Sri Lanka - Resplendent Island

 Yes indeed Sri Lanka is a  very resplendent island but yet it is not long since it was involved in a  bloody civil war which endured over 25 years which we in the West mostly chose to ignore, probably because there was no oil supply threat involved. Growing up and living through the "Troubles " in Northern Ireland, I felt that I could identify a little as to what it must have been like living through those years. Most of the people would just have been trying to live their lives as normal but of course "normal" during civil strife means suspicion of neighbours, army checks, road blocks, bombs, murders, terrorist attacks, torture.... which causes hidden strain that until it stops you are unaware of. It is hard to imagine that these lovely people could be so harsh to each other. There is no doubt that the Tamil minority were unfairly discriminated against and the Sinhalese, who are mostly Buddhists, dominated them, but we don't have to look far to find other examples of humans not living in peace together wearing a badge of religion do we?

Anyway on Monday evening Andrew and I were taken out to a beach restaurant by the partners of the accountancy firm, Andrew was working with. They were a Sinhalese and a Tamil and they both seemed optimistic that Sri Lanka would never return to war and I certainly got the impression that this country is booming with buildings and hotels appearing everywhere in Colombo. On Tuesday morning I had my last hotel breakfast and Andrew went off to the airport and I with slight trepidation, (as I wasn't sure where I was going - apart from Gen's instructions), set off to Kandy in the train with my rucksack. I needn't  have worried for a second as travelling is so easy and as soon as you land in a place there is always a tuk-tuk driver who will take you to a hostel and I felt very safe on my own. I realise at this rate that I'm never going to finish the blog if I keep rambling so I'm going to give you a shortened version.

Tuesday - wonderful train ride to Kandy with lovely Sri Lankan family beside me - Kandy is a delightful colonial town around a lake with the Temple of the Sacred Tooth - a very sacred pilgrimage for Buddhists - bombed during the war and searched to get in just like N.I.. Visited the temple and then watched wonderful Kandyan dancers who walked on fire at the end.



Wednesday - got up early and took local buses to Sigariya - the Lion Rock which 1600 years ago was the site of a palace and town- urban planning extraordinaire. The rock was covered in frescoes - some of which still survive today. Climbed to the top and spent the day with a lovely Japanese girl.

Thursday - took the train to Ella from Kandy which was a 6 hour train ride through jungle, hours of tea plantations, mountains.... - amazing scenery but very wet until we arrived in Ella. The stations reminded me of stations in Britain but the station masters were always stunning in their white uniforms and caps. I found a lovely homestay.

Colonial stations

Friday - left at 7 am on the local bus to Galle which took about 6 hours coming down the mountains and along the coast to Galle. Very arid vegetation and beautiful coast. Found a delightful " Marigold" Guest House in Galle and wandered around but felt sick so went to bed early.

Saturday - Felt better so had a lovely walk along the wall of the fort in Galle. It is really delightful and full of the most gorgeous colonial style houses. Very touristy and expensive but lovely. Got train to Colombo and had no seat but sat by the open door and had a lovely view of the coast.I got bus out to airport and stayed in a grotty hotel ready for the flight in the morning.


Sunday - The day of travelling back to Sabah and saying farewell to lovely Sri Lanka and the memory of their sparkling white uniforms and robes will stay with me. I managed to travel for 5 days by local transport for about 10 euros which was less than the taxi cost from the airport!