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| Planned itinerary ... |
A gallery of images is here
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7 July Negombo
It's an easy getaway from Sydney, but, as usual, lots of hanging around. We buy duty-free vodka, and board just before 4pm. The Sri Lanka Airlines flight is a pleasant surprise - good seating, service, food and entertainment. It's 11.30 pm Colombo time (4am Sydney time) by the time we disembark, and past midnight by the time we have our bags. Book a taxi to Icebear Guesthouse in Negombo, but our room is not such a pleasant surprise - shabby and cluttered, a bit musty and dusty - not what we expected for over $100/night.
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| Negombo guest house |
8 July Negombo
The next morning we open the windows to see the very lovely garden and the sea beyond, and the room looks a lot nicer. However, the air conditioner leaks and is noisy, the sink plug is stuck in the basin, the windows are ill-fitting and difficult to operate and the mini-bar fridge is missing ... Feels like this place that, because of proximity to the airport, is the first port for many visitors, takes advantage and overcharges for everything: the shabby room ($105), the bland breakfast ($15), the airport pickup ($50). But it has its compensations.
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| Girl on Negombo Beach |
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| Christian icons in the street |
9 July Anuradhapura
Things get a little crazy on our last morning: one of the dodgy windows falls off its hinges and smashes the glass table below - it's very heavy and the screws are much too small. We report the accident and head over to breakfast, which takes an hour to arrive (the cook called in sick but they don't tell us). Meanwhile the departure of the expensive ‘super-luxury’ bus we have booked to go to Anuradhapura keeps changing. Day 2 and we are beginning to understand the chaos that is Sri Lanka!
The office where we pay for our bus trip is a trip in itself - portly middle-aged gentleman clad only in a towel busies himself with morning observances (much smoky incense) at his range of shrines, both Hindu and Christian, in a rather ramshackle living room. He takes our 9200 LKR ($46) - no, we don't need tickets. Or a receipt. When we tell him we are from Australia he says - 'Ah, my brother is in Melbourne' and proceeds to phone him, then hands the phone to me for a conversation - it's pretty awkward ... and I'm quite pleased when the bus arrives! In the end, the ride is comfortable and air-conditioned and we have the best seats just behind the driver.
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| Maha Vihayara puja |
and siesta in the aircon for a few hours. Did I mention that Chris is still recovering from a cold?
In the evening, a tuk tuk tour to the famous Bodhi Tree (oldest tree in the world?) and nearby Maha Vihayara temple and stupa in time for the evening ceremony (puja). It's a stunning sight with all the pilgrims in white, monks in saffron, setting sun and crescent moon with the glowing white stupa. Our driver Manoj is a fount of wisdom on all things Buddhist, in fact a passionate proselytiser for all things Buddhist in general and Sinhalese in particular. We pass by the railway station on the way back, to buy a ticket to Jaffna, but no good! Train staff are on indefinite strike and no trains are running. Sri Lanka chaos strikes again (no pun intended!). We are dropped at the Hotel Shalini for dinner, as it has a good reputation, but it is almost deserted! They can give us dinner - we order fish and chicken, and it arrives with a huge array of accompaniments - veg and condiments. It's far too much, but I do my best - when we get home I roll straight into bed.
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| Stupa and monkey in the Sacred City |
10 July Anuradhapura
We have breakfast at the guest house, and it's fabulous! A real Sri Lankan breakfast with string hoppers and coconut pancakes, not the westernised version that we get in some other stays. Immediately order lunch and dinner. Then it is time for morning tour of the Sacred City. Chris decides to stay behind rather than risk the heat, so it's just me and Manoj.He is an entertaining and energetic guide, though his proselytising does wear a little thin. 'Buddhism in Sri Lanka is the purest, the monuments are the biggest, the oldest, the most important, Sinhalese Buddhists are the most devout, Tamils are invaders who have been gloriously defeated' etc etc ...I try to draw him in to conversations where I attempt to broaden the perspective ... he just smiles, showing his glorious white teeth. The weather is quite mild in the morning, the enormous park is shady and intermittently breezy. I eventually succumb to the heat in the late morning and wrap myself in wet sarong I packed for that purpose. But the tour is almost over. The Sacred City is an astounding collection of really ancient monuments and ruins (BCE 4th to CE 4th) as well as restored temples and stupas that are visited by an astonishing number of pilgrims and local worshippers. It is ancient history and living history all at once.
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| Manoj, passionate Buddhist, tuk tuk guide |
t one says go wait at the New Bus Stand. Bizarre how difficult it is to work this out!
In the evening, a brief walk by the local 'tank' (Kumbichchan Kulama), then back for more delicious home cooking, Nadeeka really is a gifted cook! It has been a wonderful visit, thanks to the welcoming atmosphere, helpful information, and delicious food of our hosts.
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| Bollywood-style bus |
We decide to Uber to Vavuniya, where there a many more buses, then bus to Jaffna. It's easy to order an Uber, but what arrives is a run down Corolla with malfunctioning door handles and seat belt. The driver seems nice so we persevere, and Chris sits up front where the seat belt and door are working. It's a quick and straightforward 1 hour drive and the driver helps us to find the right bus station and the right bus. Phew! It's a nutty bus, with elaborate tasselled curtains, an animated lit up shrine to Shiva, Ganesha et al, and a screen blaring out soft porn Bollywood-style music videos. We are suddenly transported to Hindu-land! Is the bus A/C? Chris asks the conductor. He nods - yes. But actually – no. However, it's not too bad with all the windows open, and we are in Jaffna in under 3 hours.
Our homestay, Nallur Residence, is in the posh part of town. Haran, our host, is out, but we are shown to our spacious room with plenty of windows overlooking the garden. Lovely. After a cuppa we head out to 'Rio', a famous ice-cream parlour. It's hot, and if we ever felt like an ice cream it is now, but it is not as great as good gelato. Seems that Sri Lankans love colourful and sweet - everyone around us is eating large and garish sundaes. Now to siesta ….
In the evening we check out a couple of the local restaurants (all veg, no alcohol). Nallur Bhavan has a rep but looks like a brightly lit cafeteria so we opt for the Lavin dosa house. The special dosa (like a cheesy supreme) and the plain aloo dosa are quick, good
and decently priced.
12 July Jaffna
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| Belinda at the Jaffna Public library |
Breakfast is a lovely spread of milk hoppers, fresh mango and papaya, and string hoppers with a variety of curries and sambol. We can't eat half of it and ask if we can save some for lunch, and end up keeping milk hoppers (hoppers sandwiched with sweet coconut cream) and mango. For our host Haran, nothing is too much trouble, and we discuss what we will do, eat etc. We plan to explore around town in the mornings and siesta in the afternoon, and won't plan any lengthy excursions to islands etc. But on our first morning, chaotic SL is back. After a brief walk along the waterfront by the Fort (not worth paying to enter says Haran, you can see all you need from outside), we try to see the famous Public Library, which was destroyed along with priceless ancient documents by the Sinhalese Army in 1981, but it is closed for a visit from the Prime Minister. And the much-vaunted new Cultural Centre next door seems permanently closed. So we head to the Market area. I worry that it will be super crowded, but it is not. So after a brief wander through the small food market and adjacent shops, we manage to do our chores: pharmacy, liquor shop and ATM, then head back for lunch, which is leftover breakfast.
After a long siesta we head back to the Library, and it is open! But, like so much here, is sadly shabby and run down. The never-opened Cultural Centre is next door (Indian Governemnt donated the building, but nothing for maintenance), and the whole area seems rife with unfinished buildings, including a ridiculous, palatial new Council building. It is so necessary to rebuild this poor, war-torn city, but expensive white-elephant buildings sit unfinished while they don't have the resources for adequate rubbish collection. Head for dinner to the recommended JAC (Jaffna Authentic Cuisine). Unfortunately the curries here are disappointing - the prawn curry and veg curry seem to have identical spicy sauce, and no accompaniments - not what we had hoped from the famous Jaffna seafood.
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| Old Nallur residence |
Our last day, and it’s mercifully overcast so we go for a walking tour of the Nallur neighbourhood. It's obviously a well-to-do area with many large houses and gardens similar to that where we are staying. But for each one that is inhabited and well-maintained, there are at least two overgrown and in disrepair. The great exodus during war time is not reversed, and renewal has a long way to go. We check out the Archaeological Museum, which is terribly musty, dusty and sad. Then North to a couple of relics of the old Jaffna Kingdom, dating possibly to the 13th C (there is debate).The Cankili Thoppu Archway (thought to have been a palace entrance) has been unfortunately restored and looks like a reconstruction. But the Mantiri Manai (Minister's House) is quite derelict and has some charm in spite of extensive graffiti. Chris is now very grumpy so we head home for siesta!
It seems to be working well, being out for a few hours in the morning and evening, and home for the heat of the day. The room is cool and peaceful and we nap and read and google until 5pm then prepare for the Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil visit. It's just a 2 minute walk and there are many worshippers milling around doing 'little puja' in the lead up to the main event at 6pm. Chris has a football match that he MUST listen to, and is not allowed in, so he waits outside while I follow the enigmatic ceremony inside. At the main shrine, musicians are playing a pipe and drum to a recorded backing track, and there is much gesturing with oil lamps. Finally, Krishna is brought out of the shrine area and put on a wooden chariot, where he is wheeled to a smaller shrine. That shrine closes, but another opens, where Krishna is being 'rocked to sleep'. The rocking finishes, and devotees who have been traipsing from shrine to shrine, queue back at the main shrine to receive ashes, then rice and oil as they leave the temple. It's a picturesque ritual but as mysterious as those from any religion to the uninitiated. Some of the shrines are stunningly beautiful. bit no photos allowed! I leave, find Chris, and do a couple of snaps of the outside of the temple as we make our way home for a cold beer.
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| Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil |
Tomorrow we will take the early train back to Vavuniya (yes, trains are running again!) and Haran will deliver pastries to the station for our breakfast. Exceptional!
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