I finally visited SRI LANKA & I will go back again, someday!!!

I typically complain a lot about the lack of "luck" in my life, but actually there has been a few incidents/events where I have been extremely lucky!

One such event would be my "Sri Lanka" trip last year around this time! I combined the trip with my yearly visit to India! I was completely oblivious to the looming threat Covid-19 was posing to the entire world. I had my parents join me for the trip; we had a great time, our trip went on perfectly without much chaos and we all had our health uncompromised during and after the trip. And I am very grateful for that! I got back to USA just before quarantine started here!

So! SRI LANKA! It is a magical country! First of all, it is breathtakingly beautiful; nature has bestowed this tiny island with all kinds of bounties - it has charming beaches, magnificent hills, and serene forests! Second, the food in Sri Lanka is simply amazing! I found Sri Lankan cuisine to be very comforting (it could be spicy but I am from India so that's not much of a concern for me) but because it is a tourism-heavy country, you can find variety of food options! Third, the people in Sri Lanka are as beautiful as the place itself! Almost everyone I have encountered in this trip was cordial, helpful and just adorable. Last, but not the least, I found the trip to be very cost effective! Of course, value of money is very subjective from person to person, but for me the trip was worth the money spent on it. 

To sum it up, I will go back to this country in a heat beat!!!

First taste of coconut in Sri Lanka! 

Our trip lasted 5 days, 4 nights. I believe I was able to cover the key places; geographically is is a very small country however there are plenty of places to visit. You can actually have rewarding trips that lasts even longer! I will have a separate post where I go into much more detail about planning the trip and other helpful tips. Let's get into the details:

Feb 15, 2020:  

My sister lives in New Delhi, I reached her place on the 14th Feb afternoon; my parents were already in Delhi! We took Sri Lankan Airways flight from Delhi to Colombo which is about 3 1/2 - 4 hours long! It was early in the morning and there were some issues with boarding & timing of the flight; the airport/airways personnel did not handle the issue very well. I was already getting a little bit tensed with this uncomforting start of the trip. Anyway, after 1-2 hrs. of delay we were able to board and the rest of the experience regarding the flight was ok. We landed in Colombo around 10 am. Immigration was just a little bit chaotic but nothing I was not used to! We exchanged the USD I brought with into LKR (Sri Lankan currency) right outside the airport. 

Our chauffeur, Kushan met us at the airport! We started for Sigiriya right away. It was a good, hassle-free drive. Starting from the airport, we got to see the urban area and slowly moved into rural roads. It was a scenic route! The construction of the houses reminded me a lot of the houses I see in my home state, it was familiar but still so fresh to my eyes! My mom noticed a lot of different colorful flowers, she also noticed how the gardens and trees in the front yard of the houses were not groomed artificially or excessively - it felt like nature and people lived in perfect harmony! 

We stopped by a roadside vendor and had some delicious fresh coconut water - it became a daily ritual for the rest of the trip. It took us around 3-4 hrs. to get to the Sigiriya. Our hotel for the night was "Vaana Resort". We checked in, dropped off our luggage and indulged in a fresh welcome drink made of a local fruit. Without wasting much time we headed to the "Minneriya National Park" which was not too far away from the resort. 

Minneriya National Park: We took a safari ride; we saw a LOT of elephants, one peacock and probably a few monkeys (for whatever reason, I don't have pictures of the monkeys). I have heard some concerns before about these safaris being too intruding to the animals but my experience was ok. I felt that the drivers of the jeep and the tour guides were being attentive and respectful of the animals in the park. The safari duration was a little more than an hour. After ending the tour, we headed back to the resort!

The construction of the resort was relatively new and we got a very quaint little room which looked like its own separate house! I need to mention that the bathroom was also great (bathrooms are important, right?)! It was a very long day for all of us, after we showered we could feel nothing but utter  exhaustion; all 3 of us were fast asleep! The caretakers of the resort had to come to our room to wake us up for dinner! It was such a great spread of food [I will discuss the food scene at the end of the post]. We were all so tired, so it was easy to retire for the day.

Look at these smiles (Minneriya National Park)

Such a cute herd of these giants (Minneriya National Park)!

There ware quite a lot of them (Minneriya National Park)!

Isn't this the cutest baby elephant (Minneriya National Park)!

Saw one peacock too (Minneriya National Park)!

Some more (Minneriya National Park)!

Some more (Minneriya National Park)!

Some more (Minneriya National Park)!

Time for a family photo (Minneriya National Park)!

View from top (Minneriya National Park)!

View from top (Minneriya National Park)!

Hungry souls waiting for food (Vaana Resort)!

Our cute little room (Vaana Resort)!

Family photo in lounge wear :-P (Vaana Resort)!

Feb 16, 2020: 

We woke up early, our itinerary for the day included visits to Dambulla Cave Temple, Spice Garden Tour, Gem Museum Tour, Cultural Afternoon and Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic tour. It was quite a packed schedule.

We went on a morning walk along the charming, picturesque countryside roads near our resort. It was a fantastic way to start our day! It was such a serene morning; very few local people on the road, one cute little boy practicing his cycle! It reminded me of the mornings I spent in my grandfathers village! So much peace! As someone who came from a similar land where such serenity is present but who now lives in USA where life can be a little bit monotonous and mechanical, I really appreciated the calm and refreshing village roads. While returning, the caretakers at the resort helped us pick tamarind from the tree; you should have seen my mom, she was so happy! And yes, we did bring the tamarind back to Delhi. 

We got ready for the day, and had an absolutely lip-smacking breakfast spread. I must admit that this resort had the best food during the trip - it was very flavorsome and had that care & love you typically find in homemade food! Our first stop for the day was Dambulla Cave Temple. I initially planned to check out the Sigiriya Rock, but it would have been a very steep hike to get to the top of the rock so I cancelled that.

Dambulla Cave Temple: This is an UNESCO World Heritage Site that dates back to 1st century BC. It has five caves under a vast overhanging rock, carved with a drip line to keep the interiors dry [PS. Love the engineering!] You can drive your car up to the hill but then you would have to climb quite a few staircases. The view from the top is worth all the trouble, I promise! The temple itself is beautiful; Wikipedia tells me that there are a total of 153 Buddha statues in the temple. I am not religious, but as I grow up I am slowly starting to understanding that I am becoming a spiritual person! Irrespective of my relationship with religion and spirituality, the temple, its architecture and infrastructure alone impressed me very much!

After the temple visit, we started our journey towards Kandy while visiting few places in between.

51 Risiwarana Spice Garden: This is located in Dombawela which is about 1.5-2 hrs. from the Dambulla Cave Temple! There were quite a few spice gardens throughout this area but your chauffeur will probably have a better idea about which garden to go to! 

I hail from Assam, India where the climate is a little bit similar to the climate in Sri Lanka, warm and humid! So, I am already familiar with a lot of spices! If you are from a region where spices aren't all that common, you are in for a pleasant surprise of intoxicating aroma! The caretakers of the garden will take you for a 20-25 mins tour and you will get to see spices (and the trees that they grow from) like Cinnamon, Bay Leaves, Cardamom, Cloves, Nutmeg, Vanilla etc. After the tour, we were served 'special hot tea' while they gave us a demonstration of spices and some herbal remedies! Me and my mom, got some spices and headache remedy balm! [PS. I love this balm and I have already used up more than half of the jar].

We resumed our journey towards Kandy, of course we stopped by some roadside vendors to indulge in some fresh coconut water! We then went to Oak Ray Gems & Jewellers in Kandy. If you have no interest in gems you could probably skip this step but I do love jewelry. They will show you a documentary of how mining is done as well as a quick look at the factory workers. I did buy an amethyst ring 😊! We then reached the main city of Kandy and got some knick-knacks at a wooden sculpture store [I loved looking at all the incredible wooden sculptures at the store but I don't have enough money to buy any of those pieces]! We then headed to the cultural evening program where traditional Sri Lankan dancers performed a few beautiful dances! 

After this we headed to the Temple of Sacred Tooth Relic. There was still some time for the evening prayer we passed some time at a nearby viewpoint to take some pictures [I felt like the entire country is filled with random view points; no matter where you were, your pictures would come out very very nice]! 

The Temple of Sacred Tooth Relic: This is another UNESCO World Heritage Site and houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha. The first thing you will notice about the temple is the architecture, it is beautiful and modern (to my eyes). During the evening prayer rituals, devotees offer a lot of flowers, so the entire temple looked and smelled wonderful. It was quite crowded because it was the time for evening prayer; if you are not particularly religious I am not sure if you will enjoy the crowd! However it is an integral part of Sri Lankan culture and I was more than happy to experience that. Additionally, my parents especially my mom was really enjoying the ambience. 

After the temple visit ended, we checked into our hotel, there were a little bit of anomaly with the hotel that was booked but we eventually got a very nice room. Ordered in some Sri Lankan cuisine at the room and called it a day.

Serene morning (near Vaana Resort)!

Morning smiles (near Vaana Resort)!

Tamarind picking :-) (Vaana Resort)!

This is not a real elephant :-) (Vaana Resort)!

Sigiriya Fortress

Too lazy to go the rock but will click photos :-)

One of the few staircases to Dambulla Cave Temple!

Dambulla Cave Temple!

Dambulla Cave Temple!

Dambulla Cave Temple!

Dambulla Cave Temple!

Dambulla Cave Temple!

Dambulla Cave Temple!

Dambulla Cave Temple!

View from the top of Dambulla Cave Temple!

Various spices!

Spices and flowers!

Wood Sculpture Store!

Viewpoint in Kandy!

Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic!

Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic!

Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic!

17 Feb, 2020: 

Another busy day for us, but we still had a relaxed start. The complimentary breakfast spread was full of delicious Sri Lankan and continental food! We ate a lot!

After breakfast we headed to the Royal Botanic Garden which was nearby the hotel we stayed. 

Royal Botanic Garden: I absolutely enjoyed this garden, so did my parents! Per Wikipedia, the garden had about 4000 species of plants, including orchids, spices, medicinal plants! This is a HUGE garden, spreading across 147 acres - we strolled around for more than an hour, and during this time, we could only cover minimal portion of the garden! If you love gardening and have generic interest in plants, I do recommend that you curve out more time for this visit. You will definitely enjoy it. Out of the areas we could cover, we absolutely loved the orchid house! And the big, tall, coconut-like trees! 

After this trip, we started our drive towards Ella! This route towards Ella was definitely the most scenic route among all the drives/road trips we took these 5 days. We drove across small hills, tea gardens, and charming little towns! It was a great drive! We stopped at a Hanuman Temple [at this point I was getting a little bit tired of all the temples but the view from at the top of the village, is again, worth all the trouble]. After 2-3 hours of drive, we arrived at the Dumro Tea Estate! 

Dumro Tea Estate: If you like more of a leisurely or relaxed experience, this might not be for you. The estate was filled with tourists; there were factory tours going on, there were a lot of people in the lobby and the tea store within the estate. You  may or may not find it quite chaotic! I liked it though; I live a very detached, free-of-chaos life here in USA so sometimes I do miss being among a lot of people, so I was definitely enjoying it. We had a tour of the factory and learned cool things about tea production. Also got some good photos.

After that we headed to Ella, which was our final destination for the day. We did stop at Seetha Amman Temple which was on the way; it is the place where per ancient mythology, Sita was held captive by Ravana. My parents went inside the temple but I was not too interested! While continuing our journey, we stopped at a coffee shop and got to catch views of two waterfalls. It was a great scenic pitstop. Finally at around 4 pm, we arrived in Ella. I instantly fell in love with this cozy little hill station. Ella is at around 1040 meter above sea level so it is significantly cooler than the rest of the places we visited thus far! It is the cutest hill station surrounded by a lot of tea plantations. We selected a hotel called "the Chillout" - it had such a cool, young vibe to it! Even my parents loved it! After enjoying the welcome pineapple juice we went out for a quick walk! There are plenty of hiking trails in Ella that are very popular, I honestly did not plan to go for hikes or physical activities here as I didn't think it would be possible with my parents. But we did manage to get to the "Little Adams Peak", and enjoyed some more coconut water 😊 [they are found everywhere and I loved that]! This whole afternoon was definitely my most favorite part of the whole trip. The hotel only offered breakfast so we went to the main town (which was 5 steps away) and had some simple dinner! This was the only meal I had in Sri Lanka that wasn't that memorable. 

After dinner, we wrapped up for the day. Our trip in this beautiful country was almost nearing to it's end and I was already getting sad thinking about it.

Morning view from Hotel Kandyan (I may have forgotten the name of the hotel)!

Orchid House in Royal Botanic Garden!

Orchid House in Royal Botanic Garden!

Orchid House in Royal Botanic Garden!

Orchid House in Royal Botanic Garden!

Orchid House in Royal Botanic Garden!

Orchid House in Royal Botanic Garden!

Royal Botanic Garden!

Royal Botanic Garden!

Orchid House in Royal Botanic Garden!

Royal Botanic Garden!

Royal Botanic Garden!

Royal Botanic Garden!

View on our way to Ella!

View from top of Sri Bhakta Hanuman Temple.

Sri Bhakta Hanuman Temple!

Sri Bhakta Hanuman Temple!

Sri Bhakta Hanuman Temple!

Sri Bhakta Hanuman Temple!

Damro Tea Estate!

Damro Tea Estate!

Damro Tea Estate!

Damro Tea Estate!

Damro Tea Estate!

On our way to Ella!

Aadishakti Seeta Amman Temple!

Enjoying the view (The Chillout, Ella!)

I could stay here for days (The Chillout, Ella!)

Lovebirds (The Chillout, Ella)!

On route to Little Adam's Peak!

I really wanted to have an Insta-worthy photo surrounded by tea leaves :-)

So beautiful (Ella)!

We do really love our family pics (Ella)!

View from Hotel Chillout!

18 Feb, 2020: 

We started our day with another wonderful breakfast spread. After breakfast we took a local tuk-tuk (autorickshaw) to go to the Nine Arches Bridge. This is a very famous place; especially for taking insta-worthy pictures! I was really hoping to get some cool photos but my parents were running out of patience 😂! I think the exhaustion, my jet lag from past few days ultimately caught up to me and I had a minor meltdown! All because I couldn't get a nice photo! I mean this is private detail to share here but you know, when you travel with family these sort of things happen! It's real life! We did still manage to get some photos! 

After this we headed to Bentota which is a beach town via Galle! This was a comparatively lighter day in terms of the places we wanted to visit! We came across a few small waterfalls [I conveniently forgot the names]! It was a few hours of drive and our breakfast on this day was on the lighter side, so we stopped at a roadside restaurant facing the beach. The view was absolutely gorgeous but the food is what I remember the most! I had a crab curry and my parents had seafood platters. It was heavenly! And this scrumptious crab curry definitely helped calm my racing mind which was a bit shaken up from the morning meltdown! 

Our main destination for the day was Galle! It is a charming coastal city 130 km south of Colombo with perfect access to beach life and historical places. 

Galle Fort: We reached Galle Fort in the early afternoon; it is a fort city with a old-world charm! It was built in 1588 by the Portuguese and it has been kept in such a good shape! It is like a city within a city! We spent some time roaming around and taking some photos! 

On our way to the hotel for the night, we stopped nearby the sea, had some coconut water and took some more photos! At this point I was almost getting envious of Sri Lankan people and their luck! They have access to all these different types of gorgeous places of natural beauty! If they want, they can go the mountains or to the beaches within a matter of few hours. 

I think we all were tired from the hectic schedule from the past 3-4 days, so we had dinner and retired for the day. We stayed at the "Rockside Beach Hotel" in Bentota. It is a beach town and you can definitely indulge in water sports/activities, I didn't have any interest so I didn't plan anything. Out of all 4 hotels we stayed in, this was my least favorite, it was a little bit of an older construction and it showed. But it was right next to the beach and I appreciated that. 

Nine Arches Bridge!

Nine Arches Bridge!

Walking towards Nine Arches Bridge!

Nine Arches Bridge!

Waterfall (that I forgot the name of)!

Waterfall (that I forgot the name of)!

Beachside Restaurant (that I forgot the name of)!

Beachside Restaurant (that I forgot the name of)!

Galle Fort!

Galle Fort!

Galle Fort!

Galle Fort!

Galle Fort!

Galle Fort!

Galle Fort!

Some more family pic, coz this view is gorgeous! 

19 Feb, 2020: 

Alright, last day! Our flight back to Delhi was in the evening but we still kept the day a bit light.

We started our morning with a quick visit to the beach which was 2 mins away from the hotel. The sun was rising up and we had the entire beach to ourselves; such serenity and calm! There were some street dogs that also joined us and they seemed to a take a liking to my father 😊!

After we got ready for the day, we had breakfast and headed to the Madu River where you can take 1-2 hrs. of boat ride. The water of the river is surrounded by small islands and banks are covered with lush mangrove forests! This forms a beautiful wetland area which is home to so many beautiful creatures. We stopped at the Kothduwa Temple which is located at one of the biggest island in the river! We also stopped at one of the small island which is known for its cinnamon production and got to see the simple but interesting production process. The boat then took us to an area where you can get fish pedicures; I was apprehensive at first but it was so much fun. My mom and dad were giggling from ear to ear like young children. I must admit that my brave, very independent 'feminist' heart swelled up a little bit with pride knowing that I was able to bring them for this trip and give them this experience!

After the boat ride, we stopped at the Ahungalla Sea Turtles Conservation and Research Center. They had a small museum where they recover hurt turtles and restore them back to health and release them into the sea. There were a few that were too hurt and weak to go back into the wild, so those were kept and nurtured for the rest of their lives!

After this we headed back to Colombo, we stopped at a roadside stall to enjoy the last of the coconut water for this trip. Ahhhh, I STILL MISS THIS SO MUCH! 

We had some time on our hands; we could have explored the city of Colombo but we were just tired! We stopped at a government emporium kind of a store, got gem stone rings for sister, mom and some other knick-knacks for gifting. Reached the airport much before our flight. From the time we got at the airport to the time we actually boarded the flight, it was quite chaotic. They keep changing the gates, the announcements were very unclear, with my parents who aren't fast as young travellers it was a bit annoying. I saved a few bucks which I was able to exchange back to USD. 

Dad with his newfound friends (the beach near Hotel Rockside Beach)!

Giving this Insta-worthy photos another try (the beach near Hotel Rockside Beach)!

And, yes this is your beachwear when you travel with Indian parents!

Such serenity (the beach near Hotel Rockside Beach)!

Such serenity (the beach near Hotel Rockside Beach)!

Parents pretending to relax :-) (the beach near Hotel Rockside Beach)!

 Last breakfast in this country (Hotel Rockside Beach)!

Cutie pie (Hotel Rockside Beach)!

Madu River Boat Ride!

Madu River Boat Ride!

Madu River Boat Ride!

Madu River Boat Ride!

Madu River Boat Ride!

Madu River Boat Ride!

Madu River Boat Ride!

Madu River Boat Ride!

Madu River Boat Ride!

Kothduwa Temple (during Madu River Boat Ride)!

Kothduwa Temple (during Madu River Boat Ride)!

Kothduwa Temple (during Madu River Boat Ride)!

Cinnamon getting dried (during Madu River Boat Ride)!

Cinnamon making process (during Madu River Boat Ride)!

Fish Spa (during Madu River Boat Ride)!

Cute little turtles in Ahungalla Sea Turtles Conservation and Research Center!

Thank you for an wonderful trip Sri Lanka! 💓

This is how our wonderful trip came to an end! Before I wrap up the post I needed to talk about Sri Lankan food and people in a little bit more length! 

The first fresh coconut in the island!

Food: 

Okay, so I believe Sri Lankan food deserved its own paragraph. When I took the vacation, my main goal was to just be present in the moment rather then recording all the information! I tried my best to learn details about the cuisine but I don't think I have retained all the information after a year. Anyways, if I haven't mentioned it yet, the food was INCREDIBLE!!

I need to talk about the fruits first! Throughout the country, you will notice roadside stalls that are full with all types of delicious tropical fruits like coconut, red bananas, wood apple, papaya, breadfruit, rambutan, mangosteen! Although, I did not get to try all of these, I did get to eat a lot of coconuts! As I have mentioned before, there are a plenty of roadside vendors that sell young coconuts! You drink the refreshing coconut water and after you are done with that, you enjoy the coconut flesh! So damn good! 

Coconut is found almost everywhere so it obviously makes it to a lot of the food items! In a lot of curries, or in deserts or in different chutneys! I like coconuts but I do not have a very strong affinity towards it yet I never got overwhelmed or bored by finding coconut in every dish! I, in fact, enjoyed it!

Another essential part of Sri Lankan food is the spices! Even if it's a tiny island there is a lot of diverse ethnicities and cultures which influences the cuisine! Sri Lanka was also first colonized by Portuguese, Dutch and then the British. Present day, it is a country where economically tourism plays a big role, so I do see options of continental food as well. 

One common question would be about the similarity between Indian food and Sri Lankan food! They are similar but as an Indian person who is very familiar with South Indian cuisine, I could definitely identify the difference and individual flavour. If I have to choose, I will probably choose the Sri Lankan cuisine just a little bit more.

Let's talk about a few particular dishes:

Kottu Roti: Definitely the most ubiquitously found dish throughout Sri Lanka - you'll find it in small eateries, regular restaurants or in fancy resorts! Basically, leftovers of Godamba Roti (Sri Lankan parathas or flatbreads) are shredded into small pieces and mixed with vegetables, eggs and optional meat of you choice. This mix is then dumped into a hot griddle and chopped with 2 large metal blades! You will hear the click clack sound of the blades which I think adds to the appetizing nature of Kottu Roti.

Pol Roti: This is a rustic flatbread made with flour, grated coconut with diced green chilies and onions. It is yummy on its own but it tastes even better with curries. 

Rice & Curry: This definitely can be considered the the culinary king of all the Sri Lankan dishes; it is basically a generous plating of rice served with assorted meat or vegetable curries, various pickles and sambols! We got to experience chicken curry, seafood curry, pork curry in these 5 days. All of the curries were bursting with flavour! The spice level is typically medium to high, so please be aware of that.

Sambol: Sambol is a spicy, sour relish or condiment that accompanies a lot of Sri Lankan meal. I absolutely loved the classic "Pol Sambol" which is made of grated coconut.

Kiribath: Kiribath is made of rice with coconut milk and typically serves as breakfast item. 

Hopper: Sri Lankan Egg Hoppers are quite famous and I definitely failed at being a tourist because I did not get to taste Egg Hoppers! But we did try String Hoppers (Idiyappam) with jaggery as a sweet item at the end of our breakfast and it was delicious.

Dinner at Vaana Resort (from top: Dhaal, Kottu Roti, Sambol, Curry, String Hopper, Pork Curry and Pol Roti in the middle)

Breakfast at Vaana Resort (From top: Pol Sambol, Pol Roti, Rice, Chicken Curry, Sour Curry)!

Breakfast at Vaana Resort (Chicken Curry)!

Dinner at The Kandyan (traditional Rice and Curry)!

Dinner at The Kandyan (traditional Rice and Curry - Chicken, Fish and Pork)

Dinner at Ella (forgot the restaurant name)!

Breakfast at the Chillout!

Roadside Vendor: Jackfruits and Coconuts!

Wood Apple!

Crab Curry (Beachside restaurant -  so very delicious)!

Seafood platter (Beachside restaurant -  so very delicious)!

Seafood platter (Beachside restaurant -  so very delicious)!

Savouring the last coconut in this beautiful country - I will surely miss this!

I am very sure this is only a fraction of the incredibly delectable food Sri Lanka has to offer. I will go back to Sri Lanka just so I could enjoy these foods again.  

Let's talk about Sri Lankan People before I actually wrap up the post! Sri Lankan people are SO VERY NICE!! When I was growing up in India in the 80's-90's I would often hear or read about the on-and-off insurgency in Sri Lanka against the government by the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam). That was a problem that the country had to face for the longest time. After visiting  the country now, I cannot help but admire the resiliency of Sri Lankan people, their country has gone through so much but Sri Lankan people has nothing but gratitude. They know they are blessed to belong to a place where nature has bestowed its love and they respect that. I found people in Sri Lanka to be peace loving, very simple and helpful! Sinhalese constitutes the largest ethnic group, followed by Sri Lankan Tamils Moors, Burghers and Malays! Buddhism is followed by 70% of Sri Lankan people and you will find that typically they have the highest reverence to the higher powers. I am not commenting on any correlation between religion and human behavior but I do believe that this reverence and belief gives Sri Lankan people inner peace and happiness. 

I travelled with my parents which is probably not very typical scenario. A lot of the people we encountered during the trip (like the hotel caretakers or the merchants at the gem stone stores) would ask me if I am married and they will be shocked for a moment when I say that I am not, and that I work as an Engineer in USA, their shock will be replaced with admiration/appreciation and they will turn to my parents and say - "you are lucky!" [Bear with my overly feminist tone] - I really did not expect this tone of appreciation; as a strong, independent, unmarried woman in my thirties I am very familiar to these situations where people look at me with shock; most of the time people has nothing but questions as to what went wrong in my life that I am 'still' not married. Sometimes I detect envy or jealousy (because of such social conditioning) - "woman who is unmarried and not desperate to find a partner and yet content with life and have financial independence" is considered to be a myth. But nor did I detect any jealousy, neither did they look down at me because I was unmarried, I only felt their genuine appreciation of my hard work and strength. I would be lying if I say I did not enjoy that! 

Anyway, people in Sri Lanka are very nice which added another layer of positivity to our trip. Also, special thanks to Kushan, our chauffeur who also acted as our local guide throughout the tour. He was young, professional, patient and had a lot of zeal towards life. I think at one point we were talking about our professions and he was sharing how he plan to get more licenses in the tourism industry. I love meeting young passionate people who respects this world. 

I added the picture below roughly showing our route through the country for the trip!

So, this was my Sri Lanka Trip! I had a GREAT time! I believe my parents also enjoyed it! Hopefully the world heals soon, and you also can experience this magnificent country!

Love,

~Aru