Bob & Leslie
USA, March 2017
What did you like most about Sri Lanka?
Rice & Curry! People, history, variety, beauty.
What did you like least about Sri Lanka?
Hair-raising driving (mostly by other vehicles, not Nihal).
What is your opinion of your accommodation in Sri Lanka?
Little Paradise [Anuradhapura] was fine. It was fun to be in a residential neighborhood. Given that you specifically mentioned that it was a clean place, you might suggest that they scrub the light switches. They were pretty gross and made me wonder about kitchen hygiene. We survived unscathed, however. (In fact, no GI issues throughout.)
Enjoyed the Galkadawala [Habarana] experience and talking to Maulie. I think 2 nights is just right. People might want to know there's no real privacy between rooms but it was not a problem - especially since we were the only ones there both nights! Loved the lightning bugs flitting around the room outside our netting and waking up to the bird sounds undimmed by walls.
Kirinda Walauwa [Gampola near Kandy] was lovely (I hope Lalith doesn't consider modernizing the vintage bathroom) and it was fun to get a feel for that slice of Sinhalese society and talk to Lalith. There is no "bed tea" (not on their in-house promo either) which was fine with us but should be removed from your description. Also no well bath or kitul tapping (wrong season?) was offered. Cooking lunch was the highlight activity of our stay there, especially since Prema is so sweet. We actually helped prepare the food, not just watched as the itinerary described. Lalith said Tikalanka requests the BBQ dinner; we would have preferred the regular fare, not a meal similar to what we cook for ourselves at home. We went to the monastery and chatted with the head monk but there was no offering of the Gilanpasa.
Loved staying at a tea estate manor house (Jetwing Warwick Gardens [Nuwara Eliya]) to get a feel for that lifestyle. Is that what you call a "bungalow" in Britain? - not in America! We were sorry to leave early and miss breakfast there, tho they packed us a enough good food to last us for breakfast and a light lunch. Our hike at Horton Plains felt rushed. Did it in 2.5 hours for fear of missing the train, tho it turned out that we had plenty of time on the other end. Would have been good to know ahead that we could have hopped on the train at Ambewela if we were running late. World's End was packed and there was a noisy group so we didn't really feel like stopping there to absorb the view. (Other people we met later mentioned that it was too crowded to enjoy.) I saw the national park bungalows and thought that it could be wonderful to stay there and be among the first on the trail and have plenty of time. I understand that you'd have to bring your own food. Is this doable? (Didn't see how rustic/clean they were.)
Clove Tree/Amba Estates [Ella] is an odd place in that it's really hard to figure out the set up and who's in charge. Some people thought they had booked into the atmospheric Amba Estates bungalow but were housed at Clove Tree (I think because a family of 6 had the bungalow) and were disappointed. We enjoyed the rural village location and the river swimming/scene. You can hike up to Ella Rock from there (2 hours up) which Nihal had never done before. So glad to have not had to go into Ella - it was a peaceful walk (no other tourists en route) and a modest temple is being built toward the top, which was fun to come across. We missed a turn on the way back down and spent about 40 minutes going in a circle before we figured out where we went wrong - an adventure! Dinner at Misty Morning with likeable Pat is recommended, tho staying there would have been a little challenging for me because she's so talkative. Enjoyed talking with Tim (New Englander who had worked at the American Embassy, have you met him?) and getting his perspective on things.
I didn't see evidence of Turtle Bay [Tangalle] being environmentally responsible. Not even the usual note about minimizing linens washing. And, wouldn't it be wonderful if the staff picked up the flotsam at low tide and invited guests to join them? (BTW, I loved that Galkadawala and Clove Tree provided filtered or spring water instead of bottled water; I wish more places would do that.) I'd say a pool is a must at Turtle Bay, given that you can't swim in the ocean there but I felt guilty, given the water shortage and that there were two pools. I appreciated the deserted beach and the low key ambience but if I were doing this itinerary again I'd probably recommend people stay closer to the turtle sanctuary - IF it's the season, they're interested in it and there's a good place. (Spring for Buckingham Place?) We opted out of a trip to see the turtles, given the 45 min. tuk tuk ride each way.
We liked Taru Villas 42 Lighthouse [Street, Galle]. They gave us the better standard room, which we very much appreciated. The other one has less room and is on the first floor between the kitchen and a utility room so I'd encourage people to upgrade if that's the only standard room available. It was a real bonus to have access to the Taru Villas Ramparts' [Street] pool. We went there all three days to cool off. I agree that 2 nights in Galle was enough and I'm really glad we stayed inside the Fort.
What is your opinion of your chauffeur guide in Sri Lanka?
We were very satisfied and, as we've written, we feel fortunate to have had Nihal as our driver-guide. He's one of the most thoughtful men I have ever met and we were sad to leave him. He knew a lot about nature (especially birds), history and recent events and he went out of his way to point out things we were likely to miss. One minor quibble: A few of the things he said conflicted with what we read in the Rough Guide and internet so if there's a supportive way to encourage him/all your guides to continue to refresh and fact-check their knowledge that would be good - though I certainly understand that guide books and the internet can provide "alternative facts!" (We've found many guides around the world to be hesitant to say, "I don't know," "I'm not sure," "I'll look it up," or even couch information in terms like, "Some people think that..." and we often tell them that we don't expect them to know, or be certain about, everything!)
What is your opinion of your flights to and from Sri Lanka?
We booked ourselves; pretty much were as expected.
Any other comments?
We had a great time and enjoyed the variety of ecological zones, sights and accommodations. Thank you so much for working with us to provide those experiences and trying to understand our travel style.
Enjoyed Mihintale especially since it was a weekend and we were among local pilgrims. The guided tour at Anuradhapura was kind of a drag. The site guide we picked up (Neil) clearly wanted to hurry us along through the 4-5 "must see" sites and we didn't come away with a coherent view of the place. Maybe there's a better way to do it or maybe it's just too vast? And we were wiped out from the heat. Loved Polonnaruwa, tho the heat wore us down there too. I'd recommend getting an earlier start for these places and earlier lunch break than seems to be the norm (even it if needs to be a boxed breakfast or lunch). I would have liked having more explanation at the scale model of Polonnaruwa in their museum.
Sigiriya was great but we certainly didn't get up top at dawn, as our itinerary implied. And they route you through the ornamental gardens at the base before you climb.
For some reason Dambulla Caves wasn't on Nihal's abbreviated itinerary but I caught that in time. Would have hated to miss that! And we asked to stop briefly at the Dambulla wholesale market which was worth seeing/different.
I felt 2.5-3 hours on the train was enough; due to the noise, even in second class. I think it would have been exhausting taking it all the way from Kandy to Ella but it was fun. There almost was a problem. The ticket Nihal had from the office was for the 3:00ish departure, not the 12:45. Luckily there was room on the earlier departure, although we couldn't exchange it at that point and had to buy another ticket (no big deal, given the price). Having to be on the 3:00 would have made the ride to Clove Tree nerve wracking in the dark.
Nihal took us to the Buduruwagala carvings on the way to Tangalle, which I'm glad he did, and which I'd recommend to others.
We stopped at a local eatery for lunch on our way to Tangalle which we would have enjoyed more of, as opposed to the larger tourists spots. Nihal said he could tell right away that this spot was clean. (He had initially stopped at a restaurant owned by the Air Force, but we said that we wanted a more local experience and more choices than they offered.) Did enjoy Jaga Food (one of our favorites!) and Margosa Lake Resort, but not Grand Tourist Holiday Resort or the place outside Kandy, across from a spice garden - too big/commercial/touristy. A lunch in a modest home would be nice if clean prep could be expected and if it wouldn't seem phony.
The only other thing I'd change is the gnats, which didn't seem to care about bug repellent. See what you can do about that! (We were told they're worse March, April and May.) And I wish Clove Tree and Kirinda Walauwa had mosquito nets so you could open up the windows at night to get fresh air/cool breezes.
So I hope this level of detail is helpful. Thanks again for a wonderful exposure to Sri Lanka. You're very good at what you do and we will be sure to recommend you to any friends planning to visit Sri Lanka.
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