Solo in Sri Lanka
My story is not intended for people who go to the ends of the earth to eat from the belly and lie on the beach like a seal. In our room we only slept and changed. We had breakfast and dinner in cafes or restaurants, and dined with fruit.
Our trip to Sri Lanka began with a rather exhausting flight. The Flydubay plane was 3 hours late. In Dubai, after an hour of waiting, we went through registration, sat down (or rather, got up) on the bus, the doors closed... and we stood for another hour.
At the Negombo airport we took a taxi ($65) and pretty quickly (1.5 hours) arrived in Unawatuna. We went on our own, we didn't book anything in advance. After reading a bunch of reviews, I wanted to settle in a guesthouse with a Russian hostess. We arrived, agreed, settled. Around quite a lot of hotels, guesthouses - there is a choice. The guesthouse also has a restaurant. The food was good enough for us.
In the morning we got up at 6 and went either to the beach or to the jungle. At this time, birds and monkeys wake up. The "roll call" begins. Between 8-9 we returned to have breakfast and went to Jungle Beach. The path took about 20-30 minutes along the path through the jungle. Very beautiful and interesting. Birds, monkeys, monitor lizards, all kinds of flowers... The beach is small, there are few people, there are no waves at all. You can dive with a mask. Of course, we also went to the city beach. Unawatuna Bay is closed from the ocean by a double row of reefs, so there are no strong waves and swimming is very cool. The ocean is indescribable - magnificent and majestic.
We spent 6 days in Unawatuna. We went to Galle by tuk-tuk, walked around the old fort, saw a school dance lesson for girls. We visited Koggala on the lake, visited the spice garden, tea plantation, turtle farm. In general, every day, besides the beach, we still had something to do. It seemed that it could not be better.
However, despite my husband's protests, I insisted on traveling around the country. We agreed with a taxi driver ($75 per day) and set off early in the morning. 1 day. Our road ran through picturesque places. In beautiful and interesting places, our driver Supon stopped so that we could take pictures, walk around, and have a look. At first we drove along the coast of the ocean, and then we began to climb mountains. In the middle of the day we arrived in Nuwara Eliya. We found a hotel, left our things and went for a walk in the city. Little England in the center of Ceylon. Beautiful Queen Victoria Park, English style buildings and even a 1929 mailbox, I think. By the way, it is quite cool there - 18 degrees. Day 2 The next day we drove to Horton Plateau National Park. We stood on the edge of the world - over an abyss of 800 meters, where clouds walk under our feet, went to a waterfall. The entire route is about 8 kilometers on foot. Then we went to Kandy. Along the mountain road, past tea plantations and waterfalls… We checked into a hotel in Kandy. Day 3 In Kandy, we went to the Temple of the Tooth Relic and walked in the botanical garden in Piradeniya. We stopped at a traditional clothing store where you can buy saris and more. And we moved on. We arrived in Khabarana, where we spent the next two days. Day 4 Trip to Polonarawa. Elephant ride in the evening. Day 5 Sigiriya. Very cool, but it would have been even better if it hadn't rained the last two days. On this day, another trip to Dambula was planned, but after climbing Sigiriya, we did not have the strength to climb even to the Temple of the Golden Buddha. Late in the evening of the fifth day we arrived at the Negombo airport. The flight was in the morning. This time the plane was "only" an hour late.
