Новый год на Цейлоне New Year in Ceylon

The decision to spend the New Year in Sri Lanka came suddenly. To be honest, we were going to go, as always, to Europe, but at the last moment the desire to warm our bones in the sun in the middle of the Kiev winter outweighed. The hotel was chosen close to Colombo, because they wanted shopping, and deducting that the average speed of movement on the island is no more than 35 km per hour, they chose Wadduwa, according to our calculations, it was just an hour's drive from the capital. The Wadduwa resort itself is certainly not very good for young people, there is absolutely nowhere to go there after 18, so for those who want at least some kind of nightlife, it is worth going to Hikkaduwa, the surroundings of Galle and Unawatuna. Hotel Villa Ocean View - I read nightmarish reviews on the Internet and were very worried, but in principle I can rate the hotel 4 out of 5. The hotel, of course, really needs renovation - especially the bathrooms, but we were comfortable enough to live in it. The food was good, we only had breakfast, but if we wanted, we could have lunch and dinner at a local restaurant for an extra charge. Although we mostly ate in cafes that serve seafood, I'm a big fan of shrimp and lobster. The waiters and service staff at the hotel are quite friendly, although our request for water pressure in the room remained unanswered. The hotel's beach is not designed to lie there and sunbathe - very strong breaking waves, so you can only come to the ocean in dashes from the hotel and without personal belongings, jump in the waves. The biggest problem with the hotel was the internet. Firstly, it is paid, 500 rupees an hour, but this is still half the trouble. He simply did not work in the rooms, because the employees did not know the password for the grid, and he worked at the reception for a day - two no. There is also a railway right under the hotel, and the trains honk very loudly, for those who do not sleep well (sensitively), this hotel may not be suitable. I sleep well, so on the second day no sounds interfered with me. As for excursions, we ordered two main excursions back in Kyiv, found reviews on the Internet about the local guide Akila, contacted him and agreed on two excursions - to Kandy (Kandy, elephant nursery, bot garden, spice garden and tea plantations) and Mirissa (whale watching, Galle and Unawatuna). If they are interested in prices, I will write in a personal. I must say right away that we really liked these excursions and Akila himself, many thanks to him for everything that he showed us and told us, but guides in Sri Lanka are of course not guides in Europe, they tell what they know : ) We took the rest of the excursions from a tuk-tuker Ruki - he took us on a river safari to Bentota, to a waterfall and to Colombo. He is also a very good guy, we really didn’t bargain for his services, but later he drove us to many places for free, plus he introduced us to his family and invited us to visit. Shopping in Colombo is very, very good, there are simply no such prices for branded clothes in Ukraine. So you can safely plan yourself such entertainment. We met the New Year very well, though it must be pointed out that if the New Year's dinner was paid for, then the New Year's drink was not included at all. Everything had to be bought - and if you want to drink your own, you need to pay 1500 rupees to the bar. Some of the guests from Russia and Ukraine took this as a personal insult, so the poor waiters did not fare well. In general, the next time I will choose a hotel where mostly Europeans are accommodated, compatriots behave painfully arrogantly. In general, the rest was a success, although the weather let us down a little - the sun was not every day, and only from 9 to 11, the rest of the time it was cloudy and overcast, really hot. According to the locals, their season starts from mid-January, and not from November, as our travel agencies write. I think to Sri Lanka and I will return with pleasure, I really liked the climate, and the people, and nature, and the ocean.