Welcome to Sri Lanka!

Sri Lanka for me was a total blank page. We were never planning on visiting during our Asian adventure. However, after two and a half months backpacking throughout Southeast Asia, we decided to meet up with my parents someplace totally different. Someplace relatively off the tourist map and exciting. Sri Lanka fit the bill perfectly! We spent 2 weeks traveling through this fascinating country & loved every minute of it!

We arrived in Sri Lanka's capitol & biggest city Colombo after a 4 hour jaunt across the Bay Of Bengal on a red eye. Our first impression was pretty rough - a long line of touting taxi drivers vying for our attention and money after our guesthouse driver bailed on our airport pickup. Add to that stifling heat, humidity & a completely foreign culture that we weren't used to at all. We took a short taxi ride to the ocean side city of Negombo and spent our first few days relaxing on the Indian Ocean and learning about the country during long conversations with the awesome owner of our guesthouse - Nishan.

Fishing Boats on Negombo's Coast

In the 1970's Sri Lanka was experiencing a tourist boom until civil war broke out, and for 25 years, the country was locked in a constant state of chaos. The majority Sinhalese government & the minority Tamil tiger militants battled constantly for over 2 decades crippling Sri Lanka's population, environment & economy with an estimated 100,000 people killed during it's course. It wasn't until May of 2009 that the Sri Lankan military defeated the Tamil Tigers finally bringing war to an end. Throughout our time here, it was clear that the country is still reeling form it's recent strife. To make matters worse, Sri Lanka endured a recent, terrible natural tragedy as well. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake triggered a massive tsunami that ravaged the tiny island's coastline and killed over 47,000 people! The waves engulfed entire trains. Boats swept out to sea, houses ripped off their foundations. In places, the tsunami waves went inland as far as 1 mile! The fisherman living in wooden beachside shacks simply didn't stand a chance as waves up to 30 feet high smashed into the coastline on that fateful day. Nishan told us about the British couple who was staying at his guesthouse that week. They had left their bags at the guesthouse with the intention of picking them up a week later at the end of their trip before heading home. They took a seaside train along the Eastern coast and were never heard from again. Nishan went on to tell us that after weeks of no word from the couple, the British government requested they ship their bags back to England. The reality of the tragedy sunk in for us at that point.

Beach Side Fishing - A String Is All You Need!

The Days' Catch

We went on a long sunset run around the neighborhood, along the coastline where kids were playing Sri Lanka's beloved cricket in the sand & into the lush hills past crumbling buildings, burning trash & cattle jingling their way down the road led by their owners. A fascinating landscape. The locals totally stared at the crazy white couple running! Not something they see everyday I suppose, yet we took pride in this & the fact that we got to see a bit of everyday Sri Lankan life. We motored around in a Sri Lankan Trishaw (a tuk-tuk of sorts) & had our first taste of Sri Lankan cuisine - Rice & Curry along with Sri Lanka's national beer - Lion! It was a nice introduction to this interesting Island on the Indian Ocean.

First Real Meal in Sri Lanka

Despite the recent dark days, Sri Lanka is showing signs of a resurgence. Per capita income in Sri Lanka has doubled since 2005 & quality of living has increased greatly in recent years. Tourists have began to come in droves to Sri Lanka and after our experience, it's easy to see why. The whole world will fall in love with this place and it's already jumping up the list as one of the "places to see" on the planet. After a joyous reuniting with my parents after over a year of being apart, we hopped in our pre-arranged van & headed inland towards the Cultural Triangle & a treasure trove of some of the island's, if not the world's finest ancient monuments.

Bout Sums Up Negombo For Us - Ready To Explore The Rest Of Sri Lanka