Thread by @kalapian_

Flying back home today after my first ever trip to #SriLanka... Travelled with wifey @historywali

Lots of stuff to pen down about the trip, follow this thread..

Landing in Colombo, it's super easy to get a local SIM card and cheap (INR 750 roughly for my entire 10 days). Something for @incredibleindia to emulate? And Uber works from the airport to Negombo/Colombo (I learned this on the return), 50% cheaper than airport taxis

We rented a motorcycle to travel! Our bike, a simple 250cc Honda from (negombo-motorcycle-tours.com) @ $18 a day + $40 for the local driving permit.

Was super easy to rent as we had prebooked. We picked up the bike and were on our way within an hour.

It was my first time riding a motorcycle or driving abroad, so I was suitably nervous. Sri Lankans, made it easy for me, they drive exactly like us Indians - nutjobs. Keep your nerves taut and you shall be fine. Always expect tuk-tuks to do the unexpected.

Within a few minutes of riding, we were flagged down by a cop, and I thought, 'Sigh, we will be asked for documents at every corner'.

Turns out motorcycles are not allowed on the E8 expressway and @googlemaps doesn't know it.

The cop showed us the right way with a smile.

Colombo traffic is pretty dense, especially the suburbs. Negombo-Colombo is suburban driving. The Fort area is full of wide leafy roads, and we checked into the fabulous marinobeach.com to treat ourselves to a star-rated stay for one night of a budget trip.

That's what the missus @historywali treated me to for birthday 2019. A fabulous infinity pool overlooking the Arabian Sea. We spent the longest time in this pool, not a surprise right?

Full marks to butter-smooth #SriLanka roads. Simply amazing how they upkeep their roads. In our 10 days there, I saw just one pothole. Real joy to ride/drive. Highly recommend that everyone should try it.

#SriLanka drivers on the other hand 🙄 absolute nutters. Watch out especially for the buses, maniacs and tuk-tuks, lunatics. Our first day ride from Colombo to Kandy was exhausting due to heavy traffic and pilgrims rushing to the annual festival - Perahera.

I was really apprehensive about food in #SriLanka but was amazed by the #vegetarian food on offer, it's not just Curry and rice, the variety is mind-blowing! This was at a lunch stop just outside Colombo enroute to Kandy.

Kandy was a beautiful city, unfortunately we ended up there during their biggest festival of the year. Roadblocks and crowds everywhere. Just managed a stroll around Kandy Lake...

... and a sumptuous breakfast at Balaji Dosai, the most famous Tamil restaurant in town.

The highlight of our trip definitely these 240 kms 😍

We took the longer south looping route from Kandy to Pasikudah on the east coast. It cuts through the stunning Victoria Randenigala Rantembe Sanctuary.

The sanctuary is a beautiful dry deciduous forest. The road winds through cliffs, an ancient gorge and the backwaters of two large reservoirs. Apparently the the sanctuary is named after the confluence of 3 rivers.

Throughout the sanctuary we saw many boards warning us of wildlife, especially elephants crossing. Being high noon, we didn't expect to see any until @historywali shouted at me to stop... She had spotted an elephant on the riverbank! We watched for a whole 5 mins!

I forgot to mention the charming little place we stayed at in Kandy, St Bridget's Country Bungalow. A lovely family run establishment, definitely will recommend. Warm hospitality + cute pool

So we reached Pasikudah on the east coast from Kandy. A stunning calm water beach. It was a lot of fun just floating there.

But the destination left us very disappointed...

Pasikudah - the main beach unfortunately has been taken over by 5-star properties. There is no room for any other business there. There is just a small strip of 'public' beach. If you need a sunbed and a beer, you have to pay 5-star rates. It's a real shame when this happens.

We stayed in the 'other' beach at Pasikudah - Kalkudah beach, which is too dangerous to swim in due to currents and corals. So we had to ride to Pasikudah for ocean time and pay through our noses for basic food and lounging. It was eye-watering expensive.

The highlight of Pasikudah though is the town. Very friendly Tamil people and great food. We discovered a local restaurant 'Crab & Lobster' where I had the best egg rotis ever, while @historywali had 🦀!

For dessert at Pasikudah, we dropped into 'Jeevi Ice Cream', where @historywali forgot her helmet and they were kind enough to keep it safe till I collected it.

We couldn't wait to get out of Pasikudah. We hit the road again to head to Nilaveli Beach, north of the city of Trincomalee. It was a slightly annoying ride due to - wind. Lovely road along ocean, but a whipping wind that threatens to run you off the road! Very tiring.

We hit some bad travel luck at Nilaveli. We had not made an online booking to stay anywhere, and upon reaching Nilaveli, we were shocked to find every property by the beach booked full. It was every traveller's nightmare.

There was accomodation available a little away from the beach, but c'mon, it's not a beach vacation if you aren't right on the beach. Thus I went hunting for accommodation and in desperate times like these - you get duped. We had a nightmare stay at Nilaveli.

AVOID THIS PROPERTY CALLED 'YAALU MAALU' at Nilaveli like the plague. We got extorted at 10,000 LKR (with breakfast) per night for a non-AC shack because everything was full...

(Never, ever, opt for non-AC thatched accommodation by the beach side in #SriLanka. Killer mosquitoes. Bit and sucked our life blood out. We didn't sleep well for 4 nights)

But worse than the mosquitoes were the fellows running Yaalu Maalu.

1. Management tried to forcibly evict us after one night because they got an 'online booking'

(I had to threaten the manager with violence because he raised his hand at my wife during a verbal argument)

2. They never gave us a mosquito coil or a net

3. 5 days, no housekeeping. I had to collect fresh sheets myself.

4. Shite food and drinks.

5. Generally the staff had an attitude that they didn't want anything to do with non-white people.

Anyway... Nilaveli as a destination...

It's nice but not great. I read it was a quiet beach, but not anymore. All beach side properties blast music late into the night. Very unexciting F&B in general.

The best food we had was at a local restaurant in town btw.

But @historywali went diving in Nilaveli and absolutely enjoyed it! The water and corals are awesome!

Summing up our #SriLanka experience:

Good -

1) Great roads, absolutely fantastic driving destination

2) Colombo-Negombo has some amazing hospitality options, very affordable luxury too

3) Really easy to rent bikes and cars

4) Locals, especially eastern Tamils very friendly

#SriLanka

5) Excellent food options for vegetarians in the local cuisine.

Bad -

1) Eastern destinations suffer from severe lack of hospitality choices. Even the luxury options we saw were substandard.

2) Road safety - terrible. You have to be very vigilant on the road.

#SriLanka

Ugly -

We had two instances of very poor hospitality service at properties in two budget bands. Had a very indifferent experience with staff at Marino Beach, Colombo and downright bad behavior at Yaalu Maalu, Nilaveli.

Both cases - they didn't like non-white people

The trip ended well, and we will definitely explore more of #SriLanka driving again.

All I can say right now is - नेगोम्बो खुश हुआ 👍👌😊!