දකුණෙ උන් කියපල්ල බලන්න මේවා ඇත්තද?
Sri Lanka Trip Report - Surprisingly disappointing
First of all, I am a digital nomad. My experience is based on having a homebase on the south coast and making trips from there. So slightly different than a regular tourist trip. In total I have spend 3 1/2 months in the country.
You should also know that I have lived in South-East-Asia for some years and travelled extensively around the region including. It's wrong but I think I somehow compare Sri Lanka to these countries which might also explain why I didn't like my stay here too much.
First of all the good things.
* I have been impressed by Sigiriya. The rock is amazing. The surrounding nature is just as amazing. I will always remember it.
* I have also liked the hilly areas surrouding Nuwara Eliya, Ella and Hutton. The tea plantations are amazing and great for hikind. So many fantastic view points and places to visit.
* I also loved Mihintale Mountain. Climbed it during sundown and it was an amazing view almost as great of an experience as Sigiriya.
Unfortunately apart from these great experiences I also have a lot of negative things to say about the country.
* Almost all of the pagodas were very underwhelming. Dambulla Cave Pagoda for example was totally meh ... The view was nice but the pagoda itself was nothing special and frankly in Thailand or Myanmar it simply wouldn't be of much interest to tourists or anyone else for that matter. Tooth temple in Kandy as well. If you have been to places like Shwedagon Pagoda it's hard to feel excited about it. It lacks the same flair Buddhist pagodas in SEA have.
* The food. Sri Lankan food is quite good. But there is a huge problem. It's so repetitive. The local eating culture is centered on eating at home so there are very few restaurants and almost no street food. I hate this aspect about the country. One of the best things about other Asian countries is the lively streets, nightmarkets, restaurants etc. but in SL it's just non-existant and everyone just seems to eat at home.
* Behaviour of local men is scary. I heard so many reports of harassment, rape, public masturbation, starring. Many people here seem like they have broken out of an insane asylum. Not sure what it is but especially here in the south at the beach there are so many people that definitely aren't "right" psychologically.
* Beaches are totally overcrowded since December 2021. Hordes of russians. The beach I am staying at changed from peaceful to Benidorm in a few weeks. Places like Mirissa, Unawatuna, Hikkaduwa etc. are hell. The traffic is insane.
* Traffic. Worst drivers I have ever seen. The buses are total lunatics. Most of them drive under the influence of alcohol or amphetamines. The main highway in the south leads right along the beach. All the beach towns suffer from this. Destroy any peaceful, tropical vibe. Absoluty awful.
* Accomodation options are overpriced and lacking in quality compared to SE Asia. Service in restaurants, shops etc. is awful. No one even manages to say hello, good bye, thanks etc.
My recommendation if planning to come here is to only visit the central areas. Sigiriya, Mihintale and the train ride to Ella are amazing and shouldn't be missed.
I can't commend on the east coast as I haven't been there at all. Maybe it's better than the south and would have been more suitable to my preferences.
To be fair: Sri Lanka is also going through extreme economic hardship at the moment.
Sri Lanka Trip Report - Surprisingly disappointing
First of all, I am a digital nomad. My experience is based on having a homebase on the south coast and making trips from there. So slightly different than a regular tourist trip. In total I have spend 3 1/2 months in the country.
You should also know that I have lived in South-East-Asia for some years and travelled extensively around the region including. It's wrong but I think I somehow compare Sri Lanka to these countries which might also explain why I didn't like my stay here too much.
First of all the good things.
* I have been impressed by Sigiriya. The rock is amazing. The surrounding nature is just as amazing. I will always remember it.
* I have also liked the hilly areas surrouding Nuwara Eliya, Ella and Hutton. The tea plantations are amazing and great for hikind. So many fantastic view points and places to visit.
* I also loved Mihintale Mountain. Climbed it during sundown and it was an amazing view almost as great of an experience as Sigiriya.
Unfortunately apart from these great experiences I also have a lot of negative things to say about the country.
* Almost all of the pagodas were very underwhelming. Dambulla Cave Pagoda for example was totally meh ... The view was nice but the pagoda itself was nothing special and frankly in Thailand or Myanmar it simply wouldn't be of much interest to tourists or anyone else for that matter. Tooth temple in Kandy as well. If you have been to places like Shwedagon Pagoda it's hard to feel excited about it. It lacks the same flair Buddhist pagodas in SEA have.
* The food. Sri Lankan food is quite good. But there is a huge problem. It's so repetitive. The local eating culture is centered on eating at home so there are very few restaurants and almost no street food. I hate this aspect about the country. One of the best things about other Asian countries is the lively streets, nightmarkets, restaurants etc. but in SL it's just non-existant and everyone just seems to eat at home.
* Behaviour of local men is scary. I heard so many reports of harassment, rape, public masturbation, starring. Many people here seem like they have broken out of an insane asylum. Not sure what it is but especially here in the south at the beach there are so many people that definitely aren't "right" psychologically.
* Beaches are totally overcrowded since December 2021. Hordes of russians. The beach I am staying at changed from peaceful to Benidorm in a few weeks. Places like Mirissa, Unawatuna, Hikkaduwa etc. are hell. The traffic is insane.
* Traffic. Worst drivers I have ever seen. The buses are total lunatics. Most of them drive under the influence of alcohol or amphetamines. The main highway in the south leads right along the beach. All the beach towns suffer from this. Destroy any peaceful, tropical vibe. Absoluty awful.
* Accomodation options are overpriced and lacking in quality compared to SE Asia. Service in restaurants, shops etc. is awful. No one even manages to say hello, good bye, thanks etc.
My recommendation if planning to come here is to only visit the central areas. Sigiriya, Mihintale and the train ride to Ella are amazing and shouldn't be missed.
I can't commend on the east coast as I haven't been there at all. Maybe it's better than the south and would have been more suitable to my preferences.
To be fair: Sri Lanka is also going through extreme economic hardship at the moment.
. නැගෙනහිර ජනගහණය අඩුයි. ක්රව්ඩඩ් බීච් අඩුයි. පිස්සොත් සාපේක්ෂව ඒ නිසා අඩුයි. දකණ සිංහලුන්ට දීල ටුවරිස්ට්ල යවන්න ඕනෙ නැගෙනහිර. නැගෙනහිර ඇල්ල වගේ වෙනම ටුවරිස්ට් කල්චර් එකක් ජනගහණය අඩු නැගෙනහිර හදන්න ලේසියි. දකුණෙ බෑ.
