Kathie's 2007 Adventures in Sri lanka
Nov 27th, 2007, 10:30 AM
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Kathie...I am really enjoying your report. Hopefully it will get Bob to move SL up higher on our list. I notice you mention salads several times...did you eat them? I think you are the only other cautious eater other than me (must be the nurse background.) Are the batik fabrics in a animal, flower or, geometric designs? Keep it comming. Karen
Nov 27th, 2007, 11:44 AM
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Mohammed, I'm glad you are enjoying my report.
Craig, we were able to eat breakfast before heading to Sigiriya, as breakfast starts at 6:30. I think you could do Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa on the same day. The Dambulla caves don't take a long time, a couple of hours at most from "door to door" (pickup at the Kandalama to back at the Kandalama). For me, the caves were more important than the elephant orphanage. We did the caves the first day after checking in and getting settled at the Kandalama.
I don't have a great sense of exactly where the elephant orpanage is, so I can't give you an estimate of whether your time table would work.
We spent a couple of hours at the Temple of the Tooth, 30 minutes of that awaiting being able to walk by the door to the tooth. Not everyone would spend that much time there.
You have a lot you are trying to fit in on the way from the Kadalama to Tea Trails... I don't think it's realistic. In addition to about 5 hours of driving, you want to stop at the botanical gardens, Temple of the Tooth, shopping and spice gardens and get to Tea Trails for high tea. I would cut some of that.
The drive between Kandy and Tea Trails was very interesting - you'll see some of Cheryl's photos from that drive. It's generally not hard to stop for photos... when you see the road you'll understand that there are times when pulling over isn't feasible... Cheryl did a lot of photography from the moving car and has gotten quite good at it.
We did not use our driver while at Tea Trails. Our driver seemed a bit disappointed. We had his cell phone number and he made it clear that he was available for any place we wanted to go. (He asked our permission to be unavailable for two hours one day we were at Tea Trails so he could go to Mosque. I mention this into illustrate how available he was to us.) He stopped by Tea Trails one day to chat with us and check in about whether there were any places we wanted to go. Tea Trails provides transport to the tea factory. We could have used our driver to visit all of the bungalows, but didn't... we really wanted to relax. We visited Summervile as we were leaving Tea Trails.
We didn't run into anyone who had done the Hatton to Nanu Oya train ride. It's offered as an excursion by Tea Trails, but I don't remembr how long they said it would take.
There are several different walks at each bungalow. The walks can certainly be much longer. One day we did the long loop (there is a longer loop and a shorter loop). Cheryl stopped for lots of photos and we stopped and talked with people and it took us 2 hours. There are great photo ops - you'll see when the pictures are posted. We really enjoyed the walks! You can have your driver take you to another bungalow for lunch and explore the area around another bungalow.
Do make sure you spend some of your time at Tea Trails relaxing and enjoying being there - it's such a fabulous experience.
Karen, there are lots of batik options. I wanted something uniquely Sri Lankan, so bought batik pieces of the carved moonstones at Polonnaruwa. We were buying art pieces rather than yard goods.
Craig, we were able to eat breakfast before heading to Sigiriya, as breakfast starts at 6:30. I think you could do Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa on the same day. The Dambulla caves don't take a long time, a couple of hours at most from "door to door" (pickup at the Kandalama to back at the Kandalama). For me, the caves were more important than the elephant orphanage. We did the caves the first day after checking in and getting settled at the Kandalama.
I don't have a great sense of exactly where the elephant orpanage is, so I can't give you an estimate of whether your time table would work.
We spent a couple of hours at the Temple of the Tooth, 30 minutes of that awaiting being able to walk by the door to the tooth. Not everyone would spend that much time there.
You have a lot you are trying to fit in on the way from the Kadalama to Tea Trails... I don't think it's realistic. In addition to about 5 hours of driving, you want to stop at the botanical gardens, Temple of the Tooth, shopping and spice gardens and get to Tea Trails for high tea. I would cut some of that.
The drive between Kandy and Tea Trails was very interesting - you'll see some of Cheryl's photos from that drive. It's generally not hard to stop for photos... when you see the road you'll understand that there are times when pulling over isn't feasible... Cheryl did a lot of photography from the moving car and has gotten quite good at it.
We did not use our driver while at Tea Trails. Our driver seemed a bit disappointed. We had his cell phone number and he made it clear that he was available for any place we wanted to go. (He asked our permission to be unavailable for two hours one day we were at Tea Trails so he could go to Mosque. I mention this into illustrate how available he was to us.) He stopped by Tea Trails one day to chat with us and check in about whether there were any places we wanted to go. Tea Trails provides transport to the tea factory. We could have used our driver to visit all of the bungalows, but didn't... we really wanted to relax. We visited Summervile as we were leaving Tea Trails.
We didn't run into anyone who had done the Hatton to Nanu Oya train ride. It's offered as an excursion by Tea Trails, but I don't remembr how long they said it would take.
There are several different walks at each bungalow. The walks can certainly be much longer. One day we did the long loop (there is a longer loop and a shorter loop). Cheryl stopped for lots of photos and we stopped and talked with people and it took us 2 hours. There are great photo ops - you'll see when the pictures are posted. We really enjoyed the walks! You can have your driver take you to another bungalow for lunch and explore the area around another bungalow.
Do make sure you spend some of your time at Tea Trails relaxing and enjoying being there - it's such a fabulous experience.
Karen, there are lots of batik options. I wanted something uniquely Sri Lankan, so bought batik pieces of the carved moonstones at Polonnaruwa. We were buying art pieces rather than yard goods.
Nov 27th, 2007, 06:11 PM
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Alas, all good things must come to an end. The day came when it was time to go back to Negombo to fly to Bangkok. It’s about a 4 – 4.5 hour drive from Tea Trails to Negombo. We took a different route than when we came. The roads were narrower and the country more rural. We drove past rubber trees being tapped. We were going to drive past the place where the movie Bridge over the River Kwai was filmed, so we stopped. It was not exciting. A man who played the native boy in the film will show you the site. There isn’t much to see, but this guy has parlayed his role in a move 50 years ago into a living. He believes he is the last person alive from that film. Would I recommend this as a stop? Only for the most die-hard movie fan.
From there we stopped at another resthouse for a light lunch before going on to Negombo. This resthouse has a lovely view overlooking the river. The setting is really pleasant. We ordered some sparkling water, and once it arrived and was poured, we noticed it was tonic water. I called this to the attention of our server, but she acted like she didn’t know what to do about it and wandered away. I turned around and asked the guy at the bar if they had soda water. He said yes, of course. I pointed out we had gotten tonic water in error. I thought he was going to do something about it, but we sat and waited. Eventually another server arrived. I pointed out that we had been brought the wrong drinks, and he promptly took them away and brought us soda water. He told us the buffet was open. We looked at their a la carte menu, but it was not helpful. We had good Sri Lanka food at another resthouse, so Cheryl went to the buffet. When she got back I went. The chicken curry looked to me like it had spent way too much time on buffet tables, so I suspected it had been out last night as well. I opted for vegetarian dishes. When I sat down at the table and ate a bite of dahl and rice, I noted that all of the food was cold. I told Cheryl and she said, yeah, my food is cold too. “Don’t eat it! – that’s perhaps the most common way to get food poisoning.” I waved the server over and asked for our bill. He saw we’d eaten almost nothing and asked if the food was too spicy and I told him the buffet food (which had been brought out from the kitchen not 10 minutes earlier) was cold. He sort of shrugged and brought us our bill. He charged us for the buffet, and I simply paid it and walked out. I recount this whole episode because it was the only bad experience we had in Sri Lanka both in terms of poor service and poor food.
We drove on toward Negombo through very interesting countryside. Once in Negombo, Aslam took us to The Beach, the best hotel in Negombo. While it was fine, I was glad we didn’t spend $200 to stay there rather than the Villa Araliya for $65. Indeed, the Villa Araliya was a more interesting place in terms of design. We arrived in time to see the beach in the sunshine, walk a bit, drink tea and take some photos. Then we went to their best restaurant, Black Coral, for a nice dinner. The food and service were both quite good. After our leisurely dinner, Aslam drove us to the airport. We had only a very brief stop at security as we drove into the airport, as Aslam had predicted.
We settled up with Aslam for the extra mileage (BSL had underestimated how far we would drive, clearly an error on their part as we really didn’t do any extra driving and in fact didn’t visit some of the more far flung places they had on the agenda). We also tipped Aslam very generously – he earned it – and bid him a warm goodbye.
Within a couple of hours we were winging our way back to Bangkok.
Some general comments about Sri Lanka and Boutique Sri Lanka: We found the people to be warm and welcoming. Often people commented to us upon hearing that we were from the US that they rarely have visitors from the US. Indeed, while we chatted with many fellow travelers, we met only two people from the US. The tourism industry has really been hard hit by the fall-off in tourism. The people we dealt with were all exceptionally accommodating. At times, I had a sense of their desperation about having so few tourists and so little income.
Boutique Sri Lanka is a class act. They are thorough and efficient (the error on mileage was apparently an aberration). They followed up with us in-country and they emailed me a questionnaire which I have not yet completed – Fodors report first! BSL gives you a brochure about traveling in Sri Lanka once you get there. They do talk about tipping and how half of a waiter’s wages are from the tips. They encourage you to pay the service charge added to restaurant bills or if none is added, to tip perhaps 10%. I have to say it never occurred to me not to pay a billed service charge! They also say that your driver will know the best guides in each place, and that you should bargain with the guides, starting by taking 30% off what the driver says you should pay. We never did that. Aslam suggested $5 for the guides and that was the least we paid any of them. They were all excellent, and I felt we got very good value for our money.
Afterward: Cheryl developed food poisoning after we got to Bangkok. The cold buffet food is the prime suspect. She had the “opportunity” to use Bumrungrad’s excellent care after the medications we brought with us were ineffective.
Conclusions: It was a fabulous trip; we had a great time. We learned so much, had so many new experiences. We are aware that we have only scratched the surface of this fascinating country. There is much we want to do on our next trip: Anuradhapura, visit the Dambulla caves and Temple of the Tooth without a guide, stay in the rainforest at Boulder Gardens, perhaps go to Yala (awaiting Crai’g report to know for sure), return to Tea Trails, and perhaps even visit a beach… oops that’s probably too much for just one trip! Yes, in spite of the unfortunate food poisoning, we will return.
From there we stopped at another resthouse for a light lunch before going on to Negombo. This resthouse has a lovely view overlooking the river. The setting is really pleasant. We ordered some sparkling water, and once it arrived and was poured, we noticed it was tonic water. I called this to the attention of our server, but she acted like she didn’t know what to do about it and wandered away. I turned around and asked the guy at the bar if they had soda water. He said yes, of course. I pointed out we had gotten tonic water in error. I thought he was going to do something about it, but we sat and waited. Eventually another server arrived. I pointed out that we had been brought the wrong drinks, and he promptly took them away and brought us soda water. He told us the buffet was open. We looked at their a la carte menu, but it was not helpful. We had good Sri Lanka food at another resthouse, so Cheryl went to the buffet. When she got back I went. The chicken curry looked to me like it had spent way too much time on buffet tables, so I suspected it had been out last night as well. I opted for vegetarian dishes. When I sat down at the table and ate a bite of dahl and rice, I noted that all of the food was cold. I told Cheryl and she said, yeah, my food is cold too. “Don’t eat it! – that’s perhaps the most common way to get food poisoning.” I waved the server over and asked for our bill. He saw we’d eaten almost nothing and asked if the food was too spicy and I told him the buffet food (which had been brought out from the kitchen not 10 minutes earlier) was cold. He sort of shrugged and brought us our bill. He charged us for the buffet, and I simply paid it and walked out. I recount this whole episode because it was the only bad experience we had in Sri Lanka both in terms of poor service and poor food.
We drove on toward Negombo through very interesting countryside. Once in Negombo, Aslam took us to The Beach, the best hotel in Negombo. While it was fine, I was glad we didn’t spend $200 to stay there rather than the Villa Araliya for $65. Indeed, the Villa Araliya was a more interesting place in terms of design. We arrived in time to see the beach in the sunshine, walk a bit, drink tea and take some photos. Then we went to their best restaurant, Black Coral, for a nice dinner. The food and service were both quite good. After our leisurely dinner, Aslam drove us to the airport. We had only a very brief stop at security as we drove into the airport, as Aslam had predicted.
We settled up with Aslam for the extra mileage (BSL had underestimated how far we would drive, clearly an error on their part as we really didn’t do any extra driving and in fact didn’t visit some of the more far flung places they had on the agenda). We also tipped Aslam very generously – he earned it – and bid him a warm goodbye.
Within a couple of hours we were winging our way back to Bangkok.
Some general comments about Sri Lanka and Boutique Sri Lanka: We found the people to be warm and welcoming. Often people commented to us upon hearing that we were from the US that they rarely have visitors from the US. Indeed, while we chatted with many fellow travelers, we met only two people from the US. The tourism industry has really been hard hit by the fall-off in tourism. The people we dealt with were all exceptionally accommodating. At times, I had a sense of their desperation about having so few tourists and so little income.
Boutique Sri Lanka is a class act. They are thorough and efficient (the error on mileage was apparently an aberration). They followed up with us in-country and they emailed me a questionnaire which I have not yet completed – Fodors report first! BSL gives you a brochure about traveling in Sri Lanka once you get there. They do talk about tipping and how half of a waiter’s wages are from the tips. They encourage you to pay the service charge added to restaurant bills or if none is added, to tip perhaps 10%. I have to say it never occurred to me not to pay a billed service charge! They also say that your driver will know the best guides in each place, and that you should bargain with the guides, starting by taking 30% off what the driver says you should pay. We never did that. Aslam suggested $5 for the guides and that was the least we paid any of them. They were all excellent, and I felt we got very good value for our money.
Afterward: Cheryl developed food poisoning after we got to Bangkok. The cold buffet food is the prime suspect. She had the “opportunity” to use Bumrungrad’s excellent care after the medications we brought with us were ineffective.
Conclusions: It was a fabulous trip; we had a great time. We learned so much, had so many new experiences. We are aware that we have only scratched the surface of this fascinating country. There is much we want to do on our next trip: Anuradhapura, visit the Dambulla caves and Temple of the Tooth without a guide, stay in the rainforest at Boulder Gardens, perhaps go to Yala (awaiting Crai’g report to know for sure), return to Tea Trails, and perhaps even visit a beach… oops that’s probably too much for just one trip! Yes, in spite of the unfortunate food poisoning, we will return.
Nov 28th, 2007, 12:27 AM
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Sorry to hear about your travel companion Cheryl's spot of bother with food poisoning. Hopefully it was nothing too serious and did not spoil your stopover in Bangkok. (mmm I do love those Thai green curries and a raw papaya salad with steamed rice)
From your description it does sound like the stale chicken curry was the culprit. Would you know the name of this place?
From your description it does sound like the stale chicken curry was the culprit. Would you know the name of this place?
Nov 28th, 2007, 12:42 AM
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Hi again Kathie,
Did you stop at a place called the "Plantation Hotel", smallish entrance with a steep walk down steps to the rustic looking restaurant surrounded by greenery and foliage by the river?
Did you stop at a place called the "Plantation Hotel", smallish entrance with a steep walk down steps to the rustic looking restaurant surrounded by greenery and foliage by the river?
Nov 28th, 2007, 05:38 AM
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I tried to find the name of the place before I posted the last part of my report, but couldn't. We finally found the name of the place in Cheryl's photos: Kithulgala Resthouse, run by Ceylon Hotels Corporation. We ate at two other resthouses run by Ceylon Hotels Corp, both were excellent. Cheryl only had a couiple of bites of the food - but that was all it took (as GPanda's two sips of tap water).
Nov 28th, 2007, 06:55 AM
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Fabulous report...I can't wait to go! Sorry to hear Cheryl got sick.Just goes to prove you do need to be careful of buffets. Can't wait for the pictures...give Cherly a nuge...Glad you are home safely. Did you do anything in BKK?
Nov 28th, 2007, 10:08 AM
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Dr Ralph, no we don't take doxy with us, we are currently carrying levaquin, our travel doc's recommendation for that part of the world. Since Cheryl developed a rash after the second dose of levaquin, we went to Bumrungrad and she was prescribed something from a different class of antibiotics.
Dec 1st, 2007, 09:05 PM
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Ok, the photos are online now. I have to warn you there are a LOT of photos. They are divided into categories, so you can choose the ones that interest you. Each category is a slideshow.
Go to www.marlandc.com and click in Sri Lanka 2007 in the bottom row.
Go to www.marlandc.com and click in Sri Lanka 2007 in the bottom row.
Dec 2nd, 2007, 05:47 AM
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Kathie and Cheryl,
Thanks for sharing your awesome pictures of not only Sri Lanka but your travels since 1999.
We spent over three weeks in Sri Lanka this past June and enjoyed it very much. My wife met a very knowelegable guy from Wales on Fodors who is madly in love with Sri Lanka and visits a couple of times a year. Thru Fodors and emails he laid out a turn key trip for us. We tried to hook up with him and his wife in Negombo but missed by a day. As luck would have it, we were eating in a restaurant on the roof of the hotel that we were staying in Kandy. I looked over and saw this couple and asked the gal if her name was Val. I guess it was meant to be that we would hook up. We talked for hours. I think I put my foot in my mouth when I made a comment to him that if he is madly in love with Sri Lanka, he would be enthralled with Ubud or Sulawesi in Indonesia. I can't put my finger on it, but Sri Lanka came up a bit short to us. Maybe the people are still in shock from the Tsunami. Maybe the never ending disagreement with the Tigers has taken a toll on the locals, or maybe it's the thievery of the government over the Tsunami money. We never felt threatened or in danger during our three plus weeks there. We met wonderful people, saw spectacular sights, ate delicious food, and thanks to the doxycycline did not get sick. Yes, it is a wonderful, beautiful country. We may come back again, but there are other countries to put our feet on first.
We're off to Kenya and Tanzania on the 22nd of this month. I usually get excited about a trip about 3 weeks from departure. Yesterday was the 3 week mark. I'm excited.
Another fabulous destination for you and Cheryl to visit is India and Nepal. We went last December and January and are returning next June and July.
Thanks again for sharing your travels with us.
Happy Holidays,
Doc
Thanks for sharing your awesome pictures of not only Sri Lanka but your travels since 1999.
We spent over three weeks in Sri Lanka this past June and enjoyed it very much. My wife met a very knowelegable guy from Wales on Fodors who is madly in love with Sri Lanka and visits a couple of times a year. Thru Fodors and emails he laid out a turn key trip for us. We tried to hook up with him and his wife in Negombo but missed by a day. As luck would have it, we were eating in a restaurant on the roof of the hotel that we were staying in Kandy. I looked over and saw this couple and asked the gal if her name was Val. I guess it was meant to be that we would hook up. We talked for hours. I think I put my foot in my mouth when I made a comment to him that if he is madly in love with Sri Lanka, he would be enthralled with Ubud or Sulawesi in Indonesia. I can't put my finger on it, but Sri Lanka came up a bit short to us. Maybe the people are still in shock from the Tsunami. Maybe the never ending disagreement with the Tigers has taken a toll on the locals, or maybe it's the thievery of the government over the Tsunami money. We never felt threatened or in danger during our three plus weeks there. We met wonderful people, saw spectacular sights, ate delicious food, and thanks to the doxycycline did not get sick. Yes, it is a wonderful, beautiful country. We may come back again, but there are other countries to put our feet on first.
We're off to Kenya and Tanzania on the 22nd of this month. I usually get excited about a trip about 3 weeks from departure. Yesterday was the 3 week mark. I'm excited.
Another fabulous destination for you and Cheryl to visit is India and Nepal. We went last December and January and are returning next June and July.
Thanks again for sharing your travels with us.
Happy Holidays,
Doc
Dec 2nd, 2007, 06:52 AM
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Thanks for sharing the photos, Kathie. Cheryl did a great job. Its nice to get a sneak preview of our trip and now I know we need to allow more time to take pictures as the flora and fauna are more amazing than I had imagined. I see a little bit of India in Sri Lanka in the photos of everyday life (people, buildings, markets etc.) but obviously a much stronger Buddhist influence in the religious architecture.
Dec 2nd, 2007, 09:09 AM
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Hi Kathie,
I had a look at your friends photos and they are really nice, it was like a grand tour of my own country and I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed them. I guess seeing things from a visitors eyes is refreshing.
Regards
Mohammed
I had a look at your friends photos and they are really nice, it was like a grand tour of my own country and I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed them. I guess seeing things from a visitors eyes is refreshing.
Regards
Mohammed
Dec 2nd, 2007, 09:53 AM
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Thanks for all of your nice comments, and Cheryl says thanks as well.
India is one of the places on our list of possible destinations for next year. I posted a question here about the new "Buddhist Train." If any of you know anything about it, please do comment on that thread. I'd be interested in the input of those of you who have spent time in India.
India is one of the places on our list of possible destinations for next year. I posted a question here about the new "Buddhist Train." If any of you know anything about it, please do comment on that thread. I'd be interested in the input of those of you who have spent time in India.
Dec 2nd, 2007, 11:54 AM
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"I made a comment to him that if he is madly in love with Sri Lanka, he would be enthralled with Ubud "
I can't imagine why for a moment.
There are loads of things about Sri Lanka - the widespread use of real English, cricket, a grown-up attitude to the country's colonial history (as opposed to the endless victimisation whines you get in Indonesia), a wide choice of national newspapers written by people to whom English is virtually a first language, a near-decent national health service all can access, a semi-honest attitude to terrorism, a fair smattering of good bookshops, properly preserved ancient ruins, serious museums, properly educated and articulate guides almost everywhere and an almost healthy tourist industry that doesn't depend on Westerners - that make it completely different from Bali. And for many of us, infinitely more appealing.
I can easily understand why many might prefer Bali - though can't begin to agree with them. But I can't understand why anyone could possibly presume to predict other people's tastes. Many of us who rather love Sri Lanka find Bali close to completely vacuous.
I can't imagine why for a moment.
There are loads of things about Sri Lanka - the widespread use of real English, cricket, a grown-up attitude to the country's colonial history (as opposed to the endless victimisation whines you get in Indonesia), a wide choice of national newspapers written by people to whom English is virtually a first language, a near-decent national health service all can access, a semi-honest attitude to terrorism, a fair smattering of good bookshops, properly preserved ancient ruins, serious museums, properly educated and articulate guides almost everywhere and an almost healthy tourist industry that doesn't depend on Westerners - that make it completely different from Bali. And for many of us, infinitely more appealing.
I can easily understand why many might prefer Bali - though can't begin to agree with them. But I can't understand why anyone could possibly presume to predict other people's tastes. Many of us who rather love Sri Lanka find Bali close to completely vacuous.
