Craig

Mohammed - being a Rotarian myself, I am very interested in what our local chapter can do to help out in Sri Lanka. I am also interested in attending a meeting. I have checked the Rotary.org website and it seems that there is a meeting in Dambulla (Tuesdays 8 PM) that I could attend. We will be staying at Kandalama at that time - how far is it? (I will have a driver.)

Femi

Thanks for your insight and tips Mohammed.

Mohammed

Hi Craig,

The Rotary Club of Rangiri-Dambulla meets on Fridays at 6.45 p.m. at the JC Village, Dambulla.

The Club has only about 12 members and is not the most active of clubs at the moment, therefore it would be best to
call Rtn. PP. Chaminda - 0777 321042 or Rtn. IPP. Sudasingha - 0773 647820 and check prior going for a meeting.

We did do a very nice water supply project in Dambulla last year with them.

desgun

Has anyone gone on to Sinharaja or Yala?
I understand that photography ops are great.

Mohammed

Hi "desgun"

I am a regular visitor to Yala. It is faboulous and you can see lots of wildlife. Yala is probaby the best place in the world to see leopards.

Do have a look at my portfolio at http://www.abidally.com/mp/home

Singharajah is also fabulous pristine rainforest, a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site, with one of the highest densities on biodiversity in the world.

Both are safe to visit as they are not in the conflict areas of the north and east.

Regards
Mohammed
(Sri Lanka)

desgun

Hi Mohamed,
Your photographs look great. Do you know anyone who arranges these tours. I will be travelling alone. I am told Yala is closed in September but what about Sinharaja for 2-3 days.

Femi

Wow Mohammed! You've got some great photographs, especially the Sri Lankan leopard pics. Thanks for sharing.

jenviolin

Fantastic photos, Mohammed! What a great appetizer for our trip - thank you!

We'll be travelling around SL for 3 weeks in August and my question to Fodorites is this: what activities are especially fun & interesting for teenagers? (and yes, the elephant orphanage, elephant riding, rafting, mountain biking & hiking are already arranged, and we've got a car/driver.) How can we best find live music, football (soccer), hands-on crafts, or a chance to help cook? Any tips?

Thanks for your help,

Jenny

Ericka

Kathie, Craig et. al.,

I know you have set itineraries for your trips to Sri Lanka but I thought I should mention that the Amans (Amangalla and Amanwella) are having a 50% off sale right now. Not sure if this is of interest, but it is a rare opportunity - these two properties are the only ones of the Aman group that have ever had any sort of reduced rates.

Have a great time regardless. And good luck with the gem shopping. I'm sure the saphires will be divine!

Kathie

Thanks, Erica. Our itinerary is all set and deposits made. Given how low tourism is right now in Sri Lanka, I'm sure that Amans are hurting. A previous poster who stayed at one of them not long after it opened did not have a great experience there. It may be hard to get things running smoothly when occupancy is so low.

Mohammed

Hi Jenny,

Welcome to Sri lanka and hope you have a great trip.

For some live music keep a tab on "Barefoot" in Colombo they have some interesting live gigs, jazz etc from time to time. Most of the music scene will revolve around Colombo. Depends what type of music your interested in though. If you want to see the calypso/bhaila style you should find this in most hotels/lobbys etc. BTW Barefoot is also a very nice place to visit to shop for handlooms, and chic/ethnic household & lifestyle stuff. The gigs usually play at the outdoor cafe at the back. Also do look up the news papers for other local happenings. Try the "Lionel Wendt" - for some excellent theatre and they do have some music also now and then.

Not much football here - mostly cricket, criket, cricket. My daughter is soccer mad though! But they just play a casual game now and then. For casual soccer in Colombo go visit the old race course which is now an athletic track and people walk/excercise etc there daily in the evenings while some play soccer in the middle.

There are some arts and crafts classes in Colombo which my kids go to. Don't really see how this can fit into a tourist itinerary. How long will you be staying? There is a gourmet club too and some cookery groups etc. Most hotels should allow you to participate and learn a bit of local cooking from the chefs by special request. Else it has to be a social group which you have to network and develop.

There is a little paper leaflet called the "Link" - try to find a copy at the airport.

Regards
Mohammed

Dr_Ralph

Hi All,

Sorry it took so long for an answer.

First answer for Mo. Please re-read my initial post. I never said the Kandalama was musty, moldy, or had a bad smell. It was fabulous with a capital F. We enjoyed it thoroughly. My only complaint there was the dinner buffet. Buffets are one of my downfalls in life. I simply lose all control for rational eating. The variety of the choices and different spices was simply too much for my stomach to handle. If pure heroin is ecstasy for a junkie, then buffets at wonderful restaurants are my heroin!

We stayed at the Hikkaduwa Beach Hotel in of all places HIkkaduwa. This hotel was recently redone and wonderful. No moldy smell, great a/c. The only problem in June was the lack of customers for the hotel management.

In Negombo we stayed at the Oasis Beach Hotel. The hotel staff and owner were very friendly. One main problem was the roof leaked in almost all of the top floor rooms. Another recommendation is if you stay at this hotel, use the mosquito nets above the bed. During our first night there we awoke from a sound sleep with mosquitos buzzing our heads. The restaurant at this hotel was very good. We arranged the owners son to drive us to the airport at 3am when we left. It worked out well.

In Ella we stayed at the GAP Tourist Inn. The hotel was nothing special but the owner was fantastic. What a friendly, caring individual. I sprained my ankly badly walking down Lil Adam's Peak. I couldn't put any weight on my leg. The owner gave me a broom stick to use as a cane. He also provided me with some ointment that miraculously healed the ankle overnight. I highly recommend this hotel. The owner deserves the business.

Outside of Yalla, we stayed at the Hotel Chandrika. Very nice hotel. The owners think they have gold and at first want over $60 dollars US a night. I think we paid less than half of that amount.

We took a safari in Yalla. Mo, we had a great animal spottel and driver. Yes we did see lots of animals and birds. We had a spectualar safari, but no sights of leopards.

We planned on staying a couple of nights at the Kandolana Beach Resort which was highly recommended from frieds of ours from Wales. The Tsunami took it's toll on this part of Sri Lanka. The beach that at one time was a paradise was not simply nothing special in our eyes. After we looked at 3 rooms, we decided the moldy and mildew smell would be too much for us. We decided to drive down to Kandy and spend the night there. This may have been a mistake.

In the city of Galle, we got there late and didn't have much time to choose hotels. We wound up staying at the Hotel Wedtevrden in the historic part of the old city. The owner was a trip. The hotel was one of the grossest places I have ever stayed in. There was no hot water. The room was totally moldy. Green mold on the walls. The termites have been feasting on this hotel for years. My wife was concerned about bringing the termites back home in our suitcases. Sleeping in the next room was a beautiful honeymoon couple. I think we made more noise in our room than they did. This beautiful bride deserved better on her honeymoon night. I truly hope she has a wonderful life. My recommendation is to avoid at all costs this hotel. In retrospect, I think it would have been better sleeping in our car for the night.

In Colombo, we stayed at the Galle Face Hotel. We truly enjoyed this historic place on the Indian Ocean. Our oceanfront room was huge. The a/c worked fine. The buffets were wonderful. The hotel staff was fantastic. I highly recommend staying at the Galle Face when in Colombo.

In Anuradhapura we stayed at the Grand Resort Hotel. Only thing nice from this property was the view. This hotel was a dump. Moldy, mildew, smell. The lobby felt like a furnace. I can't believe we stayed there 2 nights. They didn't even clean the room or make up the bed. When I mentioned this to the manager, he said they didn't have the room key. I quickly answered him back I gave him the key when we left the hotel for the day. He then quipped up, they didn't know we wanted the room cleaned or the bed made. I quipped right back at him, no tip for the chambermaid. No hot water. Ants in the rooms. In my opinion, avoid at all cost.

In Anuraghapura we ate a couple of meals at the Cassarole, a very clean a/c restaurant on top of a grocery story. Highly recommend eating at the Cassarole.

In Sigiriya we stayed at a much better Grand Resort Hotel. They used to be the same owners as the Grand Resort Hotel in Anuradhapura. They have new owners. The hotel staff and chef were fantastic. The young chef was very creative in his meals. The room was nice. You had to be able to fix toilets if you wanted them to flush or called the hotel staff to fix it. I highly recommend the Grand Resort Hotel in Sigiriya.

In Kandy we stayed at the Kandy View Hotel. Be picky on your room. I had to be a toilet mechanic again at this hotel. It was not a problem if you are handy. If you have 2 left thumbs, you will have a problem flushing your toilet. The friendly owner was very accomodating. Hot water, ac, nice restaurant on the roof. The owner was very accomodating with the internet. Another hotel I recommend.

We hiked, took a safari, and have plenty of wonderful memories. Sri Lanka is worth visiting after you have seen other countries in the region.

Mo, tell your Rotary Club that the lack of freedom of the press, lack of tourists, theft by the Sri Lankan Government of the Tsunami funds, lack of cooperation in talking to the Tigers in attempting a resolution of your problem, is destroying your country. We are middle aged well traveled people. We didn't mind the political situation. It did get old arguing with taxi drivers finding a department store or place. Once they agreed on the price, they then tried to double the price. Yes it was an insignificant amount, but it did get old asking to pay double the agreed upon price. We met many young people from Austrailia, and countries in Europe who were taken aback by the amount of young soldiers with the fingers on the trigger throughout your country. I am afraid to say that if your problems aren't resolved within this year, many hotels and restaurants will simply go broke.

dogster

These are very accute and accurate observations Dr Ralph. I was in Sri Lanka, for the third time in the last four years, about 10 weeks ago. Each time I've stayed for a month. I've regretfully come to the same conclusions as Dr. Ralph.

On my last night I was staying at Galle Face Hotel - this was the night the army decided to try and shoot down a commnercial airliner - thinking it was a Tamil air attack. I watched as tracer bullets flew over my head as anti-aircraft guns let rip just behind the hotel. Very pretty. It was exactly like CNN except these bullets were real - and what goes up has to come down.

I love Sri Lanka - it is, as Dr Ralph notes, not so extreme as a lot of places - it is 'India lite' - but I WANT it to work, I want to spend my tourist dollars there in a feeble attempt to help. Anyone who was there pre and then post tsunami will undertand. But, as the scales drop from my eyes, I too see that things are not quite so simple. What DID happen to all that tsunami money?

There are, by the way, wonderful boutique hotels in all the places you visited Dr. Ralph - but I get the feeling you were kinda making it up as you went - and that's to be applauded.

Your observations on the state of the tourist trade are completely accurate.

And yes, there are a great many trigger-happy young men in uniforms - but, as you observed, as a tourist you'll receive nothing but politeness from them.

That is - until they start shooting.

As a tourist, on the normal 10 day shlep around the island little of this will affect you. Stay a bit longer, talk to the people, listen and learn, as the good doctor has done, and you'll come away with a more rounded picture.

Or, like me, you'll realize that you don't really understand anything at all.

That's the attraction.

Craig

Thanks, Doc for your extensive report and to dogster for your comments. Certainly food for thought while looking forward to our two week February trip.

Kathie

Thanks for getting back to us Dr Ralph. I appreciate your perspective. And your comments are useful as well, dogster.

We are headed to Sri Lanka in November. I've been reading about the history of the conflict in Sri Lanka as well as keeping up on the news. I know that the perspective from the ground will be different.

jenviolin

Thanks for your ideas re: teenagers, Mohammed, and thanks Dr. Ralph for your extensive and frank commentary. We are still excited and determined to look way past the toilets, mosquitoes, taxi drivers, and ants!

Mohammed

Hi Dr Ralph and thanks for the clarification about Kandalama. It is a nice place, and oh yeah the buffets are just too lavish. It is indeed so hard to control ones diet when all that tasty food is laid out in front of you.

Reading your report was interesting and I must say you have been quite adventurous in your journey and the choosing of places to stay etc. Guess that gives you the best deals, real budget low prices but then you do take a few chances too. There are lots of such small budget guest houses etc all over the country suited to the budget traveller and many of the other places you mention I have never even heard off so in a way this was a good education for me too. One thing for sure, most of these places are reasonably safe to stay but one must be smart and look after your valuables etc.

Some of the comments I hear about cab drivers trying to charge you a bit too much etc - hey common guys, this happens every where, atleast here they do not try to mug you and steal your rolex watch or jewellery, though I am fearful that things may evolve differently as the economy deteriorates.

Mr friend "dogster" the RCC does not represent the govt of Sri Lanka, and neither am I a politician. That anti aircraft fire you saw on that crazy nite, I saw it too from my balcony and was very ssddened by these events and have given up trying to undestand what all the fighting is about. In my own office in Colombo my staff is a fair mix of tamils, sinhalese and muslims and they all get on very well.

Still for all I think SL is quite safe for a tourist to travel, probably much safer that many other destinations and the people here are very genuinely friendly and warm. I have travelled six continents over 35 years and can say this with great confidence.

As for the Tsunami moneys etc, believe me a lot of work has been done. Hundreds of schools, thousands of homes rebuilt, whole communities rehabilitated. There has been a lot of foul play also but all in all definitley better handled than for example the aftermath of RITA in New Orleans.

Take care buddy and hope to see you here again sometime.

Dr_Ralph

We did meet people from Canada and Holland who were building new houses for the people. From what they told us, after they found out the original Tsunami money was misused by the government, their organizations put together funds for them to build the houses directly for the people.

Many other locals told us that the poor people made out with new houses. The Middle Class was left out of the house hunt.

I used to drive a cab in New York City. A minority of cab drivers would try and cheat riders there. I'm sorry to say that in Sri Lanka, the majority of taxi and tuk tuk drivers we ran into attempted to double or triple the agreed upon fare during or when we arrived at the destination. When I talked to them like a New Yorker, they went back to the agreed upon price! The drivers we ran into who didn't try and hussle us, I gave a tip that was usually double the agreed upon price. Please tell your Rotary Club to relay that to the taxi drivers.

Doc