Colombo, Habarana. Sri Lanka Part One

Coming from NZ we probably knew more about Sri Lanka’s cricket team than the country itself, however a work trip for Matt 2 years ago changed all that. For him the city & people of Colombo (Sri Lanka’s capital) captivated him, planting a seed with a desire to explore further and spend time embracing the culture and its people.

Just like the other Asian cities we have visited, Colombo is a bustling city and hot! There are many new office and hotels buildings being constructed, traffic is chaotic however this time there are less scooters and more TukTuks! They are however a cheap and efficient way to travel in a busy city & we proved once again it is possible to squeeze a family of five in one TukTuk, oh and one driver even let Charlotte & Bede Drive! Many locals choose to use the many commuter trains, crammed in like sardines and hanging on for dear life out the door, Matt wanted to take the train from our accommodation in Wellawatta to Colombo Fort Station in the city centre, thankfully a ticket purchase wasn’t that straight forward and we were spared the experience, for now!

With Colombo lying on the west coast we were able to walk along the beach in the Mt Lavinia district enjoying the warm sea water at our feet, sunset, dinner at a restaurant on the beach and some late night crab spotting using iPhones as light!

Already we have sampled many of the local cuisines, including fish rolls which are deep fried like a spring roll but soft with a fair amount of chilly! Curries and rice are served everywhere and the children jumped at the chance to eat like locals using their fingers, Nana would’ve cringed! I think they had the most fun when we ate chilly grab, donning our “bibs” and armed with metal claws to crack open the crab they enjoyed that more than the crab itself.

While in Colombo we also had the opportunity to meet Child Fund Sri Lanka’s National Director to discuss the impending visit to our sponsored child as well as the Technology Centre at Irudducholaimau Vishnu School in Manmunai West and potential future projects in Battilcaloa. All the staff we met at Childfund were so incredibly friendly and welcoming to us. The purpose of our trip is getting nearer and we are really looking forward to being there in person at last.

An early start saw us arrive at Colombo Fort Station at 5:30am, despite our prebooked taxi not turning up, thankfully were able to find a ride from a man living in his van in a neighbouring street! It was surprising how busy the station and CBD was at this time. We had prebooked our train tickets which ensured we had seats for the 6 hour journey ahead. We had been told to take along our own snacks however vendors jumped on board between stations selling a range of food including fish rolls, sliced mango, cold drinks even popcorn! There is much to see on the way, we even saw an old derailed train, left in place to rust and become part of the jungle. The train had no doors and opening windows which the children hung out of like dogs out a car window – freaked Mum out just a bit!

Our Arrival at Habarana made us feel like we were in the middle of nowhere, thankfully a short tuk tuk (three in fact for the 5 of us plus luggage) ride later we realised we were in a bustling village.

Habarana is on the main route heading east and a great base for easy access to major tourist attractions and safaris. Almost as soon as we were settled at our accommodation we were picked up by a Jeep to go Elephant spotting, our fabulous guide Asanka (who we later discovered was also a chef at our accommodation) took us 22km away to Kaudulla National Park, he had told us that some of the other parks didn’t have many Elephants today but this one did, and he did not disappoint. We witnessed more than 300 Elephants in their natural environment, we could get quite close, while leaving the jeep running in case the Elephants were not so happy about our presence. The mothers are very protective of their babies, if they sense they are in any danger (which of course they weren’t) they prepare to attack. We were captivated by these remarkable creatures, watching them curl there trunks like a corkscrew to pick grass for eating but also to throw over their backs if the insects or birds were bothering them. They were so content whether munching grass, bathing in the water or playing games in the nearby jungle stomping through the bushes. If you watched one long enough they look like they are giving you a smile! A special memory that will stay with us forever.

Our second day in Habarana, we ventured to Sigiriya and Dambulla. First stop the ancient city of Sigiriya. Home to the Unesco World heritage site of Lion Rock, it is unable to be missed from the vast flat landscape that surrounds it. The Lion rock is a former residence for King Kashyapa, built over 1500 years ago it is now a site of ruins with foundations still present showing the locations of his two (yes two) palaces and surrounding water gardens and swimming pools. One on the flat for use during the dry season and one on top of lion rock for use during the wet season. To view the one on top of Lion Rock we had to climb 1202 steps & stairs hanging from the cliff side, with monkeys frolicking nearby they were a perfect distraction from the drop below us!  The children did pretty well, with encouragement from our guide there weren’t as many grizzles as there would have been if it was just Mum & Dad. The climb was well worth it for the view and to witness the grandness of a structure built so long ago. It was abandoned following the kings death when it was then used as a buddhist monastery until the 14th century.

A short drive away was the township of Dambulla, this is a fairly large township, Matt knew of Dambulla as having one of Sri Lankas well known Cricket stadiums which our driver kindly drove him past, Dambulla is home to another Unesco World Heritage Site, The Golden Temple of Dambulla, also known as the Dambulla Cave Temple. Requiring another hefty but worthwhile climb in hot conditions this Temple is built near the top of another natural rock formation. Approaching the summit of the 160m rock is a rather typical temple entrance but what lies beyond are 5 caves carved from the rock containing over 150 Buddha statues and over 2000 square meters of murals painted and carved onto the ceilings and the walls.

There is so much more to explore in the Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka and there is no doubt that Habarana is a great base to do so but the East Coast is calling and today we have arrived in Trincomalee were we will spend just over a day before heading on to Batticaloa.