Related Sri Lanka Favorites Tips

Favorite thing: If you can make it a 5 night stay, I would also suggest going to Kandy and doing day trips from there. Although the beaches in the south around Hikkaduwa and further are wonderful, to be honest, you can see wonderful beaches all throughout south-east asia.

I would not stay in CMB. Depending on how much luxury and pampering you need will also determine what you see and how you get there. There is a train trip from Fort Station to Kandy. On the Inter City Express (not really an express!), there is a "1st Class" observation car. Now, it's certainly not the cleanest "1st class " you're gonna get, but the trip itself is absolutely amazing. You will see parts of the countryside you wont see from a car. Photo opportunities abound!

From Kandy, you can get your hotel to arrange a driver to take you to places like Sigiriya, Pinnawala, tea plantations. In Kandy itself, you can hire a tuktuk and ask the driver to take you to all the good spots such as Temple of the Sacred Tooth, the botanical gardens (biggest tree (area it covers) I ever saw! Also, try get to Trinity College. Incredible church on the school grounds.

All in all, dont expect spotless streets and cleanliness. Because of the humidity, there is a lot of mould on the buildings giving the impression that they're dirty. Some are, some aren't. BUT, if you can put all this aside, the place is cheap, all in all the people are very friendly and it is cheap.

Mail me if you have any other questions...

:-)

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Favorite thing: Travelling by road between places, especially in the Hill Country, can be long and tiring. Thankfully there are plenty of restaurants along main roads where you can stop for a rest or a meal.

I stopped at a roadside restaurant at Kitugala as I travelled from Nuwara Eliya to Bentota. The restaurant was in a lovely location next to a river and served good food.

Favorite thing: Pegasus Reef is just 3km away from my home (Its my home town).. You have picked a very good Hotel to spend your holidays as they have refurbished the hotel and its in topping condition.. I used to stroll down the beach at night and dip in the shallow end of the peer (just 300m from Pegasus)

Many of the large shopping centers your looking for are in the heart of Colombo (10km away) and the prices are reasonable.. (But not as cheap as in India)
If your traveling by Taxi, ask the driver to take the strait road through Mattakuliya (Its closer to Colombo).

ODEL (which is @ Union Place) is a good option
House of Fashion (Located in Bambalapitiya)
Majestic City (Bambalapitiya)
Liberty Plaza (Kolpity ->2km from Bambalapitiya)

You can also check the many shopping complexes in the Wattala Town itself (just 2km from Pegasus)

NEVER USE ANY alternative currencies apart for "Sri Lankan" Rupees!!
Some Hotels accept US$ but its usually a rip off as they convert it at 90% or less than the forex conversion rate..

If your visiting Kandy, remember to check out the New Shopping center which was opened recently (right opposite the lake)..

If you like to explore the wilderness: check the "Udawatta Kale" in Kandy (A paved Forest patch in Kandy)

Hope all goes well with you...

Fondest memory: Being a natural part of it.. Its a place I call home...

Favorite thing: a sim card in SL capital colombo is around 1-3 dollars and can be recharged very easily. SL has very good coverage in cell phones and most tourist should consider taking one and smsing their loved ones when they are here as well as for their added safety. The rates for SMS abroad to any country is only around US cents 5 per sms. call rates per US, UK and developed countries are around 5-10 US cents per min also. Main telecom players in the market are Dialog, Mobitel, Etisalat and Huch.

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Favorite thing: Sri Lanka has lots of bank holidays, around 25 (comparped to 9 in the UK) the principle Christian and Muslim Holidays are honoured, there’s Sinhala & Tamil New Year and Buddhists celebrate each full moon with something called Poya Day. Shops, banks and offices close so towns can appear quiet while hotels and beaches get busy as richer Sri Lankans leave the city for some beachside R&R.

You can get details of public holidays in 2010 here: http://documents.gov.lk/Calendar/Calendar2010/English.pdf

On Poya Day some locals don white clothes and head for temples often miles away from where they live. Roads and trains get busy and public transport generally can be unpredictable so Poya Day might not be the best time to travel. You will have a problem buying alcohol on Poya Day, but it can be done - your hotel, guest house or a friendly three-wheeler driver will probably find you a drink.

Favorite thing: When you go to Dambula, a Buddist Temple that was carved out of rock (supposedly by one man), there's lots of monkeys around. The monkeys occassionly come out and snatch stuff from people.

Fondest memory: There was a little 2 or 3 year old boy in our group. He could barely talk. His mom had given him a pouch of roasted cashews, and he was happily eating away until a monkey came and stole his pouch.

The kid cried and cried until his mom bought him a new pouch. Back to happily eating. Then, another monkey came and snatched the cashews again. This time the monkey didn't run off; he just started teasingly eating the cashews in front of the kid.

The kid got mad and slapped the monkey! While the monkey was dumb-struck, the kid grabbed the cashews back and went back to happily eating the nuts.

Favorite thing: Hi !
Am already here, got here as soon as I heard the war was over. Staying for 6 weeks. Safer than most countries now. This is my 6th trip, and it is wonderful!
The whole nation was celebrating the victory ! Already traveled to Kandy, Trincomalee, and the Tea Gardens in the Mountains these past few days.
Come and enjoy !
Well the nicest place in Sri Lanka is Kandy, the old world charm of the Kandyan Kingdom is still to be found here. Of course you need to have a good knowledgeable person to show you around. I mean , that if you have a good driver/guide, then you can really see Kandy and the rest of Sri Lanka as well. Kandy is good to see the traditional dances, handicraft making, shopping (gems too), visiting some of the most beautiful places I have been to, not forgetting the famous Ceylon Tea ! I have been lucky to find a good driver/guide who is very nice and really knowledgeable too.
Send a message if you want details about him.

Fondest memory: What I most miss when I am away from Sri Lanka, are the genuine smiles of the people. They are so nice and friendly. I also miss the nature that is around you, the village scenery, the beautiful sunsets, the fabulous beaches, the cascading waterfalls, the beat of their drums.
Anyone is welcome to contact me for travel details in Sri Lanka.

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Favorite thing: By the roadside and in village shops everywhere you will find people selling buffalo curd or Mee Kiri in Sinhala (Mee = Buffalo and Kiri = Milk).

Mee Kiri is my secret weapon against stomach trouble while in Sri Lanka, all that healthy live bacteria can wipe out unpleasant things going on in your tum, hardly my favourite thing about Sri Lanka but it works. If your stomach has been damaged by antibiotics (and even c diff) this really is amazing.

For more advice on stomach problems see the delhi belly tip in the warnings and dangers section.