This beautiful island nation can be summarized in three simple words: “India for beginners.” Sure, there are still cows in the roads here, and the wardrobe, cuisine, and architecture are all similar, but the country is much less crowded and the culture way more relaxed. If you are planning to visit India then definitely schedule a week or three in Sri Lanka beforehand — otherwise India will eat you alive.
Never been? Check out my first impressions of Sri Lanka for an idea of what to expect plus advice for first time visitors.
There are two ways to explore Sri Lanka: luxury travel with fancy resorts, private beaches, chartered flights and scheduled tours, or budget travel using hostels and public buses, making friends with locals along the way.
I highly recommend doing a mixture of both. All luxury travel and you won’t experience the real culture. Focus too much on a budget and you will miss out on the true Sri Lankan hospitality. Regardless of what you do and where in the country you visit, spend your money at small family-owned restaurants and shops, rather than internationally-owned chains, hotel restaurants and airport gift shops. Local families need that money more than the fancy places and foreign brands.
Pristine beaches. Lush jungles. Delicious food. Spectacular weather. Endless adventures and possibilities. This is Sri Lanka, one of the most amazing island nations I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting. Every year more and more tourists visit Sri Lanka but they always tend to do the same few things. Yala National Park. Temple of the … Read more
Ever wondered how to become a dictator? Turns out that one thing travel teaches you is that not all democracies are truly democratic. The first example that undoubtedly comes to your mind right now is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) aka North Korea. There are a total of eight countries around the world … Read more
Swimming with Blacktip Reef sharks. Learning how to cook crab curry. Drinking toddy fresh from the palm tree. Pristine beaches and beautiful temples and friendly people. Yes, these are just some of the things to see and do in Trincomalee, one of my favorite cities in all of Sri Lanka. Located in the northeast corner … Read more
One of the best things about visiting a new country is learning new things. No matter how much research you do or how many people you ask, there are always things about the country that surprise or even bewilder you. Here’s a quick gift for all you Pinners Last November I had the honor of … Read more
2014 has been a fun-filled and food-filled year but not one without it’s share of trials and tribulations (case in point getting locked up abroad for 16 days and eventually deported because of a tweet). But through it all I’ve kept on the hunt for more tasty foods to try, whether strange or taboo or … Read more
The quickest way to make people want to visit somewhere is to tell them that they cannot. So when I heard that Jaffna was off-limits to foreigners and rare even for ordinary Sri Lankan citizens from the south to visit, well I knew right then and there that I would find a way to explore … Read more
Up in the northeastern corner of Sri Lanka lies an amazing place named Trincomalee but often referred to as heaven. The beaches are pristine, the scenery is like something out of a movie, the temples are breathtaking, the food is delicious and the people are friendly. Plus it is the home of Girihadu Seya This … Read more
First time visitors to Sri Lanka tend to assume that the country and the culture are very similar to India given their close proximity (only 28km apart) however nothing could be further from the truth. I’ve only been in the country a couple of days and already I have been overwhelmingly blown away by the … Read more
I am not someone who is on a quest to visit every country in the world, ticking them off a travel ‘to do’ list. I’m someone who is on a quest to explore as much of the world as I can, learn about and appreciate diverse cultures and meet and interact with different people. But … Read more
The cool highlands of Sri Lanka occupy the only part of the rain forests that remains in the entire country. It is the natural home of the highly threatened fauna and flora species, endemic Sri Lankan leopard, and the purple-faced languor. This region consists of three protected areas: Horton Plains National Park, Knuckles Range, and … Read more
