Southeast Asia - Week of May 7: Sri Lanka - Week 3

Welcome to another busy week of traveling. Going on my first international safari given I've been on the African Lion Safari in Ontario that is. 

Leaving Sacred City Tourist Resort

Sunday, May 7 was check out day at Sacred City. My next destination was the Ceylon Resort on the edge of Wilpattu National Park, the launching point for Monday's safari. I was blessed to have Kalum available to drive me (a distance of about 34 km) from Anuradhapura to the Ceylon Resort - for a very reasonable cost along with being just more convenient to arrange.  fee of course. After breakfast Kalum presented me with a parting gift - five postcard size cards in celebration of Vesak. These greetings come in different sizes; can be as large as posters. 

Wilpattu National Park - Safari

We arrived in time for lunch - noodles and settle in to my new home for the next two nights. We had to ask a local for directions as we neared the Resort  - Google Maps had us walking through someone's yard. Fortunate half board option was available as this 'resort' was in the middle of nowhere. 

Sunday's highlights included:

• Being introduced to a portable horn in my room used to scare animals animals. Somewhat unsettlingly introduction to my new environment - what danger was I now in? Also learned the resort was surrounded by an electrified fence to keep the elephants away. 
• Walked about 1.5 km to a lake that the owner suggested was a must see sight. Sought reassurance about my safety during this walk. I may differ in opinion as to the lake's significance.  As usual, I managed to perspire like crazy given the 30C+ temperature and high humidity! 
• Evening Sri Lankan buffet - wide range of freshly prepared curry dishes for every type of eating preference. Amazing and tasty assortment of curries with rice. Fresh fruit, pudding plus vanilla and chocolate ice cream for dessert. The perfect meal. There were five other guests attending dinner. 

Monday was safari day. I booked a full day outing. Pick-up time was 6 am; 5 pm drop-off back at the resort. A full day in on a seat in the back of a pick-up bed specially designed for viewing.  I was given a packed breakfast and lunch. My safari companion was Emily, another Ceylon Resort guest who was rained out on her Sunday am safari. Emily and I had loads of time to chat as we drove around the park in search of animals. She is on a three month solo adventure having already visited Nepal (Everest Base Camp - I'm so envious!) as well as India. An HR professional with a focus in the reward and recognition area. She had just left Barclays Bank with a job waiting for her in a much smaller organization where she could have a broader mandate/learn more different HR stuff (pardon the technical terminology). Emily is on an important path of professional and personal development. I left her with a couple books I was carrying with me - my favourite Tao book and Embers, my favourite book of meditations by Richard Wagamese. I know these books are trusted companions for Emily's journey as they have been for me. We are now connected through WhatsApp and took the time to update each other on our respective journeys. Like I say, I am very blessed on this trip so far. 

Sample Safari Truck

I think the following photos reflect the safari's success. I wanted to see elephants and leopards, and I saw one of each. Mission accomplished. 

Deer

Peacock

TBD

Elephant

TBD

Eagle - I think

Leopard

Owl

Meet Roshan - Resort owner

Tuesday was travel day to Jaffna. Roshan was critical in my travel plans. I had booked a seat on the Super Luxury bus (like a Greyhound bus with air conditioning w/o a washroom) to Jaffna that was scheduled to stop in Anuradhapura. Roshan conducted the bus company to organize a stop about four km from the Resort. He was given the bus conductor's (ticket taker/baggage handler) phone number so we could confirm when the bus would arrive at our stop. His efforts saved me the time, effort and expense of traveling back to Anuradhapura to catch the same bus.

Jaffna

The bus trip to Jaffna, the northern most point in my travels, was about 5 hours. This city is my first visit in Sri Lanka where the majority of inhabitants would be Tamil. Jaffna was an interesting destination as many Sri Lankans were unfamiliar with the city.  The 30 year civil war that ended in 2009 prevented internal travel to Jaffna. Many parts of the island nation seemed like parts of another country to the locals because of the war. 

My bus companion was returning to Jaffna from England after a ten year absence. He mentioned there were approximately 500,000 Sri Lankan soldiers (unverified) in Jaffna and the surrounding area. I can attest to the multiple military bases on the way to the city. I got the impression through our discussion that there remained an underlying tension in this region. 

My home for the next three nights was the GateTrees Hotel, a 600 rupee Tuk Tuk ride from the bus station. This is the hotel where I learned the difference between a budget room and a regular room. Unbeknownst to me, I had booked the budget room. I was taken up an old spiral staircase and shown a room and accompanying bathroom that was both spartan and basic - somewhat at odds to what appeared to be displayed through Booking.com. The offer was to pay more for a more comfortable room - simply a no brainer given the contrast in comfort. Another example of a disconcerting start to my stay. Embrace the moment. All turned out ok in the end with the better room and the hospitality I was afforded.

I toured Jaffna's three of the top tourist destinations - Jaffna Fort; Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil (Hindu Shrine) and the elegant ruins of King Sangiliyan's Ministers. I missed out on the Public Library which has a special place in Sri Lankan's hearts. There is a Public Library in Colombo that I also missed. I've included photos from each site. I also discovered Jaffna's premier ice cream outlet - Rio's Ice Cream. Simply divine. Apparently I missed out on the real Rio's ice cream treat - the sizzling ice cream option - according to the Australian couple (Tamil) staying at the hotel. 

Jaffna Fort

Jaffna Fort

Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil

Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil

King Sangiliyan's Ministers ruins

Jaffna Fire Station

Heaven on earth

The heat and humidity continue to be challenging. I now carry an extra set of clothes because I am drenched in sweat within 30 minutes irrespective of my pace. The daily temperature is low 30's (Celsius) by 9 am with the UVs typically reaching 11 or 12 by 11 am. I also found Jaffna much more reserved. People were slow to respond if I smiled, if they smiled at all. Unfortunately the parts of the city I visited seemed dirty with trash everywhere. Conversely, everyone I met seemed to be delighted when I shared the two Tamil words I learned - how to say hello (Vanakkam) and thank you (Nundrii). Many locals would say - those are Tamil words. Certainly reinforced the benefit of making a little effort to learn a few key words - a key tip my Sri Pada train companion, TK, suggested. Definite blessing that many people had a working command of English. 

As with everywhere I've traveled in Sri Lanka, I've been afforded the kindest and most generous assistance by random people I've met. I belatedly secured a Sri Lankan SIM card while in Jaffna. The agent that helped me was English speaking, explained the options I had and set up my phone account completely without any effort on my part. I got 30 GB of data plus unlimited use of WhatsApp, Facebook and YouTube for a month for about $9. The hotel owner, Karuna, and his staff were equally helpful. Karuna suggested I avoid the local laundry, providing suggestions on what I might do myself. He contacted a friend to confirm where I needed to go for my SIM card, shared a local alcoholic beverage with me and secured a taxi, at a competitive price, to travel to Trincomalee, my next destination when the bus I was booked on was canceled. Uber is available in Sri Lanka, so the app provides a good estimate of what a 'reasonable' price might be.  

I met a couple at the hotel who were visiting Jaffna after a 46 year absence; had moved to Paris in their late teens. Hard to fathom what an experience like this couple might be having as they reacquaint themselves with their country and their previous neighours and friends. 

As I mentioned earlier, my bus to Trincomalee was canceled on the morning I was to travel. Presented a couple challenges - 1) How was I going to get to my destination - a 4.5 hour drive away? and 2) How was I going to get the ticket refund when the agency only credited local bank accounts. Luckily, Karuna found a taxi driver, with an air conditioned car, to drive me within ten minutes. I was on my way to Trinco within an hour so I was on the road by 11 am. Challenge #2 was solved by asking my Sri Lankan guardian angel, Lakshi, if she was willing to have the money deposited into her account. I was more fussed finding a way to avoid the ticket agency retaining the funds than the small amount of money involved. Again, the universe was benevolent with Lakshi agreeing to make her bank account available. Apparently it is ok to deposit funds into an account that is different from the original ticket purchaser which worked just fine for me.

The only highlight on the drive to Trincomalee was that a warning light and alarm came on about 2/3 of the way to our destination. The contingency planning brain cells automatically kicked in; just seemed if we needed to stop we had limited options. All the contingency thinking was unnecessary as we arrived at my destination without any trouble. And safely we arrived at the Golden Beaches Resort. 

Trincomalee (Trinco)

It's now the afternoon of Friday, May 12. I am now at the first of three beaches on my trip's Sri Lanka East Coast beach tour. The plan is to visit the beaches at Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Arugam Bay.  The plan also calls for staying at beachfront accommodations if at all possible. How long I stay at each beach depends on the experience I'm having. 

Sadly, Golden Beaches hotel was significantly underwhelming. I continue to learn how Booking.com descriptions, photos and reviews can be both subjective and misleading. The place was rated 8+ - superior by previous guests. Made me wonder what were they thinking when providing their feedback. I'd booked a family room along with daily breakfast. The room and private washroom were clean thank goodness. A/C worked. The words basic and spartan again entered my vocabulary; low on the value for money dimension. The key highlight was the one minute walk from the beach so met that key criterion. The two key employees left me with this uneasy feeling. 

First order of business was getting a kettle which was readily supplied; getting two tea cups was a greater challenge for some reason taking a few additional hours and follow-up. Second order of business was scanning Booking.com for an alternative place to stay after my 3 day stay at Golden Beaches ended. I found the Blue Sand Beach Resort a short distance away and visited the hotel in person that evening. I made a reservation once I saw the room and saw what the hotel was like. I had everything I wanted to be comfortable - all at the same price. More to come next week.

Breakfast was equally underwhelming. I was presented with western breakfast on the first morning - omelette, three slices of white toast, butter and a spread. Fruit plate was also included. Did get a Sri Lankan breakfast the next day upon request, however it was back to the omelette on the last day. 

Beach, which is about six kilometres long, was a study in contrasts. The beach around where I was staying, where a number of hotels were located (north end of beach), were clean (and cleaned everyday). As you walked down the beach towards the main townsite, the beaches had all sorts of trash strewn about. The beach was also filled with fishing boats that remained on the beach during my stay. During one of my walks, a small boy came to the beach with household trash and dumped it on the beach while he greeted me. 

What is keenly interesting on the beach is watching the local fishermen at work. They take a net out in the water and then, as a team, pull the net back into land gathering fish in the net as they pull it in. This work starts about 6 am and can go on for most of the morning. Think about the temperature reaching 36C and the UV hitting 12 while these men are playing tug of war with the net. One morning there was about six different 'teams' pulling their respective nets into land. I was even invited to join one group. 

My daily routine is be on the beach at 5:45 am for my morning 6 km walk. The second objective is to capture a sunrise photo to start my day.  The beach is a beautiful fine sand that gets very hot as the day progresses.  

Our Lady of Guadeloupe Catholic Church

Banking Update

Still waiting for my BNS business debit card. The following has happened:

1. Had a call with the Scotia Connect team member to confirm my requirements. A legal agreement needs to be drafted and sent for my electronic signature. 
2. DHL had an issue trying to deliver the card; I shared the DHL Express delivery confirmation that I had from the TD debit card package to assist their next delivery attempt.
3. Received an email from the Escalated Concerns manager confirming this is an instance she can assist with. I presume the previous week's call from the Private Banker was initiated from my email.

I am now intentionally slowing the pace of my travel. My 'touristy' visits are over. It's time to enjoy the sand, swimming, sound of the surf and walking the beach. Please expect many more sunrise photos in the weeks ahead. I'll also highlight what I'm learning along the way; like the gift of regular contact with my family and friends in North America. 

See you in next week's post!