Tuktuks, hoppers, kottu, beaches, temples, tea and Sri Lanka

[kerouac2]

Actually, the numerous times I stayed on Khao San Road in Bangkok or Pham Ngu Lao in Saigon, I heard quite a bit of music that was far in advance of what we were listening to in Europe. I was therefore pleased to give about 5 "new sounds" CDs to the French bartender when I made a return visit to the Tam Tam Café in Hoi An (I receive these discs with my subscription to a weekly cultural magazine aimed at people about 40 years younger than me.), and he was thrilled. I drank free of charge for the next two nights.

www.tamtamcafe-hoian.com/

[onlyMark]

Just to mention, I am back and a report is being compiled as we speak.

[onlyMark]

Note – some things might have been mentioned, before the report has come to fruition, as I was travelling round. So there might be a repetition at times of what you already know. Bear with me though as I want really to get it all down rather than jump around to bits and bobs and/or miss bits out.

It all started a year or so ago when I was bemoaning the fact that I was soon to be sixty. I was urged to do something a bit special for when that date came. “Special” though means different things to different people and I wasn’t one for a loud party with a gathering of friends. One thing put a sock in that for a starter, which was now living in Zambia and far away from anyone else.
I was told that as my present I could have a business class flight to anywhere I wanted. That got me thinking.
Firstly was the time of year it would be, February. Well, that discounted the northern hemisphere as being too cold. Anywhere south cut it down a little but still not enough.
Where had I not yet been?
That cut it down quite radically. Next year I’ll be going back to Colombia and I didn’t really want to go to South America this time and then again next year.

Africa was on my doorstep so it didn’t feel quite special enough. That left parts of Asia and Aus/NZ.
New Zealand was a long way away and I’d already been there. Australia looked favourite for a while but after doing some research, especially difficulties with car rental and how far you cannot go with them, plus the cost of accommodation and living expenses, made it drop off.
Madagascar came up but at the time of deciding the plague going on there hadn’t been controlled.
So, Philippines? Nope, lived there already. Time has also been spent travelling in Thailand and Malaysia.
That left Oman and UAE (not in Asia, I know) but Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar/Burma.

I wasn’t so bothered about an Arabic country after spending nigh on many years in them and then Mrs M dropped a bit of a bombshell. She said she wouldn’t want me to go to the other places in Asia as she wanted to come with me – she had already been to most of them anyway as part of her work but not for any length of time. She wanted us to travel around there together. Plus I couldn’t go back to India/Nepal yet again, she said. It wouldn’t be special enough.
Well bugger me, thought I.
So I reverted back to a big world map and remembered a comment made at some stage about Sri Lanka.
I zoomed in (mentally) and physically to examine it more closely.

It’s an island, obviously, so I thought “Ooooh! Can I drive all the way round it?” I looked at distances and realised if I rented a car, with the time per day I like to drive, I could be round it in about a week. Not good enough. I’m certainly not using a bicycle (like last time in India) again as it is too far. A motorbike/scooter then? That’d slow down the distance each day, but then I came across renting a tuktuk. Max allowable speed is 40km/h so with the state of the roads and traffic, 100km – 150km per day would give me a drive for all morning until lunchtime(ish), a walk round in the afternoon, dinner out somewhere and a lazy late evening. Ideal. And a bit of an adventure as well.
With all the other logistical things falling in to place (visa, flights, food, costs, culture, sites, countryside) it seemed ideal.
So a flight was booked. Plus the first couple of nights accommodation and a tuktuk booked.

I then looked at Trip Advisor about self driving in Sri Lanka (maybe should have looked first, but it wouldn’t have mattered or changed anything). The current common advice is that if you do, you will die, but not before having money extorted by corrupt Police, having locals crashing into you to also extort money, being locked up for days whilst it is sorted out, spending a fortune on lawyers, being ripped off by car rental companies, no insurance, far too dangerous, etc etc. All gloom and doom.
I took exception to a few posts along this theme and when anyone suggested self-driving they were immediately jumped on by the nay-sayers. One in particular who I then “entered into a discussion with”. It seems he had a bad experience many years ago as a tourist which has tainted his thinking. He said these things happen all the time but when asked to produce accounts of it being so, as opposed to numerous accounts of having no problems at all driving yourself, he was unable to do so.
We left it that I disagreed with him.

A long introduction, but I hope of a little interest. If not, well, you’ve just wasted five minutes of your life. Not unusual now we have the internet.

I arrived at the international airport late afternoon and arrival procedures went smoothly so I was out of the place in about twenty minutes. I nipped to an ATM in the arrivals hall and bought myself a cheap SIM card for my phone. I wouldn’t normally do the last thing but was advised to do so for various reasons, like being able to use an Uber type app and to be able to contact accommodations to confirm a booking, as it seems numerous people have had problems with this upon turning up and being told no booking was received and end up having to pay a higher rate.
As it turns out I had a couple of minor problems but nothing much. Out of sixteen places I stayed I just had two places that made me query something, but that'll be explained later and didn't amount to much.

Transport from an airport is usually quite overpriced and as I’d not really got far to go I was loathe to book a shuttle offered by my hotel. So I walked out of the terminal, walked no more than two or three minutes and onto the main road. There I flagged down a tuktuk who took me to the nearby area of Negombo. The information I’d had was that the price would be about 1000 Sri Lankan rupees (LKR) – as I’m working on 200 being about 1 Euro, that seemed ok (US$ about 150LKR).
Immediately though the driver gave me a price of 800. I hadn’t the heart to beat him down so we set off.

[onlyMark]

I dropped my bag off at the hotel and went for a walk round, nipped onto the beach and sauntered around the streets. In fact the streets were quite empty. A bit of a surprise after spending time in India –
















I hit the beach to see what it was like. Yeah, reasonable but nothing spectacular at all –






Back again for a late afternoon wander –

[onlyMark]

Perused a couple of menus for later. As mentioned, divide by 200 to get Euros and a little more difficult, but 150 to get US dollars –











The main tourist street, called the hotel street, is a kilometre or two long. The further north you go it gets more expensive, south thus cheaper. On the previous menu I had already started to do comparisons by using a dish I knew would appear all the time – vegetable rice – the cost was 500 LKR, which is about average for this place. Hence I would be about halfway down the street –








That evening I tried some of the local fayre, this being a generic rice and veg curry. Cost was 300LKR, about €1.50. The price of this meal varied from 850LKR at the posh end, to the price I paid at the rough end. I saw the next day in Colombo the cost had come down to 150 – 200 LKR –




In short, Negombo hasn't got a lot going for it, certainly not as a main destination, but is good for a stop off when arriving or leaving.
I had a couple of days to wait before I picked up my tuktuk and that was fine because I could then have a wander round the capital, Colombo, before moving on. After a lazy morning and a good breakfast –

[bjd]

Mark, I noticed on the previous page in the photo where the guy is waiting for his laundry, one of the laundry signs is in Russian. Were there many Russian tourists there?

[onlyMark]

Yes, is the short answer. Not everywhere though. They tended to be more or less just in the very touristy towns along the coast. I spent the last couple of nights in one such town and virtually every conversation you heard from passersby as you walked along was in Russian (or as far as I could tell).
In the north there were very few and inland a few more but not so many.

[kerouac2]

Ah, now we're getting into the meat of the report -- great! I am always so glad to see the sights and not just the sites.

I have run across pockets of Russian tourists in various countries and one of the reasons that was explained to me was that they like to choose destinations that do not require a visa. That rather limits casual wandering. Russia currently ranks #39 in "passport power," which makes it just a tad better than Turkey and not quite as good as Guatemala or Tonga.

Since when is the UAE not in Asia? Did they move it?

[onlyMark]

Technically UAE is yes in Asia, as you know. However, my mental picture of Asia does not include it, whereas the same of the Middle East, does. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
Borders and where what is has always been arbitrary, so that's good enough for me.

As regards Russian passport holders, I'd extend that a little to say that if they can easily get an eVisa or a visa on arrival, they'll probably go.

[breeze]

So much care was taken in sculpting your breakfast, even the tomato rose which you probably wouldn't even eat. Gorgeous
colors.

In #94, third photo--is that a hotel? A school? Those figures would be a little off-putting for me, especially the two looking through the fence--"Get me out of here!"

Mark, happy birthday whenever it's appropriate. That's a great gift and as usual you made the most of your travels.

More to come, I hope?

[onlyMark]

I ate everything.

The photo is of a posh hotel -
www.heritancehotels.com/negombo/

More to come?
Just for you.
Though others may want to see stuff as well.

[mossie]

Quite fascinating as always. BUT I can't stand the food, the smell lingers for days, so no way do you get me there.

[onlyMark]

You can visit vicariously through me.

[onlyMark]

I used an Uber type app, called PickMe, to arrange a lift to the city. It all went smoothly and at a reasonable cost, a lot cheaper than arranging a taxi through the guesthouse, that’s for sure.
In Colombo I was staying at the old lady of the city, the Grand Oriental, located in a good position.








Useful for some to know which way to pray –




The room was Euro 38.
The view from my window –






And a couple of shots of the inside –

[onlyMark]

It was about lunchtime when I arrived so I went for a walk round to get my bearings –
















As usual I'd not gone far when I realised I'd had breakfast, but no lunch. So I made a pit stop here. It is a standard food place serving rice, noodles, curry and some items that are basically a spoon or two of curry wrapped by a type of bread into a parcel. More on this soon –




More shots –








This seller had various small pieces of fruit and veg covered in a fairly hot chilli type sauce as a snack –




And of course, lots of coconuts everywhere –

[onlyMark]

There are a number of large and small markets knocking around selling all you would expect. In fact there are a number of things to see in the capital itself. I did have a mind that I may come back and spend more time there but it turns out I didn't. I realised that if I saw a hundred things in the country there would be at least a hundred more I didn't see. Next time, is all I can say –
















The roads were busy(ish) but nothing too startling, and it looks like in this photo I've stopped all the traffic so I can take it –




There were the usual temples dotted about but because of the narrow streets it was virtually impossible to get a good complete shot of them –






That looks interesting in the distance though. I'll head up there –










Some of the side streets were quite jammed though –




Ahh, this'll be it then –










This was a typical restaurant window. Usually fuller though because it was mid-afternoon and most had been sold and more variation. Top left are rectangles and triangles of paratha bread, inside being a veg curry. Top right are bread rolls again with veg, fish or meat, of some descriription, curry. Bottom left are the usual samosas and you have to ask what is inside. A variation of anything above. Bottom right are paratha type rolls in something like panko and inside usually is an egg curry. These are quite delicious (to me anyway), as are the top left things. One would cost 30 – 40 rupees. Another sort of snack you can have is a big bowl of buffalo curd/yoghurt with honey. The big bowls hold a litre and cost 200 rupees or there abouts –




Moving around, especially in a fairly chaotic town/city can get quite confusing. I had noticed in the 4th shot from now a tall telecoms tower. I tended to use this as a reference point –

[bjd]

I have never been drawn to southeast Asia, but your pictures make me want to go to Sri Lanka. The small crowded streets look interesting with all the little shops and stands, and the bigger streets look quite empty compared to what I have seen of pictures of India.

[onlyMark]

It is easy in India to be somewhat overcome by the crowds, though there are quiet areas, but generally the mass of people in the towns and cities can spoil the experience. What I found here was that even in Colombo, not all of it, and in fact not much of it, is too stressful. Soem of the side streets, as illustrated in one of the photos were jam-packed, but easy enough to avoid if needed.
The other major city, Jaffna, was the same - however I disliked a city in the centre of the country called Kandy. This was hectic, busy, traffic clogged and badly polluted. The pollution got to me the most and I think it is because it is situated in a valley where clearing breezes, as with on the coast, were not the norm.
I've got a couple of shots of that later.

[kerouac2]

Southwest Asia and southeast Asia have similar climates, but what strikes me is how much more "agitated" southwest Asia appears while in the southeast they allow the heat to slow them down to a less stressful pace.

The photos of Colombo are reminiscent of Chennai to me, but Colombo seems considerably cleaner. Then again, it's been so long since I was in Chennai that it might be spic and span now.

[onlyMark]

Not when I was there. Worse than ever really.

[onlyMark]

Maybe I ought to at this point give you some brief information about Sri Lanka before we go any further.
Apologies if you know any of this. You've seen a few pictures so it's about time you read something again.

Sri Lanka is an island close to and bottom right off India. At one time they would have been connected physically by land, but are no more so. It could well have been passable on foot though as recent as 1480.
Designated as a tropical climate it is teardrop shaped, a bit less than 450km as the crow flies north to south, and at its widest point, about half of that, 225km. In fact it is a very attractive and proportional country to look at on a map.
It has gone by a number of names over history, one in Hindu mythology being just "Lanka", or "Island". Eventually the Portuguese name was translated into what we know as Ceylon but became Sri Lanka on independence.

After going through rule by the Portuguese and the Dutch, Britain took control of the whole country after a number of battles between 1798 and 1815 and it eventually became independent again in 1948.
Coffee was originally grown by the British but after a downturn in the market and disease, tea and rubber as well became the major source of income.
By the way, the modern flag has a symbol of a lion in it. There have not been lions in the country for 37,000 years, but the animal is used as a symbol of strength, courage and bravery.

The two main and official languages are Sinhala and Tamil but English, as expected, is widespread. There are about 21.5 million inhabitants and has a population density of about ¾ that of India. Bear in mind though that if you want "crowded", think of Macau, Gibraltar, Monaco and Singapore. It is all relative.
Seventy percent are Buddhists, and though Hinduism pre-dates Buddhism, only 13% are Hindu. Muslims make up around 10% and Christians, 7%.
That'll do for now.

[onlyMark]

Cutting down the smaller streets showed where people began to lay out their wares –






Tucked away in the middle somewhere was the fire station –






Walking round further and round the back of the fire station –










And then just behind it was a covered area that would have made a good museum, but it was all locked away and I couldn't see much of what was supposed to be there –






Nope, don't need it yet –

[onlyMark]

I then entered a large vegetable and dried fish market –
















It is fairly self-explanatory but just in case, the prices you can see are often per kilogramme but if not it will say something like 250, which will be grams. And then the rupee cost –


























I thought for a minute they were selling motorbikes, then I realised they were just parked up –

[onlyMark]

Keeping my bearings –

[onlyMark]

Then I got a bit thirsty. I wanted some fresh juice. Of course made with local water as it will be diluted somewhat. So I spied this place and stopped for an orange juice –




What I didn't know was that just as I'd finished drinking it, a party of about ten Japanese walked up from behind me. I can only presume they saw me and thought if I was drinking there, then it must be ok. I knocked back the last of mine whilst the owner started a flurry of activity. He gave me a smile as I left.
I know my stomach is more robust where it comes to water than most. I am unsure what it would be like for a crowd of Japanese though. I hope they were ok.
Whether it works or not, or is just a superstition on my behalf, but I'd already started my coca cola regime. In these places I swear by the power over nasty things in the water by coca cola and drink it always a couple of times a day when I can.

Time started getting on so I cut out of the busy area and made my way back to the hotel via a quieter route –
























My hotel –




Just outside the hotel –

[onlyMark]

Dinner was at the YMCA, filling but nothing special, nice thing on the way there though –




View of the docks at night. Good, but the reversing buzzers on the container moving trucks made it a long process to get to sleep –

[fumobici]

Lovely additions to this already wonderful glimpse into Sri Lanka. Firstly, why would one dilute orange or other juice with water? It would just make it taste worse, in addition to introducing the possibility of gastric distress. Secondly, is English widely spoken and understood? I see lots of signage in English, but of course in a lot of places they just do that for effect and almost nobody actually speaks it.

[onlyMark]

Most of the juices, like lemon, watermelon, mango, papaya, are all watered down somewhat, as is orange. Often by the addition of ice and water so it can be a quick refreshing drink rather than too thick, like you would have with mango. Lemon especially otherwise your face would turn inside out.

Yes, English is a major language though only, according to figures, 10% speak it. The two official languages are Sinhala and Tamil - "Tamil and Sinhala are Sri Lanka’s two official languages, and English is known as the link language. Although the public has the right to deal with government institutions in any of the three languages, it is generally English that is preferred in governmental policies and practices."
It was rare I came across anyone who didn't speak enough to be able to communicate in it to a basic level. Even when I called at shops, supermarkets, garages, restaurants, cafes etc etc. Invariably the person I addressed spoke it to some extent.

[questa]

Mar 2, 2018 19:12:31 GMT onlyMark said:

Most of the juices, like lemon, watermelon, mango, papaya, are all watered down somewhat, as is orange. Often by the addition of ice and water so it can be a quick refreshing drink rather than too thick, like you would have with mango. Lemon especially otherwise your face would turn inside out.

There is also the difference in preparation. Most of us are used to juice that has been squeezed from the fruit whereas the 'juice' served in Asian places is usually whole peeled fruit zapped in a blender. It needs some water to make it mix down to a consistency to suck through a straw. Also some of the tropical
fruits are just too sweet as a juice, so we used to put about a teaspoon of salak fruit in the mix to balance the flavour, Salak is the small brown fruit that has skin like snake scales and is often called 'snake-fruit'. By itself it is very tart, but in a sweet drink...Ahhh!

There are fruit that don't juice, like banana, avocado and mangosteen. These we would blend with water and a quarter teaspoon of powdered milk to give it a smooth texture and taste. Pipe circle of chocolate around the glass on top of the mix, use a straw to push the chocolate up and down, so making a zig-zag pattern in the drink.

Of course we always used boiled or bottled water and checked for allergies with the milk.
Yours for less than $US 1.

[bjd]

Blended fruit along with some water out of a bottle or little plastic bag is also the way fruit drinks are served at stands in the South American countries where I have had them: Ecuador and Colombia. Delicious.