Sri Lanka alone
Let's start with the fact that my wife and I have 24.07. 2010 was a solemn marriage. I was very scrupulous in choosing a place for the wedding month. The first criterion is the country's visa-free regime, and the unacceptability of a "vegetable" holiday, the rest is optional. In general, Turkey-Egypt, Tunisia, Croatia-Montenegro, Tai, etc. were rejected. Having entered the office of a travel agency, I was asked to consider Sri Lanka. I really liked this idea. I prepared for the trip for a long time, at first I wanted to take a tour, but in a normal hotel it was a little expensive + the same vegetable rest. Decided to find a resort and hotel on my own. The level of the hotel was taken into account, the fact that the off-season is in the entire south of the island and the east, and so on. As a result, after a long consideration, the place Unawatuna, near Galle, was chosen. There were two main criteria: 1) The coral reef protects the beach and you can swim perfectly there, 2) I really wanted to dive on the same coral reef. So from 28.07 to 10.08 we are in Lanka.
Excursion planning. Considering that the island has a large number of UNESCO monuments and amazing nature, I wanted to plan the tour so that it would not be tiring and at the same time be as interesting as possible. And here Alexey helped me a lot, on "Tourism" nickname "Barad" (his website Mojalanka). Through him, we ordered a driver with a car (about him a little later), and together with him we planned an excursion. Arrival at the airport - Elephant Orphanage - Dambulla - Golden Cave Temple - Kandy - Botanical Garden - Spice Garden - Nuwar Eliya - tea factory - horse ride - by train to Ella through the country of waterfalls - Ayurveda - Yalla - Unawatuna. So 5 days 4 nights. We really wanted to go to Polunnaruwa, but it did not work out in time, we needed one more day. 4 nights: Dambulla-Kandy-Nuwar Eliya-Ella. I looked after certain guest houses in advance, however, as it turned out, there was nothing for it.
The guide himself knew where it was better and not so expensive to stay, in places already known to him, where the guide would be fed and he would spend the night there for free. Everything was agreed with Alexey, and as a result, the driver knew the route and prepared for it. Airline choice. Everything is simple here, I compared the Emirates, Erichat and Qatar, the Emirates had a promotion. 42700 rubles for two Moscow-Colombo-Moscow. With transfer in Dubai. The service is amazing, words can not describe, you need to feel for yourself)))
The first day. I'll drop the transfer in Dubai...We arrived at 8-30 in the morning, at 9-30 we left the airport, where our driver Leslie was already waiting for us, with a sign on which my name was written. It is important to know the following: All the money that you want to spend in Lanka is best changed immediately at the airport. It's the best rate there. They also connected to local communications, calls to Russia at a ridiculous price of 14 rupees. The course was 112 rupees for 1 USD.
Now a little about the driver Leslie.
Chic, positive The kindest person who knows Russian "How are you, come on, come on, very well and a wild elephant, a wild dog. " Since we speak English quite well, there were no problems. Leslie himself showed everything, told everything what to do, what to eat, what to drink, what to watch, in general, he became our friend! megapositive and very kind person. By the way, the car was not just a passenger car, but a minibus with strong Toyota air conditioning, and this is for the two of us ! ! !
In general, we arrived at the elephant orphanage, (on the way we ate all kinds of exotic fruits and tried the local fast food "kert". This is a delicious yogurt with coconut syrup) fed the elephants (for this, give the caretaker a tip) took pictures, then Leslie took us to the place where for 3000 rupees they ride an elephant for half an hour. The elephant is big, beautiful, then we went into the river on an elephant and he poured water on us from his trunk, and we squealed on his back) in general, very positively!
After that, we went to Dambulla, before that we bought a real sari for our beloved wife, because a temple was planned for the next day. Overnight, I offered my guest house, Leslie offered 1.5 times cheaper than his own. As a result, we agreed that we would go to his, and if anything, we would move to mine. In general, we arrived at the place "Nice Place". And it really lives up to the name. I want to say right away that if you are going beyond the level of the hotel, you are not in the right place, but if you are going for exotic and romantic, then this is it! The room is cozy, the bed is cool with a mosquito net, the cost with breakfast is 3300 rupees per room. We dined on the 2nd floor of the wicker "Boar" very exotic. Yes, every day at dinner they drank the local drink Arak. It's just great with cola. Leon beer is also good.
Second day. The next morning English breakfast and go! The cave temple is simply amazing! Definitely worth a visit. An amazing place to experience Buddhism.
Inside you can take a person who will conduct an excellent tour for 500 rupees, although everything is in English))) In general, excursions should be taken always and everywhere.
After that we went to Sigiriya. I won’t describe a lot for a long time, a lot is clear from the photo, they took a guide for 1000 rupees, they also left him a tip, he told him very interestingly. By the way, who has English. Problems. on the Internet on the website of the Embassy of Sri Lanka there is an audio guide for Sigiriya, download and listen! We stayed there for a very long time, we didn’t want to leave, a snake tamer, 3 gobras and a viper performed for us for 300 rupees, well, we took a picture with a python))) like in Adler on the beach))).
Then we went to Kandy, a cool place, a beautiful city, we had time to perform Kandy Dance. I liked it very much, interesting and beautiful. We stopped on the advice of Leslie in the place Nature walk. about 3300-3500 rupees per room.
A very nice and beautiful place, we drank a lot of arak with Leslie and a Dutch couple at dinner))) It’s good that the drunks didn’t go for a ride in Kandy at night, the Dutch guide said that “I drive even better when I’m drunk”))))))))) ))))).
Day three. English Breakfast and go. First we stopped at the Royal Botanic Gardens! It is great! Everyone there! and take a guide, if in English. understand. it costs 500 rupees. The road to the middle mountains to Nuwar Eliya is something unimaginable. My wife and I were simply delighted, although at first she was very seasick (keep this in mind). On the way we saw a dozen waterfalls, other beautiful places, etc. We stopped by a tea factory, looked at what was being done and how, bought a lot of tea home. I must say right away that it is REALLY COLD in Nuwar Eliya! You did not take warm clothes, as a result, the wife put on both her own and my things, and I warmed myself in the arrack)))). We were very unlucky with the hotel.
There were no normal places, we had to stop in a gloomy place, the name of which we even forgot) the exotic is still there) The breakfast was just terrible, the bed was stained, in general, we slept dressed) In Nuwar Eliya itself there is a very cool Victoria park and you can ride horses ) THAT'S ALL) i. e. who cares, but it seemed to us not enough.
Day four. From Nuwar Eliya to Ella by train. Leslie said that we would go first class, for 700 rupees per person in a 2-seater compartment. The train arrives, there are only two trailer cars, seated at 60 rupees per person) Well, great! ! ! ! it's exotic. After all, local people are the kindest creatures! In the end, we took the train, and Leslie went to Ella to meet us there. By train to such beautiful places - what can I say! don't just describe! this is a MUST to see. Waterfalls, tunnels, cliffs, mountains! and everything is incredibly beautiful. the wife took a photo with all the small children on the train and at the stations))).
In general, we arrived in Ella under a lot of pressure and went off the train to Ayurveda. 2 hours of fun. To be honest, I thought that it would be very expensive and my wife would go alone, but in the end, for 6500 rupees, we went together, 1 hour of massage, a body bath, super oil pouring on the forehead and a phyto-sauna. In general, bald! And after such relaxation, Leslie took us to the SKY GARDEN hotel! This is the most beautiful place I have ever seen! On the mountain, right in front of the big gorge, this cozy guest house, unreal views! room 4000 rupees with breakfast. A more romantic place is hard to imagine. In general, dinner with such a view of the arak is something!
Day five. English breakfast and forward to the hot savannah through the valley of waterfalls! Incredible beauty! On the way we stopped at a wild lake, and then to a monastery with monks and a buddha carved into the rock. We were told not to take a picture with your back to the Buddha, it's a big sin, They beat us up, they didn't listen. As a result ...after 3 hours, my wallet just mysteriously disappears.
In general, it is not clear what and how, but oh well, there were only cards, there was very little money. But we got upset and told Leslie that we didn’t want to go to Yallu, it’s a pity for money and in general in that spirit)) To which he said, okay, you are my friends, I’ll show you the national park for free) And really, I drove by the ring road, past some then the national park and we saw a lot of wild buffalo and elephants! In general, then he cheered us up with another very common remedy in Lanka (smoking right in a restaurant at a table is also exotic))) and everything was fine.
Beach and surroundings. The choice of a guest house on the coast was also a long one. After all, it's a honeymoon. First I chose a room in Unawatuna Beach Resort, for $80. But then the Dalawella Beach resort was found, a 15-minute walk from the unawatuna beach, right on the coast, a chic place with 4 * rooms (no less). There are disadvantages - this is the noise of the road, which sometimes interferes and ...yes, that's all. The owner - the Englishman Weston - is the nicest person.
The hotel restaurant has very tasty dinners, although we almost always ate at restaurants on the beach (we especially recommend Tartaruga). In general, on the Unawatuna beach itself there are a lot of good guest houses with quite decent prices from $15 to $60 per room. They moved either on foot, or on foot, or by tuk-tuk (trip 200 rupees) or by scooter. In general, it is better to take a motor scooter for the whole time, it is about 1000 rupees per day.
The beach itself is awesome, the waves are small, we dived near the reefs, saw beautiful bullocks, corals and other interesting things. There are discos on the beach, many restaurants, etc. ) You can simply order grass from the waiter in the restaurant))) on the beach it costs 400 rupees, in the hotel the boy has 200 and much better). We visited a turtle farm, nice, interesting), went to Jungle beach. Cool place, but as it turned out, it’s better not to swim there, sewage from Galle Fort swims there too)))).
Halle. On the way to Halle, they hit a wheel in a motor scooter.
Still, it is designed not for well-fed Russians, but for thin Sri Lankans)). it was sorted out for us right in the service on the road, patched up and put in place for 200 rupees))) Galle itself is of course a beautiful fort. we also went to a jewelry store in it and bought an elephant pendant with sapphires)).
On the last day, our friend Leslie invited us to his house for dinner, introduced him to the whole family, in general, we parted as close friends!
Airport transfer. ordered from Alexey mojalanka. $70 it seems.
Total cost of the trip: flight + 13 days on the island + driver with car + hotels + excursions + food every day (with lobsters and crabs in restaurants) + arak + gifts for relatives and friends + transport on the beach + tips. In general, everything is everything: $ 3200.
1. Always have small delgas for tips (50-100 rupees)
2. Always and everywhere bargain! (absolutely everywhere). Try to bring down the price at least 2 times. Except in restaurants and shops where they sell arak)))
3. Sri Lankans are the kindest people, don't shove them
learn a few words in Sinhala, they are delighted with it.
5. Do not buy fruits on the beach (expensive and not always of high quality)
6. Mosquitoes are simply not there
7. Read a Sri Lankan magazine on mojalanka
8. Don't buy anything from the spice garden! Divorce for money
