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Not-So Refreshingly Sri Lanka

by Gay Mitra - 61

And it ain’t Sri Lanka’s fault, but mine. With an insane close to impossible itinerary of visiting five UNESCO World Heritage Sites and a beach (which are by the way hours of train and bus rides apart) in five days, I can understand why Shervin broke down.

He got burnt out. The only human being I know who possesses otherworldy patience broke down for the first time. The constant moving had taken its toll.

Not only that… he was dismayed with being constantly ripped off, the abhoring pricey admission fees, and the uber spicy food which caused us tears (and additional order on drinks) all the time.

But hey, we’re already too familiar with all sorts of travel upsets and mishaps so there is really no harm done here. On the flip side this country’s got a handful of redeeming factors: Infectious smiles, free New Year leftover cakes, engaging conversations, Couchsurfing hosts-slash-public transport mavens, cream colored shores that stretch as far as the eyes could see, dense jungles and 8 UNESCO World Heritage sites (some of which have been around since 1st century BC!).

These are the fab five sites we were able to step foot on:

Temple of The Tooth, Kandy. I’m not kidding about the name.

The Ancient City, Anuradhapura. Sri Lanka’s capital from 4th BC to 11th century AD.

Dambulla Cave Temple, Dambulla. Five caves turned into worship abodes, 1st century BC.

Sigiriya Rock Fortress, Matale Disctrict. Utilized as a monastery during the 5th century BC.

Galle Fort, Galle. A 17th century colonial fortification.

We ended the trip lazing on the beach to reward our weary selves (although after which we endured yet another exhausting train ride, stood for two hours in a packed cabin).

Unawatuna Beach, voted as one of the top 12 beaches in the world. I wonder when that happened. Sadly suffered under the 2004 tsunami.

So yeah, Sri Lanka’s got mind-blowing sites and all… how about the budget? We spent Rs 15,897 or P6,223 each excluding plane tickets (and souvenirs, I bought tons!). A far cry from our P2,590 expense per person in India.

But then it’s quite unfair to compare the two because first and foremost, almost all of the sites we visited in India didn’t charge admission fees. For Sri Lanka, such fees ate a large chunk of our budget. Second, we hired a few tuk-tuks to shuttle us to and fro the sites instead of taking buses and hiking just so to make our five-day itinerary doable. The damage brought about by admission fees and tuk-tuk rides is Rs 8,030 or P3,143. Half of the entire budget. And lastly the cities we visited, like I mentioned earlier, are hours apart. Two hours, four hours, eight and a half hours… Transferring from one distant place to another made us spend a fair bit on public rides.

I loved Sri Lanka, but Shervin’s right. We shouldn’t have pushed ourselves up to breaking point. On the way home, at Kuala Lumpur’s LCC Terminal, I felt like my body was about to crash (and we waited for almost ten hours for our Manila bound flight). Our experience unfortunately didn’t live up to the country’s tourism tag line “Refreshingly Sri Lanka”. But that’s just us. Hope this doesn’t happen to you guys as well.

Trip’s Nitty Gritty

1. We spent P10,854 each for 4 flights. Manila-KL, KL-Colombo, Colombo-KL, KL-Manila. As usual, the tickets were on sale when we bought them.

2. At the time of our travel, 1 peso is equivalent to .40 Sri Lankan Rupees (symbol: Rs, LKR)

3. Their electric sockets/plugs also have three round prongs, same as India’s. 230V.

4. Calling code is +94. Domestic call from landline to mobile phone is only Rs 5 for 1 minute at kiosks. Phone booths require coins or call cards. International call charge varies.

5. Most expensive admission fee we paid, Sigiriya Rock Fortress. Rs 3,330 or P1,303.

6. Meals in small street canteens Rs 100-200, depends on the cashier’s mood. Like, if he or she feels like ripping you off or not. Sorry if I sound too bitter about this. One canteen charged us Rs 900+ for a meal (ONE meal) that’s been reheated a hundred times and came with a free diarrhea-causing bacteria.

A liter of bottled water starts at Rs 60, beach front restos sell for Rs 90.

When buying drinks or snacks, look for the MRP (maximum retail price) printed on the bottle or wrapper/label to check if the store is overcharging.

7. Tuk-tuk rides start at Rs 60 but drivers usually charge tourists Rs 100 for short distances. A lot of them agree on a haggled price, just be reasonable!

8. As for bus rides, Rs 15 for short distances (about 4 KM). For intercity ones, Rs 265 for 4 hours in a mini bus or coaster. Sometimes they charge about the same for half the distance because they already got a pre-printed ticket stating such price. Non-aircon big bus charges Rs 77 for two hours but be prepared to stand (be groped/pushed around) the whole time!

9. A two-hour train ride is Rs 180 for 2nd class, Rs 390 for eight and a half hours. Again, be prepared to stand the whole time!

10. Bandaranaike International Airport is 35 KM out of Colombo. Public transport is easy, will expound on how to get there and away on the next article.

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Gay Mitra
When not backpacking, she teaches her daughter sight words and belly dancing (even if she's not good at it). She's currently eating her way around some hippie town in Australia. She loves talking about herself in the third person.

61 thoughts on “Not-So Refreshingly Sri Lanka”

  6. thanks for sharing your experience and tips about traveling to sri lanka. who would have thought that it’s as enticing as any asian country?

    we use the same socket-plugs here in penang. ang dami ko na ngang naging adaptors! haha.

    wonderful captures you have here; make me want to get a ticket of earliest flight to KL to Colombo tomorrow, haha! well, i can do that effortlessly in my dreams tonight though.

    happy easter!

    Reply

  15. Ala-India ang places pati mga tao dyan… I Temple of the Tooth, Kandy and the Unawatuna Beach… feast sa eyes. It seems scary trying the public transpo (also in India as well) since there are same situations I saw in Amazing Race episode.

    Reply

  18. Hi Calvin! We stayed sa beach ng overnight. We arrived there in the afternoon then left almost noon the next day.

    We can’t just spend 10 minutes for each place. The Ancient City for example requires 2 hours to half a day if you wanna fully explore it. Sigiriya needs the same because you need to climb up the big rock. For Dambulla Cave, you gotta hike up a hill to get to the caves. Plus since they’re celebrating New Year, it was more difficult to move around among the human traffic!

    So there… that’s what killed us 🙁

    Reply

  19. Ian, we found it more difficult commuting around Sri Lanka than in India. Baka kasi holidays. And I think the Amazing Race India episodes look chaotic kasi nagkakagulo mga tao dahil nakakita ng camera/shooting. When we were there, India and Sri Lanka, we weren’t stared at much (and hubby’s sorta white).

    Reply

  24. nice photos gay! super like the cave, fortress and beach. will definitely get back to this post when i plan my trip to sri lanka! 🙂

    Reply

  27. Digging the new banner logo. Were you guys really just there for five days? I haven’t really thought about visiting Sri Lanka but this is making me think twice. Ang ganda ng temples. Are there less tourists?

    Reply

  28. Thanks Grace! Actually, we were there for 5 1/2 days. We spent our last half day commuting from Colombo to the airport. There are still lots of tourists. And most of them are older generations, yung mga nakatour bus 🙂

    Reply

  30. Wow! I did not know Sri Lanka is a great place to venture.

    I just learned today how to link sites, so I will link yours since it is very much informative.

    Will plan to include Sri Lanka in my SE backpacking 2011.

    Thanks

    Reply

  45. harrassed mode kayo ni sherv sa sched talaga! but sri lanka is sooo pretty!

    gay, when are we EVER going to travel out of pinas together with chrissy?? i can already imagine the fun we’ll have! 😉

    Reply

  46. I love that little note about the MRP. My boyfriend and I called it the Maximum Ripoff Price in India. But alas, we discovered it late in the trip. But the knowledge comes in handy on the next trip. Very helpful post. Can’t wait to visit Sri Lanka as well.

    Reply

  57. holy, the picture with the rock formation is exquisite! it looks photoshopped, that is how beautiful it is! it must be nice to travel to so many awesome destinations! i love your blog. please keep up the great work and continue to post marvelous pictures for those of us that can only imagine what these beautiful places look like in person!

    Reply

  59. Hi..

    where did you stay in sigiriya and dambulla particularly pls?
    how much ? was it family friendly?

    thanks

    Reply

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