Whoever
thought Thailand was the land of smiles and great hospitality obviously did not
travel to Sri Lanka. The hot summer sun and the humidity of the island nation
was bearable mostly due to the smiles and sweet nature of the people of the
island.
Colombo's
residents are very helpful, which is surprising given that it is the capital,
given that the citizens of capital cities generally do not have a reputation
for kindness. From the watchman to the auto (misleadingly called taxis) drivers
to the people on the street, everyone wowed us. Maybe just the gentle nod and
smile from the old man who walked past as we stood at the bus stop... the
overwhelming speed with which the watchman put away his newspaper, rushed out
of his enclosure so that he could direct us quickly to our destination... it
was a pleasant surprise at every other corner.
Hotel
Raja Bojun was heavily recommended, but disappointed us with cold, soulless
food. The Green Cabin compensated by giving us rum-spiked Ice Coffee - what a
delightful country!
Colombo
had enough drama - black thunder clouds rushing menacingly over the sea in the
middle of the day, with gusts of wind raising mini dust storms and tiny
tornadoes... over the same train line which saw the tsunami carry off more than
a thousand souls... We did not go to Peraliya - the site of the disaster. But
the Colombo-Galle line is so close to the sea that one doesn't have to try hard
to imagine some terrible scenarios.
Colombo
to Kandy by train - for us familiar with South India's gentle hill stations -
was quite a disappointment. What made it slightly better was the Tooth temple
and the food in Kandy. And the amazing time we had at the Hanthana Holiday
home. Lovely hosts and an Australian guest staying there made for some great company
and conversation. One had converted from Buddhism to Christianity, while the
other was a staunch Buddhist who had left Christianity. Christianity's
definitive answers appealed to the erstwhile Buddhist; while it was that same
assuredness that drove the Christian to the intellectual and experiential
questioning of Buddhism.There was nothing to complain about the food and the
weather either.
Our
planned stay of one day at Dambulla became two days - the heat took a toll and
we had to slow down. If one goes to Sigiriya, it is sufficient to go till the
Ajanta-Ellora type painting gallery. The rest of it is just a climb - and
nothing worthwhile to experience on top. Just leftover bricks and mortar that
is well viewed on a picture from under a shady tree.
Dambulla
was where I had the most expensive cup of tea in my life - about 150 INR for a
really bad pot of tea - and not even real milk. Dambulla was where I also had
the best cup of tea ever, for a very reasonable price. Bentota Bakehouse
pleased us with its array of curry and appams (hoppers), string hoppers and the
quaint Sri Lankan way of serving - you get a load of stuff on your plate and
you are charged for what you eat. The curry is a separate side order. This is
the way short eats are served.
We
also sampled the hot stuffed rotis in Dambulla. Freshly made, from a small
roadside eatery - we took a chance. And again, the same quaint way of serving.
Everything loaded - and you pay for what you eat.
After all the sun and exhaustion, it was time to relax in Negombo. Touristy, with all the tourist traps. Yet there were some good things there. The Ice Bear restaurant served up a potent arrack-based cocktail. And then I had to go and have the cake soaked in arrack. Oh boy!
I
cannot forget the lady at Sea Joy restaurant who took excellent care of us -
giving us extra veggies and things like that! And all served up with that
dazzling genuine smile.
I lost my iPhone in Lanka. I wish I could write another line about something else I lost to make it sound good, but no, none of that here. What was interesting to note was the seeming lack of press freedom. We bought all the newspapers - and I was surprised at how some of the articles were written in such a groveling fashion to the dear president.
We
were mistaken for local Sinhalese wherever we went. I guess that's better than
being mistaken for Tamils. I denounced my mother tongue a proverbial three
times - maybe more...I have no bad or good feelings about it. It was something
I did. Period. The stereotyping was evident. 'People from Bangalore are
different', opined the guy checking bags at the airport. He could tell we
weren't Tamils. Hmm.
Sri
Lanka leaves the most amazing taste in the mouth - literally. The rich sweet
pineapples, the lovely green veggies, the smiles - all cover up a country that
is struggling to figure out its identity after years of being at war with
itself.
