Compared to India and Indonesia we had a very short stay in Sri Lanka, only 12 days! Although you may think the island is small it covers 25,332 square miles and has an astonishingly large range of environments. This is one of the first countries that we, without a doubt, want to visit again due to its beautiful beaches, gorgeous hillsides and mountains, and its rich culture and history.
Beautiful Sunset at Mirissa Beach
We chose to start in Fort Galle, a Dutch port city in southwestern Sri Lanka, mainly because we had no idea where to go and it looked like an interesting place to check out. We luckily hit the nail on the head and the town was stunning! It actually turned out to be a real live military fort from the 1500’s and was complete with tall 360 degree walls and a massive portcullis. We were surprised to see so many foreign tourists, i.e white people, and ridiculously high prices compared to India. We decided to only stay for a couple nights and were pleased to have A/C and ice for the first time in a long while!!!!!
Enjoying an iced drink for the first time since we left!
Fort Galle!
Mikey touching his very first Cobra. A dream come true!
We then spent a majority of our time in two small beach towns in the south— Unawatuna and Mirissa. We passed the time reading, swimming, playing beach ball and went on a scuba dive to a sunken 1800’s British steam ship!
Some footage of our Tango Wreck dive on the southern coast of Sri Lanka.
Pre-Dive Check!
Crazy faces at a beach bonfire party in Unawatuna.
Sea Horse Diving Center.
With only a few days left, we took a bus inland to the hills where the country grows one of its main exports: tea! After a full day journey on the most crowded buses we've ever seen, we ended up in a rainy but majestic little town in the mountains called Ella. The town is known for its hiking so we set off the next day to conquer a small mountain called Little Adam’s Peak but with our super duper luck it started down-pouring half way up the mountain. Too determined to turn back, we continued to trek up the stairs (each stair having its own little waterfall) but as we reached the peak the rain let up and we got epic views of the surrounding mountains.
Coincidentally, our favorite Sri Lankan snack (DICKY BALLS!) and the crowded bus ride up to Ella.
Views from Little Adam's Peak! Top left picture is a path through a hillside tea plantation.
A ten course rice and curry dish for one person (yes that's 10 separate spoons!) and the colorful Sri Lankan money.
Much too soon, it was time to head back to Colombo for our flight. We had heard the train was an unforgettable ride through the mountains and tea plantations, so we woke up in the morning and jumped on the train at 9:30am. In true Mikey and Mikaela fashion, we didn’t think to ask when the train arrived in Colombo… there we were 10 hours later, hungry and tired arriving in Colombo at 7:30pm. The one redeeming quality about the train was that the views were amazing: stunning waterfalls, hills of lush green tea, cute little towns nestled between huge cliffs, raging rivers and swinging monkeys. With our final day coming to a close, it was time again to head to the airport and push forward, back to the 1st world. Hellllllllo Singapore!!!
Some views from the million hour train ride!