Gomez Place — Negombo
/We were here our last night in Sri Lanka, June 17, 2024. More details soon.
Reflections on Sri Lanka
We arrived in Sri Lanka May 20, 2024. It was our second visit to the pearl of south Asia and we stayed a month including two weeks of relaxation on Nilaveli beach, north of Trincomalee, on the eastern coast — an area we did not include on our first visit in 2018. Our itinerary also included some familiar spots worthy of a return visit. We wanted to see again the exquisite 4th century BCE Dambulla caves filled with beautifully preserved Buddhist carvings. We stayed nearby for several nights in a sprawling country home (see below) surrounded by nature and complete privacy. We met a young traveling German couple in Colombo and invited them to tour the caves with us, stay the night in our extra bedroom and share a traditional Sri Lankan meal masterfully prepared by our good friend Ayesh, a young Sri Lankan man we met six years ago.
We also revisited the ruins of the civilization of Polonnaruwa (4th century BCE to 12 century CE) and Anuradhapura, the capital and birthplace of the Sinhalese culture and one of the Southern Asia's longest continuously inhabited cultural and sacred centres.
Tourism in Sri Lanka is back! Many foreign travelers recall the attention in the international press during the horrible political bombings in Colombo in April 2019! We woke up that morning to the news and just wept for Sri Lanka knowing it would create great hardship for the people and cause tourists to shun the country for a while, but not forever. Also, there were the hardships caused by the political turmoil and the ensuing economic distress in late 2022 into early 2023, lasting about three months. During this time, the country’s president fled to Singapore and the people stormed the government’s high offices demanding a better deal. From our casual observations things are better now and Sri Lankans offer a very warm inviting hospitality. We were happy to return to learn more and see more.
exquisite 4th century BCE Dambulla caves filled with beautifully preserved Buddhist carvings
Airbnb — Kandy
/We were here June 14-17, 2024. We found a wonderful two bedroom Airbnb in Kandy located about 15 minutes east of the city center, just east of the Mahaweli ganga (river). Owned by a Sri Lankan American, it was a modern, perfectly comfortable base for us to explore Kandy for three nights. Airbnb link
Airbnb — Anuradhapura
/We stayed in an Airbnb for four nights June 10-14, 2024 in Anuradhapura. Beautiful outdoor deck and very simple interiors. It was plenty of room for the three of us, including out guide/drive Ayesh, and we used the kitchen for breakfast only. Not the most comfortable living room setup but the beds and air conditioning were both just fine. Perfect for our busy days touring around the extensive archeological ruins in the nearby Old City. We also did an elephant safari. The second carousel below is from our touring.
Nilaveli Beach Paradise — Nilaveli
/We were here May 26 - June 10, 2024. The day of our arrival we stopped in Polonnaruwa to tour the ancient ruins. See a few pics from there in the second carousel of images below. At the beach, we had a two bedroom oceanfront apartment and enjoyed the community pool nearby. We were ready for a nice long pause from our recent busier travel giving us time to rest, relax and read that only a 15-night stay can deliver. Our Sri Lankan friend Ayesh remained with us and insisted on doing the meal preparation. We didn’t argue! See some pics from our stay in the carousel of images immediately below.
Polonnaruwa
The impressive 12th century CE ruins of Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka can still be visited today. We explored what remains of the Council Chamber imagining this "golden age of agriculture" near the end of a continuous 1,500 year civilization until the South Indian invasion in the year 1,173 CE after which it was sacked, abandoned, lost in the jungle and forgotten for generations until being rediscovered in the modern period. See second carousel of images below.
Old Coach House — Dambulla
/We were here May 21 - 26, 2024. We found on Airbnb a sprawling three bedroom country house on 4 hectares (1 acre) on the outskirts of Dambulla. We booked it for five nights. It was close to the famous Dambulla caves and also Sigiriya, the popular tourist spot big rock you can climb, with incredible views and remnants of an intriguing civilization from long ago. On our first trip to Sri Lanka in 2018 we visited both places. On this return trip, we skipped the rock, opting to climb the adjacent less-traveled rock, Pidurangala Royal Cave Temple, instead. But we definitely revisited the Dambulla caves. It’s a place we’d dreamt about since our first visit. It’s that kind of place.
The first carousel of pics below are from the Old Coach House. What fun that was because we invited a young German couple we met in Colombo to join us to visit the caves, have a traditional meal prepared by our certified tour guide (the youngest in the country!) and spend the night in our extra bedroom. That’s what you do when you have a country house, right? We had the good fortune to be there exactly at the two-day annual celebration of the birth of Buddha, adding to the festivity! The country dogs on the lane stopped by frequently and consumed all the crackers we had along with a some leftover rice and chicken. Bless their hearts.
The second carousel of pics are from the Dambulla Cave Temples and Pidurangala Royal Cave Temple. Both are sacred places and we felt deeply grateful to be back and bask in the history and beauty.
Spicepeek Boutique Hotel — Colombo
/We were here for the night of our arrival at the nearby airport on May 20. Breakfast was included where we met a great couple traveling from Germany. We connected and agreed to meet two days later in Dambulla to tour the beautiful Buddhist caves together. We invited them to be our guest in the extra bedroom at our rental house where we would be. We prepared and enjoyed a wonderful traditional Sri Lankan dinner under the direction of our friend, driver and head chef that night, Ayesh!
