Sri Lanka Part 1

Megan was cooped up in India for a few weeks so I was on my own for travels.  She saw the Taj Mahal and I visited Sri Lanka.  

Sri Lanka in Brief

Sri Lanka may be unknown to many of the readers so I’ll provide a quick background.  It’s an island country in South Asia near India, which it shares many cultural similarities (e.g. similar food, religion).  The ethnic groups are the majority Singhalese and the minority Tamil. There was a 30 year civil war between political factions representing those groups.  The civil war recently ended three years ago with tensions being reduced but the threat of terrorism still present.  Sri Lanka’s people and economy suffered as a result of the lengthy and expensive conflict.  Consequently, the country is still developing in terms of industry, infrastructure and tourism.  During my time in Sri Lanka I encountered areas that were much more developing than I had seen elsewhere in Southeast Asia (with the exception of maybe Cambodia).

In search of my Hostel

Sri Lanka’s lack of infrastructure makes it difficult to get around.  After landing at the airport late on Friday night, I tried to grab a quick taxi to my hostel.  Unfortunately there were few taxi drivers available and when I was able to negotiate with one, he was unsure of where my hostel was.  We set off from the airport and passed through humble neighborhoods and dark alleys on 2 “lane” roads.  I use quotation marks as the taxis, trucks, and three-wheelers made lanes as they saw fit.  As we neared the hostel, my driver had to stop 7-8 times and call 3-4 times to figure out where the hostel was.  There was a small fear that Friday night would be spent somewhere unplanned.  Eventually, we found the place in a dark alley with no signs.  Our 25 mile cab ride took about 2 hours with only minimal traffic.  When I later asked my Sri Lankan friends about this experience they were unsurprised.

Tourism Work in Progress

The tourism industry is still developing so there is no major neighborhood to stay in Colombo nor common business practices.  When I arrived at the hostel at 2am, I was met by a couple guys in sarongs.  They weren't the sharpest tools in the shed and they had trouble finding my reservation despite the fact that I was the only one staying in the place.  They then proceeded to try and charge me twice as much as the original cost.  There were a couple giveaways: 1) I could see the prices they had written down for me and others, 2) I still had my email confirmation with the price and 3) they looked as unscrupulous as possible.  They put up a good fight but eventually I wore them down.  I then also had to convince them to order me a taxi for 5am to get me to the train on time.  Given their lack of competence with the reservation I was highly worried they would blow this as well.  At 5 I woke and walked to the dark lobby.  All the doors were closed and the gate was locked.  So I had no way to get out.  At this point I started pounding on doors to awaken someone to get me out to my taxi.  My adrenaline was high and I was pretty close to being ticked off.  Finally, the head bozo rubbed the sand out of his eyes and let me leave.  No tears were shed upon leaving this idiotic hostel. 

I arrived at the train station with little time to spare.  I then had to break through the language barrier to understand where to buy my train ticket and which line to wait in.   The stakes were high as missing the train would have cost me almost a day.  Fortunately, I was able to join forces with some other tourists from Singapore and we got our tickets in the nick of time.  I rushed to the platform and then proceeded to wait for 20 minutes at the train was late.  Such is life in a developing country.  The train had cars for locals and for foreigners.  The local cars were packed full of people, lacking air conditioning and equipped with uncomfortable seating.  I elected for the first class foreigner car which included an above expectation meal, air conditioning, reclining chairs and windows for a beautiful view.  They even had wireless.  Opting for luxury in this case was a bit touristy of me but I’m happy I made that decision.  I got some much needed sleep and an opportunity to view the gorgeous country side of Sri Lanka.  I breathed a huge sigh of relief once the train got going.  I knew my friend Supun would be meeting me at the station, and then travel would be much easier and more pleasant.

My friend Supun

Traveling as an outsider

Being a white foreigner in Sri Lanka is an interesting experience.  Strangers will gawk at me and/or be very nice.  But that niceness comes with a cost.  Everything I bought myself was 2-10 times more expensive than the prices charged to the locals (granted those prices are dirt cheap).  And a sizable minority of those smiling faces were willing to scam me for much more.  It absolutely pays to have a local guide.

Sri Lanka is an amazing place.  The adventurous travel is absolutely worth it.  I saw many amazing places and learned about another interesting culture.  There's no doubt that it's an up and coming travel place.  I’ll cover those details in my next post.