Trip report Colombo and Kandy Sri Lanka

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Trip report Colombo and Kandy Sri Lanka

Postby deselby » Sun Jun 27, 2010 6:12 pm

I took a long weekend (4 days/nights in-country) trip to Sri Lanka out of Kuwait.

It's a nice place. It's super-humid this time of year, which is monsoon season. That was OK with me after being in the Iraqi desert with 10% humidity. Colombo was more like 90F / 89% relative humidity - at saturation. It rained sporadically, but not for long. I was told that November - March is high season, the seas are calm and the skies sunny.

I stayed at the Mount Lavinia Hotel south of Colombo. http://www.mountlaviniahotel.com/

It's an old Victorian/Edwardian place with lots of great woodwork, including parquet floors, high ceilings, potted palms, a patio with swimming pool, located on the beach. This was $99 a night with a large and varied breakfast buffet included. They have some good chefs on staff and dinner is worth staying for.

The Mt. Lavinia is adjacent to a train station which has several trains a day to central Colombo. Colombo itself is not that impressive, but not particularly nasty, either. I went to a couple of Buddhist temples and to the botanical gardens/park.

There is still a very heavy military and police presence on the street with checkpoints, following the long Tamil Tiger insurgency. When my tuk-tuk was waved over at checkpoints, we would be waved on immediately, so they are apparently not hassling tourists. I had no problems taking pictures on the street and in railway stations.

The touts and "guides" are not aggressive and will go away if you say no thank you a few times.

I took a day trip to Kandy by train. The train ride itself is worth it, through rice paddies, hills and valleys. I went to a Buddhist temple which has a relic (tooth) of Buddha and there were a lot of pilgrims, including Japanese TV filming. I had lunch at the Queen's Hotel, another Victorian building which was right out of 1900. Kandy appeared cleaner and more interesting than Colombo, would like to have had more time there.

Because of social commitments, friends of friends, and because I got drunk with some Saudis at the hotel who were making up for lost time drinking, I didn't get to check out the nightlife, but I was told there's not much in Colombo, you have to go south to Galle to see a lot of that.

I plan to go back for a longer trip.
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Re: Trip report Colombo and Kandy Sri Lanka

Postby rickshaw92 » Sun Jun 27, 2010 7:52 pm

Good to hear ya had agood time, I went about 10 years ago and really enjoyed it. Odd that you can get Kraft dinner there.
Im reallly fuclimg pissed but fespite that I can still hit a tarfet at 1000m plus. mayVRVe bnot tonight but it qint beyond the wit if man. Nowhammy.
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Re: Trip report Colombo and Kandy Sri Lanka

Postby rickshaw92 » Sun Jun 27, 2010 8:12 pm

Your Sri Lanka pics aint gonna post themselves. Just sayin.
Im reallly fuclimg pissed but fespite that I can still hit a tarfet at 1000m plus. mayVRVe bnot tonight but it qint beyond the wit if man. Nowhammy.
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Re: Trip report Colombo and Kandy Sri Lanka

Postby vagabond » Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:38 am

True about the Kandy train ride - if/when I go back I'd like to take it all the round the hills to some of the tea plantation towns. Supposed to be as nice. That temple can be damn annoying with the loud speakers blasting chants (though you're probably used to loudspeakers and religious chants). Really nice around the area too and the old graveyard and the groundskeeper were cool.

Sorry you didn't go to Galle as well, it's pretty laid back with the Old Town located in a Dutch Fort (and decent beaches close by). On the way from Colombo to Galle on the coast you can see a lot of damage from the tsunami as well, even so many years later. Pretty crazy to hear some of the folks' stories.

Glad the trip worked out.

V
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Re: Trip report Colombo and Kandy Sri Lanka

Postby deselby » Wed Dec 15, 2010 10:13 pm

rickshaw92 wrote:Your Sri Lanka pics aint gonna post themselves. Just sayin.


OK, I got around to it.

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Re: Trip report Colombo and Kandy Sri Lanka

Postby deselby » Wed Dec 15, 2010 10:20 pm

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Re: Trip report Colombo and Kandy Sri Lanka

Postby deselby » Wed Dec 15, 2010 10:24 pm

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Re: Trip report Colombo and Kandy Sri Lanka

Postby coldharvest » Thu Dec 16, 2010 10:01 am

Those are superb pics, cheers for posting them.
It looks like a tremendously beautiful place
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Re: Trip report Colombo and Kandy Sri Lanka

Postby Woodsman » Thu Dec 16, 2010 4:18 pm

Awesome! I especially like that crazed-eye dude posing. LOL - but the vegetation looks very inviting!
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Re: Trip report Colombo and Kandy Sri Lanka

Postby rickshaw92 » Thu Dec 16, 2010 7:20 pm

but the vegetation looks very inviting!


The dope aint to bad.
Im reallly fuclimg pissed but fespite that I can still hit a tarfet at 1000m plus. mayVRVe bnot tonight but it qint beyond the wit if man. Nowhammy.
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Re: Trip report Colombo and Kandy Sri Lanka

Postby coldharvest » Thu Dec 16, 2010 10:14 pm

rickshaw92 wrote:
but the vegetation looks very inviting!


The dope aint to bad.

How's the hash and opium?
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Re: Trip report Colombo and Kandy Sri Lanka

Postby rickshaw92 » Thu Dec 16, 2010 10:55 pm

coldharvest wrote:
rickshaw92 wrote:
but the vegetation looks very inviting!


The dope aint to bad.

How's the hash and opium?


Couldent find any at the time. Was a bit hashed out from India and Pakistan at the time if you can imagine being hashed out. Homeless fella who begged down the street from the bar I drank at always had a packet of pot for me when I was on my way to the hotel. Not what we are used to but not bad considering some of the shitty shit I have had to put up with in the 3rd world.
Im reallly fuclimg pissed but fespite that I can still hit a tarfet at 1000m plus. mayVRVe bnot tonight but it qint beyond the wit if man. Nowhammy.
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Re: Trip report Colombo and Kandy Sri Lanka

Postby svizzerams » Tue Dec 21, 2010 2:09 am

thanks deselby - looks really lovely there!!! I'd enjoy the train ride to Kandy!
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Re: Trip report Colombo and Kandy Sri Lanka

Postby BigFire » Tue Dec 21, 2010 6:23 am

Too bad China came in and destroyed the insurgency so they can get the natural gas pumped to southern China...just saying.

It looks fun.
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Re: Trip report Colombo and Kandy Sri Lanka

Postby Athena » Fri Feb 10, 2012 2:55 pm

Agreed about the train ride. I don't know if they still have the Observation Car ticket option, but it was just great. Galle was also very enjoyable, just super pleasant and laid back, very pretty. One of my favorite memories of the place was splashing around the hotel pool at dusk there and having bats swooping down; it seemed their sonar picked up the flying droplets.
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