In Sri Lanka....

Christmas in Sri Lanka could not be anymore beautiful than what I had expected. Well, yes, I would have loved to spend it with  my parents in India but spending time with my in- laws in their home country was worth the three weeks wait to get home. Sri Lanka always reminds me of Kerala minus the language. Despite being war torn in the past and after the stories I have and still hear on and off from my husband and his family, this country has everything, it is beautiful, has history and I loved the cuisine, which was quite similar to the food I eat back in India. Sinhalese food, i must mention, is very different to the food you would get in and around the major places of Sri Lanka. I must say it is an acquired taste.

Leaving Sydney early December morning for an almost month long Christmas holiday in Sri Lanka, I was wondering what we would be doing in the tiny island. With a toddler in tow I was pretty sure it was going to be, well, tiring! The first few days had its usual story of jet lag and no appetite from one little minion, but after she had settled in our trip got better. I got to see a bit of Sri Lanka, and from the little I saw, I must say, this little country has taken my breath away. We visited a place called Galle, which is a two hour drive from Colombo. This place has a Dutch influence and the beaches here are beautiful, the waters so clear and dangerously peaceful. Although it rained during our stay, we tried to make much of it.

From left clockwise: Dutch Hospital shopping precinct, Galle Fort, Jetwings Lighthouse- The hotel where we stayed in at Galle and Galle Maritime Museum.

On our way to Galle, we stopped at a Turtle hatchery. I don't remember the name of the place, but this is worth the stop. This was a tiny hatchery compared to one that was a few miles away and we were lucky to have a person, who had volunteered his services to the hatchery, explain about the turtles they had rescued and would be releasing back into the wild. This guy even let us hold a turtle. You can imagine how it would have made us feel, I was thrilled!! But seeing critically endangered Hawksby Turtles and other endangered turtle breeds makes you think what a horrible race human beings are! 

The second place we got to go to was Sigiriya. People said it is famous for a Fort built atop a rock and the wild elephants you could spot in the evenings. This was another two days getaway, and we visited an elephant training camp/animal museum in Mineriya, which was an hour drive from Sigiriya. The highlight of this two days trip was getting to see a lone tusker in the evening. Getting to see one made the trip complete.

Sigiriya Rock Fort

The last week and the few days we spent, in between our trips, in Colombo involved visiting people or relatives visiting us and my husband catching up with his schoolmates/friends and celebrating Christmas. Our main kind of outing in Colombo was taking the toddler for Tuk Tuk rides, it was her favourite thing to do apart from her usual walks and games with her grandparents. 

If there is one thing about Sri lanka apart form the beauty, it is the tea. We did not bring back tea bags/boxes but my husband did get his years worth of soothing, fragrant Sri Lankan tea. If ever you are planning to get away for awhile, add Sri Lanka to your list, it is worth it. But there are two things I must mention, the price of things is way too expensive, it would surprise you and make you wonder how the common man makes a living here. The second thing is the admission price to the tourist spots. If you are not Sri Lankan then you have a higher price to pay. So in all, be prepared to spend! But I say it is still worth it!