Tuk-tuk sir?
After another whirlwind return to the US of A, I am back halfway across the world in Sri Lanka! This country, located just off the southeastern tip of India, is referred to as the “jewel of the Indian Ocean” with good reason. It really has it all — beautiful beaches, verdant highlands, and incredible biodiversity.
For the first time on my trip, I have been joined by three friends: Jordan, Eric, and yet another Sam. We met and became close living in San Francisco, and all spent quality time surfing together in the Bay Area. Sri Lanka is renowned for having some of the best surfing in the world, so when I proposed this trip they jumped at the chance.
After another carousel of flights through Germany and Poland, I arrived at Sri Lanka’s capital city of Colombo. I had a full day until the rest of the crew arrived, so I made a new friend at my hostel and the two of us set out for some sightseeing. People mainly get around Colombo via city bus or tuk-tuk. These are small, three-wheeled vehicles that veer recklessly in and out of traffic, and it seems like there are more of them than people in Colombo. Walking down the street, you are accosted to hire one every five minutes.
After wandering through the insanity of the Pettah Market, we escaped the chaos by stopping at a small local restaurant for dosas. We then made our way over to one of the most unique temples I’ve ever visited, Sri Kaliawasanathan Temple. The hundreds of figures peer down at you as you peer back up at them.
We also couldn’t help but check out the Lotus Tower, Colombo’s newest and biggest building. It opens to the public this coming January and will feature shopping, restaurants and hotels. Just look at this thing!
That evening, I wandered out into the streets of Colombo for some dinner. I had a traditional Sri Lankan curry with rice, but for an extra challenge I attempted eating it the local way — with my right hand! It went…fine. Needed a shower after. I’m hoping I’ll get more practice at this in India as well.
The following morning, my friends finally arrived! We spent the day checking out some more temples, then downloaded the local version of Uber (called PickMe) to grab a ride down to the southern province.
The southern coast is mile after mile of small, relaxing beach towns. We spent a few days staying and surfing in Weligama. Nearby Mirissa is a larger town with more bars and restaurants, but the Weligama break is almost perfect for beginner to intermediate surfers, and we wanted the convenience of walking right down to the beach.
I can’t emphasize enough how nice it is to surf here: the water was warm, so no need for a wetsuit. The beach was completely sand bottomed, not even a stray rock or two let alone reef, so very forgiving for the many tumbles we took. The paddle out is short and easy. The waves are quite hollow yet steep, so they don’t slam you around too much but give you great practice at dropping in. Different parts of the beach ramp up the wave height and power, so you can easily slide up and down based on experience level. In short, it’s pretty much the opposite of everything I found frustrating on surfing at Pacifica, our usual go-to spot in Northern California. I hardly took any pictures as we spent three days riding giants, playing cards, and drinking Lion beers / espresso martinis.
Our sore bodies needed a rest from surfing, so we decided to make a trip northeast to Udawalawe National Park. It was a pretty long drive, so we stayed at a nearby jungle homestay the evening prior to our safari. The manager/chef/concierge/custodian, Patrick, was the man. His method of shooing away stray dogs, by taking a running start, fake kicking at them, and yelling “GUH” became a recurring joke for the rest of our trip.
We encountered our first Sri Lankan elephant within two minutes of entering the park the following morning. The rest of the day, we proceeded to see maybe 30 more! One notable encounter involved an finding an elephant facing an electric fence. After gingerly testing the fence with its trunk, it promptly walked over to one of wooden support poles and flattened it with a single step. Jailbreak! Our driver told us it would be making its way to the nearby farms for a feast of bananas and mangoes until it gets caught and is sent back.
Elephants weren’t the only animals we found. There were water buffalo, rhesus monkeys, crocodiles, hornbills, colorful bee-eater birds, turtles, monitor lizards, and about a hundred peacocks strutting around.
Another hilarious encounter involved introducing our driver and his friends to the Juul 😃. After a full five hours of safari, we returned back to the homestay for a late breakfast and to say goodbye to Patrick. Eric and Jordan only had a week vacation, so we decided to head back to the south coast to squeeze another few in another few days of surfing.
Our first evening back, we headed to the famous “Doctor’s House” for their first official party of the season. This is a hostel built out of an old Dutch hospital right on the water. It’s a beautiful location, and their live music, drinks, and food made this one of our most fun nights. At the end of the evening, just when we thought we were going to bed, we ran into a jam session in our hotel lobby, so of course we sat down and played some tunes with the crew. Jordan and I harmonized off-the-cuff on a few songs, and at least to my sauced ears we sounded pretty good!
Having sent a drunken Eric in a 2.5 hour cab to the airport by himself the previous evening, Sam, Jordan and I decided to take a day off from surfing and check out some of the sights of the southern coast. We visited the Dondra Head Lighthouse, the southernmost point of Sri Lanka, as well as a nearby temple and “coconut tree hill” which was pretty but really just an instagram spot.
The following day was to be Jordan’s last, so we had one more surf session before putting him in a cab.
After that, it was time Sam and I (the Sams) made our way up north into the highlands. Our base of operations for the next three days was Ella, a small mountain town catering to the nearby sights and attractions. The main strip has got a little bit of a Gili T vibe to it — restaurants and bars offering live music covering popular American songs, pizza, and cocktails. That’s not to say it’s not fun, just not exactly a cultural experience if you’re here for that sort of thing.
That first day, Sam and I hired a tuk-tuk for the day so we could hit all of Ella’s nearby attractions. We visited the famous Nine Arch Bridge, a beautiful train bridge with sloping stone arches down to the river below. Apparently it’s fun and cool to be there when the train rolls through, but we wouldn’t know that, because Sri Lanka timetables are completely unreliable and we missed the train! Still a pretty great view though.
We also sweated our way through the climb to Little Adam’s Peak, a viewpoint with sweeping views of the mountains and surrounding tea country. We closed out the day with a visit to Ravana Falls, at which I promptly slipped and fell into the water.
I couldn’t have been more excited for the following day: it was time for us to catch our first train ride. Sri Lanka is famous for having one of the most beautiful train rides in the world, between the cities of Ella and Kandy. We elected to do a short round-trip between Ella and Haputale, about 1/6 of the total journey, to visit the Lipton tea estate. I’m happy to report the train ride did not disappoint. The rickety yet charming blue trains feature doors in 2nd and 3rd class that remain wide open throughout the journey, providing an opportunity for risky photos.
Upon arrival, Sam and I grabbed a tuk-tuk for the day and started up the long and winding road to “Lipton’s Seat.” This is a viewpoint from the highest point of the sprawling tea plantation, providing views on clear days all the way to the ocean, from which the famous Scottish tea baron Sir Thomas Lipton used to surveil his domain.
Along the way, we stopped at the Dambetenna Tea Factory for a close-up tour on how tea goes from leaf to cup. It is housed in the original facilities built in 1890, and the equipment inside looks pretty aged, so the whole experience had a bit of a Willy Wonka vibe to it.
After a return train trip back to Ella, Sam and I geared up for our Sri Lankan cooking class. We prepared four different curries and a coconut roti. Let me know if you want the recipe!
