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Sri Lanka Travelogue 1993 - Introduction/Index [part 1 of 4] (long)
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From: futt...@daimi.aau.dk (Erik Futtrup S|rensen)
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Subject: Sri Lanka Travelogue 1993 - Introduction/Index [part 1 of 4] (long)
Date: 28 Sep 1993 09:16:37 GMT
Organization: DAIMI, Computer Science Dept. at Aarhus University
Lines: 283
Message-ID: <288vdl$3r5@belfort.daimi.aau.dk>
NNTP-Posting-Host: besancon.daimi.aau.dk
Keywords: Sri Lanka, travelogue, adventure, Tamils, Sinhalese
Return to Sri Lanka - A Travelogue by Erik Futtrup, 1993
[Part 1 of 4]
INTRODUCTION
============
This Travelogue is about my travels in Sri Lanka from 1. August
to 31. August 1993. I have been to Sri Lanka previously, in 1991
for 12 days (on a world tour), and decided at that time that some
day I would return and see some of the things I missed the first
time - and that time was now.
This travelogue will be most useful for independent travellers
because I tried to stay away from 'package tourists' and the
places they went and instead tried to find the 'real' Sri Lanka -
but of course I also wanted to see some of the more 'famous'
places (Sigiria, Kandy etc.), and therefore also one-weekers will
find some interesting facts here - take a look at the index below.
I was travelling on a pretty low budget (~15$/day) and stayed
primarily at guest houses, listed in Lonely Planet's Travel
Survival Kit - Sri Lanka (hereafter referred to as TSK) which is
the very best guide for travelling around in Sri Lanka. The prices
are mentioned in Rupees and in US$. At the time of travelling,
1US$=48.50rs.
A bit about myself: I study Computer Science at the University of
Aarhus in Denmark; I have one year to go before I get my master
degree (I have a bachelor degree in Math and Computer Science).
I'm 25 years old, live in a shared flat with four other Christian
students and yes I like Sri Lanka very much and no, I'm not
married; this should answer all the standard questions one is
asked 20 times a day in Sri Lanka.
INDEX
=====
Day Places Keywords
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[Part 2]
1 Moscow Aeroflot, Moscow airport
2 Karachi
Panadura
3 Panadura Elephants, boat trip
4 Colombo Dehiwala Zoo
The Mountains
5 Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage
Kandy
Nuwara Eliya
6 Nuwara Eliya Brewery, spices
Hakgala Hakgala gardens, Chinchona
7 Nuwara Eliya Pidurutalagala
Haputale
8 Horton Plains Leopards, World's End (Lokatrea)
9
10 Kandy Temple of the Tooth, National Museum,
Asgiriya Vihara
11 Kandy Hantana mountain
12 Kandy Mahaweli river trip, iguanas.
The Ancient Cities
[Part 3]
13 Aluvihare Cave temple, spice garden.
Dambulla Cave temple, Cultural Triangle pass
14 Sigiria Lion Rock, fresco paintings
Polonnaruwa Ancient capital
The East
15 Trincomalee Tamils, checkpoints, military, east coast
Fort Frederic
16 Trinco Pigeon Island, skin diving, LTTE (Tigers)
17 Mutur Fishing village, Tiger country, Mahaweli
mouth
18 Trinco Uppuveli
19 Trinco Skin diving, coral fish
(another) Ancient City
20 Anuradhapura
21 Anuradhapura The Bo tree, ancient ruins.
22 Mihintale Cradle of Buddhism
The South
[Part 4]
23 Panadura
24 Colombo Viharamaderi Park, Museum of Natural History
The National Museum, Liberty Plaza
25 Galle Portuguese Fort
26 Meetiyagoda Moon-stones
Unawatuna Beach
27 Deniyaya Sinharaja rain forest
Mirissa Beach
28 Panadura LTTE, Buddhism
29 Colombo Gems, spices
30 Colombo
Moscow
MAP OF SRI LANKA *'s indicate my travel route
================
____________
/ \
\Jaffna___ \
\ \
___________/ \
/ \
/ \
/ \
/ \
| **/ Trincomalee
/ **<_*/\
| * * * |
| Anuradhapura * \
| * * * \
/ * * * \
| * **** |
| * Habarana |
| * **** \
| * Sigiria *Polonnaruwa \
| * * \
| * Dambulla \
| * * Batticaloa
| * * \
| * * \
| * * \
| * * \
| * *Kandy |
| * ****** * |
| ** * |
| * * |
| * ***** /
Colombo Nuwara Eliya |
|* * * * /
|* *******Haputale |
Panadura Ratnapura /
|* /
|* /
|* |
\* /
|* /
\* *Deniyaya /
Ambalangoda * /
\* * /
\* ***Akuressa |
Galle* * /
\__*_*_*__Matara________/
TIPS, HINTS AND EXPLANATIONS
============================
Places to stay:
--------------
Everywhere you can get a good room (in a guest house) for 100-
200rs (2-4$) - and you can stay two persons in a room, most
places. The rooms have (usually) a fan, and if they don't have
mosquito nets, you can ask for coils, which I prefer to nets. You
light them before going to sleep, and the smoke keeps off the
mosquitos. If they haven't written prices in the rooms, you can
usually bargain the price down 50-100rs. If they quote higher
prices than what is written in the TSK, then try and show them
the book, it helps. NEVER follow a tout to a place, they get
about 50rs which you'll have to pay extra for the room.
Places to eat:
-------------
I had breakfast and dinner, most of the time, at the guest
houses. Breakfast will cost about 40-60rs (0.80-1.25$) which
consists of bread, butter, jam and either fried egg, a piece of
fruit or string hoppers. Dinner costs between 55-80rs (1.10$-
1.60$), which usually means rice & curry. Soft drinks and beers
costs extra. They don't make it hot unless you ask them to.
Transportation:
--------------
To hail a bus: Stand by the road, put your arm out with a 20-45
degree angle and hold your hand parallel with the ground, palm
down.
Buses are still very cheap, and the boys collecting money in the
buses know that westerners are taking the buses because they are
cheap, so they also know they cannot cheat them much. They
usually only raise the fare from like 8.50rs to like 9 or 10rs.
They have to write you a ticket, and since they don't always
speak English, it is an easy way to find out how much to pay.
I enjoyed travelling by bus very much. The trains are better of
course, but more expensive, and even if you take 2.class, you
often have to stand up.
Money:
-----
I brought Thomas Cook travel cheques, and I would do this again
next time. You can change them in all banks and it gives a better
exchange rate than cash. If you bring cash, bring US$. Credit
Cards are getting more common; the last time we were here, there
was only one bank in the country where you could get money.
What to bring:
-------------
Toilet paper (you can buy them at the pharmacy though), lots of
pens (for children). If you are a coffee drinker, bring Nescafé
(the Sri Lanka coffee is terrible). Bring mosquito repellent,
Micropur (silver tablets) for water purification, a padlock,
flashlight, pictures from your country. Also diving gear - you
can sell it with profit on the east coast.
Things to buy:
-------------
Spices: Saffron, cinnamon (only whole pieces), red chillies and
chili powder.
Also gems, batik shirts, leather goods and devil masks.
Travel guides:
-------------
The one you want to bring:
The Lonely Planet Travel Survival Kit (TSK) Sri Lanka, 5th
Edition, May 1993. ISBN 0-86442-169-9.
Richard, I met in Anuradhapura had read in TSK the evening
before leaving, and had forgotten it on his table - when he told
me this he was tearing hair out from his head!
Insight Guides, Sri Lanka, 6th Edition 1993. Apa Publications.
ISBN 0-395-66310-5 and 9-62421-014-4
This is the one you want to read at your coffee table at home,
and look in again (many pictures) after you return. But don't
bring it!
Dangers & annoyances:
--------------------
More tourists are going to Sri Lanka, this means that there are
getting more and more touts and very annoying people. They are
sometimes very difficult to distinguish from good meaning people,
and I know that I must have missed several good friendships this
way, by saying no to people who offered to help me. The problem
is that 90% of people approaching you and offer to help you, are
out for your money. You might as well learn to say no
immediately when you are approached on the railway or bus
station. Use a guidebook instead to get to a guest house, and
then ask the owner for guidance instead - or go into a 'short-
eats' shop, and talk to people there! It works! People are very
willing to help, if YOU ask. Mostly, (not always) people you meet
on the train or in a bus are OK; especially families travelling.
Remember, if you follow a person to a shop, you are going to pay
much more for the goods than if you came on your own - that is
just the way with touts, they get high commissions.
I was very careful with my things this time, and had no accidents
or thefts. So as always, be careful.
The War between Tamil Tigers (LTTE) and the Sinhalese
-----------------------------------------------------
The explanations would be long, so the following is just to give
a feeling what the troubles are about. The following is extracts
from a Reuter article (Feizal Samath):
On July 23, 1983, Tamil militants ambushed and killed 13 soldiers
at Tinneveli on the Jaffna Peninsula. The dead were brought to
the capital for a mass funeral on the following night. It was at
this point that then president Jayewardene decided to use
violence to "teach the Tamils a lesson." Once started, the
attacks ignited a tinder-box. Analysts say working-class Sinhalese
in the capital felt frustration over a government ban on public-
sector strikes and other suppression. The Tamils provided a
outlet for anger against the government as well as for ethnic
tension. 3000 Tamils were killed in the following days. As a
result, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) grew from a
ragtag bunch of ill-trained young men into one of the world's most
fearsome guerrilla armies. More than half a million Tamils went
abroad.
<end of extracts>
More than 18,000 people have been killed the past 10 years.
The Tamils make up 18 percent of Sri Lanka's 17 million peo-
ple, and say they are discriminated against by the Sinhalese, who
comprise 75 percent of the population and control the government
and military.
Today the LTTE control and run the Jaffna peninsula, areas north
of Trincomalee and the jungle north of Batticaloa. There are no
signs that the war should end soon; no talks are going on.
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