Sri Lanka – Sun, sea, wildlife, and some great food – Part 1

This was not my first trip to Sri Lanka. I had spent a few days in Bentota 14 years prior but mostly spent time inside a resort and hardly got a feel of the country. This trip wasn’t much longer, but I intended to get a flavor of the country and be on the move as much as possible. There was no way I could have fit in even half of my to-do list in the 4-night plan, so there was a lot of prioritization to be done. I picked Yala (this has been a year of wildlife safaris) and Galle (I love the idea of small cafe fillled towns). Kandy, the scenic North, and some of the other lovely sites were left for a future visit.

I landed in Colombo in the evening on Christmas day, a few hours later than expected, because of a rescheduled flight. Immigration was a breeze, and luggage didn’t take too long. We had a van waiting for us, so in no time we were on our way to Taj Samudra, on Galle Sea Face – an amazing development in Colombo that mimics the Marine drive in Mumbai. It was supposedly a 45-minute drive, but traffic kept getting worse, and it was nearly an hour and a half before we made it. There was a major Christmas carnival on the sea side park and the whole of Colombo population seemed to be there. Traffic was crazy and not just the cars, even the foot traffic – there was barely a space to walk.

The check-in process was a little slow, and the room was a little old, but the view from the balcony made up for it—a full frontal view of the sea and the Galle sea face. We quickly changed and stepped out for dinner. The carnival had a lot of street food, but it was too crowded for us to be able to get much. There was no way to find transportation in the traffic jam, we had to walk. The sidewalk was full and walking was a slow process. The mall close to the hotel had a line to enter that seemed would be atleast an hour of wait. We walked on to Shangri-La, it looked inviting. All their restaurants were full but we did find a table in the cafe, with drinks and a limited sandwich menu. The food was average, the only meal in that category we would eat on this trip.

The morning view from the balcony was spectacular. The seafront has been developed well, even though it is only about 700 meters long. It is not a beach but a concrete walkway and a park. The early morning cool breeze made for a great walk/ run. The only eyesore was the leftover trash from the carnival, which was in the process of being cleaned. It got a little warm as the sun came out, so I crossed the road back to the hotel. The breakfast was delicious and I stuck to the local fare. Appams with an egg inside eaten with caramalized onion sambal is just heavenly. Apparently chicken curry, dal and rice cakes are eaten for breakfast in Sri Lanka. When they are made so well, it works!

It was 7 of us, and a self-drive that could seat all of us wasn’t available, so we had a van with a driver that picked us up at 11 am for our 4-hour drive to Yala.

The expressway is fantastic, and I was missing being able to self-drive. Self-driving used to be very tough in Sri Lanka with the requirement of a temporary local driver’s license. Now, local rental companies get you that license for a fee and make it possible. The only challenge with the expressway is that there is only one service area in all the distance. That service area came a little too soon as we had just eaten a heavy breakfast. We still stopped and hogged on some great local food from a food court.

The three food items I learned about were the usual fish/chicken/ prawns and steamed rice, a paratha mashed up with chicken curry, and a form of chicken biryani wrapped in banana leaf. I loved all three! I also tried some fresh juice and a fruit salad sundae, all very good. Just before reaching Yala, we stopped at a roadside eatery and sipped coffee and a sweet cake-like dessert made of rice, coconut milk, and sugar. As local as it gets!

The Doubletree in Yala is spectacular! It is a beautiful resort set in the middle of a bird sanctuary (Werawala) overlooking the lake. The rooms are large and plush, and the food and drinks are excellent. The cocktails in the rooftop bar are freshly made and delicious. Dinner at the restaurant was delicious, with massive portions – we ordered a la carte.

The hotel helped us book a jeep for the morning safari to the sanctuary, and it was cheaper and more convenient than most online options. I had emailed the hotel in advance, and they didn’t seem worried that they would get sold out. The Landcruiser picked us up from the hotel at 5:15, and we started the 40-minute drive to the gate. There is a hefty park fee to be paid per person, and there is a long wait to get those tickets. If you are from one of the SAARC countries, carry your passport for a small discount. It is recommended that you carry cash as the card machines don’t always work.

The safari is a beautiful drive across lakes and a lot of wildlife. We saw crocodiles, deer, and monitor lizards, besides many birds. Some real bad luck meant that we didn’t see any elephants, a usual staple of the safaris. Leopards and sloth bears are the prize sightings, but we didn’t get them either. There were still some happy moments and good pictures from the drive, and I wasn’t disappointed.