Kandy Sri Lanka

Lord Buddha
Originally uploaded by kden604.

Kandy is a mountain city of about 100,000 people about 100km east of Colombo. It is a city of profound beauty and is by far the most scenic places of everywhere I had visited in Sri Lanka.

Religion and prayer is everywhere in Kandy and one of the most striking things you will notice is the giant Lord Buddha statue up on one of the local hills. It stand about 88 feet tall and is an impressive site to visit. Tickets for the site go to helping with maintenance and expanding the religious site and caretakers would be happy to show you around for a tip that goes towards helping maintain the statue (and pay their wages).

One of the really interesting things you can do is climb up about half way on stairs that climb up the Lord Buddhas back. It gives you a truly fantastic view of the valleys in the area.

To get up to Lord Buddha find the tourist police office and follow the ascending road up and to the left. It's a bit of a walk going up, or you could take a TukTuk who will drive you up and take you down after a set period of time.

If a giant Lord Buddha statue isn't enough to get you interested in going to Kandy, then how about the massive Temple of the Tooth. A site of massive Buddhist significants and a World Heritage site. The grounds and the building itself are magnificent, with lots of interesting shows and performances going on all the time.

Kandy is a really unique city, it is located far up in the mountains and has a beautiful lake which is bustling with fish. There is a pathway to walk all the way around which makes for a beautiful afternoon.

The city of Kandy itself has a couple really great features, there is a lot of wonderful restaurants, Devon's (just down from KFC) being one of the best in the city in my opinion. It has three restaurants in one. The main street level floor has fabulous breakfast, while a slightly more formal dining experience awaits you on the top floor. The manager was wonderful and friendly, as were all the staff and I highly recommend them.

Shopping is something you could spend hours doing in Kandy, there are several bazaar which seem to run every single day. They close up about 9 or 10 PM and are full of great deals. Make sure you bargain hard because tourists always get told a price at least twice as high as the locals.

If you prefer shopping in stores, there is a variety of stores to shop in, however the bulk of them are geared towards clothing and fashion.

The easiest way to get to Kandy from Colombo is by train. Tickets are about 130 Sri Lankan Rupees for a several hour journey and is reasonably comfortable. But I suggest that you read my tip on getting a seat on a Sri Lankan train.

The other method of getting there is hiring a private car to drive you. From Colombo you will be between 4500-7500 Sri Lankan rupees for an air conditioned vehicle. It's a little expensive but sometimes you just don't want to wait to go somewhere.

Kandy is a really beautiful city with lots to see and do. If you are just going up there to see the sights, I wouldn't spend more than 2-3 days up there max. I would say 2 full days and leave on the second evening would be more than enough for most people.

Then why not do as I did and head down to Hikkaduwa a beautiful beach down in the south.

Happy Travels!

Hikkaduwa Beach: Southern Sri Lanka

Hikkaduwa Beach
Originally uploaded by kden604.

Hikkaduwa is really a slice of paradise in Sri Lanka. To be honest I had never heard about it until I started talking to a gentleman in Kandy earlier in the week. He raved on and on about how beautiful the southern beaches of Sri Lanka were and how amazingly beautiful Hikkaduwa was specifically.

He couldn't have been more right! After a very long transit from Kandy to Hikkaduwa we arrived very late at night and found a hotel for one night. The next morning we were up and searching for a more suitable budget hotel.

We left our bags and started walking down one of the most fantastic beaches you have ever seen. Kilometers and kilometers of beach, few people, and palm trees everywhere.

After going to about 10 different guest houses and hotels we managed to find this beautiful beach bungalow for 1000 Sri Lanka rupees a night ($10 USD), originally he wanted 1500/night but we negotiated a price for 5 nights a bit of a better bargain.

I have to say that it was true paradise here in Hikkaduwa, it was quiet during the day if you wanted to relax and parties raged most evenings at a few different bars right along the beach.

There is a distinct surfer presence along the beaches in Hikkaduwa, mainly on account of the very large waves. Which unfortunately makes swimming rather dangerous. I had read a few warnings on the Internet about high currents and bad rip tides along most of the Sri Lankan beaches and Hikkaduwa was not different. There are a few places where you can go about waist deep, but with the large waves you really need to be careful and children should not be left to go in the water.

If you are not a good swimmer who is used to large waves or have a boogie board or surf board I strongly advise you to stick to wading in the water and not going too deep.

Hikkaduwa is a town build along one main road which connects Colombo to Galle. The town of Hikkaduwa is at the northern most area of the beach with high end resorts and hotels nearest to the town with cheaper budget accommodations further south. Sadly the average price I found to be a little bit high and most hotels wanted 1500-3000 ($15-30) Sri Lankan rupees per night for the back ones away from the beach. There are a few surfer haunts and exceptions to the rule, but for the most part that is the price range you will be expecting to see.

Hikkaduwa, despite the fact the price is slowly killing off the budget tourists makes a really fabulous destination that would be great for surfers, couples, or people who prefer to lay on the beach and tan as opposed to swim around and play in the ocean. There is lots of decent priced food, especially the rice and curries and one of the best hamburger places in South Asia.

Happy Travels!

Galle Fort: Southern Sri Lanka

Fort Siri
Originally uploaded by kden604.

Galle Fort is is a magnificent tourist destination if you find yourself enjoying the southern beaches of Sri Lanka. A mere 130 km south of Colombo and within 20-30km of most major tourist beaches, it makes an excellent day trip.

Galle Fort was originally built by the Portuguese however it was soon modified by the Dutch in the 17th century. The fort is now over 400 years old and full of colonial architecture and beauty. As you walk around inside the fort you notice a distinct style and class, with high end hotels and villas. Much of the fort is still owned by Dutch families who use it as investment or vacation properties, finding homes for long term rental or several week vacations should be no problem here and signs are often posted in the windows.

This area is certainly more posh that the rest of the city of Galle located about 5 minutes walk once you exit the fort walls. Major shopping facilities, buses, and cheaper restaurants are found in the city of Galle, whereas within the walls it's geared to tourists and westerners with higher budgets.

Inside the fort walls there are several museums to see, such as the maritime museum. But most people just enjoy the walk along the fort walls enjoying the view of the city and the ocean. I would estimate it would take 1 to 1.5 hours to walk around the fort walls and I would suggest that you try to do it in the morning or afternoon. The Sri Lankan heat can really be overbearing and you need to make sure to bring a long a bottle or two of water.

Once you have had your fill of staring at miles of clear blue ocean and sky as far as the eye can see it should be time to head in to town for some posh restaurants or a little bit of culture. There is some magnificently built churches in the centre of the Galle fort which I highly suggest taking a look at.

Though the fort itself faired very well against the 26 December 2004 tsunami that raged against much of the Sri Lanka southern coastal towns. As you tour the city and the resorts in the area you can't help but notice many vacant lots where hotels, homes and businesses once stood.

One things I found quite cute about the Galle Fort is that it is quite the dating location for young Sri Lankan couples. As you walk along the fort walls you will find couples kissing and picnicking in every little secluded nook and cranny of the fort that has a view. I would have to agree this walk along the wall can make a wonderful romantic outing.

Finally, another great thing about visiting the Galle Fort is it is entirely free. There is no admission costs because it is essentially an extension of the town of Galle itself. So enjoy the scenery and take in the experience.

Happy Travels!

Getting a seat in Sri Lanka

Crazy Train Guy
Originally uploaded by kden604.

Train travel in Sri Lanka is very effective. Not only the long haul trains, but the short trains from town to town. They can get very busy but generally they are "reasonably" clean.

I have two pieces of advice for riding trains in Sri Lanka. The first is to buy a first class (chair car) ticket. The cost is really dirt cheap. I had a 4+ hour ride for under $2 USD. Yes I could have saved $0.50 but I prefer to have a little bit more person space.

Now getting a seat is a special topic. Sri Lankan trains are very busy. It doesn't matter if it is a local train or if it is a long haul train. When you purchase your ticket they do NOT reserve seats for you. From what I gather you cannot reserve tickets or at least I was never able to explain what I wanted.

The key to getting at seat on a train in Sri Lanka is to wait at the platform and the moment is slows down enough to jump on... Get on and run at full speed to a seat and lay claim to it or multiple (for your friends). This is MUCH easier to executed by a team of two or more people.

Trying this with a large backpack can be difficult as it often gets caught or slows you down at doorways. Have one person play defense at the train door to slow people from entering and then have a person with NO-BAGGAGE do the mad seat dash. I would estimate that if you don't procure a seat within 20 seconds you are totally out of luck.

Even the good compartments will be quite full of people. As you can see from this picture there is people sitting out all the doors. This is partly from over-crowding and partly due to the amazing summer heat.

Food and Drink is available on the trains from people walking up and down the train selling stuff. The price is quite reasonable.

Who is Adventure Ken?

Who is Adventure Ken?

No, I'm not the latest model of Barbie doll. For the record, "Vacation Adventure Ken" Barbie doll is far less cool.

So that is my picture, I'll rotate it from time to time. I might not tell you when. I might not archive the old one. There are lots of pictures of me on my flickr page, if you feel the urge to see more of me. Women, I won't be offended if you masturbate to them -- Take pictures.

Adventure Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is a beautiful lush green country. The people are very friendly and food is delightfully spicy! I spent a few weeks in Sri Lanka with Siri and I have to say that it left a really lasting impression on me. Sadly, shortly after I left the Tamil Tigers starting bombing Colombo and causing a little more havoc that I care to play tourist in.

• Kandy: Lord Buddha, Temple of the Tooth
  
• Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka - A Southern Beach
  
• Dutch Galle Fort in Southern Sri Lanka
  
• Getting a train seat in Sri Lanka
  
• Welcome to Sri Lanka Ken
• Negombo Fun
  
• Sri Lankan kind of day
  
• Tamils and Tourism
• From Negombo to Kandy
• Want some Kandy?
  
• Some monsoon rain, Wow!
  
• From Kandy to Hikkaduwa
  
• Flight Changes & Crazy Ladies
  
• Leaving Goa for Sri Lanka
• Hey, let's beatup some thieves!
• Crazy drunk on the train to Kandy
• Sitting around in Galle Fort
• Goodbye sweet Siri
• Could you curry these bags for me?
• Colomobo Airport
  

Flights N Stuff

My flight has been rescheduled until the 23rd of April now. Originally I was going to fly out on the 14th, but Siri wasn't leaving until the 18th. All the flights were booked from 18-22nd so I guess a few extra days in Sri Lanka are in the Cards.

On the bright side, I would like to say thank you to the wonderful Sri Lankan Airlines. Now it's not often I praise airlines, it seems all they do is go on strike and are generally majorly ripping you off at every opportunity. However, Sri Lankan Airlines didn't even ding me for a service fee to change my flight date. Nice.

So we are still in Kandy at the moment, but we are going to find our way to a beach by tonight I think. Either a train to Colombo then another down south, or something like that... The details haven't really been worked out.

It's been sort of weird, the past few days we hadn't seen a single tourist other than ourselves in Kandy. Now there are hordes of them! Seems strange to see them all after only seeing locals for a while.

We met this crazy lady the other day, her name is Clair. She was lost and looked scared and confused when we came out of the restaurant a couple nights ago. She saw us (really the only other foreigners around) and asked if we knew where she could find a hotel... Anyways, we were just on our way back to our guest house and offered to allow her to share in our TukTuk.

So she is a little bit weird at this point, more nervous than anything and more than a little Paranoid. The next morning someone opens our room door, I didn't have it locked, but I yell "uhm what?" and I hear "oh sorry, wrong room."

Next day it's early evening and we get this tap on the door... it's her, a little wet and kind of frantic. She tells us that in the morning Rodney the owner gave her a ride in to town and that he tried to rob her. Her story was kind of shifty and the details changed from time to time... but we invited her up to the restaurant to have something to drink to calm her nerves.

Why she came back to the hotel in the first place after the owner apparently tried to rob her is beyond me... but ANYWAYS when Rodney came back I asked him to step outside and we spoke about what happened. I reviewed her bill and stuff to make sure she wasn't getting ripped off... but I think she is just a true wacko.

More stories... She took a taxi 20 minutes for 1500 Sri Lankan Rupees (should be 450 max), She took a TukTuk the same distance and gave him 30 Rupees (should be 250 max)... This caused much unrest among the hotel staff and various drivers. She took a bus once, 20 minutes turned in to 2.5 hours and 160 Rupee (should be 20-30 rupee max)...

Anyways, I think Rodney is on the level... his staff were all very friendly. I'm pretty sure this lady just has a lot of personal issues and we kind of feel sorry for her. I taught Siri a knew phrase, "A few bricks shy of a full load."

Yep, Crazy people follow me.

Kandy, Sri Lanka

Siri and I left Negombo this morning. We slept in a bit late... didn't really have a plan to go at any set time, didn't buy a ticket or anything. But we took a tuktuk to the train station and we only had to wait an hour which left lots of time for breakfast. Then from Colombo we took the train to Kandy, a 3-3.5 hour adventure.

It was a bumpy shaky ride, but the mountains are fantastic, most of the people were great and there was a couple of drunk guys hanging off the side of the train yelling out "Sri Lanka #1" "No Problem" and other such hilarious things at Siri and I.

Anyways we are at a guest house called Rodney's about 15 minutes outside of Kandy. It's pretty decent, 700 Sir Lankan Rupees per night and the room is pretty good.

Getting tired though, ready to sleep. Just wanted to do a quick blog post.

Happy Easter

So the easter weekend has been great so far. I don't know about all of the country, but along the coast in Negombo where I am there is a big Christian population and they take Easter very seriously.

Every church resonates with singing choirs, when are in their sunday bests, and men are all dress in white.

Yesterday, Siri and I went to Colombo to the Emirates Office to make some modifications to her flight. Colombo is an interesting city, it's got the typical big city feel, tuktuk drivers harass you as you walk, there are some big malls, lots of pirated music and north american fast food chains. Yep I wanted some good old KFC.

There is lots of military and police in the city of Colombo right now, road blocks and checks at major exchanges, bridges, parks and towers...

Siri got a bite on her neck from something, it looks like a bruise a little bit, but it is looking much better today. We bought some packets of Henna and did some body painting which was pretty fun!

Last night we went down to one of the bigger hotels and had a nicer type dinner for Easter. I ate pretty good Pepper Steak, by far the best I've had in quite some time. Mashed potatoes, vegetables, and beer were also highlights of the meal.

Today we went to another big hotel and decided to lay by the pool, work on our tans, swim and eat for most of the day. I have to say... I'm working on a pretty sweet tan right about now. Made all the more hilarious by some of the Henna stuff.

When we finished out late lunch there was a little squirrel who was pretty cute, he kept coming up and begging for food. But he would do tricks and take it from your hand, or climb up the leg of the table and do a balancing act in order to get his grub.

We're going to head to Kandy tomorrow by train or taxi, depending if we manage to wake our asses up on time.

In other news, I've gotten a few beautiful e-mails from some of the Brethren of India and also some Brethren in Thailand who are facilitating my trip by giving me some lead up information and some contacts! Wonderful!

I entirely forgot to bring the address to try and find the Freemason Hall in Colombo, we were busy doing flight stuff. I think I'm going to push back until about the 18th-19th before I head on to Thailand.

So very warm

Last night there was a beautiful lightning storm over the ocean outside of our hotel room. The whole sky was bright for hours as massive fork lightning shot across the sky. From time to time a large vertical spike would hit the water and everything would go orange... It was really great.

After all the rain it's so hot today, the humidity is crazy. We are taking shelter in an Internet cafe and places where we can avoid the heat.

Looking in to taxi a Taxi to Kandy, it's only about 80km or 90km from here which we can pay like 4000-6000 Sri Lankan Rupees... for the entire day there and back (40-60 dollars). Not bad.

Today though maybe swimming and biking around the beach communities...

Wondeful Sri Lanka

Indy Buried
Originally uploaded by kden604.

Yesterday was a day full of Great things...

For Breakfast I ate a Banana and Honey pancake, the pancake itself is plain, but they wrap up the fruit and honey inside the pancake, when you cut it open it all comes squishing out. The honey is the best I've ever tasted!

Rice and Curry Vegetables for lunch... The best curry I've ever had. It was so flavourable, it wasn't hot exactly, but man it was just perfect.

The tea in Sri Lanka is pretty much thought to be some of the best in the world, and its dirt cheap, 3 cups for 75 cents.

Even a simple cucumber and tomato salad was done with really nice spices which made it wonderful.

Then there is the beer, the two primary beers being Carlsberg (brewed here) and Lions Lager which in my opinion is much better. It costs between 90-140 Sri Lankan Rupees per 750ml bottle. (95 Sri Lankan Rupees to the Canadian Dollar, 108 to the USD).

My hotel room in Negombo is 1100 a night, which is about 10.50 Canadian Dollars. It's massive, comfortable, balcony, great staff, nice clean room, good mosquito nets on a frame over the bed and antique type woodwork in the room. Not to mention the neat little geckos eating all the mosquitoes.

Siri flies in today around 11am so I'm just killing time on the internet before I hop a tuktuk to the airport.

Last night there was a magnificent Sunset, which is right out the view of my hotel, over the ocean... I went to bed a bit early and awoke around 6:20am... I went for a walk on the beach and got called over by some fishermen.

They were sitting on the beach, they had put their nets out earlier and were going out a little later to check them. There were two brothers, they spoke very little english, but I sat down and we chatted about where I was from, if I liked Sri Lanka, and what little else we could communicate.

They offered to allow me to come out in their boat and help draw in the nets, which I declined only because I had prior arrangements. I think it would have been a lot of fun to play fisherman Ken in the morning with some of the locals.

The people here in Sri Lanka are amazingly friendly, everyone asks how you are and says hello as you walk down the street... Not just the ones selling stuff. People will walk with you just to find out where you are from. Of course everyone will ask your age and why aren't you married yet. But that is a question that everyone has asked from the middle east onward in my journey.

People get married at the latest around 22-24 here, but quite often much earlier... So when they meet someone who is 26-30 and they aren't married they pretty much are in awe of the fact.

So I'm going to head back to the hotel now, I uploaded a couple of pictures to flickr last night for my dad. I think this dog half buried in the sand is pretty cute. We covered him with a pyramid of sand once, probably 2 feet tall and she woke up an hour later with this "what the fuck?" look on her face as she shook the sand off.

Sri Lanka

I'm in Sri Lanka!

I was sooo tired this morning, I didn't exactly go to sleep last night... Funny story...

So the girls went to the airport, but their flight was cancelled and they came back a few hours later. Cafe Del Mar was slow, but the beer was cold.

It was just a great night all together, though the word Scheisser was used more than a few times. Long story...

ANYWAYS... I am hoping that I might have a companion on my Sri Lanka trip, there was some talk of flight time tables being changed... sweet. But we will seeing, waiting on an e-mail from Cochin...

First impressions of Sri Lanka:

Very beautiful flight coming in, very scenic landscape.
Airport was spotless
Taxi drivers were "reasonable"
Drivers aren't too crazy
It's very vibrant and green
There isn't much garbage laying around
The characters in their language are very circular and neat looking.

1 Canadian Dollar is about 96 Sri Lankan Rupees.
My hotel is 700 SL Rupees, and its quite nice.
Internet is 60 SL Rupees, but slow and spotty.


I went away from Colombo to a small beach 15 km from the airport... Just because I expect to have to go to the airport in the next day or two depending if the flight changes were possible.

Packed and Ready

It's my last night in Goa and India for now!

Tomorrow morning at 5am I hop in a Cab and head to the airport... Sri Lanka bound!

Ralph left a couple of days ago, and the girls left a couple hours ago... Everyone is on their way home but me. I have to say it feels pretty nice to have a new destination... Though I really love the beach life here, it was getting old and it was time to move on.

There is one last party at Dancing Shivas, I saw this girl handing out flyers up and down the beach... perhaps there will be some good attendance.

Last night I went to the Cafe Del Mar and it was a really great time... get together before saying goodbye to all of my new German friends.

So... More to post from Sri Lanka tomorrow, there isn't much worth mentioning right now other than the fact I finished reading "Five Point Someone" a funny Indian book about Indias Institute of Technology... And also there is apparently lots of people at my old work using facebook now.

Hi Everyone ;)

The Scoop

Here's the scoop:

Finally have an end date in Goa.

Flying to Sri Lanka on 31 March, spending two weeks
and flying to Thailand on 14 April.

Cost of the ticket from Goa was $284 USD for the two
flights combined. Not too shabby... Flying with Sri
Lankan Airlines.

Not too much else going on :)

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Ralph & Dave

So, new people here to keep me company, Ralph a really cool German guy, and Dave who is a Quantum Physics student from England.

Finished Great Expectations, Reading now Captain Courageous by Kipling. Half way done, it's a short 200 page book but it isn't doing much for me so far.

Yep, Not so much going on, seems there are more and more Brits arriving here now, before it was mostly germans. Interesting how if you stay long enough you see these trends.

I was talking to Ralph who was just in Thailand and Sri Lanka recently, and he said over-land to Thailand was impossible three months ago because you couldn't cross the Thai/Burma Border over land due to the borders being shut on account of rebels or something.... I'll need to research this further.

Sri Lanka Ferry, I Hope By Now!

Fast ferry service between S. India, Colombo soon

The Hindu Business Line
New Delhi , Nov. 29, 2006

A NEW fast ferry service linking South India with Colombo is to start soon, the Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism, Mr Udaya Nanayakkara, has said.

"The ferry service has been approved by the Sri Lankan Government. There are some issues on the Indian side. The initiative of the private sector of the two nations will provide a daily ferry service to the people," he said.

Besides, thenational airlines, SriLankan, is also looking at increasing flights to India, Mr Nanayakkara added.

"The airline is looking to operate flights to Ahmedabad and Goa. The flight to Goa will help offer international tourists the option of having a two-destination holiday in India and Sri Lanka," he pointed out.

At present, SriLankan operates 88 weekly flights from Sri Lanka to India.

The start of the ferry service and increase in flights by SriLankan are likely to see an increase in tourist arrivals from India to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Tourism officials said there had been more than 21 per cent increase in tourist arrivals from India to Sri Lanka till September this year compared to the same period in the previous year.

Sri Lanka, Yes Please

Ok, so after looking on the Canadian Government Website about Sri Lanka, and talking to a couple of tourist offices here... I'm pretty sure I'll be going to Sri Lanka.

Reasons:

• Free 30 Day Tourist Visa at Border
• Maximum return trip flight $275 Canadian
• I need a new Indian Tourist Visa
• I need a Bangladesh Tourist Visa

Now, I don't want to fly, and I will do my best to avoid it... but should I really be unable to find alternative transportation the opportunity will be there to fly at a reasonable cost to Colombo.

When is the next question... I've decided to spend a few more days here in Palolem, because it's just so damned beautiful. But tomorrow I'm moving from my hotel to a beach hut. It's up on stilts, has power, and a bug screen... but I just want to wake-up to an amazing view. Though we are on the Arabian Sea side, so the sunset is more spectacular than the sunrise here.