Joan preferred Sri Lanka to India, above all because it was much cleaner, a view echoed by almost everyone we spoke to who had arrived by way of India. It certainly was a very pleasant holiday and we both felt and, I gather, looked much better on our return. Not difficult in my case as I left Britain full of doubt and worry, most unusual for me, but probably the result of over-hasty preparation once we realised Joan's health scare had been given the all-clear and we had no time to lose if we were to spend the winter in the sun again.
Since costs feature in the diary keep in mind there were around 200 rupees to the pound, so divide the figures by 2 to get costs in pence or by 200 to convert them to pounds.
Having been concerned leaving the UK I found getting about by public transport was just as easy as elsewhere in Asia, in fact there was less danger of failing to find seats the buses even when not getting on at the origin. It is true that many tourists get about by hiring a car and driver for the duration of the trip and allowing him in effect a big influence over the itinerary. It wouldn't have suited us, for we enjoy being free agents and finding our way about. We travelled throughout by Bus, as usual, but deliberately chose the train for the journey from Ella to Kandy for the excellent views of mountains and tea plantations, the downside of this was the slow pace for that journey got a little tedious as we approached 7 hours and even had to change train for the final short leg to Kandy, whilst our train headed for Colombo.
One mistake was to return from Anuradhapura by bus without thinking, when the equally fast train would have been more pleasant - but then we should have missed the exciting way the express bus overtook its way down a pseudo middle lane on a congested two track road. I was amazed (not at all frightened) by the skill of the driver judging everything to the millimetre whether facing the oncoming traffic or cutting back into his home lane. That was the only day we experienced what the guide books implied was endemic on Sri Lankan roads, they are not different in degree to the rest of Asia.
My impression is the costs of Sri Lanka, apart from transport which was cheap, are well above most countries in Asia as the out-turn figures now bear out. A big difference from India is that, Colombo and Kandy aside, there are only tourist hotels presumably because the island isn't business oriented anyway. It explains the absence of good restaurants as well, because there is no demand by the local populace, so one eats at the hotel or guest house. Normally these are selected on price and an inspection of the room. The smaller educated class results in far less prevalence of fluent English speakers, which results in so many good insights to Indian life.
Unlike anywhere else an appreciable part of the cost of visiting the more interesting architecture and ruins is the price of entry and guides because they are stated in USD and are at least as expensive as similar venues in the UK. By Indian or European standards the 'sites' do not impress, completely outclassed by say the Indian Temples eg last years Halebeed & Belur or Hampi. On the other hand one shouldn't argue too hard as they try to catch up with our standard of living, all too well if they hadn't had to spend so much on internal military conflicts. (In my view largely their own fault for lack of tolerance, diktats on language, and needing to settle old scores).
The exceptions are Mihintale the site where Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka in 246 BC, and Dambulla with its multiple Buddhist caves. Mihintale's entry price is zero except for the sacred centre which is well worth 500 rp (4$). The real essential for these sights is to have a good guide and they seem to be in good supply and are accredited. Dambulla's entry was 1300rp and with more intact to admire in less need of a guide.
We found the people pleasant and very honest as we nearly always do when travelling as an independent couple who have to learn the value of the currency early on. Most tourists remark on the friendlines of the people.
The coastal climate too hot and humid for me, we should have started with the advantage of altitude in Ella or even Kandy and acclimatised more gently. I did myself no favours whatever by letting myself get hydrated early on for a want of drinking enough, ending up without energy. Once we left the coast I was back to my best and strongest, it would have been much earlier (Mirissa) if I had not caught a very sore throat in Hambantota.
There were very few Mosquitoes but it would have made sense to always use the mosquito nets which were universally provided, except in good quality air conditioned hotels where they were not needed anyway. However even on our last but one night in Lake Lodge I woke with restricted breathing until I realised the problem was being caused by one of those wretched electric mosquito deterrents, which was likewise un-neccessary.
To our surprise we found it better to follow advice from tuk-tuk drivers promoting the newest places to stay, rather than simply to follow the guide book. This gives some idea of the speed to which Sri Lankans are adapting to the increasing influx of tourists. In fact this was the almost universal pattern from Happy Beach in Hambantota through to Suisse View Residence in Kandy, Lakmini Lodge in Sigiriya, to Lake Wave 2. In Ella ourselves found a brand new two room development for £13 a night above a shop, but later recommended Up Country as an even cheaper place to stay. For me the turnaround came from three nights in the newly expanded Hotel SilanMo in Mirissa where we had half board for £50/night and unusually for hotels the 13% tax and the 10% service charges were included.
Look out for real change in Hambantota with its New Test Cricket Stadium (first used in 2011 World One Day Cricket Cup), a big new Conference Centre, new International Airport opening later this year, and a Chinese built harbour Harbour ready for 2020. Today as a town it has little to recommend it except for the restaurant at Rest House and the Happy Beach Guest House.
The food in spite of the Rick Stein program we watched before leaving was boring. Sri Lankan curry means curry dominated by coconut milk and little if any variation. For me it did not compare with the variation of vegetarian flavours available in India, but then unlike Joan I like spicey food, but even she would admit some of the Indian cooking was superb. Joan ate a lot of prawns here, her favourite food but only the Rest House in Hambantota cooked them really well in my estimation and fish was disappointing apart from superb fish barbecued in foil with spicing (if that's not a confusion in terms) at Happy Beach. By far the most enjoyable meal was the communal one in Lakmini Lodge guest house, where I lost count of the number of dishes were brought round by Gini to add to a generous helping of chicken curry all cooked by his shopkeeper wife.
Our biggest regret is have not having visited the east Coast or Jaffna and the north the home of the Tamils and scene of most of the recent fighting. Politically we learnt the Dutch ruled for 138 years 1658 to 1790 before the British took over as colonial power until independence in 1948 and that the majority of the Civil Service under British time was Tamil rather than Sinhalese.
An excellent holiday but, for me, a less impressive destination than many.
What is so intriguing to me about India?
The Contrasts
Between beautiful saris and the dirty chaotic streets.
Between the Gandhi inspired traditions of peaceful resistance and tolerance and the violence of relations with say Pakistan their own 'untouchables', or communist terrorists. How could they defend leaving around 50% of the population, virtually virtually uneducated. What proportion would be classed as illiterate?
The contrast between the richest and poorest in the world, between highly educated doctors and engineers and the illiterate, between the Nehru Congress tradition, a hard line Hindu party, thinking Communist (Marxist) and Communist fighting 'terrorists'.
Arguably the oldest and most fascinating religions in the world, pre Hindu and Buddhism. The most magnificent Hindu and Jain temples, palaces built for Muslim maharajas and mosques
The contrast between the richest and poorest in the world, between highly educated doctors and engineers and the illiterate, between thinking Communist (Marxist) and violent Communist (Maoist). Modern medicine and the Ayurvedic tradition exist side by side so do hand looms and modern textile factories.
Many of the middle class learn English as their first language the rest need to master it to follow courses in higher education so I get many opportunities to discuss freely with Indians (not just interesting tourists - as always) plus a quality English press to keep me thinking.
Variety exists for Indians, 1.3 billion people live there, foreign tourists like me benefit from the infrastructure way beyond tourist hotspots like Cochin and Agra. Middle class Indians eat out and travel for business and tourism in their own country, hence the range of good restaurants and hotels.
The Chaos (conundrum is perhaps a better word), a familiar cliche to describe India, from the traffic which is nominally holds to the left like us, to the filth with animals having the right of way. Sri Lanka struck me as friendly but simple rather than complex.
COSTS
Cost in UK of flights, insurance, coach to Heathrow and 30 day visas £1348.
All-in spend in Sri Lanka = £1872. Composed of cash from Sri Lankan ATMs (via debit card) = £1559, plus £313 on Credit Card for a few hotel bills.
Cost/night £1872/28 = £67/night in Sri Lanka as compared with £38/night (admittedly for 58 nights) last year in Karnataka state in Southern India.
Absolutely nothing was spent on shopping, as usual - if only because it has to be carried.
Overall cost = £3220 for two people, only £107 per night spent in Sri Lanka.
Since costs feature in the diary keep in mind there were around 200 rupees to the pound, so divide the figures by 2 to get costs in pence or by 200 to convert them to pounds.
Having been concerned leaving the UK I found getting about by public transport was just as easy as elsewhere in Asia, in fact there was less danger of failing to find seats the buses even when not getting on at the origin. It is true that many tourists get about by hiring a car and driver for the duration of the trip and allowing him in effect a big influence over the itinerary. It wouldn't have suited us, for we enjoy being free agents and finding our way about. We travelled throughout by Bus, as usual, but deliberately chose the train for the journey from Ella to Kandy for the excellent views of mountains and tea plantations, the downside of this was the slow pace for that journey got a little tedious as we approached 7 hours and even had to change train for the final short leg to Kandy, whilst our train headed for Colombo.
One mistake was to return from Anuradhapura by bus without thinking, when the equally fast train would have been more pleasant - but then we should have missed the exciting way the express bus overtook its way down a pseudo middle lane on a congested two track road. I was amazed (not at all frightened) by the skill of the driver judging everything to the millimetre whether facing the oncoming traffic or cutting back into his home lane. That was the only day we experienced what the guide books implied was endemic on Sri Lankan roads, they are not different in degree to the rest of Asia.
My impression is the costs of Sri Lanka, apart from transport which was cheap, are well above most countries in Asia as the out-turn figures now bear out. A big difference from India is that, Colombo and Kandy aside, there are only tourist hotels presumably because the island isn't business oriented anyway. It explains the absence of good restaurants as well, because there is no demand by the local populace, so one eats at the hotel or guest house. Normally these are selected on price and an inspection of the room. The smaller educated class results in far less prevalence of fluent English speakers, which results in so many good insights to Indian life.
Unlike anywhere else an appreciable part of the cost of visiting the more interesting architecture and ruins is the price of entry and guides because they are stated in USD and are at least as expensive as similar venues in the UK. By Indian or European standards the 'sites' do not impress, completely outclassed by say the Indian Temples eg last years Halebeed & Belur or Hampi. On the other hand one shouldn't argue too hard as they try to catch up with our standard of living, all too well if they hadn't had to spend so much on internal military conflicts. (In my view largely their own fault for lack of tolerance, diktats on language, and needing to settle old scores).
The exceptions are Mihintale the site where Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka in 246 BC, and Dambulla with its multiple Buddhist caves. Mihintale's entry price is zero except for the sacred centre which is well worth 500 rp (4$). The real essential for these sights is to have a good guide and they seem to be in good supply and are accredited. Dambulla's entry was 1300rp and with more intact to admire in less need of a guide.
We found the people pleasant and very honest as we nearly always do when travelling as an independent couple who have to learn the value of the currency early on. Most tourists remark on the friendlines of the people.
The coastal climate too hot and humid for me, we should have started with the advantage of altitude in Ella or even Kandy and acclimatised more gently. I did myself no favours whatever by letting myself get hydrated early on for a want of drinking enough, ending up without energy. Once we left the coast I was back to my best and strongest, it would have been much earlier (Mirissa) if I had not caught a very sore throat in Hambantota.
There were very few Mosquitoes but it would have made sense to always use the mosquito nets which were universally provided, except in good quality air conditioned hotels where they were not needed anyway. However even on our last but one night in Lake Lodge I woke with restricted breathing until I realised the problem was being caused by one of those wretched electric mosquito deterrents, which was likewise un-neccessary.
To our surprise we found it better to follow advice from tuk-tuk drivers promoting the newest places to stay, rather than simply to follow the guide book. This gives some idea of the speed to which Sri Lankans are adapting to the increasing influx of tourists. In fact this was the almost universal pattern from Happy Beach in Hambantota through to Suisse View Residence in Kandy, Lakmini Lodge in Sigiriya, to Lake Wave 2. In Ella ourselves found a brand new two room development for £13 a night above a shop, but later recommended Up Country as an even cheaper place to stay. For me the turnaround came from three nights in the newly expanded Hotel SilanMo in Mirissa where we had half board for £50/night and unusually for hotels the 13% tax and the 10% service charges were included.
Look out for real change in Hambantota with its New Test Cricket Stadium (first used in 2011 World One Day Cricket Cup), a big new Conference Centre, new International Airport opening later this year, and a Chinese built harbour Harbour ready for 2020. Today as a town it has little to recommend it except for the restaurant at Rest House and the Happy Beach Guest House.
The food in spite of the Rick Stein program we watched before leaving was boring. Sri Lankan curry means curry dominated by coconut milk and little if any variation. For me it did not compare with the variation of vegetarian flavours available in India, but then unlike Joan I like spicey food, but even she would admit some of the Indian cooking was superb. Joan ate a lot of prawns here, her favourite food but only the Rest House in Hambantota cooked them really well in my estimation and fish was disappointing apart from superb fish barbecued in foil with spicing (if that's not a confusion in terms) at Happy Beach. By far the most enjoyable meal was the communal one in Lakmini Lodge guest house, where I lost count of the number of dishes were brought round by Gini to add to a generous helping of chicken curry all cooked by his shopkeeper wife.
Our biggest regret is have not having visited the east Coast or Jaffna and the north the home of the Tamils and scene of most of the recent fighting. Politically we learnt the Dutch ruled for 138 years 1658 to 1790 before the British took over as colonial power until independence in 1948 and that the majority of the Civil Service under British time was Tamil rather than Sinhalese.
An excellent holiday but, for me, a less impressive destination than many.
What is so intriguing to me about India?
The Contrasts
Between beautiful saris and the dirty chaotic streets.
Between the Gandhi inspired traditions of peaceful resistance and tolerance and the violence of relations with say Pakistan their own 'untouchables', or communist terrorists. How could they defend leaving around 50% of the population, virtually virtually uneducated. What proportion would be classed as illiterate?
The contrast between the richest and poorest in the world, between highly educated doctors and engineers and the illiterate, between the Nehru Congress tradition, a hard line Hindu party, thinking Communist (Marxist) and Communist fighting 'terrorists'.
Arguably the oldest and most fascinating religions in the world, pre Hindu and Buddhism. The most magnificent Hindu and Jain temples, palaces built for Muslim maharajas and mosques
The contrast between the richest and poorest in the world, between highly educated doctors and engineers and the illiterate, between thinking Communist (Marxist) and violent Communist (Maoist). Modern medicine and the Ayurvedic tradition exist side by side so do hand looms and modern textile factories.
Many of the middle class learn English as their first language the rest need to master it to follow courses in higher education so I get many opportunities to discuss freely with Indians (not just interesting tourists - as always) plus a quality English press to keep me thinking.
Variety exists for Indians, 1.3 billion people live there, foreign tourists like me benefit from the infrastructure way beyond tourist hotspots like Cochin and Agra. Middle class Indians eat out and travel for business and tourism in their own country, hence the range of good restaurants and hotels.
The Chaos (conundrum is perhaps a better word), a familiar cliche to describe India, from the traffic which is nominally holds to the left like us, to the filth with animals having the right of way. Sri Lanka struck me as friendly but simple rather than complex.
COSTS
Cost in UK of flights, insurance, coach to Heathrow and 30 day visas £1348.
All-in spend in Sri Lanka = £1872. Composed of cash from Sri Lankan ATMs (via debit card) = £1559, plus £313 on Credit Card for a few hotel bills.
Cost/night £1872/28 = £67/night in Sri Lanka as compared with £38/night (admittedly for 58 nights) last year in Karnataka state in Southern India.
Absolutely nothing was spent on shopping, as usual - if only because it has to be carried.
Overall cost = £3220 for two people, only £107 per night spent in Sri Lanka.
