A month solo travelling Sri Lanka

Part 1: Colombo, Kandy, Dambulla, Sigiriya, Nilaveli, Batticaloa.

Arriving in Colombo

Ever since I can remember leaving sixth form at 18, every year I have had an overwhelming sense to satisfy a need to be independent and go away and travel solo for at least a month (whatever I could afford, whatever time I had spare in between studies). Now i say solo, but as I'm sure many ‘solo’ travelers will tell you, you very rarely find yourself alone for a massively long period. This certainly was the case once I landed in Colombo on the 2nd of June 2018.

I had just finished my degree in Marine Biology and my feet had never itched so much to get off my home turf in the UK and go on an unplanned adventure. After my initial “fuck what am i doing here all alone” phase (pretty standard for me when i land in a foreign country on my todd), I was quick to find myself at ease in deep conversations with a couple from Melbourne Australia, Tilly and Luca. They were also just setting off for a month of travel around Sri Lanka. Now i had a basic plan, i knew the places i wanted to tick off, just not a direct route or time schedule to stick to.

(Railway along Colombo coast)

On the first night we also met Lucas, a talented surfer also from Victoria. Little did i know, these 3 people would be with me, on and off, the entire journey. After my first Sri Lankan curry dinner experience (which was banging btw) and a sleepless night being woken every hour to rowdy, but harmless, slaughtered Scots trying to figure out how to climb up a bunk bed, it was time to say bye bye to Bunk yard hostel and set off for Kandy.

Kandy

Early the following morning, myself, Luca and Tilly bought some first class tickets (do not do this) for 500RS (£5.02). We spent most of the 3hr journey in second class doing the typical hanging out the door insta pic pose and took in as much of the beautiful countryside scenery as possible. To go from the busy busky city of Colombo to this, i felt instantly more at ease and was starting to remember why i was here.

(Train journey from Colombo to Kandy)

At the Elephant shed hostel we met Poppy and Mario. Poppy, a beauty of a soul, confident and well… just a ray of sunshine really. Mario was what I'd describe as a ‘real’ traveler with that typical long black shaggy hair, rough stubble beard and overall disheveled look. That night drunk Mario told us all about how he's working for a Portuguese magazine documenting his travels as he hitch hiked his way across Sri Lanka. He was on his way back to Colombo as he got an invite to a rugby match. His stories were filled with near death experiences as he explained working in the middle of nowhere in California growing weed was actually quite risky business. He was a bit of a nutta, but can’t deny he was interesting. That evening we played rummy in a local pub (myself, Tilly and Poppy being the only females among the male dominant Sri Lankan locals).

Kandy was a beautiful place. Independently and as a group (Lucas had joined us again by then) we saw pretty much everything it had to offer from the stunning lake, temple of the tooth, the botanical gardens (where children learnt Poppy’s name and continued to sweetly chant it as we wandered around the gardens), ate an excessive amount of roti and thala balls from the local bakeries and watched the beautiful colours (dare i say candyfloss colours) that were painted across the sky Kandy had to offer from the rooftop of our hostel. On the last morning, we took a hike up to the Buddha Statue to watch the sunrise and say farewell to Mario, Tilly and Luca.

(Botanical gardens)

(Sunrise at Buddha Statue)

Dambulla - Sigiriya

Now Lucas, although a fearless incredibly talented surfer in the ocean, turned out to be uncertain and at times fearful of just about everything else, from his hatred towards erratic fluttering moths to looking extremely uncomfortable when being sat on in crowded buses getting elbowed in the head every bump we went over on the road (I love you Lucas!). Meanwhile, myself and Poppy would often receive unwanted blown kisses or even the uncomfortable hand on the thigh or butt cheek as we stood up to leave. We soon became acquainted with this kind of bus experience as it turned out to be typical throughout the trip.

Once the bus arrived in Dambulla we took a tuk tuk to Sigiriya homestay. There we were welcomed by the two most adorable, free spirited kids who pretty much didn’t leave our side the whole time we were there. They quickly settled us in by showing us their homemade kites which they taught us how to fly in the garden overlooking Sigiriya Rock in the near distance. The little boy, obsessed with my camera, took some cracking shots up our noses for us all to cringe at looking back through later on that evening. Just as we were about to unpack and have a lil reset time, we were ushered by the kids down a small path which led to an untouched lake in which they proceeded to jump into and give their body's a wash with the soap they had carried down with them. Encouraging Lucas to go in first, I will never forget the face of someone so freaked out when he was quick to discover the lake was filled with the harmless flesh eating fish.

(Look at that sass)

Saying goodbye to the kids, we rushed down to Pidurangala Rock to climb in time for sunset. With 360 degree views including that of Sigiriya rock which we were climbing the following morning, it was absolutely breathtaking. With a small crowd at the very top, as the sun was setting, people were dancing and singing. It is definitely a moment I won't forget. A moment when my attention wasn't anywhere else but just there. That night, after a quick meal and some drunkenly delusional tired talks, we walked back to the homestay in the pitch black. The sky above was alive with stars and for the first time I saw fireflies, real fireflies. After such a day full of so much beauty, we all slept very very well.

The next day, we were up early again to climb Sigiriya Rock (Lion's Rock). With a lentil curry dish in our stomachs for breakfast, at nearly 200 meters high, climbing this ancient rock fortress was like nothing else. Passing snakes on the way and getting groped by teenage boys and monks that wanted our picture with them… nothing became out of the ordinary anymore.

(The views on the top of Sigiriya Rock Fortress)

(And of course one happy sleeping pup)

For our last night in this area, we stayed in the thick of the Jungle. Our cleanly decorated, bright open room with an outside shower and the luxury of our very own fans at the end of our beds turned out to also come with a resident monkey who snuck into our room overnight. Raiding our backpacks and eating anything edible within them, he didn't worry about covering his tracks as we woke to a room that was trashed. Across from our accommodation there was a communal area where we met a family of four travelling the area for which the parents were working on some research to do with the population of these monkeys. We gave them all the data we could (that they really must like dried chickpeas) and headed out for the day to check out some cave temples in Dambulla.

(Dambulla Cave Temples)

Nilaveli

Getting off yet another noisy and gropy busy bus to Trincomalee, we got a Tuk Tuk to Nilaveli where we met some student marine biologists working on their dissertation projects. It was here we witnessed the most picturesque sunsets with a sky I have never seen so pink whilst cooling down in the ocean.

(Another sunset i managed to actually capture the following evening)

The following day, we took a boat to Pigeon Island where we could snorkel with black tip reef sharks. I was in my element. The next day we checked out Kuchchaveli beach which was pretty much deserted other than the naval officers we met who gave us a tour of their lookout which had some beaut panoramic views. Soon we realised the tuk tuk driver we asked to come back in an couple of hours had in fact deserted us. We walked as far as we could along the dusty tracks hoping that he would see us on his return to pick us up. An hour in, with our red raw shoulders and saturated clothes soaked in sweat from the 40 degree heat, we stumbled across a corner shop. We demolished a litre of chocolate ice cream between the 3 of us and it had never tasted so god damn good. It was then I realised what a team myself, Lucas and Poppy made. Despite all feeling absolutely wiped and drained with clear signs of heat stroke, we kept the moral up and never did anyone snap at each other.

Returning back to our room once Poppy made contact with the aloof tuk tuk driver and demanded he come rescue us for free, we got back to our run down beach side hostel to find we had a new room mate. Connie the rat. We also managed to adopt a dog called Tori whom that night followed us home from a restaurant along the beach and fought off any dogs that were showing us clear signs of aggression. I kid you not, there were a lot of them (10+) barking and chasing us. We also did not dare to turn on our torches because when we did we’d see all the hundreds of crabs scattering beneath our bare feet. I think we could all agree by this point we were very much ready to move on the next day.

Batticaloa

Batticaloa wasn't necessarily one of those planned stops, but i am so glad we did. Our single night stay was spent in a hotel with a pool right next to the lagoon. That evening we had a swim then rented some bikes to cycle around the lagoon to a landmark lighthouse. We passed local kids playing cricket in the streets, who’d stop midway through to wave and greet us. We weaved through hundreds of cows in a forest that neighbored the ocean and returned back through a busy city to have one of the best dinners I have ever eaten for 150 rs (£1.50). I can’t believe I have got this far without mentioning the best dish ever… KOTTU. I think food was one of mine and Poppy's greatest bonding moments, our love for kottu and rotis.

(Batticaloa Lighthouse - built in 1917)

The following morning, just before we left, we made sure we set some time aside to make use of the pool (the only swimming pool we saw throughout Sri Lanka). It was here i had my first ever experience of being serenaded by an Asian singer/ songwriter rapper. I wish, oh how i wish we had this on footage.

I’m going to leave this here for now because… well... it's a bladdy long epic trip.

Read on to see and experience a completely different side of this incredible country in part 2: Arugam bay, Ella, Horton Plains, Galle.