Friday, February 17, 2012

Sri Lanka.. A land like no other!!

For a country ravaged by strife and natural calamities, the lovely Sri Lankans are the warmest, most genuine people I have ever come across, and despite the immense beauty of nature that my senses feasted on, the people are what I hold closest to my heart.

Seven women, ages 55 to 20 embarked on an adventure to this spectacular country and heres what we encountered:
  • Colombo Fort station:- Beautiful, colonial, mostly wooden construction. As we sat outside the station, after unsuccessfully trying to book tickets to Kandy, contemplating taking a cab, a stranger told us of another train that we can take that would cost us a fifth of the taxi fare. A person who loved his country, eager that visitors feel the same way as him.
  • Arrival in Kandy : Sevana Guest House is run buy a fabulous woman Shakuntala. She opened her doors and her heart to us.
  • Looking around Kandy : The winding roads of a quaint little hill town,the women police officers in skirts, the glimmering Kandy lake and a million bakeries. Believe me when I say my nose was leading the way.
  • Nuwara Eliya:  Astounding natural beauty. Tea estates as far as the eye can see, incredibly pretty flowers growing by the side of the road, luscious fresh veggies and fruits stacked for sale at street corners. This was the Europe of my dreams.
  • Horton Plains National Park: A nine km hike through vast stretches of wilderness. Three fiesty women in sarees, refusing to listen to people who said you need pants and shoes to complete the walk. Found peace and tranquility as we challenged our bodies and endless laughs as we pulled each others legs.
  •        Worlds End: A view to die for. Not a building or a bus in sight. Pure untouched nature; hills, trees,rivers all the way upto the ocean.
Fiesty mum!
  • Galle: A settlement within the walls of a fort. A throwback into the days when you were happy as a pedestrian and were more likely to get hit by a stray cricket ball than a garbage truck. Sitting on the fort walls, watching the waves crash into them; no better way to spend an evening.
  • Unawatuna: Just saying the word takes  me into a reverie of blue skies, golden sand and the vivacious Indian ocean. Sprawled out on a beach chair, guzzling the local arrack and having the waves kiss my feet. I may have never been at more peace with myself.
Perfect!

  • Colombo: Fiesty and friendly at the same time. A city that lets you revel in yourself, that is eager to see you smile so it can smile back at you. 
    Posing by Kandy Lake

8 comments:

Towards Harmony said...

Hey!! You stole my name for the post but considering that I might write one, I am glad you did!

You summarised it so well. I have been struggling with it - wondering if I should write about one particular day or all of them. For the moment, I have paused everything for lack of time.

Loved reading yours, Miss you Yah-Yahs. It was such a wonderful trip. I love Srilanka too.

Srinidhi said...

It is indeed a land like no other. I loved how you described it. I couldn't find enough words to describe the beautiful sights we saw and the experiences we had. :)

You are meant to do travel writing:D

Between life's doings said...

Those are some amazing places you went to in Srilanka. We were there for three days at colombo once and loved it so much. This is a good list to follow if I get to go next time. I love to travel as well, and like you, the best part of travelling is the people you go with and the people you meet. Loved the pics too, lovely beach and lovely gals :-)

D!! said...

I went through the same struggle P! I almost wrote one just about Nuwara Eliya!!


Thanks for the compliments Nids!


A: I felt like we didnt see Colombo enough!..loved it though..you should totally go again! Thanks for reading!!

Towards Harmony said...

You have been tagged here:

http://prathama-raghavan.blogspot.in/2012/03/blogging-highlights.html

Looking forward to your post on this tag.

Kushang Moorthy said...

baaaaabbbbbyyyyy!!!!! you left me and went!!!! :P nice write.. i will drag you again though! :)

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