Sri Lanka
Sustainable development is the peace policy of the future
– Dr. Klaus Topfer
We recently travelled to Sri Lanka. We’ve visited the island several times now. It was our chosen destination for our Honeymoon. And it’s a place that we’ve always enjoyed; the heat, the food, the landscape and the Indian Ocean beaches.
But it’s taken us ten years to get back this time. We had hoped to travel here before the pandemic. Like everyone, plans got put on hold.
We spent a week in Galle, giving ourselves time to meander in this city and it’s historic fort, a UNESCO world heritage site.
We could have stayed within the fort walls, where there are plenty of boutique hotels and places catering for tourists. We’re glad that we opted instead to stay in a local neighbourhood, right by the rail and bus stations, with an Italian woman and her Sri Lankan husband. We were a few minutes walk to a cafe, as well as little, ‘hole in the wall’ shops and several temples. It was a short walk to Galle’s cricket ground, named after the now ex-president.
A highlight of our trip was travelling to Yala NP. We found leopard tracks and followed. And we found a leopard, resting in a tree, with a very full belly. The national park also had many elephants, mostly lone bulls. Other sightings; crocodiles, deer, wild boar, a python, hares and abundant birdlife, including a rare Pied Kingfisher. It was worth the early morning start, to travel to Yala NP for when the gate opens.
As with every trip, our time in Sri Lanka begins and ends at The Galle Face Hotel. For us there is no other place to stay, nowhere to equal it’s history, colonial charm and fading grandeur. The Sri Lankan breakfast on the stunning veranda is an occasion.
I’m more than a little obsessed with Egg hoppers. They are near impossible to find outside of Sri Lanka and so I had waited ten years for this breakfast. Hoppers are very special. The batter is made by combining yeast, coconut and rice flour The batter is started off the night before, then poured into a small, perfectly round pan with a lid. The egg is cracked into the pancake during cooking.
I kept my egg hoppers quite simple, with a lot of freshly grated coconut, a drizzle of dhal (lentils) or maybe some luni miris (a fresh chilli and onion relish) and coconut sambol. Some would go spicier, with other condiments and fish sambols.
I ate egg hoppers for breakfast every morning that I could during our time in Sri Lanka and savoured every mouthful.
This delicious breakfast dish was accompanied by the palm trees towering above and the waves of the Indian Ocean crashing nearby. Could there be a better breakfast setting?
So what else has altered the landscape in the ten years since our last visit on this very special island? There are some very obvious signs of change.
Nelum Kulun towers over the city scape. It’s the tallest tower in South Asia. The Lotus tower is 350 m in height. The 17 storey Lotus Tower includes a television tower, hotel, eateries, an auditorium, an observation deck, a shopping mall and a convention centre.
China, which has been increasingly involved in Sri Lanka’s economy, secured a lucrative deal, creating a new 500-acre, port city on reclaimed land on the sea off the Galle Face Green. We gaze across at the construction site from the grounds of our hotel. Apparently the government agreed to a US$700 million offer from a Chinese investor. The development will have a big impact on the view across from Galle Face Green.
A new expressway was completed between Colombo and the south, slicing through miles of countryside, which would in turn have an impact of local wildlife. Some will be quick to point out that the highway has cut travel time and improved links for trade and commerce.
Many will say that it’s what’s needs to happen, for improvements to the country’s infrastructure, to create jobs for local people and to invite future investment. In March 2022 the country reached an economic tipping point resulting in food and fuel shortages. Investment and revenue from tourism is more important now than ever before.
But there are many concerns. And as Sri Lanka keeps developing, one can only hope that the government will keep addressing the important questions;
How can we reduce environmental impact? How does a country move towards development and move away from the use of fossil fuels?
How can we advance economic justice?
How can we create sustainable solutions? And how can a country like Sri Lanka ensure that tourism is responsible and sustainable?
Change is happening fast. We wish this beautiful country and its people well.
Have you revisited a place that is experiencing a lot of development?
© Maggie M / Mother City Time
Like Maggie, Sri Lanka has long been a favorite place to explore. Early in life I cultivated an escapist sole which heavily painted the rest of my life. Sri Lanka was one of the first countries that lit up traveling as adventure and new wonder. In the early 80s, I arrived for the first time to Sri Lanka. In those days it was not the efficient process it is today. Grabbing a taxi into town required selecting a driver out of a crowd of shouting and jostling Sri Lankans and then negotiating a price. That settled, like Maggie my first marvelous experience was checking into the Galle Face Green Hotel in Colombo. The famed liveried doorman with handsomely bushy handlebar mustache Kottarapattu Chattu Kuttan opened the taxi door and greeted me with traditional hands pressed together. I was then escorted into the entry hall of this historic hotel. The hotel echoed with past glory of the colonial era, of past adventurers, royalty and other famous people who entered the hotel through the years. Throughout all my travels I have always searched out colonial hotels like the Galle Face Green Hotel because to me they fill one with the sense of adventure seemingly transporting one to days when Yankee Clippers, and luxury sea liners where the common mode of crossing the oceans. After a couple of days enjoying all that this wonderful hotel offered, including an ocean view suite taking up half of the old section ocean side wing for 148USD per night, I secured a taxi to the southern city of Galle. In Galle I checked into yet again another historic establishment, the New Oriental Hotel located within the ramparts of Galle Fort. It had been that for over a hundred years. In 2005 it became the Amangala Hotel, I assume part of the famous Aman group of hotels. My first visit cost about 80$ for a room. Today expect to pay 600USD plus. While in Galle I explored places nearby like the then pristine Unawatuna Beach which was considered one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
Aaaah! In those days there was no internet, no cell phones, no airline alliances, and no large tourist buses. Traveling from Colombo to Galle took about 4 or 5 hours along a beach two way road full of curves, cows, crazy drivers and deadly accidents. Only the intrepid travelers visited places like Sri Lanka, India and other Asian countries. I really do miss the days when it felt like I was one of the first to visit such places.
Now its all changed, with mega tourist groups and lines of large buses at the most famous sites. Unawatuna is no longer pristine, instead lined with budget and not so budget hotels. Its full of loud music, and lots and lots of mixed drinks and beers. Still its not sooooo bad. I can still enjoy sitting at a beachside table sipping on a cold drink. But as one gains travel savvy through the years you also find ways to avoid this chaos. I now swear by Airbnbs and similar. There you can immerse oneself in the local cultures, walk down quiet lanes bordering rice fields and farm houses dotting the bordering forest. The Sri Lankans remain some of the most happy, welcoming and friendly people.
Since my first visit in the early 80s, I have traveled back many times. Including almost becoming locked in the country during the rise of the Covid Pandemic in 2020. But then that’s another story and if I had been prevented from traveling out, it would have by far not been a worst thing. It is now impossible to do, but I still hold to the phrase: “Where No Man Has Gone Before”—but I am always in search of!
Like Maggie, Sri Lanka has long been a favorite place to explore. Early in life I cultivated an escapist sole which heavily painted the rest of my life. Sri Lanka was one of the first countries that lit up traveling as adventure and new wonder. In the early 80s, I arrived for the first time to Sri Lanka. In those days it was not the efficient process it is today. Grabbing a taxi into town required selecting a driver out of a crowd of shouting and jostling Sri Lankans and then negotiating a price. That settled, like Maggie my first marvelous experience was checking into the Galle Face Green Hotel in Colombo. The famed liveried doorman with handsomely bushy handlebar mustache Kottarapattu Chattu Kuttan opened the taxi door and greeted me with traditional hands pressed together. I was then escorted into the entry hall of this historic hotel. The hotel echoed with past glory of the colonial era, of past adventurers, royalty and other famous people who entered the hotel through the years. Throughout all my travels I have always searched out colonial hotels like the Galle Face Green Hotel because to me they fill one with the sense of adventure seemingly transporting one to days when Yankee Clippers, and luxury sea liners where the common mode of crossing the oceans. After a couple of days enjoying all that this wonderful hotel offered, including an ocean view suite taking up half of the old section ocean side wing for 148USD per night, I secured a taxi to the southern city of Galle. In Galle I checked into yet again another historic establishment, the New Oriental Hotel located within the ramparts of Galle Fort. It had been that for over a hundred years. In 2005 it became the Amangala Hotel, I assume part of the famous Aman group of hotels. My first visit cost about 80$ for a room. Today expect to pay 600USD plus. While in Galle I explored places nearby like the then pristine Unawatuna Beach which was considered one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
Aaaah! In those days there was no internet, no cell phones, no airline alliances, and no large tourist buses. Traveling from Colombo to Galle took about 4 or 5 hours along a beach two way road full of curves, cows, crazy drivers and deadly accidents. Only the intrepid travelers visited places like Sri Lanka, India and other Asian countries. I really do miss the days when it felt like I was one of the first to visit such places.
Now its all changed, with mega tourist groups and lines of large buses at the most famous sites. Unawatuna is no longer pristine, instead lined with budget and not so budget hotels. Its full of loud music, and lots and lots of mixed drinks and beers. Still its not sooooo bad. I can still enjoy sitting at a beachside table sipping on a cold drink. But as one gains travel savvy through the years you also find ways to avoid this chaos. I now swear by Airbnbs and similar. There you can immerse oneself in the local cultures, walk down quiet lanes bordering rice fields and farm houses dotting the bordering forest. The Sri Lankans remain some of the most happy, welcoming and friendly people.
Since my first visit in the early 80s, I have traveled back many times. Including almost becoming locked in the country during the rise of the Covid Pandemic in 2020. But then that’s another story and if I had been prevented from traveling out, it would have by far not been a worst thing. It is now impossible to do, but I still hold to the phrase: “Where No One Has Gone Before”—but I am always in search of!
HI Bob. I’m delighted that your comment turned up here after all. I think it went on a journey too.
We understand when you say that Sri Lanka has long been a favorite place to explore. It lends itself to adventure. On our very first trip the friend that we were staying with got us a driver through her local taxi company. He drove us north, via many hairpin bends, with a single piece of paper on which there was a basic map drawn in pencil! He stayed everywhere with us. Every homestay, every B&B or hotel would find him a room for the night. We’ve never experienced that anywhere else.
We too remember Kottarapattu Chattu Kuttan, with his mighty mustache! He gave us a toothy “congratulations” when I told him it was our honeymoon. By our next visit he was gone. Gone too is the sign or tile that read ‘Happiness is the Galle Face Hotel’. I asked the concierge staff about it. It may have been damaged in the renovation of the reception area. No one was sure. But the saying remains very true.
You would be very surprised at costs to visit Sri Lanka at the moment. Since the economic crisis of last year, the Sri Lankan rupee is much weaker. We found accommodation in both Colombo and Galle to be really good value. Our lodge in Galle cost us about GBP 250 for 6 nights, including breakfast! Sadly many tourists continue to stay away, but travel advice has changed and we saw no protests or felt any concerns about safety at all during our stay. The only visitors who we saw, especially on the south coast, were people from Russia. Many. There are now three flights each day, from Moscow to Colombo.
We took several tuk-tuk rides in both Colombo and Galle and I can assure you that there is still fabulous chaos on the roads; many crazy drivers and still the occasional cow!
Like you, we feel that Sri Lankans are some of the happiest, welcoming and friendly people that we have met on our travels. And another trip is always pending. Perhaps the Galle Face Green Hotel beckons for all of us. It would be a perfect place for our NBO crowd to reunite.
Preserve that special, escapist soul of yours. That was immediately recognisable in you when we met you in Nairobi (and again in Lilongwe) Keep living life well and fully. There’s plenty of time to sit in the chair!
Thanks again for your comment, Bob. We hope to see you in 2023.