Sri Lanka Sri Lanka is the first new country I have experienced in a while. Coming off of my three month annual stay in Chiang Mai I looked to see what countries I could explore on my way back to Cape Town at the end of February 2019. Sri Lanka, Oman and Rwanda came up and had been on my list for a long time. I decided I would have an adventure in all three countries, and boy was it an adventure! I knew nothing about Sri Lanka but I made the assumption that it would be like a mini version of India, sitting just off the coast of India. Well let me tell you I was wrong; not too far off but definitely wrong. Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) is a small island south of India surrounded by the Indian Ocean. It was called Ceylon (think Ceylon tea) until 1972 when the name was changed to Sri Lanka. It’s population is about 21.44 million and the land is about ten times smaller than Texas. The majority of Sri Lankans are Buddhists. At first glance it is obvious that Sri Lanka has a shared history with India that can not be denied. However, from observation and info derived from talking to locals, Sri Lanka is said to have a better infrastructure, is cleaner, has higher living standards, better education and healthcare. The literacy rate in Sri Lanka is higher than in India. There are three main languages in Sri Lanka, two whose roots are in India. India has 22 official languages, but hundreds of unofficial languages. Two things India and Sri Lanka have in common is their love of cricket and the existence of the caste system. While the caste system is slowly fading away in India, it still exists. However, according to locals and  info I have read, the caste system is almost non-existent in Sri Lanka. After a night at the airport hotel I caught a bus to the train station in Colombo. I arrived to find that tickets to Kandy in the first and second class were sold out. I went into autopilot mode. Call my hotel in Kandy and cancel the first night. Check. Find the nearest four star hotel. Check. Figure out if I can walk or need to get a taxi to my hotel. I will walk. Check. Completed in under fifteen minutes. I am getting slow. Hahahahaha!  When traveling like I do you have to have the patience of Job, nerves of steel and a positive outlook. Nothing will defeat me and God is good. That mantra gets me through a lot! Overall I found getting around Sri Lanka to be difficult unless you hire a private driver. The train that left me stranded in Colombo, but I caught it the next day. This is Kandy Lake which I had the pleasure of walking around every day to get into the city. Loved this lake. If I had a lake to walk around I would walk every day. Okay we know that’s an exaggeration but I would certainly walk more. Kandy The next day the train ride to Kandy was nice but highly exaggerated based on reviews I read. Maybe I am a bit jaded (we’ve had that discussion before) or I was just stretched from the events of the previous day. I did enjoy Kandy. I stayed in an empty Bed and Breakfast that reminded me of the time in Spain where I ran out of the hotel where I was the only guest, because I knew Chucky would be after me. The Kandy property did come with a caretaker who was on site 24 hours. Now think of all the caretakers in all of the horror movies you have ever seen. Now roll them up into one and you will have the caretaker at my bed and breakfast. The house was really nice and the caretaker had a limp from a recent accident with his foot and could barely walk. I could take him in a fight if I had to (ahh the mind of a solo traveler) so I slept well and enjoyed my stay. Of course the caretaker turned out to be a very nice guy. Kandy Lake is a beautiful lake in the center of the city.  It is surround by restaurants, homes and the most popular museum in the city, the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic.  A few days is all that is required in this town. I spent a lot of time walking around the lake in order to get to the city. I looked forward to the scenic walk every day. If you are not visiting the tea plantations outside of the city, a car or taxi is not needed. Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) is known for its tea, especially Ceylon Tea. So tourism in this area is centered around tea and tea plantations. I have to admit the best milk tea I ever had was in Sri Lanka. Ceylon Tea made as strong as possible and add a splash of hot milk is the best thing next to a good cup of coffee. OMG the stuff is good. I bought the best grade of tea possible and now can make the same on the road. I didn’t go to a tea plantation but did go to the factory and had a great lesson on tea, the various grades of tea and how the tea is processed.Then of course they tried to sell me overpriced tea, which I bought it. Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic The Temple of the Sacred Tooth houses Sri Lanka’s most important Buddhist relic. A tooth, said to be one of Buddha’s is housed in the temple. No one really gets to see it and the room where it is housed is guarded heavily. It is kept in a gold casket shaped vessel which contains a series of six dagoba caskets of diminishing size like the Russian petroika dolls. The complex is huge. There are  shrines, temples and museums throughout the massive complex. Plan on at least a half day or more. There were lots of tourists and Buddha worshipers as well as monks from near and far. I am always dressed  appropriately to go into a temple. What I was not prepared for was the amount of spaces in the complex that did not allow shoes. It was hot as hell and a couple of times I thought I would get burns on my feet. Bring socks if you plan to go to the Temple of the Relic Tooth. Bahiravokanda Vihara Buddha Statue . Bahiravokanda Vihara Buddha Statue The white statue displays Buddha in the seated Nirvana pose and can be seen from the entire city, but is most spectacular at night. It stands at 88 feet in height and is one of the biggest Buddha statues in Sri Lanka. Kandy Muslim Hotel – This is the most popular restaurant in Kandy and no it is not a hotel. By the way, the word hotel in Sri Lanka means hotel, but it also means restaurant. You have to make sure you are going to a place where food is served before you plan a visit to a restaurant. What KMH is famous for is the kotthu rotti chopped with meat and vegetables, flavored in a variety of ways. Delicious! They also serve samosas and curries. The smell is absolutely lovely. More Pictures of Kandy Galle Fort Galle Fort While I thoroughly enjoyed Kandy and my daily walk around Kandy Lake, Galle Fort turned out to be my favorite Sri Lankan town. I took the train from Kandy to Galle Fort. Built on the Bay of Galle it was first constructed by the Dutch in 1588 and later fortified by the Portuguese. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site so another UNESCO box ticked off my list. Perched in the middle of the ocean it was a busy port for trading with some of the most powerful countries back then. The Portuguese built the first fort and through the years fortified and added on to it. Initially they had the approval of the local king, then things went south as they usually do with colonizers. Ha! Then the Dutch came in with about 2500 men and captured the fort. Imagine that fighting over land that neither owned. Hmmmmm. The king was very happy to get rid of the Portuguese, and as a thank you to the Dutch helped to rebuild the fort.Then the Dutch lost Galle Fort to the British in 1796. After 150 years of British rule Sri Lanka became an independent nation in 1948 but didn’t adopt the name Sri Lanka until 1976. In Galle Fort the structures are definitely colonial and European. Unfortunately I did not go further in country to get a feel of the life and architecture of the indigenous people. It’s a small island so I suppose I would see some of the same. The Fake Stilt Fishermen of Weligama. Don’t waste your time! The Stilt Fishermen of Weligama Every now and then I do something so touristy it jolts me back to the reality that yes, in fact, I am a tourist. Even though I rarely feel or act like it, I have my moments. My jaunt outside the city was one of those moments. I don’t usually indulge in tours or anything touristy for that matter. But I have always been intrigued with the stilt fishermen. I hired a private driver and ended up enjoying the ride more than the fishermen.  Not as ancient as most people think, it started during the second World War when food shortages and competition for fishing spots grew. A group of fishermen decided to venture out beyond the shore in the coral reefs, building wooden crucifix like structures to sit upon and fish. It is physically demanding job with little return. This fishing method is dying out because the younger and stronger men have moved on to more lucrative jobs such as farming and jobs in the city.  Because of the mass exodus of fisherman, what is left is a dog and pony show for tourists. Not many people fish like this today. On arrival there were no fishermen in sight, the stilts were abandoned and sitting sturdily in the water. I gave the tour guide the equivalent of five US dollars in rupees which he quickly turned over to a man who was clearly the leader of the group. The second the money exchanged hands three men grabbed their poles, ran into the water and perched themselves atop the stilts. The hilarious part was they had no lines on the poles and didn’t even pretend to fish. It was so funny I couldn’t get mad. Man was I duped. They just sat there talking to each other with poles in their hands making no attempt to angle the poles in a fishing position. I was hoodwinked, bamboozled, surely cheated. This is not the type of cultural exchange I am used to and totally the reason I stay away from tours and tourists. I like to blend in with the locals even when I stick out like a sore thumb. I do not blame the fake fishermen, they have to make a living. But I was surely disappointed. More Pictures of Galle Fort Thought I was in Mexico This is a mural on  the wall of an ice cream parlor in Galle Fort. The owner was Sri Lankan and visited Mexico, totally embraced the tradition of the Day of the Dead celebration. This is his homage to Mexico. He also had a framed picture of Frida Kahlo. Frida is everywhere. Cool! Beautiful Architecture Although very European, I did enjoy the architecture of Galle Fort. If you didn’t know you were in Sri Lanka, you would think you were in an old colonial town in Europe. Galle Fort was a very walk-able town. This is the Dutch Reformed Church. The Japanese Peace Pagoda overlooks Galle Bay Below is the lighthouse at the fort perched along the very thick wall that surrounds the town. Venturing out early, finding a quiet spot on the wall to watch the sunset was my favorite thing to do in Galle Fort. Unfortunately it was the favorite thing for many others! Also you see a beautiful tree as I walk the wall around the city (you know I love trees), my hotel, Calorie restaurant, my healthy eating spot in the fort, and those pesky little stilt fishermen behind me, fake fishing. Hahaha! Watching the sunset will never get old. It’s different every day Stay safe. Be happy. Follow your joy. Stay safe. Be happy. Follow the joy.