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Sri Lanka, November 01-04.2010 Chaaya Citadel 4* Kandy, November 04-09.2010 Royal Palm Beach 5* Kalutara
I thank all caring and sympathetic tourists who post their reviews on travel sites. Your feedback really helps to get acquainted with the conditions of the flight, accommodation in hotels, ordering excursions from local tour operators, the peculiarities of life and behavior of the country's population, and determine your choice of hotels and excursion program even before the start of the trip. For my part, I recommend buying a guide to the country of the publishing house "Polyglot" in a bookstore before the trip.
I vacationed in Sri Lanka with my wife, and we really liked this country.
Back in Kyiv, we decided on the next option for organizing our trip, as going through a rich excursion program during the first three days immediately after our arrival, visiting unique tourist places in the center of the country, followed by a relaxing pastime on the southwestern coast of the island. A few words for owners of "Travel Sim" mobile cards, it is practically not supported by local telecom operators there, so upon arrival on the island, get yourself a local operator card for 20 rupees and replenish it immediately with 100 rupees, which will last you about 15 minutes . conversation with Ukraine.
The only but big disadvantage of our trip was the lack of a direct Kyiv-Colombo flight. At the same time, the flight itself by Air Arabia was not at all tedious, the transit transfer at the airport of the city was terrible.
Sharjah (UAE) on the way to Colombo and on the way back check-in landing in the same city of Colombo. All the inconveniences were associated with the simultaneous registration of tourists together with Sri Lankans following through Sharjah to / from earnings to / from the rich countries of the Arab world. And all this chaos happened late at night. Once again, I want to remind you that the airline "Air Arabia" carries out the so-called economy flights, i. e. food and drinks on board the aircraft are not included in the cost of the flight. So you can save a lot and have a delicious meal, taking your sandwiches and juicy fruits with you on the road.
Upon arrival at Colombo airport, I advise everyone who needs high-quality alcoholic drinks and cigarettes to buy them at the local "duty free", and then buy local currency at the branches of local banks, without particularly bothering with their choice, because rates are approximately the same everywhere.
The size of the exchange amount depends on your future plans, I can only say that all excursions and purchases in factory shops of spices, Ayurvedic cosmetics, tea, souvenirs, gems can be made in USD. In our case, the amount of rupees equivalent to $ 100 was enough to buy fruits and other expenses for gifts, although in general we spent an order of magnitude more money.
At the airport, we were met by the guide Sandamini from "Aitken Spence Towers" and we went by car to Kandy to the Chaaya Citadel 4 * hotel. Immediately experienced a small culture shock in the form of left-hand traffic. Keep this in mind especially when crossing the road on your own. Travel time to the hotel, 120 km long, took approximately 4 hours. Because the city of Kandy is located at an altitude of 700m. above sea level and the roads are very similar to the roads of the South Coast and the serpentines of the Carpathians. In addition, in the morning from 7 to 9 o'clock. and during the day from 13:00 to 15:00.
on weekdays in all settlements of the country, traffic is greatly slowed down due to the large number of schoolchildren traveling to / from schools. Upon arrival at the hotel, the guide helped us with check-in and kindly provided us with the opportunity to rest until 15:00, because in the afternoon we were to visit the famous Temple of the Tooth Relic and watch a concert program at the local cultural and entertainment center.
Briefly about the hotel, we liked it. Helpful and friendly staff, we did not notice any delays in service. The rooms are large and comfortable, although a little worn, but everything is in good condition. They did not use fumigators, both their own and the hotel ones. The atmosphere in the hotel is chamber, located for a calm and measured rest of tourists who spend most of their time on excursions.
The food in the restaurant was varied and tasty, both adapted to European, and in the form of national dishes, for which a separate corner of the buffet was allocated. Breakfast offers a lot of fresh juices and mixes of tropical fruit juice. Drinks for dinner are free tea and coffee. Fruits, pastries and other desserts are always in a large assortment.
Nature in front of the hotel across the river is a jungle of amazing beauty. Birds sing very beautifully in the morning after a night rain. We were lucky with the weather in this part of the island. All three days it was pleasant and soft, the temperature was 28-30C, the humidity was not high and therefore it was not felt at all. I think that you will be interested to know that the weather in the center of the island and on its coast can be radically different. In the south and southwest of the country, the rainy season lasts from May to November, and in the north and northeast from December to April.
Excursions were conducted by our guide at a fairly high level and in Russian, which he studied in Moscow at the famous University. Patrice Lumumba. I want to dispel the myth about the cheapness of life in Sri Lanka. The level of prices for groceries in supermarkets, gasoline, excursions for foreigners is comparable to Kyiv prices. In general, it cannot be said that the population is very poor, although there are many beggars and beggars. Alcohol sales are limited in the country, because there is a problem of drunkenness among the local population, especially on Friday and Saturday, days off for the Sri Lankans.
By the end of the 3rd day of our stay in Sri Lanka, we arrived at the Indian Ocean coast at the Royal Palm Beach 5 * hotel. It was not possible to swim in the ocean, because the sun sets below the horizon at about 18:00. pm and rises around 6 pm. morning. Looking ahead, I want to say that only on the day of our departure, i. e. November 8th, we were able to watch a stunning sunset right into the ocean.
On all previous days in the evenings and more than once it rained with varying duration and intensity.
The territory of the hotel, the wide beach, the ocean and the incessant noise of its surf lead to indescribable delight. The depth of the ocean in the area of the hotel is small, but if it is very rough, the waves can easily knock you off your feet and drag you under the water with a strong low current. Therefore, be always careful, especially when a red flag is posted on the beach - a ban on swimming, which, as you understand, is ignored by most tourists who ventured to swim in the ocean.
We hardly used the services of hotel animation, my wife went to water gymnastics a couple of times and was satisfied with it. I spent most of my time walking, in one day I would go to the coast of the ocean for km. 6 south of the hotel, another day at km. 4 to the north from the hotel, and on the third day I made an independent walking trip to the city of Kalutara.
It was interesting to walk through places not usually visited by tourists and chat with local residents - fishermen and merchants. People are friendly, but sometimes trying to provide services that you don’t need at all. While in the city, be sure to visit the largest hollow stupa and a Hindu temple, as well as a grocery supermarket, where I recommend buying wild bee honey, which has an incomparable taste and smell.
Because at the hotel we ate according to the breakfast + dinner system, we sometimes dined on the beach at the Sea Sand cafe. Its owner, Sandy, is a kind, hospitable and not intrusive young man who speaks Russian very well. At your request, he can organize any tour you are interested in, both individual and group from 4 or more people, and the larger the group, the cheaper the tour for one person.
We used his services wishing to visit the old Portuguese fortress-port of Gale.
We were very pleased with both the places we visited during the trip and the information support provided by Sandy. On the way to Gale, we made a river walk at the mouth of the river near the city of Bentotta, in the mangroves we observed a crocodile basking in the sun, swimming monitor lizards and many beautiful birds. Then we stopped at a turtle farm, looked at turtles of various ages, types and colors, and voluntarily made a contribution to the farm's cashier for its maintenance. Then we went to the operating mine for the extraction of moonstone. At the end of her inspection, we went to the center for processing and selling precious and semi-precious stones, where we spent a lot of money. Upon arrival in Gale, we walked along the old Portuguese port, took many photographs and set off on our way back.
Several times along the way we stopped and bought drinking royal coconuts. Usually in one coconut there is 400-500g. juice, which is quite enough to quench the thirst of 2 people. Regardless of which part of the country you visit, guides at your request can take you to a restaurant with both national and Chinese or European
kitchen, the latter are significantly more expensive than the previous ones. Lunch at a restaurant with 500 gr. lobster and 9 king prawns, French fries, salad, a glass of juice and a bottle of Lion beer cost us 80 USD.
In the evening, after dinner at the hotel, we were previously tempted by the stories of Andrey and Olga, our acquaintances, and went with them on a night crab hunt with lanterns, long sticks and halves of coconuts, as well as with great hunting passion.
A little later, our guide Sandy joined us and showed us a master class in hunting for crabs by digging holes, where they usually hide when they see danger. Unfortunately, our hunt was prematurely interrupted by an overnight tropical downpour. But the next day, the hospitable Sandy prepared for us an amazing crab dish with sweet and sour sauce.
The last day was the most memorable for us. Sandy gave us a ride on his three-wheeled cab scooter. He went with us to the fruit market, where we were able to buy a lot of fruits for the road and as gifts, which we had not seen before in local supermarkets. Swim on the waves lying on a surfboard and finally see for the first time a stunning sunset into the ocean.
We wish you a good rest and positive impressions.
Yuri and Veronika Datsik.
P. S. Andrey and Olga from Kharkov, please contact us.
when checking in for a return flight at Colombo airport, we lost or our mobile phone was stolen, into which your phone number was entered.
I thank all caring and sympathetic tourists who post their reviews on travel sites. Your feedback really helps to get acquainted with the conditions of the flight, accommodation in hotels, ordering excursions from local tour operators, the peculiarities of life and behavior of the country's population, and determine your choice of hotels and excursion program even before the start of the trip. For my part, I recommend buying a guide to the country of the publishing house "Polyglot" in a bookstore before the trip.
I vacationed in Sri Lanka with my wife, and we really liked this country.
Back in Kyiv, we decided on the next option for organizing our trip, as going through a rich excursion program during the first three days immediately after our arrival, visiting unique tourist places in the center of the country, followed by a relaxing pastime on the southwestern coast of the island. A few words for owners of "Travel Sim" mobile cards, it is practically not supported by local telecom operators there, so upon arrival on the island, get yourself a local operator card for 20 rupees and replenish it immediately with 100 rupees, which will last you about 15 minutes . conversation with Ukraine.
The only but big disadvantage of our trip was the lack of a direct Kyiv-Colombo flight. At the same time, the flight itself by Air Arabia was not at all tedious, the transit transfer at the airport of the city was terrible.
Sharjah (UAE) on the way to Colombo and on the way back check-in landing in the same city of Colombo. All the inconveniences were associated with the simultaneous registration of tourists together with Sri Lankans following through Sharjah to / from earnings to / from the rich countries of the Arab world. And all this chaos happened late at night. Once again, I want to remind you that the airline "Air Arabia" carries out the so-called economy flights, i. e. food and drinks on board the aircraft are not included in the cost of the flight. So you can save a lot and have a delicious meal, taking your sandwiches and juicy fruits with you on the road.
Upon arrival at Colombo airport, I advise everyone who needs high-quality alcoholic drinks and cigarettes to buy them at the local "duty free", and then buy local currency at the branches of local banks, without particularly bothering with their choice, because rates are approximately the same everywhere.
The size of the exchange amount depends on your future plans, I can only say that all excursions and purchases in factory shops of spices, Ayurvedic cosmetics, tea, souvenirs, gems can be made in USD. In our case, the amount of rupees equivalent to $ 100 was enough to buy fruits and other expenses for gifts, although in general we spent an order of magnitude more money.
At the airport, we were met by the guide Sandamini from "Aitken Spence Towers" and we went by car to Kandy to the Chaaya Citadel 4 * hotel. Immediately experienced a small culture shock in the form of left-hand traffic. Keep this in mind especially when crossing the road on your own. Travel time to the hotel, 120 km long, took approximately 4 hours. Because the city of Kandy is located at an altitude of 700m. above sea level and the roads are very similar to the roads of the South Coast and the serpentines of the Carpathians. In addition, in the morning from 7 to 9 o'clock. and during the day from 13:00 to 15:00.
on weekdays in all settlements of the country, traffic is greatly slowed down due to the large number of schoolchildren traveling to / from schools. Upon arrival at the hotel, the guide helped us with check-in and kindly provided us with the opportunity to rest until 15:00, because in the afternoon we were to visit the famous Temple of the Tooth Relic and watch a concert program at the local cultural and entertainment center.
Briefly about the hotel, we liked it. Helpful and friendly staff, we did not notice any delays in service. The rooms are large and comfortable, although a little worn, but everything is in good condition. They did not use fumigators, both their own and the hotel ones. The atmosphere in the hotel is chamber, located for a calm and measured rest of tourists who spend most of their time on excursions.
The food in the restaurant was varied and tasty, both adapted to European, and in the form of national dishes, for which a separate corner of the buffet was allocated. Breakfast offers a lot of fresh juices and mixes of tropical fruit juice. Drinks for dinner are free tea and coffee. Fruits, pastries and other desserts are always in a large assortment.
Nature in front of the hotel across the river is a jungle of amazing beauty. Birds sing very beautifully in the morning after a night rain. We were lucky with the weather in this part of the island. All three days it was pleasant and soft, the temperature was 28-30C, the humidity was not high and therefore it was not felt at all. I think that you will be interested to know that the weather in the center of the island and on its coast can be radically different. In the south and southwest of the country, the rainy season lasts from May to November, and in the north and northeast from December to April.
Excursions were conducted by our guide at a fairly high level and in Russian, which he studied in Moscow at the famous University. Patrice Lumumba. I want to dispel the myth about the cheapness of life in Sri Lanka. The level of prices for groceries in supermarkets, gasoline, excursions for foreigners is comparable to Kyiv prices. In general, it cannot be said that the population is very poor, although there are many beggars and beggars. Alcohol sales are limited in the country, because there is a problem of drunkenness among the local population, especially on Friday and Saturday, days off for the Sri Lankans.
By the end of the 3rd day of our stay in Sri Lanka, we arrived at the Indian Ocean coast at the Royal Palm Beach 5 * hotel. It was not possible to swim in the ocean, because the sun sets below the horizon at about 18:00. pm and rises around 6 pm. morning. Looking ahead, I want to say that only on the day of our departure, i. e. November 8th, we were able to watch a stunning sunset right into the ocean.
On all previous days in the evenings and more than once it rained with varying duration and intensity.
The territory of the hotel, the wide beach, the ocean and the incessant noise of its surf lead to indescribable delight. The depth of the ocean in the area of the hotel is small, but if it is very rough, the waves can easily knock you off your feet and drag you under the water with a strong low current. Therefore, be always careful, especially when a red flag is posted on the beach - a ban on swimming, which, as you understand, is ignored by most tourists who ventured to swim in the ocean.
We hardly used the services of hotel animation, my wife went to water gymnastics a couple of times and was satisfied with it. I spent most of my time walking, in one day I would go to the coast of the ocean for km. 6 south of the hotel, another day at km. 4 to the north from the hotel, and on the third day I made an independent walking trip to the city of Kalutara.
It was interesting to walk through places not usually visited by tourists and chat with local residents - fishermen and merchants. People are friendly, but sometimes trying to provide services that you don’t need at all. While in the city, be sure to visit the largest hollow stupa and a Hindu temple, as well as a grocery supermarket, where I recommend buying wild bee honey, which has an incomparable taste and smell.
Because at the hotel we ate according to the breakfast + dinner system, we sometimes dined on the beach at the Sea Sand cafe. Its owner, Sandy, is a kind, hospitable and not intrusive young man who speaks Russian very well. At your request, he can organize any tour you are interested in, both individual and group from 4 or more people, and the larger the group, the cheaper the tour for one person.
We used his services wishing to visit the old Portuguese fortress-port of Gale.
We were very pleased with both the places we visited during the trip and the information support provided by Sandy. On the way to Gale, we made a river walk at the mouth of the river near the city of Bentotta, in the mangroves we observed a crocodile basking in the sun, swimming monitor lizards and many beautiful birds. Then we stopped at a turtle farm, looked at turtles of various ages, types and colors, and voluntarily made a contribution to the farm's cashier for its maintenance. Then we went to the operating mine for the extraction of moonstone. At the end of her inspection, we went to the center for processing and selling precious and semi-precious stones, where we spent a lot of money. Upon arrival in Gale, we walked along the old Portuguese port, took many photographs and set off on our way back.
Several times along the way we stopped and bought drinking royal coconuts. Usually in one coconut there is 400-500g. juice, which is quite enough to quench the thirst of 2 people. Regardless of which part of the country you visit, guides at your request can take you to a restaurant with both national and Chinese or European
kitchen, the latter are significantly more expensive than the previous ones. Lunch at a restaurant with 500 gr. lobster and 9 king prawns, French fries, salad, a glass of juice and a bottle of Lion beer cost us 80 USD.
In the evening, after dinner at the hotel, we were previously tempted by the stories of Andrey and Olga, our acquaintances, and went with them on a night crab hunt with lanterns, long sticks and halves of coconuts, as well as with great hunting passion.
A little later, our guide Sandy joined us and showed us a master class in hunting for crabs by digging holes, where they usually hide when they see danger. Unfortunately, our hunt was prematurely interrupted by an overnight tropical downpour. But the next day, the hospitable Sandy prepared for us an amazing crab dish with sweet and sour sauce.
The last day was the most memorable for us. Sandy gave us a ride on his three-wheeled cab scooter. He went with us to the fruit market, where we were able to buy a lot of fruits for the road and as gifts, which we had not seen before in local supermarkets. Swim on the waves lying on a surfboard and finally see for the first time a stunning sunset into the ocean.
We wish you a good rest and positive impressions.
Yuri and Veronika Datsik.
P. S. Andrey and Olga from Kharkov, please contact us.
when checking in for a return flight at Colombo airport, we lost or our mobile phone was stolen, into which your phone number was entered.
Translated automatically from Russian. View original
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