Sri Lanka. Loving look
Hello, maybe this text will be useful to someone ...I posted here only my opinion, I must say the first. But at first sight I am in love with Sri Lanka, and I will not get tired of repeating it. I miss you, so I was not too lazy and spent several days writing about this country. Because she deserves more...I tried to break down all the "porridge" of memoirs and notes into points, so that at least somehow it was understandable and organized. Let's start...
1. Transfer from TUI was not taken. Some of our compatriots and "brothers of the Slavs" did not even have such a choice, but in vain. Some were transported by bus, some with a stop at each hotel, where someone landed, which did not at all reduce the time spent on the way to the long-awaited hotel. We took a taxi to the hotel right at the airport, bargaining from $60 to $55, although it was possible for another 5-10 dollars, judging by the local prices for gasoline - about a dollar per liter. In Ukraine - it is already 1 Euro.
TUI offered us a transfer for three (with a child) - $ 180. Agree, there is a difference. There were tourists who claimed that local drivers would allegedly “rip off” us back more (it seems like it’s harder to find a driver at night, and we all left at night). Not true. You just need to look for it at least in the evening. If you are too lazy - contact your guide, with whom you went on excursions - I don’t think he will refuse, because we did just that. We went back for $ 50, simply confronting the fact that our price is this, and the guide was not indignant.
2. The exchange rate at the airport is the same everywhere (I don’t remember exactly, about 108-109 rupees for $ 1 without commissions), and it’s probably the most profitable in the country, so don’t even waste time, change money at any exchange you like. But in Colombo, at the bank branch, the rate was 108, so there was also a commission of 300 rupees (we changed $ 30). And at the hotel, the course is completely draconian - about 102-103 rupees.
The Sri Lankan people are unusually slow and at the same time impress with their philanthropy and sincere willingness to help. The reaction of the main manager of the hotel was interesting when I said that my husband stepped on a sea urchin and was injured. He approached, shook his head...Then I asked him myself: is there any iodine? He did not know anything about iodine, so I asked him to show me the first aid kit, and he gave it to me. I took peroxide, cotton wool, band-aid and antibacterial ointment. None of the staff helped my husband. They only offered to call a paid doctor. For the first time, my husband and I pulled out all the needles ourselves with a needle (there were 5 of them). When, after 2 days, my husband stepped on the hedgehog again, I pulled out a part, but I realized that 3 needles were stuck tightly. Seeing my helplessness, a tuk-tuk driver, who often “grazes” on the beach (a mustachioed short uncle), offered us help.
He offered to take her husband to a state clinic for free, which, by the way, is really (and not like ours) free - even for foreigners, and the husband went. The surgeon gave an anesthetic injection, but he could not pull everything out for lack of something, he said to come tomorrow (he will have something there). My husband insisted on paying the tuk-tuker for the road ($2) to Bentota and back, and we went to the restaurant where we always dined. But the compassionate (again, local) owner of the restaurant, seeing such a misfortune of ours, strongly advised us to go to his friend a good private surgeon urgently, because the leg could swell before “tomorrow” and it would only get worse from delay. Our friends from the hotel agreed with him, with whom we regularly dined here, and who turned out to be both doctors. The restaurateur caught a tuk-tuker for her husband, told him the address (again in Bentota) and for $ 10 the surgeon carefully pulled out all the needles for her husband.
Whenever help was needed, any Sri Lankan showed a willingness to prompt, to help.
4. About the restaurant where we regularly dined. About food. It was always delicious, though - monotonous. The menu is not rich. However, everything is always fresh. Our request - "no spicy" and "no hot" - was always fulfilled. Prices are democratic: 240 rupees (about $ 2) fresh anise, chicken salad 320 rupees, jumbo shrimp (large) with vegetables, a side dish and a plate of delicious sauce 650 rupees, and 475 rupees for 100 g of lobster + it comes with a side dish and vegetables, beer costs 150 rupees for a bottle of 0.66 l, a bottle of cola 0.33 l 100 rupees, chicken soup (large plate) 240 rupees (we ate it together with my daughter, asked to bring a second empty plate), a small bowl of soup 200 rupees, ice cream 150 rupees ...and everything in this spirit. The maximum that we "ate" was 4000 rupees when we ordered lobster, and usually every day - 2500 rupees. Standard in restaurants is 10% service charge.
And it was, most likely, not the cheapest restaurant, it was designed, of course, for tourists, however, it was on the ocean and close to the hotel.
5. Beach vendors. On the border of the beach and the hotel (I must say, very conditional, but nevertheless mandatory, for which strangers don’t step a foot) they walk and beg to buy pareos, sundresses, elephants and turtles made of shells, elephants, monkeys and tuk-tuks made of wood. A separate “rispekt” for girls with sundresses and pareos: the girls brazenly ask for a strongly inflated price for the goods. Either you don’t need to react to them at all, or, if you have already shown interest, they will not leave you behind. Therefore, bargain for every rupee. My example of communicating with one of them: her price is $ 20 for an adult sundress (I bought for $ 10), she has a $ 10 sundress for children (bought for $ 5), she has pareo $ 10 (bought for $ 8). We have been bargaining for these prices for the last three days: we are on the beach every day, and they are like working for us, so it was even funny.
6. About roads, road signs and buildings.
If the road is from one big city to another, then the quality of the road is normal, if you go somewhere inland, into the wilderness, or (like going to Kandy) you have to drive through the wilderness - then oh-oh-oh: pits. ))) I remembered: we were driving from Kandy to a tea factory and saw the repair of one road being carried out - MASTERKOM (no, I know, I saw normal ice rinks in Sri Lanka))))))). We all had a tantrum of laughter and 10 minutes of jokes and versions - how effective it is)))). There are problems in driving on the roads: firstly, one lane in each direction, and secondly, there are no concepts of “skip”, “give way”, “rules of order for passing through intersections” and so on - no, the driver simply “rolls out” onto the road and honks so that the gaping driver notices and does not crash. Oddly enough, I did not notice a high accident rate. Probably because they all “like bunnies” drive at a speed of no higher than 60 km / h. And tuk-tukers - no higher than 40 km / h.
Moreover, I have not seen such a number of traffic police (PIDR) on the roads as in our CIS. The road signs in Sri Lanka also amused me: as if they were painted by amateur artists with brushes - it looks strange at first, but now I remember and smile.
7. In Colombo, we took a car with a driver for the whole day for $60. We went to the independence monument "Independence Memorial Hall", to "Town Hall" (local capitol), to the temple of Gangarama, to the lake "Beira Lake" in the city center, where there was also "Buddha Temple" and "Children's Park", there are also statues and views of the skyscrapers of Colombo, then to the national museum, then to the embankment to the Hotel Galle Face, this is already on the embankment, from it go along the embankment to the skyscrapers and to the Old Parliament Complex (Presidents Secretariat), and then to the lighthouse and to the Sambodi Chaitiya stupa. We dined in a shopping center, where on the lower floor there is a bank branch with a rate of 108 rupees - $ 1, and many eateries of local, American, Thai, etc. with inexpensive food and common tables for everyone. Ate for $13. Then we went to the "House of fashions" and successfully bought things there.
There was no time to go to Odel, however, when we went to the Odel branch at the airport on the night of departure, I realized that I didn’t lose much, since the prices there are much higher, although both the quality and the clothing models, I agree, worth it.
In Colombo - entrance to the national museum - 500 rupees per person, per child - 300 rupees, photography permission - 250 rupees (a separate ticket is issued right in front of the entrance to the building). Entrance to the Gangarama temple is paid, but I don’t remember how much.
8. In the store "House of fashions" we almost took out things without paying. For the most part, in this store (maybe in the others? ), buyers paid with cards. Everything was counted cosmically quickly for us, having issued a check, and the next ones began to be counted on the machine. We remained standing with cash in hand. We have a dumb pause: what about money? We are to the guard: “Where with things and a check? ".
In general, as I understand it, the level of shoplifting in Sri Lanka is much lower than ours, it would never occur to anyone that someone would leave without paying. By the way, in "House of fashions" 98% of buyers are Sri Lankans. And the quality of things there surprised me, despite the fact that the prices there are low. I bought there: for a child - 2 sundresses, 1 T-shirt, 2 long sleeves, 1 skirt, swimming goggles; for yourself - 2 thin knitted blouses ($5 each), 2 knitted skirts ($4 each); husband - 1 T-shirt; bags for souvenirs - 5 pcs, a thick ecologically clean notebook (with an elephant), tea in an iron can 125 gr - all this in total for $ 65.
9. Sri Lanka, for the most part, is one - two-story. Colombo - the city will be taller, buildings of colonial architecture, new hotels, banks. In the city center of Colombo, the roads finally became three or four lanes in each direction. Even in Colombo, there are a lot of traffic controllers with the inscription “Police” on their uniforms.
And they, unlike our "DAI" (and probably your "PIDR") really bring a lot of benefits, and do not just go hunting with a radar. For example, on the way back in the center of the city of Colombo, when there was a traffic jam on the avenue that leads to the exit from the city, he adjusted it as follows: he allocated one lane on the opposite side of the road (separated by a security lane and a fence) for those leaving the city
10. We also went on excursions to a turtle nursery, to a waterfall outside the city of Bentota, in Gale, in Kandy, on the way - a spice garden, and on the way back - a tea factory and an elephant nursery, where we rode elephants. We went with a guide named Kasun (brother of Jivan already known on the world wide web): $ 10 - in the city of Gale, $ 60 - in the city of Kasun.
Kandy and accompanying excursions, but we paid $ 10 separately for entrance to the Botanical Garden, and $ 8 for lunch at a buffet restaurant (I put $ 24 into the bill, and then they brought me change and explained that the child is considered as “half ”, i. e. $ 4 - and I was once again convinced of the honesty of the local population - they could have remained silent ) ; $ 2 - this is for a trip to the turtle nursery, separately for the entrance - $ 5. It was I who indicated the prices for one person, but Kasun did not take money from us for a 6-year-old child.
11. When you go somewhere far away, it seems that the cities have no borders and one town or village flows into another, and there is no end to the shops and shops of clothes, fruits, snacks and all sorts of junk ...It seems that the whole life of Sri Lankans concentrated by the road, and if you go deeper, then, probably, there will be only coconut and banana palms ...Only occasionally will a mosque, then a stupa, then a colorful Hindu temple flicker.
I don’t know how it really is, this is just my subjective first impression, without claiming to be true.
12. When we were driving to the city of Gale, our guide offered us to go to the shopping center, but we all refused, thank God. I want to note that the lazy driver did not offer us this, especially tuk-tukers “sin” with this (on the penultimate day I was already sick of pestering and inviting me to “shopping centers” or “well, a very cheap souvenir shop - it’s a 5-minute drive here”, and I wanted to hide in the hotel and not stick my nose out even at the slightest provocation). Taxi drivers (this is the driver of an air-conditioned car, completely without identifying "checkers" or anything) are both less talkative and more businesslike. Even on the way to Gala, our guide offered to see the corals in a boat with a transparent bottom.
They also refused, because they were traveling in a group, and for some reason everyone already decided that this was a “swindler”: firstly, we all saw corals in Egypt, and secondly, the ocean is already very restless in the second half of March, and the boats are flimsy and we all doubted the pleasure we would get. But look at the turtles - it's worth it. If you relax in Induruwa Beach, then you need to leave the hotel and take a tuk-tuk for 15 minutes to go towards Gale. Even with a guide, even without - the money is the same, so it will be more fun - with Russian-speaking friends at the hotel. I know this is not the only nursery, but I know that they will tell and show there, and they will give all the turtles and stroke them and take them in their arms.
13. Separately, I want to say about the quality of souvenirs and clothing. If we don’t talk about Odel and House of fashions stores, then the quality, for example, of clothes in the shops of the city of Bentota (there are many shops for tourists - with t-shirts a la Tommy Hilfinger, Polo, etc. ) strained me.
I was also unpleasantly surprised by the quality of souvenirs: leather bags, leather flip flops, wooden elephants ...rough leather, rough work ...clumsy. There were premium quality wood products: chairs, armchairs, elephants and masks - but this is already a little expensive. Even at the airport, flying back, I was looking for a good quality leather bag, but I did not find it, to my great chagrin.
14. Knock knock. You go with the breeze, but also with exhaust gases. But you can see the whole color of Sri Lanka up close, in all colors. I do not advise you to travel far by tuk-tuk. Don't save! In Gala, and even more so in Kandy, in Colombo, God forbid you go by tuk-tuk! And in Bentota for fruit or clothes - you can.
15. About our guide. His name is Kasun, 33 years old, married. Wife's name is Tigo, 29 years old. I have a daughter, 4 years old. He lives 1 km, if in a straight line, from the ocean, and about 1.5 km from the hotel. He has his own tuk-tuk, and also a minibus - on lease (it's popular with them).
The house is poor, small, they live with their mother-in-law and father-in-law, moreover. As a host, he is very kind and hospitable. And he is a decent person, so we went with him to Gala, and to Kandy, and to the turtles, and to the waterfall behind Bentota. Friends went to Bentota on the river and did not regret it. But we went to Colombo ourselves, because everyone was tired: the larger the group, the more wasted time, and Colombo is not a dipped beam, it takes a long time to drive (2 hours) - and you want to see more, and at least buy a little things, and also to have dinner at the hotel. And Kasun was offended. And, like all Sri Lankans, he could not hide his emotions. They, Sri Lankans, are generally like children. Our people are no longer so sincere and open when they grow up into adult uncles and aunts.
Kasun, in principle, like all local merchants (guide service is also a commodity) - accommodating, we regretted that we hardly bargained, but saved on excursions by the fact that a large company of “ours” gathered, with whom, as a result, we then went everywhere
Inside: first, a large living room with a TV (1 pc per house), in the kitchen (very small, with a low ceiling) there can be a semi-automatic washing machine, a wood-burning stove, there can be two electric burners. The remaining 1-2 rooms are very small.
• I once saw a tuk-tuker on the thumb - well, a very long nail (just like a consignment note). I ask: why? I quote: “Brush your teeth after eating. ” And this is not a joke.
In general, I went myself and I advise everyone, and I want to come back here again! ! !
