants, cafes, shacks and cool hippiesque vibe. Initially I did not like the vibe of the whole town at all! It just felt like Goa but not Goa! Have been to Goa n number of times and last few times there I was there with a straight face just because my friends wanted me there along. Have outgrown my love for the beach side vibes I suppose!
But, eventually the vibes were cleared out as I mingled with the volunteers and how they are making a living out of travelling! I wish I could make my life that simple, but sadly with an Indian Passport it's merely possible to do it the easy way!

I took a hike to the beach and it's surprising the amount of love people here have for Indians and Bollywood! There was a gang of local lankan boys hitting the beach with surf boards and instantly started singing Bollywood songs while looking at me! I was feeling bullied, but then they came up to me and asked me if I knew the song? If I spoke Hindi? They tried their best to converse in Hindi and there I was thinking how we people treat each other in India who speak Hindi! There was a simple trade here, I taught them a few Hindi sentences and they gave me surfing lessons! How cool is that?
The moment you see the sea you will instantly drop you jaw and go awe!

The pretty beach

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Clean and pristine
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I hiked from start of the beach all the way to coconut hill and then a walk around the town back to the hostel was making me gaga over the peaceful environment.

If you have been on social media, you will instantly recognize this spot
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Not the most ideal time to be there as sun was in the backdrop
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Spent hours at this spot
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The sunset
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As usual I picked a pineapple on the way back, to cut and serve at the hostel. There, I had a table full of people and conversations!

The Whale watching day is here, bucket list stuff
The plan for next day was to get up early and go whale watching. Whale watching industry has been one of those controversial ones but there are always more than a side to the story. It's the sheer greed of humans which is why the things stop being sustainable. I had done loads of research before choosing the operator and the research paid off. How? you shall know, as you go through the rest of my post. I chose 'Raja and the Whales' for this mission. Even though the government and community say that the prices are regulated and none of the operators can give cheaper trips. There are cheaper ones! In fact the very hostel I stayed in had a cheaper tour! The cost the quoted for the trip was probably higher among all the other operators on the island. But based on the review I chose to go with them even though it was almost 5-7$ costlier than that of others. 7$ might seem not that big a deal but that's in USD, but in LKR it's almost 1300!

I was in transit during the research for choosing the whale watching operator and I really did not have time to go in depth to see what was offered or what wasn't! I made an online booking and in response I got a mail. Which confirmed I would be picked up at my hostel on the day at 6 AM. I was cool with it, but on the day of the trip morning I was a little panicky! I called them up at 6.15 to check if someone is coming at all to pick me? or they don't have my booking? Within 10 minutes the tuk tuk guy came with 2 other tourists picked me up! the tuk tuk guy dropped me off at the booking office and there was a huge queue! To make the payment and collect boarding passes. Honestly at this point I was a little skeptical and was wondering if made the right choice. But things changed soon and here on the whole day felt like a dream! When I was at the table to pay, there was statutory warning given 'we will leave at 7 but we might be back at lunch or 4 or 6 you never know we will try our best to get you to watch a whale or refund 50% of our charges'. I eagerly nodded and accepted the warning. I had USDs and LKRs since it was 54USD I paid 50 in USD and 4 in LKR! The chap was totally ok with it and in fact the exchange rate was to the point where he let go off a few lkrs from me! Also, they do stack loads of anti-nausea medicines which are a part of the package. From here a person guided us to the dock, where there was a whole crew ready to guide us and get us to the boat!

The boat was already filled with passengers and I thought my bad! A few moments later a guy took me on the upper deck and asked me to sit where ever I found it comfortable! A few moments later the crew was asking us if we prefer coffee or Tea. I was like 'oh! Okay! there's coffee? sure coffee!' I can never tell no to coffee! We were off and I heard there were instructions being delivered on the lower deck whereas we were staring into the sea and suddenly there was plate handed out to me!

The sudden surprise
Backpacking through Sri Lanka-fruits.jpg

This was one of the best plates I had in Sri Lanka!
I was amused by this and in the meantime there were a couple of people who walked up on the upper deck and gave us the instructions too! Where essentially they told us, how and where these whales can be seen and how we will venture into the ocean to track these majestic creatures. Also, how we cannot use the technology to track them (affordable one's, which work on frequencies) since whales are the loudest animals!

We were a few nautical miles in and the weather was really gloomy. However, the ocean was calm! The boat was barely rocking! It was a smooth cruise through the great ocean.
Rather gloomy day
Backpacking through Sri Lanka-gloomysea.jpg
A chap again comes in to ask each one of us, what sort of omelets would we be interested in! Sri lanka or the normal one! I'm veggie and yes I don't eat eggs either. So, I bluntly refused to have an omelet. He knew I was an Indian so I am probably a vegetarian (the called me vegan! they think people who don't eat eggs are vegans) he came up with the idea of giving me toast butter and jam! This was luxury which I did not expect!

We were cruising through the water and then blip! Blip and boink! There, we had the first glimpse of something. It was a bunch of spinner dolphins!
Spinner dolphins
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Was already awe struck

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The rather gloomy day continues



We were educated about dolphins and these ones in particular. Post that the guide clearly announced, this was not the target for the day. So we chase the whale elsewhere. These guys have eyes all over the ocean for at least 200-300 kms of area! The local fishermen who go for deep sea fishing and a few other operators. They are all in collaborate with each other and can easily track a whale. It's obviously so huge that you cannot miss it! But so is the ocean! There were more than a few fishermen being awarded with fruits, packaged juices and other eatables for their help. They discuss the route and the possible sights since morning and then try to calculate, in which direction the whale might have moved. This was exciting as the guide was sharing all the details of the conversations and was leading us into the chase. Rather than you know, just riding it somewhere in the ocean!

Few more hours and we see there are loads of boats at one point and the guide says. The whale should be spotted here somewhere. It's dive time can be up to 90 minutes!



The rest of the boats were already way back and our guide blatantly told us that we are going to wait until it comes up again for air, we watch it again! We patiently waited around and kept moving towards one of the direction and almost 45 minutes later there was a spurt and the chase began! This sure did sound exciting and looked like a crazy chase. But in reality it looked like a freak show with most of the operators not respecting the boundaries. Even in the first snippet if you look closely, you can see how far off we were compared to the other boats! After they left we had a good sight and got a few shots.
Majestic creature

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-spermwhale.jpg

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-whale.jpg

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-whalefin.jpg

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-whalefin1.jpg

So, with the dolphins (comparatively a smaller pod), flying and a single sperm whale (should be a male, because females move in pods too!) it was an acceptable trip to the ocean. We were on the way back, but wait! There was lunch! The chaps happily served me a "vegan" meal. I was still under a fix, so much for 54$ and still people get reasons to complain? We were munching on our lunch and suddenly the boats start to buzz louder! The guide comes in and tells there is blue whale spotted towards the docks and one of the local fisherman had ringed them up! We were on our way to spot what we wanted to, in the first place! The biggest mammal on the face of the earth! Yes, that's what we were in for! Also, they had deserts post lunch!

We were munching miles and a little over an hour we just wait around while sipping on the chilled packaged fruit juices, we see a spout! We start moving towards the direction and the better thing about the biggest mammal is it will probably come out every 10-15 minutes! So we were in, this was the most mesmerizing thing I had witnessed in the wild in ages! The whale was so gigantic, so huge that it's tough to put a perspective on it! I mean, I could tell that so many number of buses equals a whale or x number of cars or whatever. But, the sight of it and while you watch it in the ocean is certainly something to witness!
The blue whale!

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-bluewhale.jpg


I was bananas while I saw this majestic beauty! Also, the crowed had thinned out it was just a couple of boats, a light aircraft hovering over to watch the whale and one little private boat who ventured way too close to the whale! The crew members on the boat took their photos to lodge a complaint against them. There was a heated argument between the two and then they just fled the scene.

it majestic dives
Backpacking through Sri Lanka-bluewhale1.jpg

Here, we were told to relax and watch the whales the way it's supposed to be. He also emphasized on not being too involved in taking the photos and enjoying the scene the way it's supposed to be!
But I'm glad I did take a few pics
Backpacking through Sri Lanka-bluewhalefin.jpg

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-bluewhalefin1.jpg

We were asked if we're ok to head back or if we wanted to watch it for a little more time. There were loads of different informative sessions in between and how whaling has been banned.

The other part of story was, there was a guy called ‘Raja’ was a whaler and once the whaling was ban they started whale watching tours and now these guys are 100% committed to save, conserve and nourish these amazing creatures! If we were to choose between whaling and the whale watching industry. I would again and again choose whale watching! How times have changed, one who used to kill the whale is now their protector! This might sound cliche and this might also sound a story too good to be worthy. But then, we know how there are countries where whaling is still legal and comparing a third world country with such small footprint the whale watching isn't even that bad. I might be a little too partial but certainly this is not as bad as people make it sound!

Oh, once we were off the boat we were given king coconuts to re-hydrate on the way back! So much 54$ could do!

It was almost 4 in the evening by the time I got back to my hostel. I picked up, you guessed it! A pineapple on the way back and loads of veggies and some groceries. It was a long day and I just wanted to head back and take some rest.

Once I got back to hostel met a few new chaps and the hostel crew was eager to hang out with me and go to the parrot rock for the sunset. I couldn’t deny and I had my ass dragged for a photo walk. But it was ruined by the clouds, however we were on the rock sitting for some time and chilling. Met another Indian, who was backpacking too! We had a good long session of bakkar and he managed to rope me in for dinner. I couldn’t deny and had to get back to hostel to get ready and get out yet again!

Went for dinner to one of the nicest restaurants in town called Zephyrs and yes it was worth the hype and wait!

Was really tough to go away from this beach

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-coconuthill2.jpg

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-mirrisa.jpg

With all the boxes checked in Mirrisa I had decided to move to the next beach! Here on, it would be one beach per day!

Well the hostel dog certainly seemed sad to see me go

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-saddog.jpg

But I ended up visiting Wlligama, Unwatuna and Galle all in one day! Added to it I decided to stay in Hikkaduwa the same night! All the beaches are just serene and beautiful will layout photos in the end. They were mostly filled with surfers of different grades and all of them mostly here were from Europe in general looking for surfing, maybe a few days or few weeks or few months altogether! Everyone I met on the coast were there for one main reason – ‘Surfing’. It truly is a paradise for surfers. They were shocked when they realized that I wasn’t keen on surfing and had questions like what will you do on the beaches?

Well, I had good food, and books to keep me company!

Hikkaduwa had turtle hatchery and tsunami museum. Both were close to each other and can be done easily within 2 hours. I was not keen on doing both of them since the reviews were bad and there was no ethical grounds for both of em! But then I decided to judge them by myself and yes the turtle hatcheries look more like a dungeon for the turtles and there is absolutely no check on how the eggs are procured or how they are actually helping them in the conservation. Not to mention there are dozens of so called hatcheries everywhere and it made me wonder which one to visit! I ended up visiting the one which apparently has tie ups with government agencies and other activist. But, trust me you should skip fueling these guys with money!

The eggs for hatching
Backpacking through Sri Lanka-eggs.jpg

Sad state of these creatures

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-turtel.jpg

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-turtle1.jpg

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-turtle2.jpg

There is absolutely no intent for educating the audience or keep a check on activities. A lazy young chap (half-drunk probably) hands out ticket for 500/1000 lkr and says go in and checkout! There are a few eggs kept for hatching and there are turtles in cement tanks! They are apparently rescued but in one of the tanks one turtle most certainly was looking dead! It was a sad scene and there was no joy about conservation here. Added to it you could pay them another 1000 lkr to free a baby turtle into the ocean. Which totally contradicts what they tell in the first place i.e we hatch them here, grow them up and when they are big enough we release them in the ocean. But hey! Pay them a 1000lkr and they are ready to be released.

After the depressing hatchery I was on my way to the museum but the photo museum looked like another scam and I actually walked away and took a bus back to hikkaduwa!

Last edited by Aditya : 18th April 2020 at 08:13. Reason: Rule #11
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Old 17th April 2020, 12:03   #4
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re: Backpacking through Sri Lanka

The whole stretch of about 20-30kms was filled with gorgeous stretch of beaches and they are not commercialized and honestly I do not know their names either! But I'm glad I ventured out to these secluded places


Backpacking through Sri Lanka-gorgeiousbeach.jpg

Life's a beach

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-gorgeiousbeach1.jpg

Everything looked like a frame out of a gallery

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-roadnbeach.jpg


Backpacking through Sri Lanka-hatchery.jpg


In Hikkuduwa I did rest for a while and then went to the beach and walked for kilometers together until I was tired and sun was down.
There was turtle who wanted to visit the crowd

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-beachturtle.jpg
Interesting fact about these turtles, they have become urban dwellers! Apparently the locals told me that they come here to get fed, they used to use these grounds for nesting but now they come here just for food and get to other nearby beaches for nesting!

Another gorgeous sunset

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-hikkaduwasunset.jpg

Got back to my hostel. I was lying on my bed and this Spanish chap walks in and says ‘it’s just 8, why are you in bed?’
We had a chat for quite some time and then we met a couple of other people one was Finnish and the other was a 60 odd year old chap who was this Finnish girls uncle! He apparently moved to SL 30 or so years back and never went back! When I asked him what does he do for a living his answer was ‘nothing’. He then told the financials were sorted through the interest which he gets on his capital from the bank, which is around 18% yes 18 big ones. He sold all his assets in Finland moved here, converted the big fat euros into lkr and got himself fixed deposits and has been surviving on it for the longest time he can recall. We were then joined by an candian chap and they all came up with the idea of hitting the party of the town.

Well not metaphorically, but in reality! The govt came up with the idea of one party at one bar per night! To curb the nuisance all over the town. Which is nice, since the town in itself is small and at any given point of time most of the clubs can accommodate the crowd. There I was hatching a plan to go to a club! I ended up sleeping at 4 in the morning, here is a clip for you to have an idea of how ‘lit’ the place was



If I had to describe the party, I would just say that this was “unexpected!”

Galle fort was one of the most prettiest town I have ever visited. Yes, it’s commercialized. Yes, people sell stuff which generally we don’t need at an exorbitant price.

The initial impression was a noisy crowded place

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-gallecrowd.jpg

You go across the street and things change

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-gallestreet.jpg


But the boutiques and old hotels are to die for! If I wasn’t back packing and if I had to spend lavishly; I would certainly stay in galle fort for 2 nights!

The plush boutiques

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-galleb.jpg

Chic cafes

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-galleb1.jpg

Picture perfect facades

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-galleb2.jpg

One of the Indian cafe I had a grab at

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-gallec.jpg

Oh so, boho!

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-gallec1.jpg

Another cafe for another drink

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-gallec3.jpg

The Dutch feels

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-galestreet.jpg

The tuk tuks look prettier

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-img_20190308_131128__01__01.jpg

So do the vintage

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-gallefort.jpg

Of course the amazing light house

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-gallelighthouse-2.jpg


Last edited by ajmat : 17th April 2020 at 22:40. Reason: missed a capital letter
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Old 17th April 2020, 12:27   #5
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re: Backpacking through Sri Lanka

Post Hikkaduwa I had decide to move to Bentota for couple of days.

Bentota is like cream of all the beaches in Sri Lanka, it’s not a secret but it’s so expensive that the most of the general crowd and cheap travelers just end up avoiding it! The cheapest home stay which I could find was 3 kms away from the beach and all the properties in vicinity of the beach were priced at the cost of my whole trip! That’s the economies of scale here in this part of the city. It’s ultra-posh with selected hoteliers milking the wealthy travelers.

The streets clean and pretty

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-bentotastreet.jpg

So was their river and buddha

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-riverbuddha.jpg

Guess what I had spotted back then

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-toyotaharrier.jpg

I, being a traveler on budget a.k.a ‘cheap’ was on a bus journey from Hikkaduwa and got off at Bentota. There is no specific bus stop in whole country. They are randomly decided stops where people just know that the bus will stop! I was around 3-3.5 kms away from my home stay and one of the tuk tuk guy asked for 500 lkr. I was obviously going to make the walk. Having walked for so many days for so many kms 3kms seemed insignificant! I was walking through the streets of the sleepy town and a tuk tuk guy approaches me and asks where was I going. I told him the name of the home-stay and he asked me to hop on. I asked him how much would it cost? He says ‘nothing!’ I was a bit puzzled and wondering if he was planning to kidnap me! He then says, ‘me go that way, near your home-stay my home stay! You guest, I will give free ride please come’ I was baffled and I told myself ‘why not?’ the chap dropped me off and also had an interesting chat about the town and things to do. He happily dropped at the gate of my home-stay, took a turn and went a little far off, to his own!

Bentota had one of the cleanest and least crowded beach! I had an amazing time here doing nothing! This was not crowded nor were there any shacks or restaurant for that matter on the whole stretch! Just wealthy people in their ivory towers.


The greens made it beautiful

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-bentotabeach.jpg

Clean stretch with barely any people
Backpacking through Sri Lanka-img20190309wa0004.jpeg

It was a cloudy day yet again

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-bentotabeach1.jpg

One of the plush resorts

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-bentotabeach2.jpg

Surprised to see the boat there

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-bentotaboat.jpg

As a vegetarian the options were really limited and in Bentota there were barely any option to eat

Found this little amazing restaurant

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-rest.jpg

Only way to reach was by hopping across the railway track

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-meal.jpg


Last stop Colombo!
Colombo was something which I did not expect. Yes, it’s a city with all the buzz and crowd. But the infra to me as a tourist felt real good and the amount of cleanliness in the areas where I was for couple days was worth a note.

The high rise

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-colombo.jpg

Gangramya Temple was weird in it's own way especially with all the offerings

Look at the vintage cars collecting dust

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-colombo1.jpg

Loads and loads of statues all over


Backpacking through Sri Lanka-colombo2.jpg

The premises are huge

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-colombotemple.jpg

Really huge

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-colombotemple1.jpg

Really weird when I see so much of elephant tooth

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-colombotemple2.jpg


I was in the business district and hence the crazy collection of luxury cars and yes sports cars too! I spotted Maserati, Toyota supras, jeeps of different sorts, M types from BMW and SLS’ too! It was overwhelming, I never expected brigade of such cars. There were super bikes running around too! But all said and done their road manners was still on check there was a CRV a GLS and a C class which stopped on the road for me to cross! Damn, that’s when I realized how as an Indian the ‘big car = no rules/respect’ for the general public is ingrained in me.

Big open clean streets

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-colombostreet.jpg

Well the old and the new

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-colombostreet1.jpg

Look at far end, the chinese have overtaken the city and are setting up an artificial island as well

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-colombosea.jpg

When I was exploring Colombo, it was like a slap on my face! It was a big tight slap. This city is actually a great city, the people here are actually almost as good as the people in remote regions. They are just nice set of people, they are genuinely a nice lot of people and they really do love indians. The hostel where I stayed, it was run by an old aunty and she was just giving me the feels like I am back home and there is an elderly women taking care of me! She made a glass of juice for me. She chitchatted about how she loves India and Indians. She then asked me about the kind of food I eat and she actually upgraded my room to a better one. She also made tea for me like how we have it in India and the list went on and on! She actually had a separate vessel to cook vegetarian food for Indians like me.

The Galle green face was rather disappointing but was for the more so actual SL's crowd
Backpacking through Sri Lanka-colmobogalle.jpg


Explored around the city and went to an art exhibition and a few more places
Backpacking through Sri Lanka-colombonight.jpg

Grabbed dinner and drink at one of the rather posh restaurants

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-colombocafe.jpg

Obviously took a bus back for the return journey, remember the agenda?

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-airportbus.jpg

The amazing lil island

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-slb.jpg


All in all, I'm still hooked on to one of the best solo-trips I've ever had and this country will see a lot of me for sure!

Until next time lankesh!
Backpacking through Sri Lanka-img_20200416_183339.jpg

Last edited by bhansali_hardik : 17th April 2020 at 13:04.
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Old 17th April 2020, 13:25   #6
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re: Backpacking through Sri Lanka

Thread moved from Assembly Line to the Travelogues section. Thank you for sharing!
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Old 17th April 2020, 16:57   #7
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Re: Backpacking through Sri Lanka

You nailed it! What a brilliant story! Sri Lanka is one of best locations I have ever visited. It has something for every one! We spent about 3-4 days around the cultural triangle and were based in Dambulla.

The cave temple is awesome. We wtinessed a beautiful sunset. And not to mention the hike up to the Sigiriya rock.

PS: I know for you the story is a year too late; but who cares, it always fresh when read again!
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Old 18th April 2020, 13:03   #8
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Re: Backpacking through Sri Lanka

Wow! Brilliant Travelogue with stunning pictures as usual! Great Narration, especially watching the cricket match in the cafe and your 'luxury' of having toast butter and jam Keep going!
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Old 18th April 2020, 17:20   #9
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Re: Backpacking through Sri Lanka

Simply brilliant! Twice I planned for Sri Lanka but got dropped. Hopefully someday!

Btw, the title heading reminded me of Joey "Years ago, when I was backpacking across Western Europe, I was just outside of Barcelona, hiking in the foothills of mount Tibidabo..."

Thanks again for sharing such wonderful memories!
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Old 18th April 2020, 17:21   #10
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Re: Backpacking through Sri Lanka

Few videos which I missed, there a ton more somewhere waiting still to be processed

Arguably the best train ride in the world








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Old 18th April 2020, 17:30   #11
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Re: Backpacking through Sri Lanka

Quote:
Originally Posted by ampere View Post
You nailed it! What a brilliant story! Sri Lanka is one of best locations I have ever visited. It has something for every one! We spent about 3-4 days around the cultural triangle and were based in Dambulla.

The cave temple is awesome. We wtinessed a beautiful sunset. And not to mention the hike up to the Sigiriya rock.

PS: I know for you the story is a year too late; but who cares, it always fresh when read again!
I have barely done the experience any justice and there are a lot more better pictures and videos and stories which I have of this little island. But the log was in draft from an year! It's way too late to keep it that way and there is ton of media still waiting to be processed, so took a plunge and posted the most accessible and usable media which I found on my desktop.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Zahoor23 View Post
Wow! Brilliant Travelogue with stunning pictures as usual! Great Narration, especially watching the cricket match in the cafe and your 'luxury' of having toast butter and jam Keep going!
Thanks for your kind words! Toasts were certainly a luxury on that boat as a vegetarian or 'vegan'
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Old 18th April 2020, 18:10   #12
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Re: Backpacking through Sri Lanka

Nicely written travelogue with nice pictures bhansali_hardik.

Quote:
The hostel was apt and certainly had hostel vibes! Met a few people made a few friends and everything just felt natural! Infact, even though I had a long day, I ended up chit chatting with people from all parts of world until about 3 in the morning!
This is why I love hostels and always prefer those wherever I travel. Met some really nice people from all over the world and is a lot of fun, especially when you solo travel. Its just a place to stay but adds a lot to the overall experience.
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Old 18th April 2020, 18:36   #13
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Re: Backpacking through Sri Lanka

Quote:
Originally Posted by bhansali_hardik View Post
I have barely done the experience any justice and there are a lot more better pictures and videos and stories which I have of this little island. But the log was in draft from an year! It's way too late to keep it that way and there is ton of media still waiting to be processed, so took a plunge and posted the most accessible and usable media which I found on my desktop.
Here are some from my side.

Orchid Garden at Kandy. It's an awesome place. One with a macro lens can spend hours here.
Backpacking through Sri Lanka-img_8033_lr_lr.jpg

Atop the Sigiriya rock
Backpacking through Sri Lanka-img_8278_lr_lr.jpg

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-img_8288_lr_lr.jpg


Classic Buddha statue at Polonnaruwa. All spot the the one he is sleeping
Backpacking through Sri Lanka-img_8461_hdr_lr_lr.jpg

Was passing by Minneriya park, when witnessed this!
Backpacking through Sri Lanka-img_8522_lr_lr.jpg

The brilliant cave temple at Dambulla. One of the best I have seen
Backpacking through Sri Lanka-img_8604_lr_lr.jpg

Golden Hours at Dambulla
Backpacking through Sri Lanka-img_8769edit_lr_lr.jpg

Backpacking through Sri Lanka-img_8894_lr_lr.jpg

From the top at Dambulla
Backpacking through Sri Lanka-img_8957_lr_lr.jpg

Sunset nearby the lake
Backpacking through Sri Lanka-img_9323_lr_lr.jpg

Awesome Elephants to watch at Pinnawala
Backpacking through Sri Lanka-img_7925_lr_lr.jpg
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Old 18th April 2020, 18:42   #14
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Re: Backpacking through Sri Lanka

Superb ! What a travelogue ! I am mighty impressed specially with the train journey. Those pics are awesome. Have heard a lot about them but never got to experience one. Do you mind if I asked how much did the entire trip cost. A ball park figure is fine. A lovely guide
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Old 18th April 2020, 19:22   #15
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Re: Backpacking through Sri Lanka

Awesome travelogue!

The whale watching charges of 54 USD are comparable to charges in a developed country based upon my experience. But in developed countries, there are heavy regulations of how many boats/ships are allowed to go in open sea to watch the magnificent creatures. This type of crowding of boats in Sri Lanka defeats the purpose of finding a sustainable operator. Also there are even stricter restrictions if there is a calf with a whale.

Regarding volunteers from developed countries working in hostels, every one requires a work visa to earn salaries. We can also get one but volunteers have a big safety net, a strong currency and social security in their home countries.

There is holiday work visa in Australia where you can work in farms, bars etc. There are hostels that enable you to get such type of job on a holiday work visa. Though Indians are not eligible for this visa for obvious reasons.
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