Доступная экзотика! Affordable Exotic!

There are so many things I want to write. Just a storm of emotions in my head.
I'll start in order.
Flight. Transfer.

We flew with a transfer in Sharjah. Departure from Kyiv at 14.00. We were in Sharjah at 20.00, a small connection, and after 50 minutes we were already flying to Colombo. AirArabia airlines offer terrible food for a lot of money. For example, we took a set: a hamburger with cola and chips for $10. Vermicelli a la Mivina costs $3. Drinking a small jar of something costs about 1.5 dollars. So it's better to take food with you. We arrived in Colombo at 3.35 local time (according to ours, somewhere at 12 at night). The time difference of 3.5 hours is quite noticeable. Take in Colombo duty-free alcohol and more. Local drinks are not great, but imp. expensive. Exchanged immediately at the airport 500 dollars. The course is good. 112 rupees = 1 dollar Bought a local sim card for $5. I deposited $20 into my account. A minute of conversation to Ukraine is about 40 rupees. Generally inexpensive. Immediately check the balance on the account, they can fool and not replenish your account. When we arrived at the exit from the airport, we could not find our tour operator for a long time. As a result, I ran through the crowd and shouted the name of the local tour company . . They found it, my name was written in clumsy letters on the guide's plate. In general, we left the airport around 5 am. We traveled by bus for about 4-5 hours. The road is tiring. The locals drive at random, it's scary. On the way, our guide and I stopped at a turtle farm and a Buddha temple (there are a lot of them).
Hotel.
We arrived at the hotel around 10. We were seated immediately. We asked for a room on the second floor, but in principle, one-story bungalows are also not bad. So if you do not want to run up the stairs - take a bungalow, and closer to the ocean.
The hotel is certainly not super, but it's 3 stars! The furniture is shabby, the bed is yellow-gray, the towels are smelly and torn. It is better to take your own from home. There is very high humidity, so things do not dry out and become damp, and although the towels were changed every day, they were musty and damp. Although we quickly got used to it. I have never had dry hair in my entire vacation! Even on New Year's Eve, the hairstyle was slightly damp hair. So do not take any curling irons, varnishes and cosmetics, it is not needed there!
The territory is beautiful, chipmunks run, crabs and chameleons crawl. In the evenings, small lizards crawl out onto the walls of the hotel. There are plenty of them, dozens, but they are harmless, they do not climb into the room.
Mosquitoes just attack! Both during the day and in the evening. Be sure to bring mosquito spray and a fumigator! There was no place left for me upon arrival home! It itches terribly!
The audience is mostly pensioners and couples over 35. Zero youth. There are few Russians. Entertainment and discos are almost non-existent. Once or twice there were themed evenings with dancing.

The food is very spicy, but there is also a choice of non-spicy dishes. In extreme cases, you can personally ask the chef to cook you something not spicy. You just need to tell them not to put any spices at all! What is not spicy for them is just hot to tears for me! For breakfast, we had to get up and eat at 5 am Kiev time. We skipped breakfast twice in a row. But even then I didn’t really want to eat, so we dragged some sandwiches and sausages with us and ate them closer to dinner)) There weren’t many fruits, mostly pineapples and bananas, which we couldn’t look at at the end of the rest. Buy at the mango market. 40 rupees a piece.
Ocean.
The waves were big, it was stormy for a couple of days. But jumping on the waves is great! The main thing is not to swim over the crest of the wave, and feel the bottom under your feet, otherwise I was pulled into the ocean and the rescuers got to the shore. Check out the depth! The water is clear, I did not see any living creatures. The sand settles quickly, but there is a lot of it in the hair and in the swimsuit after swimming! The ocean is very warm, foaming from the waves like a jacuzzi! Well, I just can't express how great it is! It is advisable to take swimming goggles with you, the salt simply eats away your eyes!
The sun was behind the clouds mostly, but you can burn out in just an hour. So be sure, in spite of the clouds, smear creams!
On the first day, we met the local guide Ali on the beach. A very nice guy. He has his own tuk-tuk. We spent the rest of our vacation with him. There is a market not far from the hotel, the trip will cost $1. We went to the port of Galle, walked there for 5 hours, ate, went to the supermarket (everything is cheap there), Ali was constantly with us. He asked for everything from us 8 dollars. But we gave him 10. For another 15 dollars. we went to the city of Matara (27 km from the hotel), where we went shopping. Near the hotel there is a tea plantation. There is good tea, though expensive, but as it turned out in Sri Lanka, almost all plantations are private, they are kept by foreigners, all tea is exported, you can’t buy anything there. Locals drink ordinary Lipton or Dilmah in bags, and natural tea is expensive for them to drink! On average, 75 grams of tea costs 800 rupees ($8). Silver or white tea - $25 for 12 grams! ! We bought tea from a local plantation a year in advance. I recommend. Ali will take you there for $5. In addition to tea, you can also see plantations of rubber trees, cinnamon, and many other interesting things.

If you go on an excursion to Kandy, you will be taken to a tea shop on the way. It is cheaper there than on a plantation, but the quality of tea is not as good. Unless you can buy silver or white tea there - cheaper.
I also recommend going for a massage. Only you need to go to the woman doctor in Unawatuna. She determines by pulse which oil is suitable for a person and it is rubbed into your body and head. At first we were taken to a peasant, but we didn’t like it there. They rub it with a drop of oil, like an asterisk, it's terribly cold, uncomfortable, don't go there. 30 dollars to the wind.
We rode for 30 dollars on a motorboat on the local lake Koggala, it is very large. We were taken to 2 islands - on one is a Buddha temple, on the other is a family that grows cinnamon.
To the left of the hotel after 50 meters there is a cafe. We ate shrimp and drank fresh juices there. Prices are 2 times cheaper than in the hotel. A serving of grilled king prawns (15-17 pcs. ) in sauce with french fries and salad costs about 6.5 dollars. Fresh for 1.5 dollars.
We had a breakfast-dinner system. During the day, all drinks are paid. Nothing is served at the bar. Beer $3 So it's better to go with Ali to the store and buy water and beer.
We went on a trip to Kandy for one day. We visited the national park, tea plantation, Temple of the Tooth Relic, ride on elephants. But for one day it is very tiring to go. 6 hours one way. So plan all the same for 2-3 days. So there will be more time to consider everything, take pictures, and not how we ate kept up with the guide, there are very few photos. Everything is fast, non-stop! Cost 88 dollars. But the guide spoke Russian.
So I recommend to take with you:
- going on a plane
- a towel for the face
- mosquito repellent on the body and indoors
- sunscreen 40
- seeds for chipmunks
- alcohol in Colombo duty free
- exchange dollars for rupees at the airport, it's more profitable (keep the receipt for exchange)
- buy a local sim card
In general, I really liked it. There are plenty of exotics, monkeys, chipmunks, iguanas, chameleons, palm trees, coconuts. . . I advise everyone! I'll be back again for sure!
There will be questions, ask! !