Simply Sri Lanka

I’ve been taking too many photographs recently and I’m sorry about that. You know what? I’m not sorry actually. This blog was going to be a very informal blog looking at whatever caught my fancy. But then again, as the name suggests, this is thetravellingwordsmith’s blog and it should be more about the travels than pictures of flowers and insects. If you would like to view more pictures that I’ve clicked, do visit my new photoblog and enjoy the collection there. From now on, I will be using this blog to talk about my travels, music and cooking only. Damn, forgot what this post is all about. Do read on :)

Back in 2007, I had gone down south for a holiday. Really, really far down south to the little (OK, maybe not so little) Island of Sri Lanka. I spent about almost close to a week touring various places and capturing a lot of pictures which I recently discovered hiding behind many folders of my hard disk and which I thought would make up for a great story. So, together, let's explore "Sri Lanka".

Image Credit - worldxtravel.com

I remember this trip fairly well since it was a little after my graduation.I wanted a change of place and was about to voice it out when my dad brought this place up in one of our usual "Family Meetings". Knowing that it would not be an expensive trip, yet slightly far to call it an International Trip, we decided that we would go to this place and make a holiday out of it. We landed at the Bandaranaike International Airport at Colombo and immediately set out to the first of the places in our list in the order of the trip:

Colombo -> Kandy -> Sigiriya -> Polonnaruwa -> Kandalama -> Nuwara Eliya -> Colombo 

Kandy - The last capital of the Ancient Kings' era, Kandy is one of the cooler places of Sri Lanka where the daily temperature usually ranges between 20 °C - 28 °C. There are a few places of interest in Kandy which you can ask your local tourist guide to show or refer here (insert link). Kandy is also famous for its beautiful temples of Buddha. Sri Lanka is a Buddhist colony and hence you will find lots of statues, temples and figurines in and around Sri Lanka. Local sightseeing is off the hook (pardon the slang). The first place that we visited was an Elephant Orphanage / Reserve called “Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage”.

Elephants being bathed at a river nearby

This is truly a sight to see as the elephants are taken for a bath at certain times during the day. You can feed the elephants and also have an elephant ride. What’s fascinating about this is the walk to the river. You can walk / see the elephants walking to the river through a village. They move about peacefully and the locals know better to not make any funny noises or movements lest a stampede erupt. The other places that we saw in Kandy were The Sacred Temple of the Tooth and a wood carving factory. The former is a temple that has been made for the tooth of Buddha as the legend stated that a tooth of Buddha was found in this place which had a lot of powers and mystical properties attached to it. 

Temple of the Sacred Tooth

The Golden Buddha

Due to some photography restrictions in the temple, I wasn’t allowed to photograph the tooth or the area around it. I still managed to do so somehow, but due to my respect towards sacred relics, I would not be showing you that picture. The tooth is shrouded in pure gold and there’s always a huge crowd of locals and tourists flocking to see this beautiful relic and pay homage to it. The wood carving factory has a lot of interesting designs mostly representing the culture and heritage of Sri Lanka. According to one of the people working in the factory, most of the items are shipped to India which is one country that provides major business in this field.

Standing next to a 11 ton wooden elephant

Sigiriya – If you are a bit of the archaeology fan like I am, then you’ll definitely love the ruins of Sigiriya. This is my favourite so it will be a long post. Once known as a king’s palace, the beautiful fort / palace of Sigiriya was supposedly one of the most happening places a long time ago. From the outside, it looks like one of the old forts that you might have seen in the movies. The entrance to the fort is surrounded by a moat. According to the lore, the moat was filled with crocodiles and unless the invading army was brave enough to sacrifice a few men to get to the entrance which could only be opened by a drawbridge, there was no way to enter the heavily fortified palace. Moreover, the moat was 15 ft deep. But that was the lore of yesteryear, and not anymore. 

Now, the fort is manned by guards and tourist guides. Once you enter the gates, it’s still a good walk till you reach the palace. There are a lot of beautiful trees all around. I remember seeing their design of a fountain and asked the guide what it was. At first I thought it was a sewage line, but then the guide told me that this was a fountain that surprisingly, was working without anything electronic machine pumping it. Not that you would have electronic equipment at that time but the design was marvellous. The water would flow down from the mountain and due to the design laid below; the water would spurt up like a little fountain and it would never spill over. Pretty impressive right? 

The Great Rock of Sigriya

Sadly, we couldn’t witness the spectacle that was being spoken about because all the water from the mountain has dried up. So we continued walking and came to the base of the palace. The other information that the guide told us about was that the steps were made of marble and it was about 1200 steps to the top / actual entrance of the palace. This was because the king said that while on his return to his palace he could come at any point of time in the day / night and hence due to the paucity of flaming torches, nobody would be able to reach the palace should they reach in the night. So he made his workmen build the steps leading to the palace in pure marble. The marble shines even today. Such was the craftsmanship. With the moonlight illuminating the steps thanks to the marble laid before them, the king, travelling on a palanquin along with his royal escorts would make their way up to the top to the palace. Yes, the king was carried for all of the 1200 steps.

There are three entrances to the palace; The Snake Entrance, The Elephant Entrance and the Lion’s Mouth Entrance. Sigiriya in Sinhalese means Lion’s rock and this was the main entrance for the king and his subjects. The other entrances were used should the king want to have a change of scenery. All the entrances however have been shaped according to their names; the pictures say so too. Climbing up wasn’t a difficult thing though as it wasn’t 1200 steps through and through. Every 20 steps or so there would be a gap and then the steps would begin again. It made it quite easy for us to get up there without panting for breath. As we climbed up the steps, the guide kept telling us about the wonders of the palace and how the king kept pushing for innovations; one of which was to install a system (which we now refer to the pre-historic air conditioners or desert coolers to be exact) which would allow them to have cool air. 

Wild Fruits on sale - Durian

Again, the water flowing from the mountain would be used for the same procedure and cuts were made in the rock and the water would flow like a small stream all over the palace and when cool water mixes with air what do you get? Air conditioned air. There were a few other things that were of interest like the large bathing place and a huge courtyard where he told a huge fair used to be held whenever the king hosted dignitaries from the neighbouring colonies. All this beauty in one place was a little too much for us and after spending a good part of the day here; we headed to the next destination on our list – Polonnaruwa.

Maharaja's Palace at Polonnaruwa

Polonnaruwa – The second of the palaces that we visited also belonged to an ancient kingdom. The king over here was a little more stylish than the previous one though. He had a palace to hold his wives plus a hundred of his concubines. Keeping that fact aside, Polonnaruwa has huge grounds and is kept clean due to its status as a World Heritage site. Here too you will find lots of friendly guides who will show you the place around and speak about its history. It has a lot of interesting things to see like a king’s court where he used to sit and hold meetings with his ministers, a small little colosseum to stage fights and lots of Buddha statues. One thing that adorns every place you visit in Sri Lanka is the number of Buddha statues. They have the most beautiful statues placed in every nook and corner of Sri Lanka and they are truly beautiful to gaze upon. Next stop – Kandalama.

I want to dive in that icy cold water

Kandalama – I honestly don’t remember exactly what transpired in Kandalama; however I do know that the hotel that we stayed at was made out of a rock. No, it wasn’t a rock cave but more or less like a boutique hotel. The name of this hotel is Kandalama Rock. What made me more excited was to find out that the rooms were not above the hotel, but below, allowing the people to be literally one with nature. I would wake up in the morning and step out to the balcony to see the birds chirping away and a few animals grazing nearby. It was truly a beautiful spectacle to witness and the staff took good care of us. The food is awesome and they have an impressive array of dishes; local as well as continental for you to savour. Once we had a fill of this place, we kept pushing forward as we knew that our vacation was slowly coming to an end. The last stop that we had before we reached Colombo was Nuwara Eliya.

Ring the bell if you've enjoyed the service

Nuwara Eliya – Getting to Nuwara Eliya isn’t easy. It’s a nice long drive up the hill and into some of the mountainous regions of Sri Lanka. On reaching however, the weather totally blew our minds away. Almost immediately dad and mum exclaimed – This feels like Shimla, because the way the town looks, functions and operates, is exactly like how a town would look in Shimla in one of those Hindi movies, that is, if you have watched any of the oldies. Keeping that remark aside, we reached our boarding where we were greeted with a pot of coffee and snacks. The small little boarding was overlooking a nice area and it was quite pleasant to sit out there and watch the sunset. I enquired of the owner to a name that sounded quite fictional - why was the town named Nuwara Eliya? 

He replied saying that this is because the weather in Nuwara Eliya is more or less like the weather in London – unpredictable. I was surprised at that remark and he clarified saying that Nuwara Eliya is Sinhalese for ‘Little England’. The weather is quite cool throughout the day and it is advisable to carry some woollies along because it can get quite cold in the nights. Over here, we saw a couple of falls and a massive tea estate which had a river flowing by. They had so many varieties of tea there that it became quite astonishing after a while as some of the rates were through the roof. Saying goodbye to the tea and the little cosy town of Nuwara Eliya, we headed for the last destination on our itinerary, Colombo and as promised by our ever friendly guide cum driver; shopping.

Ramboda Falls

Colombo – For more obvious reasons, Colombo is a shopper’s delight. I was quite surprised to see items made in India and Bangladesh on sale in Colombo and was wondering why we couldn’t get any of these designs back home. They weren’t factory rejects or anything. They were good items in almost every department and the four of us had sore eyes after a few hectic hours of shopping. I did get out of that place buying a whole lot of items which was quite fun and when we checked how much we had spent on buying stuff, it turned out to be way cheaper than what we would have actually spent back home. Still, I don’t regret buying anything from that place because I still wear a pair of cargos that I picked up from there with as much élan as the day I bought it.

Me and the small one always monkeying around

Being the capital of Sri Lanka, there are a lot of things to see, but since our plan from the beginning was to use the capital as a shopping hub, we did not have time to see the other delights that it offered us. With that, bags were packed, flight was taken and we were back in India. This was in 2007. I’m writing about it in 2012. Funny how time flies yet your memories can be instantly brought back with just a simple viewing of your photographs.

With our fantastic guide

For those of you who would like to take a trip to Sri Lanka, I found a site which offers you a nice itinerary package. For more pictures on Sri Lanka, do click here and witness all that thetravellingwordsmith clicked.

Trippers Paradise

A couple of days ago, I was looking through my junk, a.k.a, my wardrobe and I noticed a small piece of paper lying around somewhere in the back. I had to literally tread through the mess in order to retrieve the chit but when I did manage to finally extract it, the information that lay within brought a smile to my face and a flood of memories with it. So, without any further ado, I bring to you one of the craziest one day trips ever made with the Eco – Trippers / Cakes Gang to the beautiful city of Pondicherry.

                         

Pondicherry / Puducherry as it’s more commonly known now is by far one of the most beautiful cities of South India. The beaches are breathtaking and the view (if you get what I mean) makes for an interesting weekend escapade. The chit that I had extracted contained the names of the people who were travelling. The six of us, bored with the office routine decided one day that we would make a short, quick and exciting trip to this beautiful place.

It all began with a plan. Due to the nature of our group, it had to be kept as a well guarded secret since there was a lot of hype surrounding the people who were going for the trip. My Team Leader Rajesh, who’s a native of Pondi (the shortened name of Pondicherry) by the way, had to ensure that he did not run into any relatives and hence all plans were being made in absolute confidentiality and secrecy. We decided that we would make the epic journey on Rajesh’s last working day at office. What a way to savour the freedom.

We decided to take a train as it would be chilled out (it was an air conditioned train by the way) and not many passengers would actually opt for a train because of the journey time it used to take, so basically, it would be relatively empty. The train, ironic as it sounds is named The Garib Rath which when literally translated means Poor Man’s Chariot. The train in no small terms was poor. Exceptionally crafted interiors, air conditioned like an igloo; this was the beginning we couldn’t have anticipated. A lot of fun ensued along the way as we got to talking about how life would be without Rajesh in the team and although no tears were visible on the faces of the other five, we were sad that this would be the last time we would be spending with each other. So, honouring the tradition, we broke open a few bottles and began the journey with a few liquids and talked about the plan for the next day.

Left: Rajesh, Mishal and Me    Center: Atheeth    Right: Sumona and Esha

Since this was to be a one day trip, everything had to be planned to perfection. Right from where we kept our luggage to the places we were to visit and the distance to be travelled, at the same time keeping a close lookout for Rajesh’s relatives.

7.00 AM – We’re in Pondi

If its one thing Southern India is very famous for, it’s the heat. Just imagine you’re emerging from the freezer straight into the frying pan. That’s how we felt as soon as we got out of the train. Well, the first thing we had to do was find a room to dump our luggage in. Now in Pondi, you have a lot of options as to where you can keep your stuff. It depends on how long you plan on staying at the place. If you’re planning on staying in Pondi for a few days, I would suggest you try some of the beach resorts which are a little far away from the city but offer the privacy and the serenity. One of them is the St. James Beach Resort which is opposite the Pondicherry University. The other place that you can check out is the Auroville Resort which has its own private beach for its members staying at the resort. Auroville is also known for its exclusivity, so you can enjoy that peaceful time with your loved ones away from the hustling bustling noise of the city.

Since we were doing a one day thing, we decided to use the quarters at the train station which I must tell you, is sometimes overly priced but totally worth it when you don’t have any other option. So, once we dumped our bags and freshened up after the night’s journey, we were good to go. Now, there are lots of things that you can check out in Pondi, depends on what interests you the most. One of the most popular destinations that every visitor, local or foreigner likes to visit is the Aurobindo Ashram. The Aurobindo Ashram is located in the heart of the city and is well known by all the auto drivers.

Me and an Auto-Wala

There are various modes of transportation that you can avail of. The most popular among the tourists is the bicycle which you can enquire with the hotel / resort that you’re staying at as to where you can pick them up. The rates are on a per day basis and you should be able to get a discount if you’re booking them for a large number of people. You can also get motorbikes and cars on hire again on a per day basis; however there is a documentation procedure involved in this, so please do carry a copy of your driving license along with a local contact number that you can be reached at. You can also use the local transportation such as buses or autos (three-wheelers) to move your way around the city.

The first thing that was on our agenda was to see the Aurobindo Ashram which as I had mentioned before is a must to see if you’re going to Pondi as the place exudes of peace when you’re in it. It’s a totally different feel as soon as you walk into that place and you can instantly feel the difference as you’re taken away from the outside world and transported into a world of spirituality. It’s a very popular destination for people of all ages.

Outside Aurobindo Ashram

Note: The Aurobindo Ashram is a sacred place and you are requested to be respectful of the people around you over there as a lot of them find peace and tranquillity amidst the other devotees who share the same belief.

Market near Aurobindo Ashram

Once we were done with the spiritual journey or awakening as I call it, it was time to do the crazier things that people come to Pondi to do. Not the drinking, no, but hit the beaches J. So, off we went to a place which is called the Paradise Island. I would suggest you get to this place by taking a bus / an auto. Once you enter this place, you have to take a boat ride which comes every 15 – 30 minutes to the actual Paradise Island. The boat ride lasts for about 45 minutes. You are allowed to carry food, liquor and other materials that you would require as the island does not host a restaurant / a resort. It is always advisable to procure these things before you reach Paradise Island.

The Furious Five

Once you’re there, it’s just you and the beach. There are no rides unfortunately out there as you have in Goa. The beaches in Southern India are pretty rough, so a word of caution - don’t venture out too deep. In any case, there are a lot of lifeguards there who keep a close look-out in case you drift away. There are no lockers to keep your valuables, so please carry limited items if you’re going to the beach.

We spent about three hours out there swimming, playing some beach games like throwing the Frisbee around and getting ourselves covered in sand till only our heads were visible. It’s good to drink a lot of liquids as you’re going to get dehydrated quite soon. Well, we opened a few bottles out there as well and once our bellies were filled, we headed out to the next destination on our list – The Seaface.

Taken on the boat ride on our way back from Paradise Island

The Seaface is one of the most beautiful places to visit at any point of the day / night. It’s kind of a romantic hotspot and a good place to chill out for people of all ages. Also, it becomes something like a mini-fair during the weekends where you have vendors selling all kinds of stuff which you can buy for quite cheap. The sand is soft and you can sit there for hours just watching the waves go by as they hit the rocks in front of you. Truly, a moment to be captured in memory.

Seaface / Marina

 

Once we had our fill of enjoying the beauty of Seaface, we decided to grab a bite before we had to head back to the station to catch the train back home. Along the Seaface area, there’s a beautiful rooftop restaurant called Promenade, which was literally the icing on the cake to end the trip with.

The Promenade is a luxurious 5 star Hotel that offers accommodation along with excellent food and beverages. The Rooftop restaurant is called Lighthouse and it offers a beautiful view of the Bay of Bengal while catering to your palate at the same time. They have an excellent display of wines as well as other spirits. The food is a mixture of various cultures so you can expect a good variety of dishes at your disposal.

Rooftop @ La Promenade

Once we were done with dinner, it was time to head back home. We picked up a few items along the way in case we got hungry on the train back home but all in all, it was a worthwhile trip with lots of fun, laughter and a truckload of memories that we carried with us back home.

From what I hear, this was only beginning to the Cakes trip. We’ll be going very soon to newer destinations. More on that shortly.

Cheers