Called 'SafeSeat', the product will likely be launched by year-end
uae5 hours ago
The start to almost every Sri Lankan tour is Colombo, where modern metropolis meets colonial history and ramshackle neighbourhoods. Most visitors are advised to visit the historic Galle Face Hotel for an afternoon drink, where you’ll step back in time 100 years to another world; it’s a charming way to while away a few hours, even if the service is still stuck in the past. Once eventually fed, you’ll be fuelled for a hearty stroll around the Fort area, which is where you’ll find most international hotels, incredibly well preserved Victorian shops and streets, and the main train station. It’s the latter that’s most important.
When travelling Sri Lanka’s vast subcontinental neighbour you can arrive in almost any town and find accommodation easily and cheaply. Not so in Sri Lanka, which is still waking from its long stint on the ‘travel advisory’ list after a prolonged civil war that only ended in 2009. It means that tourists are flocking to the country, but accommodation options have not fully expanded to meet demand. Two obvious effects have been rising prices and disappointed tourists. And there’s nowhere more symptomatic of this problem than Kandy, merely a 2.5-hour train ride from Colombo, but a wholly different experience.
On arrival, none of this was of interest to us as the issue of finding accommodation took precedence, soon turning into a race around town as we sought the supposedly last available room. Our taxi driver assured us that if we didn’t take it another group was hotfooting their way to snap it up. Ever the cynic, I immediately ignored such obvious sales tactics, but ever the lazy traveller I plumbed for the room anyway, unwilling to continue our search.
After two nights in Kandy, it was time to move on. This can be done by train, but a car can take you through stunning tea plantation land, so on a fortunately sunny day we set off through Sri Lanka’s agricultural heartland. The rolling tea plantations are dotted with English houses left over by long departed settlers, but nowhere is British influence seen more than in Nuwara Eliya, created by the colonisers, who left so many houses it seems closer to Surrey than Sri Lanka. The Brits also built a golf course, which has been preserved as if they never left; it’s a stark reminder of the European culture clash imposed on the island.
After a night in the hill country town of Ella, where stunning views accompany your breakfast, it was time to head back to the lowlands and onto Yala National Park. It’s only a short drive — 2.5 hours — from Ella to Tissamaharama, which is a sleepy strip home to little more than hundreds of ancient Land Rovers, as it’s the launch pad for safaris into the nearby national park.
From Tissamaharama, we headed for the south coast and onto Unawatuna, a beach paradise that was decimated in the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. The journey takes around 3-4 hours, but can be broken with stops for curd (a dairy-based, ‘acquired taste’ dish) or fresh coconut drinks. Once at Unawatuna, you’ll be rewarded with a classic beach setting, which has been fully rebuilt since the tsunami, although some hotels and restaurants rebuilt over the beach, meaning that water and businesses almost meet. It’s a small issue, but still a shame.
Two restless nights in Unawatuna — woken by bread vans, chanting, drunks, horns, tractors and sirens — meant we excitedly prepared for our last night at a five-star property called The Fort Printers Hotel in Galle Fort, just 4km away. Only 15 minutes from Unawatuna by tuk-tuk, the stunning UNESCO World Heritage-protected Galle Fort is an old Dutch settlement that’s in remarkable condition, but still in need of massive funding for reconstruction and improvements.
The area has been settled by one conqueror or another for centuries, but it was the Dutch who heavily invested in its buildings, then handed it to the British without a fight (due to themselves being invaded by France), with the British returning it to the Sri Lankans still in its Dutch state. A walk around the Fort will evoke times gone by whilst also providing romance and intrigue. It’s a unique place that’s sure to be a favourite on anyone’s trip, even if just for a weekend from the UAE.
And finally it was time to head back to Colombo. Sadly, the train line from Galle to Colombo was out of service, so we had to contend with hiring a driver and tackling the lethal main road for four hours. Put simply, I should have been wearing a nappy. It was that scary. Eyes wide with terror, I stared into the distance as Basil, the driver, ploughed through obstacles, dodging endless humans, animals and oncoming buses.
On the way we stopped to visit the world’s longest reclining Buddha, where the tranquillity of Buddha contrasted heavily with the vehicular terror of Sri Lanka’s main ring road. I wanted to stay there. Forever.
But with prayers answered, we entered Colombo safely after 10 incredible days in Sri Lanka. The country surpassed expectations at every level, offering travellers a vast range of experiences within a relatively small area. It’s no wonder it’s topping travel lists the world over. It deserves to. Sri Lanka’s time has come.
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