We went to Sri Lanka in a very original way. Sitting in the rainy Indonesian Berastagi we could not decide where we go from here - Malaysia? Thailand? Philippines? As happens with us in difficult situations when you feel that the situation is out of control and it is unclear what to do next, we threw a coin. Written out on a piece of paper all the country and began a harsh competition of several rounds! :) Sri Lanka emerged victorious. We looked at the overall information and .... bought tickets! Visas cost $ 30 per person, made it online. We flew Air Asia company, Medan-Colombo, with a transit in Kuala Lumpur. The first flight was at 4 a.m, so we had to spend the night at the airport ...
Have declared your chainsaw and nuclear waste?
Sleep on the benches in empty Medan airport for departure we were awakened ... KL, transit, again flying .... first encounter with Sri and huge waves from the window ....
Took the money (finally without problems with visa card!) at the airport, terribly tired headed for the buses (taxis in Lanka terribly expensive) for Rs 100 per person arrived at the main bus station of Colombo, the trip took 1-1.5 hours. According to some reviews on the forums, it was decided to go to Unawatuna, users have promised a peaceful and affordable place ... But first, about the bus. As it turned out, there are two types of buses - running along the coast and going on the highway. TAKE HIGHWAY! We, however, did not know about difference, so sat on the bus (Colombo-Matara) without food and water, the crowd pressed local riding along the coast for at least 5 hours (for reference - the bus on the highway is 1.5 hours). As these drivers drive - a separate issue! Honking loudly so after a couple of hours lays the ears completely, inhibit sharply, flied out to oncoming, dong crazy things ... In general, the trip was emotionally intense, especially after the two flights)))
In Unawatuna we were at 7 pm ... In the dark, exhausted by moving lasting more than a day, we went to look for hotel ... Imagine our shock when in 5 hotels in a row, we called the price of not less than $ 50! But fate favored us, and soon we found hotel 1,200 rupees ($ 10) and collapsed into bed ...
Unawatuna we did not like. Prices in the cafe inadequately inflated (a portion of rice 450 rupees), a lot of people, expensive hotels, no shops. Clarify the situation itself, we again threw a coin and went to Mirissa. Mirissa is a 30-minute bus ride along the coast. At the bus stop Tucker, inquiring about the price at which we are looking for a hotel, absolutely free of charge took us to a nice place.
We rented a room at this nice family for 1000 rupees a day, we were allowed to use their kitchen, although it was a bit annoying - as soon as I go into the kitchen, the hostess began to scurry back and forth, helping, prompting, etc. I think both of us it was not so..))) The day after our arrival in Mirissa, April 14 (as well as in Thailand) had a New Year's))) We met him for the third time this year (even had our 31th December and the Chinese February 18). In Sri Lanka, the new year begins on April 14 at 14.00 the day and we witnessed an interesting tradition - our family in the house lit a fire and boiled it in a pot milk, to attract good luck. They say that doing it not only for the New Year, but also on other holidays, a wedding, new home ... A pot of milk after boiling discarded.
I wonder the same traditional food - cooked very uncomfortable, taste - very bold, but it is a tradition ...
After a ritual bonfire we was invite for lunch. We ate, alcohol on the table was not at all.
On this New Year is over, but sometimes could hear the sounds of exploding firecrackers. We thanked our kind hosts and went for a walk. Here are some pictures of neighborhoods:
We met a lot of animals: peacocks scared, caught hermit crab and enjoy huge bats.
In the next post I will talk about the piercing on the ocean beach, and how to live in Sri Lanka cheap!
