Sri Lanka

Notification: It is quite a long blog post

One of my friends after visiting Sri Lanka in April 2011 created an album in Facebook named The Pearl of Indian Ocean. He refered to Sri Lanka - a magical mesmerizing island with a rich history of Buddhism and amazingly hospitable inhabitants. I've been there in spring 2011 but due to the busy-ness at the AIESEC conference and an urge to be back in Chennai office, I had not had a glimpse of this lavish land. Moreover, I missed Sri Lankan friends I made at the AIESEC conference. Stuffed and stucked with these feelings, I took a flight to Colombo on June 8th. I was excited to wave to Chennai and with a huge relief I said, 'Be as you are, Chennai. But without me. At least in the next few weeks we wil rest from each other' Couple of hours later International Colombo Airport welcomed me with its politeness and colourful lanterns which immediately caused a big smile on my face: lanterns do associate with Sri Lanka and a dear friend for me. This was the first sign I would be having an exceptional Vacation in the country like no other... The whole trip was Exceptional: my AIESEC Sri Lanka friends that I missed tremendously, the beauty of raw nature of the island, people's warmth, attention, care and affection, perfect chilly weather ( but still with the mosquitoes :), delicious juicy home made food... Quick chit chats with Ashan and Dana, hearing laugh of Inas, enjoying Livi and Teddy Bear Thilina's energizing dances, appreciating Kesh and Thirsha's sister-ness, sharing good news with Hatim, discussing different topics with Niradh, travelling with Deepika and being with myself are the highlights of the Sri Lanka vacation. I have lived incredibly priceless five days in Sri Lanka that would never be forgotten. Below I am sharing with you my routes ( map is on the top) and what I have experienced. Day 1 (Green line) Colombo-Peradeniya After a quick exchange of greetings and some food gifts from India to Kesh, we set off with 2 AIESEC Alumni to Kandy. A 4-hour bus ride was an introduction to a beautiful nature the island has. The ride was not tiring, on the opposite, we talked and we laughed, and we had short naps and debated. By the evening, we reached Peradeniya - a small cozy town where Deepika, a brave wise friend was waiting for me. She recently joined AIESEC, and we got to know each other during their National conference in spring. Little I knew that time that we would travel hand in hand in the next five days learning and listening to each other. Deepika met me and walked me to her house where her family had prepared a delicious meal: fresh juicy fish with curry, raw fried jack fruit, steamed rice and a white loaf of bread! Same bread that I would eat at home in Kazakhstan! Needless to say how euphoric I was that evening, but Deepika and her family had seen me! :) After late dinner I exchanged the travel plans. There were a few places that I definitely wanted to visit, otherwise I would feel my trip was incomplete and I would return again in some time. Initially, I wanted to go to Kandy and see the temple. Surprisingly, Kandy was very close to Peradeniya, just 5 or 6 km. Then Deepika's father offered to go to Mahiyanganaya - this place was not in my list, so we googled it and I was astonished! The pictures and travel websites convinced me in the very first seconds. So we set the alarm clocks for 3.30am to depart at 4am and catch the sunrise with its reflections in transparent innocent lakes and rivers. Day 2 ( Dark blue line ) Peradeniya-Mahiyanganaya-Peradeniya 4am. Complete darkness. A cool air splashed on our faces. We got onto Deepika father's truck. A repetitive monks'chants woke my mind up and my eyes illuminated with a sly adventurous spark: I was going to see the sunrise and the virgin nature.

The road had been with no surprises. Deepika tried several times to wake me up on the way because I was all the time asleep. Effortless.

By the time the sun rose high enough to dazzle us, we had been a bit thirsty and hungry. It was not hot at all and natural colours of the sky, the sun, the surroundings have completely woken me up. What I saw was picturesque and refreshing. Beneath a hill we were standing on, a big land of dark green trees and plants and luminous lakes and rivers had caught our eye. It was absolutely amazing to witness how freshness enters a day, and absolutely marvellous that I could witness it after living in one of the hot spots on the Earth.

My 1st day of landlocked travelling was far more than just good. It has been splendid! We finished the day with Deepika and another AIESEcer in Peradeniya simply resting on a wide green lawn of the local university campus, eating ice-creams and laughing, taking pictures and visiting a couple of Buddhist temples. My heart was conquered by breathtaking views of authentic nature and easiness that fulfilled that day. Pura felicidad. Day 3 ( Pink line ) Peradeniya-Kandy-Dambulla-Sigiriya One of the biggest attractions of Central Sri Lanka is definitely Sigiriya rock. Everyone buzzes about Sigiriya rock and of course I was keen on some rock climbing. Back home rock climbing or trekking is one of my weekend activities with friends or family members, so I could not miss this opportunity in the island as well. By tradition, Deepika and I woke up early in the morning, recharged with a simple nutriotious breakfast nd took first bus to Kandy. Then another bus to Dambulla. And then some 4-5 hours later we reached Sigiriya. It was already midday when we found ourselves quite hungry and thirsty. Unfortunately, we did not see any shop available to get some snacks or drinks. But attentive Deepika did take a bottle of water with her from home, so that bottle was our savior for the next few hours. Right after we got off the bus I saw a massive rock dominating a flat area. Luckily, there were no tourists at all except one couple. Deepika and I headed towards the counter to get an entry ticket and some guide books if possible.To my biggest surprise, shock, disappointment ( exactly in this order ) the entry ticket for foreigners cost 33 USD!Even in India tickets to UNESCO Heritage Sites cost not more than 5 USD ( except for Taj Mahal which is around 15USD ) Unfortunately, I did not carry that much money with me that day, and even if I did I would not pay this sum for climbinga NATURAL rock "designed" by king's people some centuries ago. With all my deepest respect to the culture, I do not overpay things that are not created by men. In addition to that, in travellers' blogs that I searched there was no mention about such a high fee. So I had a plan B. My flatmates visited this place in April, and they were sort of short of money ( simply because they forgot to exchange Indian rupees to Sri Lankan rupees in the airport, and since they did not spend much time in Colombo they could not exchange Indian rupees anywhere else. So their whole trip was an adventure :) Tom, one of my flatmates, told me that they found another rock in Sigiriya from which they could view the main Sigiriya rock, and all they had to do is to climb that rock and pay nothing. Bingo! That was my plan B! I explained to Deepika that we need to find that rock, and it is in the bag!However, Deepika's hesitating reply slowed down my adventurous hyperexcitement. I felt that it was one of Deepika's first independent travels and that I should not be insisting. On the other hand, I would've been upset coming back home and having an incomplete travel plan. Well, there should be a third way then. We walked to and fro, we estimated all prons and cons, we even found that cave temple from which we were supposed to climb but we could not find the balance. I still did not want to push Deepika's decision and I saw what it took Deepika to come to a final step: we found a local man who agreed to show us the path and show the Sigiriya rock and a nearby area. He also has served us as a guide and it was an absolute pleasure to be following him and climbing him in narrow junctions. One of the funniest moments I remember was when I asked Deepika in the morning if she was wearing sneakers. Thoughtful, she asked, Why? No, I wear flip flops. "Isn't it slippery?, I asked. "No, she said, in Sri Lanka we wear flip flops. We wear them everywhere. "Interesting, I thought. In my country we wear sneakers when we do trekking. Cultural differences", and I smiled. In fact, when we climbed the cave temple I have noticed that our guide wore flip flops too. Indeed, everybody in this country wears flip flops. Here is a snap of Cultural Differences :) Finally, we reached the peak of the rock and what a pictresque view I saw I must admit!!! Strong wind, a completely uninhabited virgin green land was in front of us, and among the trees and plants there was the famous Sigiriya rock!!! Achievement!I took out one of my travel treasures - Kazakhstan's flag and got a picture with it. The view was absolutely stunning, and the feeling that finally we completed our mission of 3rd travelling day made me feel relieved. Pura felicidad. It was already late evening when we almost reached Dambulla. Unfortunately, we did not have extra time to visit the Golden temple there as well as one of the MUST see places in Sri Lanka. I leave it for the next time :) Day 4 ( Maroon line ) Saturday, June 11th. Another big day to realise my travel dreams. The plan was to see the Kandy temple and be as fast as possible in Galle, the south of Sri Lanka to plunge in the bluish warmest waters of the Indian ocean. A tiring bus ride Peradeniya-Kandy ( a short stop in Kandy to see the front side of the temple) - Colombo ( a 2 hour stop in Colombo ) - Galle ( a 4 hour bus ride ) stuffed me with lots of hours of uncomfortable sleep and then a hunt for glorious sunset pictures. Golden floating clouds and ravishing scarlet reflections of the sun charmed me with all its simplicity of the natural beauty. How often don't we notice our surroundings that beautify even the greyish moment in our lives? How often do we limit ourselves neglecting what is available in the nature and consuming everything artificial that glows? We reached Galle in the evening and though it was quite dark and traffic noise did not add any charm to the city, I fell in love with what I sensed in Galle: lightness. Deepika's old friend picked us up and we moved to her house. It was a really lovely evening with her family: home made food, laughter and travel stories, local stories and making plans for the next day. The next morning we woke up at 5.30am to leave at 6am, and to my big surprise ( Oh my! How many positive surprises did I encounter during my Sri Lanka trip? :) Deepika friend's mother prepared breakfast for us as a take away! So cute! With the help of the family we reached the main attraction of Galle - the then Dutch fort which is a perfect sightseeing and a destination to do jogging or yoga in the early mornings. Since it is not that hot in the mornings and the breezes enlighten one's inner energy and harmony, the fort is extraordinary in this sense. I guess I do not need to say more here since the feelings can't really be described at a full length and depth of what one can experience there. You simply go there if you are looking for some serenity and serendipity. And love, of course :) ... All good things come to an end. So did my Sri Lanka addiction was counting its minutes. Time has come when I had to say Bye to Deepika and her friends with whom I spent an indescribable time in Galle. It has been really hard to let go the trip with Deepika and head to Colombo but I had to. I reached Colombo by 9 pm and was extremely happy to meet my AIESEC Sri Lanka friends: the guys have just started their term as the National board of AIESEC in Sri Lanka. They all looked exhausted after the planning conference and we celebrated our meeting with a few shots of local drinks and AIESEC dances :) ... The cab arrived at 5am to take me to the airport. I packed my Sri Lanka memories, kissed my friends who were deadly sleeping and went to the cab with Niradh. Colombo was quiet in the morning. I arrived at the airport totally exhausted. At the customs a woman asked me if I was from Japan or Malaysia. Negative. In fact, I was going to Malaysia. But my heart was still in this warm hearted beloved country like no other. When we took off, I could not resist shedding a tear as well as the weather. The sky had been crying with me.

The Sri Lanka travel experience was absolutely Exceptional. Twice.

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