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I just returned with my husband from Sri Lanka and decided to write a review while fresh impressions. The flight itself is of course tiring, so if finances and time allow, take a ticket for more days to fully relax. We arrived at the hotel at 6 am, there was also a family of 4 and a married couple with us. While waiting for the administrator to come to work (7-00), my husband quietly handed a gift to one of the managers - vodka, so that we would be given a good room away from the construction site and with a good view. And everything worked - the room was wonderful on the 4th floor, the construction site is not visible, the landscape is excellent, then another 1000 rupees were added to him as a token of gratitude (100 UAH). Another couple was less fortunate - from their window on the right there is just a construction site (this is a new 5-6 storey building being built). A family of 4 was generally told that there were no available rooms and were moved to a nearby hotel for three days and compensated for this with free dinners. In our room I saw geckos a couple of times (cute), there were two more small spiders, but I had to get rid of them, there were no more living creatures.
We only took breakfast. All 8 days it was the same, but there was plenty to choose from: eggs in various forms, yogurt, muesli, cheese, ham, chicken, fish, veal gravy, potatoes, vermicelli, salad, some porridges and soups incomprehensible, but edibles, pastries and fruits. We dined in restaurants on the beach or on the second floor of the hotel, at a price of up to 3.000 rupees for two. Who travels only with breakfast, I advise you to take food with you (sausage obviously did not stop us)! Outside the hotel (through the rails on the road straight ahead) is the main road, along it there are shops, bakeries, fruit counters. You can take a tuk-tuk to the supermarket - everything is there too - tea, coconut oil, sunscreen, fruits, etc. You can take a ride to the bazaar - there is more choice of fruits, we bought tea by weight, saffron, rum there. Some local, but very businesslike, got attached to us at the bazaar (in a good way), helped us change our vodka for their rum and choose good tea. There are souvenir shops near the hotel, but it is better to go to them by tuk-tuk. Prices are very high, but cheaper than in Kalutara, Kandy, Colombo. For example, magnets in the form of elephants were bought there for 40 rupees (UAH 4), and in others - 200 rupees exactly the same, I specifically compared.
We went on an excursion with Sandy and Daya (they are outside the hotel) to Kandy: the temple of the tooth of the Buddha, tea plantations, elephants (they give me an elephant to wash - I liked it), a botanical garden, a spice garden - for $ 40 per person, which is cheaper than beachboys , I liked everything very much. Only in the Temple of the Tooth Relic was forced to wrap up to the waist with a cloth, although we took appropriate clothes with us, they said it didn’t fit, I think this is specially bred for tourists - after all, the rent of this piece of cloth is 200 rupees.

My husband and I read reviews about the market in Colombo Petah, about a huge selection of everything you want from things and an unprecedented abundance of fruits, we decided to go. I will say right away, we were disappointed, there was nothing to buy, bananas, pineapples from fruits, well, we bought soursop. This market is definitely not worth it. But who cares, then: they wanted $ 50 from us to Colombo and didn’t want to take us to the market itself, only through shopping centers (for those who are ready for shopping, this is the best option), well, we refused and decided to overcome this path on our own by train . The station is next to the hotel. We bought tickets for 35 rupees (3.50 UAH) per person!! ! There are class 1.2, 3 carriages, but the 1st and 2nd class express does not stop near our hotel, so I had to buy 3rd class tickets. Basic knowledge of English and everything is in your hands! Riding with the locals is not as scary as it seems, everyone is looking at you and smiling, there are a lot of people, but you don’t feel discomfort or feeling dirty, people on the train were neatly dressed - white shirts, trousers, shoes, dresses and saris, well, there were a couple of beggars, although from the side - the train is dirty, the windows are open, the doors are open, people are hanging in the windows and in the doors (but this is during rush hour). If you talk normally at the station with the ticket seller, he will advise you on the best time to travel. The main thing is to remember the name of your station so that you don’t get lost when buying a ticket on the way back (although there is always someone who will help)! You can also travel by train to Halle.
In general, luxurious nature, insanely beautiful ocean, exotic animals, the sun, local flavor - everything is very impressive and pleases!