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Sri Lanka

  • 30-03-2020 5:18pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 10,198 ✭✭✭✭


    So, as far as we're concerned, our annual (2020) SE Asia Trip is not happening. We normally use Bangkok as a hub for approx. 6 weeks Dec - Jan and add in another country (been doing this for 10 years now).

    So, we're thinking of our 2021 trip and wouldn't mind somewhere new.... Sri Lanka comes into mind.

    Let's cheer up a little.... Anyone been? What's the general vibe? We travel in comfort (Business Class is managable, just like Bangkok) and we usually budget approx. €100 per night for accommodation.

    BUT, we love the backpacker vibe when on the street (street food, drinking on the street sitting in plastic chairs etc.)

    So, with that, we're trying to get a general vibe for the country. How long to stay / things to do etc.? We like to get up early, visit temples / wander around etc. and then in the evening just relax and drink. We like a mix of city / country / beach life. We would like to spend at least 4 weeks on this trip... too long for Sri Lanka?

    Please, some good news with all the doom and gloom at the moment :D


Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 1,028 ✭✭✭Daisy78


    Going to bump this :)

    Also planning on going to Sri Lanka next year, probably Feb/March time. Budget will be good but less than the original posters. Any advice gratefully received!


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,178 ✭✭✭killbillvol2


    I've been there 4 times and intend to go back.

    It's about the size of Ireland but slower to get around.

    Colombo is a heaving Asian city with crazy traffic and great food. I'd suggest a couple of days there on the way home as you'll have acclimatised to the country.

    There are a few well beaten routes. First is south from Colombo to Galle and along the coast to various towns. You could continue to the south east for a safari. You can research what you're into. The general feeling is that you don't hit the south in July/August as it's monsoon season but I've been there twice in monsoon time and no issues. Sea is a bit rough though.

    Then there's Colombo - Kandy and into the hills. Plenty of temples, historic sites etc. Again Google the various options. Beautiful scenery. You could also continue to a safari from somewhere like Ella.

    The east coast is pretty undeveloped but well worth a visit. Aragum Bay has a surfer vibe and is very laid back. Again weather/climate dependent on time of year.

    The north was closed for years during the war but trains are now running all the way north. Very different vibe from the rest of the island and well worth a trip.

    The people are extraordinarily friendly and welcoming. English is spoken everywhere. Food is really cheap and fantastic. Drink is expensive by Asian standards and some smaller towns are pretty much dry.

    A lot of tourists hire a driver and are driven around the island for their entire holiday.I think that's bollocks to be honest. Trains are great. Buses are very frequent but a bit scary. You might use a driver for a particular long hop or awkward journey but for God's sake don't go around gawping out of a car for your holiday. Plus you'll meet all sorts of people on trains and buses and they love to talk.

    Visa is online. Immigration is really efficient. Hotels are good but not cheap. Service is good natured but can be haphazard. Just go with it and smile.

    Any specific questions just ask.


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,198 ✭✭✭✭JohnCleary


    ^^ Thanks, killbill.

    Sounds like it has SE Asian Charm (wasn't sure what to expect, being closer to India).

    Our idea of a nightmare trip is spending it gawking out of a car, having a driver the whole time. I don't like being told what i'm doing!

    WTF is this about 'dry' towns?! In general, is there not much of a drinking vibe? I'm not going to base my trip around drinking, but heck, we're on holiday, drinking is certainly a part of it!

    When you say 'not cheap' compared to Asian prices, what are we talking? Christmas 2019 in Thailand certainly wasn't cheap (compared to a decade ago... inflating + exchange etc...), a beer could cost you 2 - 3 euro.

    Would a month be too long to spend in Sri Lanka, in total?

    PS. We travel December / January... presuming this is 'peak' season in Sri Lanka, just like SE Asia?


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,178 ✭✭✭killbillvol2


    JohnCleary wrote: »
    ^^ Thanks, killbill.

    Sounds like it has SE Asian Charm (wasn't sure what to expect, being closer to India).

    Our idea of a nightmare trip is spending it gawking out of a car, having a driver the whole time. I don't like being told what i'm doing!

    WTF is this about 'dry' towns?! In general, is there not much of a drinking vibe? I'm not going to base my trip around drinking, but heck, we're on holiday, drinking is certainly a part of it!

    When you say 'not cheap' compared to Asian prices, what are we talking? Christmas 2019 in Thailand certainly wasn't cheap (compared to a decade ago... inflating + exchange etc...), a beer could cost you 2 - 3 euro.

    Would a month be too long to spend in Sri Lanka, in total?

    PS. We travel December / January... presuming this is 'peak' season in Sri Lanka, just like SE Asia?

    A month would be perfect I'd say. You'd get to see most of it.

    It's not really a drinking destination. That said, the more touristy towns on the south coast have plenty of drinking options. As does Ella which is backpacker central (and not to be missed). But up north and some of the historic sites in the centre you have fewer options. If you're in the sticks you'll be in bed early. Prices are Thai plus. Think fancier Bangkok prices.

    Christmas would be busy but who knows this year. They were just getting back on their feet after the bombings last year when this sh1t hit.


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,198 ✭✭✭✭JohnCleary


    A month would be perfect I'd say. You'd get to see most of it.

    It's not really a drinking destination. That said, the more touristy towns on the south coast have plenty of drinking options. As does Ella which is backpacker central (and not to be missed). But up north and some of the historic sites in the centre you have fewer options. If you're in the sticks you'll be in bed early. Prices are Thai plus. Think fancier Bangkok prices.

    Christmas would be busy but who knows this year. They were just getting back on their feet after the bombings last year when this sh1t hit.

    Cheers.

    Pedantic; We're actually thinking Christmas 2021... we're writing 2020 off for travel.

    We're not after a Full Moon Party / Khao San Rd (Bangkok) drinking vibe, but not a totally dry vibe either. In our early 30's, we're finally settling down :pac: We spent a few weeks in Myanmar Dec 2019 and loved it, but did find it a bit 'lacking' at night (we were in bed by mid-night most nights, 5am starts) .... nightlife was non-existent. That was fine, as we were then spending a few weeks in Thailand after, where we were able to make up for it.

    Would Sri Lanka compare to Myanmar from what i've said above?


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  • Registered Users Posts: 5,178 ✭✭✭killbillvol2


    JohnCleary wrote: »
    Cheers.

    Pedantic; We're actually thinking Christmas 2021... we're writing 2020 off for travel.

    We're not after a Full Moon Party / Khao San Rd (Bangkok) drinking vibe, but not a totally dry vibe either. In our early 30's, we're finally settling down :pac: We spent a few weeks in Myanmar Dec 2019 and loved it, but did find it a bit 'lacking' at night (we were in bed by mid-night most nights, 5am starts) .... nightlife was non-existent. That was fine, as we were then spending a few weeks in Thailand after, where we were able to make up for it.

    Would Sri Lanka compare to Myanmar from what i've said above?

    I was in Myanmar in 2014 and I was in bed at 11 every night if not earlier. Sri Lanka is nothing like that. If you want to go on the piss head south. Get your culture in for the middle week or 10 days ( you'll still get a few beers in most places) and then head south at the end again.

    The quietness never bothered me as I was always arriving there from Thailand and returning to Thailand so I thought of it as a bit of a detox. When I was there in July this year there were no tourists so it was extra quiet. Good for the health though! It only dawned on me as I was leaving that I hadn't eaten meat for two weeks either. I'm a big meat eater but the food is so tasty you don't miss it.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,294 ✭✭✭whomitconcerns


    Sri Lanka is great. Columbia is interesting. Negumbo just to the north is a close beach town. Then Galle and hambantota in South, but really depends what you want. I didn't make Kandy and the centre but if you want elephants and the jungles o heard it was amazing.

    I didn't come across anywhere you couldn't get a drink


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,436 ✭✭✭dartboardio


    following this thread as v. interested! never been to any of these destinations /Thailand/Vietnam or India/Sri Lanka etc.

    Heading to Dubai for 11 nights soon and looking to maybe go somewhere like Sri Lanka or similar instead of coming home.


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,198 ✭✭✭✭JohnCleary


    following this thread as v. interested! never been to any of these destinations /Thailand/Vietnam or India/Sri Lanka etc.

    Heading to Dubai for 11 nights soon and looking to maybe go somewhere like Sri Lanka or similar instead of coming home.

    What are you into? If you've never been, I always recommend Thailand. Sure, the people are a little jaded from Tourism but if you've never been, you won't notice that.

    I found the main tourist areas over-populated with Chinese 2016 - 2019 but I think that even after COVID, that will settle down a bit. This is not a race thing; the Chinese arrive in bus loads, whereas backpackers may arrive alone or in small groups. They also have no respect for others; they bring THEIR culture with them, rather than adapting (example; GF Q'ing for the toilet, plenty of other Chinese her own age. Few old Chinese ladies barge past all of them as this is the norm in China (ie. age)).

    The thing about Thailand is you have a mix; Culture up North, Craziness of Bangkok (middle) and scenery / beaches down South.

    That said, I also fell in love with Cambodia / Myanmar / Laos / Vietnam, but for different reasons.

    Back on topic of thread.... we were initially planning 4 weeks between India (Golden Triangle) and Sri Lanka. We have now decided that if we only have 4 weeks, we'll concentrate just on Sri Lanka. It is looking like we can stretch this to 6 weeks, so we may just scrape both India and Sri Lanka in, using Open-Jaw flights so not backing on ourselves.


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