Sri Lanka, The Very Best Place I Never Wanted To Go

By Geoff Whittle; husband of Cherrie of Worldwide Holiday’s When Cherrie invited me to accompany her on a FAM trip of Sri Lanka I was less than enthusiastic. Having spent seven years living in India, Sri Lanka just seemed as if would be a ‘chip off the India block’ and held little appeal when so many other destinations beckoned – HOW WRONG! Our flight by BA stopped over in the Maldives briefly and it was all Cherrie could do to stop me getting off as I stood in the aircraft doorway and soaked up Male’s balmy heat and viewed the Indian Ocean lapping the island we’d landed on. Reluctantly returning to my seat, the short hop to Colombo transported us from island paradise to the bustle of a city and country that’s still recovering from the ravages of war and tsunami. Cherrie and I were in Sri Lanka for a few days of hotel inspection prior to a small group joining us – so we had the benefit of viewing the country from both perspectives – tour operator and tourist – a view that was an eye-opener in every respect. Driven in our courtesy car from the airport to Beruwala beach via the ‘interesting route’, rather than the new express way that cuts journey time by two thirds, all my worst expectations seemed to have been realised as the continuous ribbon of pre-stressed concrete shops and houses in a seemingly random clutter of cheap aluminium window frames and part built, grey, featureless slab architecture transported me back to memories of scruffy Indian cities – with one main difference. Although the driving style took some getting used to, even after the tiring flight I could see that Sri Lanka was immediately cleaner than India and a far cry from the ‘smells, bells and yells’ of its big neighbour.

The next few days of checking out some of the most interesting hotels I’ve seen for a long time was hardly a chore in the beautiful November heat of the Sri Lankan southwest coast. There’s a place for every pocket here; from the secluded luxurious boutique escape for those who want to be totally pampered, to the comprehensively appointed larger hotels for those who seek like-minded company – all of them with clean white sand palm fringed beaches in front and lush vegetation behind. Not all of the beaches are safe for swimming however but all of them provide the perfect backdrop for chilling over the welcome drinks and cold towels that I rapidly became a connoisseur of.

The next couple of days saw us touring into the hills on inspections but also taking in the Rain/Cloud Forest of (?) and Udawalawe National Park. The Rain Forest is a must for keen birdwatchers who don’t mind the occasional leech and as we’d been under the mistaken impression we’d be in a jeep rather than on foot this tended to focus the mind, as I’d only brought shorts! As luck would have it leeches as well as every other biting insect tend to favour Cherrie’s sweeter blood over mine, so it was only she that donated any – not a painful or harmful experience, just a messy one. Rain Forest accommodation is much more ‘jungle lodge’ style with good local food and an all pervading damp environment that certainly didn’t seem to affect our clean and dry room at the remote Rain Forest Edge.   Udawalawe offers elephant and birdlife for those on a restricted itinerary but if you have the choice of Udawalawe or Yala, I’d plump for Yala, which we were to experience with our group later.

As a keen photographer I’m always on the lookout for a special image and the overriding thought as we travelled was that I wanted more time in each place and between each venue. There’s so much to see and a tight itinerary could leave you exhausted if not well thought out.

We met our group at Negombo Beach Jetwing Blue Hotel which sits on a seemingly endless panorama of clean sand and blue sea. Our group was already full of praise for their driver and very much looking forward to the holiday. It’s easy to become blasé about high-end hotels and their ‘packaged’ offerings that leave little to choose between them but each of the places we stayed had a certain something that made it memorable; with our huge en-suite bathroom at Jetwing Blue with its glass sides into the room being a novel talking point until we dropped the blinds! Throughout the whole of our trip I became ever more impressed by the huge variety of geography, scenery, places of interest, terrain and above all the hospitality and friendliness of the Sri Lankan people. They’re working hard to dispel the hangover of recent history and are anxious to move forwards rather than dwell on the past. With a predominantly Buddhist population, people appear to have a much gentler and less imposing demeanour than India; all together a kinder and more genuinely helpful approach which puts the traveller’s mind at rest and removes much of the sometimes confrontational pestering experienced in much of Asia.  Touching on religion, I suffered from ‘temple trauma’ in India by virtue of the millions of Hindu Temples we visited and Sri Lanka promises to do the same for the unwary with Buddhist shrines. I’d balk at a constant stream of churches in the UK as well, so you want to be selective of what you see even if you’re keen on these edifices, as I fell into a stupor after a while – or is that a Stupa? Our driver was really accommodating of the many individual photo requests I gave him for pictures of Buddhist monks, tea pickers in the sun on rolling tea estates and fishermen on sticks, en route as we travelled around and he came up trumps every time – no request too much trouble as well as his normal duties of chaperoning us between venues. Some of the ‘attractions’ have a distinctly ‘made for the tourist’ feel and the Pinnawela elephant orphanage for me was one of these. Apparently some ‘new’ baby elephants had been shipped in especially for the Heads of Commonwealth visit and the ‘buy a bottle for feeding time’ was a purely commercial opportunity for what is nevertheless still a charming visit overall. Of particular value for us was sitting having lunch overlooking the bathing place as a herd of elephants made their way through the village to the river – a much more natural environment for them and us.  A visit to the Matale spice garden and Kandy cultural dance were another two ‘canned visits’ but again, you have to do them just to say you’ve done so, as it’s all part of the experience – and a full massage with natural herbal oils came as a welcome surprise and distraction for all of us after a few hours in the car at the highly informative spice tour visit. Whether you’re looking for rest and relaxation or a taxing hike, wildlife or cultural experience, a beach chill or a challenging round of golf you’ll find it all here – we did everything! The climb up Sigiriya rock fortress is not for the faint hearted whereas the 6000ft high Horton Plains trek can reward you with some spectacular views after you’ve paused to get your breath back. It’s a tricky but largely level /undulating walk that gives you another example of the spectacular geographic diversity of Sri Lanka – a vista so removed from its lush tea estates, dense rain forest or sandy coastal ribbon that you could be in a different country rather than just another location.  Golf at Nuwara Eliya’s international course was reminiscent of what the old British Planters must have experienced, with our individual caddies offering a constant stream of advice about club selection and direction of play – if only I could have lived up to their expectations rather than driving balls into the scenery with monotonous regularity until even a birdie on a par three with my tee shot eighteen inches from the pin failed to impress. Again, more time here would have been welcome – I’d love to go back again and prove I’m not the spare part they’ve undoubtedly put me down as – even if they couldn’t have been more courteous when agreeing with me that my play was rubbish. Having said that we did everything I think I’d be more selective on our next visit by choosing some golfing and some wildlife with a beach finale to chill before returning to the actual chill of UK. We certainly had a hugely rewarding experience – enough for me to know I’ll go again. My scepticism about Sri Lanka being the’ most beautiful island on earth’ was completely dispelled during our tour and I can’t think of any other that really holds a candle to it in terms of variety, interest and scenery. Over nearly three weeks we’d covered about two thirds of the island from Colombo and Negombo in a large circle that went through Pinnawela (elephants), Paradenia (Botanical Gardens), Habarana (rock fortress) as far north as Anuradhapura (temples), Pollonaruwa (more temples), Dambulla (even more temples) before circling back through Nuwara Eliya (embarrassing golf, trekking and tea estates), Tropical Rain Forest, Kandy (culture), Matale (spicy massage) and the National Parks of Udawalawe and Yala before sinking onto a well-padded beachside sunbed in Galle. Our driver had the sense, initiative and intelligence to gauge if we were flagging and to adapt to our collective preferences when we really didn’t feel like a city tour or another temple and this made all the difference being a small tailor-made group; as opposed to a couple of larger tour groups from other well-known companies that we came across who weren’t afforded the luxury of choice and who looked, quite frankly, exhausted. Our final couple of days back on the south coast at Yala and Galle provided a slowing of the pace albeit a couple of our group failed to show for the 5.30am early morning call to get into Yala for game viewing – more’s the pity as they missed both a great leopard sighting and a crocodile with a deer in its jaws, being cautiously pursued by two wary but hungry Jackals, as it lumbered with its prize across the grassland in search of watery refuge. Being a cynic at heart I expected Galle Fort area to be a pile of decaying stones that would come a poor second to a G&T by the pool of our last hotel – wrong again. The beautifully preserved Portuguese, Dutch and British architecture within this walled town does great credit to Sri Lanka’s embracing of its heritage and history, with the many restaurants, hotels, stalls, shops and alleyways providing plenty of interest for even the most jaded traveller.  Sri Lanka? In short – go there! There’s something for everyone, whether you want to do it all or pick and choose. There’s a genuine and warm welcome awaiting anyone from a people who have suffered immensely over the last few years but who are keen to move on and are intensely proud of their country – with just cause. Sri Lanka doesn’t get the publicity it deserves, which means you can really experience what it has to offer before the world and his wife overrun it. Don’t delay….