Sri Lanka with my own eyes
Good day to all who are interested) My husband and I are novice travelers, besides, with a C grade in English) but this did not stop us from visiting such a distant country. The first 7 days we lived in Kalutara hotel The Sands By Aitken Spence Hotels, meals - all inclusive. We are satisfied with the hotel, the hotel territory is well-groomed, the ocean coast is clean (every morning the hotel workers clean it), the kitchen is of course an amateur but you won’t leave hungry) There is one nuance that we were not warned about, this is the check-in time (14.00) we arrived from the airport at 9 am and we had to wait a very long time for accommodation (((There is no evening entertainment program either, the "disco" is only on Saturday))) on the rest of the days there is peace and quiet. One of the days we made an independent trip to Colombo, by bus (ticket price two), it was a lot of fun, we visited the local zoo (a ticket for a tourist costs 2500 rupees) the zoo is good, but it’s better to visit a safari, it will be much more interesting.
Tukas in the city cost 40 rupees km. and be sure to tell the driver to turn on the meter because they always want to outwit the tourist and call the price too high. Tuk tuks in villages near hotels without meters, but with them you just need to drop about 40% -50% from their announced price and go))) During our stay at the hotel, we planned a further trip around the country and, on the advice of our tour operator, we wanted to resolve the issue on the spot with local "scourge fights". but it turned out that everything is not simple ...the Russian language in many fights can be very conditionally called Russian))) two dozen words, that’s all Russian, as it turned out, they overestimate prices very much and even despite the lack of a season they are in no hurry to give in, moreover the idea of traveling around the country is very conditional for many.
Therefore, we phoned the frequently mentioned Madu, agreed on a price and a route, approved everything, and when we started calling him on the eve of departure in the evening to clarify the time of the morning departure from the hotel, he did not pick up the phone ...in the morning he sent a message that he agreed with other tourists. ((((
we panicked a little because there was very little time left to search for a new guide, having opened the Internet we found the guide Sasha (Sumudu), agreed on a price, agreed on all the details of our 4 day trip and were pleasantly surprised by the punctuality in the morning when we met. I was also pleased with his good command of the Russian language.
Of course, the sediment from previous interactions with local guides made us very strict and wary of any ideas Sasha had about our itinerary. We categorically insisted on our route, which we compiled, which we later regretted because.
did not take into account the local features of the roads, the speed of movement and much more (it was still necessary to listen to his recommendations for adjusting the route) But despite all this, Sasha fulfilled our wishes with all kindness, tact and a smile and tried to make us happy.
Our itinerary: Kalutara-Nuwara Eliya-Hortron Plateau-Paradenia-Kandy-Pinawela-Sigiriya-Trinkomele-Nilavelli-Unexpectedly and not planned Bentota.
A lot has been said about the beauties of these places and I do not want to repeat them. During the trip, we had many adventures (and wild monkeys on the roof of the room, a wild elephant who visited our guest house in Sigiriya at night and much more). I want to note the work of our guide Sasha. During the whole trip, he never gave us a reason to doubt his honesty and decency. He always tried to help us and steadfastly withstood all our requirements.
When settling for the night in Gesta, he calmly and without irritation showed us different options one by one until he found what suited us (and it doesn’t matter that it was late and everyone was tired). During our visits to excursions, he, being nearby (so as not to interfere), looked after our safety. When shopping, he always helped us bargain and negotiate the best price. Subsequently, communicating with other tourists and comparing prices, we were convinced of his sincerity and decency. Sasha always showed us interesting places on the way, arranged photo sessions, found good places for lunch. The most amazing thing happened at Trincomal and Nilavel. When we arrived there, at the end point of our route, where we had to leave. Having traveled around a dozen hotels, we suddenly realized that we do not like the northeast coast (with a calm ocean and almost no palm trees).
Sasha, seeing our disappointment, persuaded the driver (who had been driving all day and was very tired) to take us back to the south. On the way he booked us a very nice hotel, a very nice room at a very good price.
And a day later, in a friendly way (during the trip we became very friends), he gave us a tour of the south coast, a fortress in Galle.
Summing up a brief report on our trip, we can say - Sri Lanka is a wonderful, very interesting and beautiful country, with its own flavor and originality. And it is very important when good people introduce you to her. We definitely want to visit it again, in a few years, together with our children.
I wish you all good travels!
P. S. I leave the contacts of our guide Sasha Sumudu 0770783777, Sumudu. ashoka@yahoo. com , SKYPE ABREW777.
P. P. S. If you have any questions, I will be happy to answer write alencam@mail. en
