Savage to Sri Lanka. A guide for dummies.
Autumn has come, it has become cold... It's time to fly away to warmer climes. Goan syndrome, with the approach of November, flattened and sausage. But the prices for tours sobered up! Oddly enough, but Sri Lanka, which is farther to fly than Goa, was cheaper, about the same level as our last year's tour to India. So we are on our way!
It's good to be a package tourist! I paid a little money - and you don't worry about anything. It just got kind of boring. It's been 10 years this year since I started my bagging career. It's time to go free swimming! Well, you need to find yourself an adventure for the second 90! The people, out, long ago sent away TO along with TA and freely ride around the world. And I'm worse? Well, perhaps, lazier than others and more cowardly.
In short, one bad day, she knocked on my little head (well, or pecked at another place) thinking about buying plane tickets. But I can't! And who is our unsurpassed catcher of cheap tickets? Of course, Andrey gistalker!
Well, I mustered up the nerve and clung to him asking for help. And my suffering began! When I, under the strict guidance of Andrey, completed all the necessary manipulations, and I had only to press the "pay" button, my beloved computer decided to reboot! (This happens to him from time to time. ) A second attempt did not lead to anything - the site hung at the stage of entering passenger data. I considered this an unkind sign and wanted to cowardly retreat, and only the iron hand of Andrei brought me back to the path of independent travelers, having done everything for me. I won't say that the tickets were cheap - $450 each. But the end of October, for which there were discounts, did not suit me in any way.
I managed to get an electronic permit for a visa on my own (well, almost). And I even succeeded. From the forty-fifth time. Data entry time is limited. If you don't have time, start over!
When I entered Verka's data, the computer froze, but, thank God, the money didn't go away. The second attempt was more successful.
Having bothered Andrey, I didn't stop there. I also stuck to hanno4ke and nadin65 with a bunch of small and not very questions, to which they, with truly angelic patience, answered me.
Choosing a hotel in Sri Lanka turned out to be not for the faint of heart either. So many nuances! Firstly, the distance to the center of Hikkaduwa varies from 100-8000 m. 2 km is not a question, but I did not consider further options. Secondly, with / without air conditioning. With/without kitchen. Bed linen included/not included. Taxes - some included, others not. Somewhere you have to pay more for the light. Leave a deposit somewhere. Mom dear! My head is just swollen from the abundance of options!
I chose the first hotel before buying tickets. Not a hotel, but a room in a villa. 450 bucks for 3 people for 10 nights. Russian owner, good reviews.
They wrote that, unlike other options, everything is included in the price, and there will be no surprises later. Cancellation is free of charge until the time of arrival. But no breakfast. The owner immediately called me back on viber and asked if we would come ourselves, or send a taxi for us, but it would be a little more expensive.
Then I thought, why am I? 450 bucks! Princes, right? Yes, it is far from the center. Although, it takes 5 minutes to go to the sea, but swimming there is problematic because of the waves. And the lagoon is located just where the center is. Found another option for 200 bucks. With a shared kitchen, but no air conditioning. Reviews are good. And a little closer to the center. But if we don't arrive - a fine for the full cost of the check-in, all 200 bucks! However, it is not clear how. I provided the card number to booking, but they did not ask for a secret code. In short, I thought and thought and canceled while it was free. I didn't want to check how my money would be lost.
By the way, my card is not a credit card, but a salary card. That is, if there is no money there, then they will not be able to withdraw anything, respectively. And the bank where I went to ventilate the issue, neither sleep nor spirit. They didn't have those situations.
The third option is also a room in the villa. For 300 bucks. With breakfast and air conditioning. With shared kitchen. Half closer to the center of the previous options. Fine for non-arrival - 30 bucks (well, at least not 200). Something like this. But this option was not final. On the last day before departure, while it was still free, I canceled this reservation too, hoping for another option - the first line, breakfast, air conditioning, kitchen, and also... champagne! And for only 220! True, no feedback. It has been operating since September this year. Well, I thought that the hotel is new and earns a reputation for providing the maximum goodies at the lowest price.
And I also thought a little, and decided that it was not worth fencing the garden in order to sit in one place.
Under such conditions, it was possible to buy a package tour at the same price and not fool yourself. Therefore, instead of 10, I ordered 8 nights on the coast, and 2 more in the mountains. This decision came quite suddenly, almost at the last moment, so I didn’t bother with the choice of a hotel in the mountains. I fell for the beautiful view from the balcony and the reasonable price of $50 for two nights with a good breakfast.
In addition, having found information on how to get to Hikkaduwa cheaply on a highly specialized site on Sri Lanka, Verka was “delighted” that we would not take any taxi. That's what public transport is for! Cheap and cheerful. Stop being a cowardly tourist! It's time to become a brave traveler!
When buying plane tickets, I canceled all additional options, including luggage. Save, so save. So, we had to fly only with hand luggage. 10 kg seems to be a lot. Rags were kept to a minimum.
Our belongings with Vadik fit into a suitcase, the weight of which was about 7 kg. They also took with them my hiking backpack, pulled down to the appropriate dimensions. We planned to place purchases in it later, if any. At first it was empty. But on the day of departure, for some reason, he was stuffed with so many different garbage! Chocolates, seeds, cigarettes, water, food. In short, 6 kilograms dripped.
The day of departure fell on a Saturday. It was sunny and windless. It's even embarrassing somehow! At the dacha now there would be such a song! But you have to go. On the train we noted yesterday's Verkin DR. Two bottles of brut, a bottle of cognac… I slept great. But my head just fell apart in the morning, and my heart beat every other time. I am not learning anything! On our last flight to Sh-L, there was the same combination - cognac after champagne, and the result was similar. And those two - at least henna!
We had breakfast at Pot-bellied Hut.
Although, of course, for the forty-fifth time I already knew by heart the passport numbers and the English transcription of our not-so-simple surnames. But really, the balls have already gone beyond the rollers! And I could well point my finger somewhere in the wrong place. Already thought, what for I bothered so much? You could easily get a visa on arrival, but for 40 bucks instead of 35. My toad wouldn't let me.
Registration went smoothly, and I felt a little cheered up.
Customs that day was kind of sluggish. They must have gone for a walk yesterday. In my opinion, they looked at their screens every other time. Or even two. As a result, a bottle of water, a roll-on dezik, a tube of toothpaste and matches easily passed in my backpack.
And that couple had nothing to do with my experiences! They threw the entire organization of the trip on me, without even bothering to help in choosing a hotel. They kind of trust me! Thank you hat!
In short, while I was tormented by vague doubts, this kindergarten (preparatory group) requested the continuation of the banquet and rushed to the dutik. I refused to drink flatly (in vain, probably). But no brut, as expected, was not there. Boryspil! But they got a red semi-sweet! Brrr! And even outside the fridge! Bought, laid out on the table between the seats a simple snack. Vadka began to open this muck. The day before, I opened the brut on the train. The poor girl, who was fourth in our compartment, literally pressed herself against the shelf for fear that I would load her with a cork in the forehead. But it was cold brut! Both times I easily coped with the task, making only a light bang!
But Vadik did not succeed. The cork literally flew out of the bottle, dousing us with a fountain of pink sweet abomination! Verka was sitting at a distance. And although the main part resulted in the unlucky opener, I also got it.
From surprise, I literally yelled obscenities, plunging into horror peacefully talking nearby aunts. I had to apologize to the aunts, who thought it best to change seats. What for me? It’s good that it was quite hot at the airport, and I managed to take off the prize sweatshirt with the confession that I was writing the tourist truth, and it did not suffer, unlike the orange T-shirt that remained on me. But pink on orange is not too noticeable. But Vadya's gray jumper seemed to be hopelessly damaged. The owner went to the toilet to wash off. Pea miracle! Washed off. My husband is a business man. True, in the process of washing, he took off his sunglasses from his head, which he safely forgot there. The loss was discovered much later.
Another reason for my concern was that the docking time was too short - only 45 minutes. But the plane arrived in Sharjah half an hour earlier than planned, and we even sat in the drive for a while.
We managed to drink the water that was in the backpack. In the sump (sorry, drive) there were vending machines with water at 1 dirham per bottle. On one of our previous trips, we ordered some food on the plane in a major way (in 2013 we could afford it), and from a dozen bucks we were given change in dirhams. Finally, it's time to use them. True, even at home I had to get on the Internet in order to find out the denomination of the coins. Oh, those strange numbers! If the sinuous wand still somehow resembled a one, then the triangular circle with a dot did not evoke any associations at all! It turned out that it was 50 cents of theirs.
I confess that I have never before had to deal with vending machines for all sorts of nonsense. Having jumped around him, but still not understanding the principle of action, she turned to her compatriots for help. Nobody responded. Probably, they also came from the village. I had to use a dark man.
He gladly helped me get a bottle of water from the miracle machine. Thinking, I took another one, already on my own. I'm quite educated!
The second part of the flight also went smoothly. Visas were received without delay. In vain I tormented myself so. No one even looked at the migration card. And why did we fill them out? Moreover, they were worried that not all the columns were filled in, because they did not understand what was being asked there.
We bought a couple of liters of whiskey on the Dutik, because the news from the fields was very depressing. If earlier Sri Lankan rum cost 12 bucks for 0.7, now it's all 16! Choke yourself! Eh! Goan rum cost only 3! Whiskarik for the action cost 29 for two liters. Small savings, but still!
Having exchanged 200 bucks at the rate of 152, she took her kindergarten to the exit. Having brushed off taxi drivers and other tuk-tukers, we crossed the road and found bus 187, next to the Colombo bus station. He, apparently, only drove up, because he was pristinely empty.
It was 4.45 am. We piled the junk near the driver and sat down. The conductor called the passengers long and tediously. It turned out that we are not the only ones so smart (or poor). Several more groups of pale-faced comrades boarded the bus from our plane. We had to wait 45 minutes. After that, they took 130 rupees from us, and turning on his brutal conder, the driver rushed along the highway to Colombo.
We drove for about 40 minutes. It dawned. Arriving at the central bus station, we boarded a bus to Galle. An ordinary former school bus, widely used as a regular service in India and Sri Lanka. We were again charged 130 rupees each. But for a much greater distance. And without the stupid kondeya. Saved, thus, on the transfer, almost 50 bucks.
It was a long and tedious drive around Colombo. Why not a free tour?
Predawn Colombo
If I had to pay money for this, I would be very upset.
There is absolutely nothing to look at. Well, maybe
Then we drove long and tediously along the coast through various towns and villages. I didn't see any signposts. Or they looked somehow completely different than ours. Or were on the other side of the road. I learned about the names of the settlements from the signs on the shops, where their full address was indicated.
It was already three hours since we landed in Colombo. And, accordingly, almost the fourth from the moment we left the airport. And then Vadik declares to me that it is absolutely necessary for him to go out! You are crazy? Where the hell do you go? Here Verka also raised her voice, that it is also extremely necessary for her! Afigeeeeet! No, this is not even a preparatory group, but a nursery! Yes, the garbage has already remained until Hikkaduwa! 10 kilometers total! Noooo! Stop the earth, I'll get off!
I had to hastily give them 200 rupees, after which they flew out of the bus with bulging eyes, leaving me with all my things, documents and money to go further.
To be continued
