Wanderlust in Sri Lanka: Reflections of a Solo Traveler

This blog is going up two weeks after the expected time; there goes my resolution to procrastinate less in 2024. Anywho, 2025 is right around the corner and we know what resolution will make a reappearance.

Worry less though dear reader, I am an earnest journaler (if that’s even a word) and all the details of my trip were highlighted there. At the beginning of this year, I created a travel roadmap. I used colored pens and illustrations and pinned it next to my bed; so far I’ve already visited 80% of the countries on that list so if there’s anything you take away from today’s blog, I hope it’s the importance of buying colored pens. The travel roadmap is just too beautiful. 😊

I took a ten-day trip to Sri Lanka. It may be worth mentioning that Sri Lanka was not on the roadmap I created. After my VISA denial in July, and slight burnout from work, I needed a little break, and what better way to rest and relax than packing and unpacking your life into a backpack every two days or so for a ten-day trip. On 20th September, I boarded my flight with my backpack and a strong will to make the most of my trip. I had taken a solo trip to Azerbaijan at the beginning of the year so this wasn’t my first rodeo; however, much as I hate to admit it, the pre-solo travel jitters still got to me but all in all, we made it, we saw Sri Lanka and we had the time of our life!

I got to Colombo at about 9 am. The Evisa website was down at the moment so I called the embassy in Abu Dhabi and asked for the VISA option for my passport after which I was informed that I could get a VISA on arrival. I checked this before my flight because when you learn a lesson, you learn it well. Always check with the embassy and be sure about the VISA process before booking your flight; and in cases where you need to process a VISA beforehand, get dummy flight bookings just to be on the safe side and you don’t lose a lot of money just in case.

Anyway, we landed in Colombo, headed to Immigration, and minutes later after paying 50 USD, I got a one-month VISA for Sri Lanka. I had been informed that there were bus services that operate within the airport and take you to the city center. However, on checking with the police officers there, I was notified that I’d have to walk to the highway to get them. I was exhausted and opted to get a taxi but 5000 rupees fare later, I started my slow walk to the highway. I checked maps and saw it was just a 14-minute walk and braced myself to begin the walk.

Speaking of Maps and internet connectivity, I got a SIM card at the airport with 20GB of data valid for one month for about 5 USD (I paid 17.65 AED so a little less than 5 dollars actually). There are multiple stands with various service providers. I got a Dialog SIM card and the connectivity was quite good all through the places I visited (Map of the route I took summarized in the picture below).

Now where was I? Oh, the walk to the highway. I was walking to the highway when I found a taxi driver leaving the airport. I asked him to get me to the highway for 500 which he did after which I got a bus to Pettah which was close to where my hostel was located. For the almost 1.5-hour journey, I paid 200 rupees. I know; I also thought he meant 2000 when he asked me for my fare. The blaring of horns was the shrillest I have ever heard. The driving too was something I would get used to during my stay.

I will split the blog into the towns I stayed in just to break the monotony and so I make sure you get value for your time. I know, I’m quite truly a gift to humanity 😊

Colombo

I stayed in Colombo for two nights. The first day was mostly spent getting over my jetlag by taking the longest nap. This however worked out perfectly as that night I went to the club with Leo who was on his last night in Sri Lanka and wanted to explore the nightlife. We were strutting back to the hostel at 3 am Saturday morning so without spilling too much tea, a time was had, friends.

Speaking of hostels, this being my second solo trip and comparing it with my first, I met a lot more people staying in hostels. Of course, at some point, you may get burnout from meeting so many people and reintroducing yourself millions of times. In this case, you can opt to stay in a hotel to recuperate.

Saturday morning, I met Charan who had a day to spare in Colombo and we decided to explore the beautiful city together. In Colombo, we went to Red Mosque (this is more to just take the picture; we didn’t go inside). Also because it was election day that day and a lot of places were closed. After that, we went to the Lotus tower, the Gangaramaya temple, the park which is a walking distance from the temple and which you can access with your temple ticket, the Victoria park, and then ended the day watching the sunset on Galle Face view (if you miss seeing anything else in Colombo, make sure to make time for this one. The sunset was phenomenal).

Some street food later, we were on our way back to the hostel where I packed everything into my backpack and after a nightcap with Yudai, Genya, and Charan, I went to bed.

Sigiriya

To get to Sigiriya, I took a bus from the Pettah bus stop Sunday morning. Due to the elections, tuk-tuks were not operating so I had to walk about 25 minutes to get to the bus stop. Luckily despite the inactivity due to the elections, I was able to catch a bus for 720 rupees to Dambulla. On getting to Dambulla, I waited almost an hour for a bus but after getting none (the difficulty in getting a bus was because of the ongoing election. Or the counting of votes and election results announcement on that specific day. Normally, there are numerous buses to Sigiriya from Dambulla), I got a tuk-tuk which cost me 2000 rupees (so steep compared to the close to nothing prices I was getting used to on buses 😉).

45 minutes later I was at the hostel sipping on my welcome watermelon juice given to me by the hostel staff. After getting checked in and having a quick chat with a lady I met at the hostel, I went to sleep thinking about how at some point in my life during a company/career switch, I would take a little 6–12-month sabbatical just to travel (I wrote it here so now you must keep me accountable).

I didn’t do much that day other than watching the sunset with a few of the travelers I met at the hostel.

I was up bright and early to hike the Pidurangala rock and the Sigiriya rock. The former was quite affordable. The ticket was 1000 rupees and 40 minutes later (mostly because I stopped to take pictures), we were at the top of rock number one. By we I mean myself and Felix who I met at the hostel and who would end up being my travel buddy for the rest of the trip. After that, I walked to the Sigiriya rock to get started on hike number two. Both hikes mostly consist of stairs so it’s not too difficult to navigate. Just the crazy wind on the Sigiriya rock which at some point almost had me toppling over- I am not jesting guys. Entrance for this rock is higher (35 USD) as it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. By noon I was done hiking both rocks and back to the hostel where I napped and continued reading my novel (PS: If you’ve not read Chimamanda’s Half of a Yellow Sun, I’m going to need you to get your shit together- Okay, this time I jest. But seriously, read it). The hostel I stayed at was pretty close to both attractions, clean and cozy so I would 100% recommend it especially for budget travelers.

Kandy

To get to Kandy from Sigiriya, there’s one bus that leaves at 6:30 am and goes directly to Kandy.

Otherwise, you can get a bus from Sigiriya to Dambulla and another from Dambulla to Kandy. We opted for the former and by 9 am, we had gotten to Kandy, changed and were on our way to get some snacks and head to the Botanical garden. The bus from Sigiriya to Kandy cost us 1000 rupees.

The Botanical garden entrance was 3000 rupees and after an almost fight with a monkey who took our mango and millions of pictures later, we left the gardens. We got a bus from the bus station that cost 50 rupees to the gardens. You can opt for a tuk-tuk but this would be almost 6 times the price or more. Five hours later we left the botanical gardens, had a late lunch, and in the evening went to the Tooth Relic temple and Kandy View point though we didn’t view much since we got there at night. My advice is to go here a little earlier, I can imagine the sunset is beautiful to watch from there. The temple entrance was also 3000 rupees and was ten minutes walking distance from where we stayed.

We only stayed a night in Kandy.

Nuwara Eliya

I don’t think you have truly been to Sri Lanka if you don’t get the train for at least one of your journeys there.

We booked the train online for 965 rupees from Kandy to Nuwara and another 965 from Nuwara to Ella.

The train ride is quite slow but so peaceful and scenic. Hanging out of it is even more fun 😉. In Nuwara, we took a short hike to the Lover’s Leap which is free to access but not too easy to navigate so thank God for the local we met who took us up. Wear some sturdy shoes for this as it may get slippery in case it rains.

Early morning the next day before our train, we took the bus to the nearby Pedro estate farm for tea picking. We paid 1000 rupees for this experience which was okay but not as great as I expected. After a very short intro on how to pick tea, we were left on our own to pick some tea so I wouldn’t one hundred percent recommend this.

Ella

Our train to Ella from Nuwara Eliya was a little over an hour late so beware of going by train if you are on a time crunch. The scenery from Nuwara to Ella was to die for. The sunset, the greenery. I felt like I was in a movie just being on the train. Make sure you get on at least one train ride in Sri Lanka; you will love it!

In Ella, we woke up for a morning hike to Ella Rock and after that a walk to the Nine Arches Bridge. After this, we were on time for breakfast at 8:30 and by 10:30 we were on the bus to Galle which was the longest bus ride I took.

Galle

We got to Galle at about 7 pm and chose to wind down and relax; eventually being on the move catches up to you.

In Galle, I met Joel who plays online poker for a living- I know! Traveling really opens you up to a lot dear reader. As I always say (or as I started saying as of last week when I had a crazy week at work and looking at my pictures from Sri Lanka reminded me of my why)- traveling is a gift that keeps on giving.

Saturday I had a late brunch, packed up a bit, took a nap and in the evening we headed to Galle Fort where we witnessed yet another beautiful sunset and walked around the fort. This experience is free.

The next day, I was set on going to a nice beach for a swim and reading my book as I chilled later on. The closest decent beach we could find was in Dalawella beach. From the hostel we had to take two buses totaling about 100 rupees for both rides.

The beach is amazing. What I however wasn’t ready for was the magnitude of the waves. At one point one wave knocked me over and I lost my balance. A local saw me go under and came to help. After that, I chose to enjoy the ocean from the shore. Be careful with the waves there is all I can say. Later, we found a restaurant (there are a lot of restaurants for you to choose from) and had lunch and lounged there for the rest of the day.

To get from Galle, I got a bus direct to the airport for about 1200 rupees. Life hack right there- you’re welcome.

At this point, this is more of a journal entry than a blog😂. Thank you for getting to this point! 😊

Extras:

Below I have listed where I stayed in all the places I stayed at:

• Colombo- C1 Colombo Fort (Paid 86.13 AED for two nights)

• Sigiriya- Reggae Paradise Hostel (35.99 AED for two nights)

• Kandy- found a host on couch surfing

• Nuwara Eliya- Laughing Leopards Hostel (22.88 AED for one night)

• Ella- Rock View Hostel Ella (22.04AED for one night)

• Galle- Lala’s Place (28.10 AED for three nights)

\*Most of these prices include* booking.com reward discounts as I make a lot of my bookings on the app.

I used People’s Bank for cash withdrawals as there was no bank charge. That and HSBC twice as it’s my home bank and the rates were so much better! Always have cash as you can’t tap your card in a lot of places.

When visiting temples, always carry a scarf otherwise you have to get one at a fee. Also, make sure your knees and arms are covered(scarf can be used for the arms coverage if it’s big enough)