Needless to say, Sri Lanka was fantastic with its markets and below is a compilation of impressions:

Fruits stall in Kandy

Dried fish in Kandy

Beef stall in Nuwara Eliya

Fish stall in Nuwara Eliya

Bananas in all sizes and colors in Nuwara Eliya

Proud stall owner in Bandarawela

Decent size fish on offer in Galle

Spices in Colombo

Market overview in Colombo

Fresh produce in Colombo

We discovered the Talpe Beach Restaurant & Bar through Tripadvisor as we were looking for a place to relax and enjoy a nice meal along the beach. Unlike most other restaurants along the coast, this is not part of a hotel resort but rather just a standalone restaurant. I won’t describe much but rather just let the photos speak for themselves. We got there shortly before sunset and enjoyed the views of fishermen catching dinner from the sea along while sipping on a cold Lion beer.

View of the dinner section & bar

For those who need it, there is a pool. However, the place has direct beach access so I far preferred the ocean for a dip.

Beach access from the restaurant

View from Talpe Beach Restaurant

Fisherman

Great way to end the day

Sunset at Talpe Beach Restaurant

The dinner we had was all local food done in a very good way. The setting is very romantic and even though the restaurant is on the main road, you can’t really hear any noise. We ended up paying around 7’000 LKR (€45) for some drinks and two main courses. Highly recommended.

The town spent most of its colonial past under Dutch rule and that was very visible, for example at the Dutch Reformed Chruch:

Dutch Reformed Church Galle

The colonial part of the city is separated from New Galle through fortified walls which make a great tourist attraction as you can walk on top of them.

Fortified walls

The city is not big and walking around it at a casual pace takes less than an hour. Everything is very well maintained and in very good shape.

Lighthouse

Watchtower

However, the vibe is completely different from the rest of Sri Lanka. It somehow reminded me of Cartagena on Colombia’s Caribbean Coast, albeit on a smaller scale. It has been very much gentrified in recent years which means most buildings are in very good shape – but at the same time local life as to a certain extent vanished. There are lots of art galleries, jewellery stores and restaurants that charge significantly more than in the rest of the country. Don’t get me wrong, we enjoyed our day there. It was just very different from the rest of the country in the sense that it very much felt touristic.

Indian Ambassador car in the streets of Galle

Church turned Mosque in Galle

One of Sri Lanka’s prime national park for wildlife is probably Uda Walawe National Park. It was on our way from the Hill Country to the southern coast, so were happy to spend a night. Initially we opted for a sunrise safari and eventually added an afternoon safari as well. Park entrance fees are around LKR3’000 (€20) per person and on top we paid around LKR3’500 for our vehicle including driver. Somehow a “guide” made his way into our vehicle and while we at first thought he was included, it turned out he wasn’t. He said he was a volunteer and did indeed help us to spot a bird here and there. But overall his presence didn’t help so much. But of course we tipped him.

Without further ado, here are some of my photos. Please not that I am not a bird enthusiast, so all the photos showing birds will just have the caption “bird”.

Birds near the lake

Elephant tribe making its way to the lake in the evening

A mother with three babies/teenagers

Closeup

And since I like elephants so much, here’s another photo of one eating

Bird(s)

Birds

Bird

Bird

Bird

Small bird

Birds

Buffalos

Bird

Giant lizard

Birds at the lake

Crocodile with a bird circling above it

Sunset on the way back

If you recognize any of the bird species, feel free to leave a comment.

We loved the tour and had a great driver that managed to get away from the crowds. We thought it couldn’t get any better so didn’t end up going again in the morning. If you can, build this into your Sri Lanka itinerary – highly recommended!

We were expecting food fairly similar to Southern Indian but were positively surprised to find a unique cuisine that does a great job at using the country’s countless vegetables in spicy and flavorful (and colorful!) curries. Below are some recipes that our host in Ella shared with us. You will need some basic spices but nothing too exotic.

Spices at a market in Colombo

Sweet aubergine mix
Chop up 2 aubergines and fry them. Get them out of the pan and add some onion, salt and some green peppers.
Put 200ml of vinegar in a hot clay pot, add four bog spoons of sugar, 1 tea spoon of chilli flakes. Cook it till it boils and get’s syrup. Them add the aubergine mix. Mix it and let it cool.

Sweet aubergine mix

Potato curry
Cook potatoes, let them cool, add some onions, 1 tea spoon of turmeric, 10 curry seeds, salt garlic, curry leaves, tomato. Put some hot water in a pan, add the potato mix. Add cocos milk and let cook for a couple of minutes.

Potato curry

Baked banana
Put oil in a pan, add vegetable bananas, turmeric, salt, curry leaves, let it cook in with some water. Add some cocos milk and let it simmer for some time.

Baked banana

Sambal
Onion, pepper, lemon, salt, Maldivian fish chips, mix it. Add fried bittergurd and mix it. You can also do this with okra.

Sambal

Beans
Cut the beans and add coconut rasp. Add turmeric and salt. Put 100ml coconut oil in a pan, heat it, add onions, curry leaves and fry it, then add the bean mix, let it bake for a couple minutes.

Beans

Leek
Cut the leek, add a lot of curry leaves, salt, a bit of turmeric, curry powder and chilli powder. Heat coconut oil, add about 20 chilli seeds. When they turn black, add the leek mix. Add tomato, and onion and four big spoons of coconut milk, let it cook for a couple of minutes.

Leek

Mushrooms
Boil the mushrooms for 5 minutes, then fry them. Chop 3 onions, fry them in vegetable oil until they turn dark, add 1 tea spoon of chilli flakes, add the mushrooms, curry leaves, salt, let it cook for 5 minutes.

Mushrooms

Okra
Chop the okra, add turmeric, chilli, salt. Put onions in 200ml coconut oil, curry leaves, bake it, add the okra and 2 spoons of coconut milk, cook for a couple of minutes.

Okra

Can fish
Get the mackerel out of the can and crush it, add onion, curry leaves, salt, pepper. Put 2 tea spoons of chilli flakes in coconut oil and bake it, them add the fish mix. No surprise but this was our least favorite of the bunch.

Can fish

Happy cooking!

Highlights: Safari in Uda Walawe, Galle, Ella, Markets in Pettah/Colombo

Wouldn’t do it again: Kandy, Nuwara Eliya

Elephant tribe in Uda Walawe National Park

There are three options to get around: private car, bus and train. We did hire a car and driver for a stretch where it otherwise would have been very time-consuming. But for the majority of the legs we opted for the train.

The main train station in the country: Colombo Fort

While trains tend to be slow, especially in the Hill Country, the rides are more scenic than by bus and we imagine they tend to be safer.

Walking along train tracks in the Hill Country

I imagined train travel would be similar to what I experienced in India due to the common colonial roots and indeed there are similarities. Sri Lankan trains have three classes of service: First, Second and Third. First class is exclusively reserved and air-conditioned. We tried to book seats however were too late. You cannot reserve seats online but need to go physically to a railway station and buy them (I think it can be done about two weeks in advance).  We underestimated this and didn’t put enough effort into finding an agent to buy tickets for us. Tickets cost around LKR1’000 per person. We did talk to other travellers who didn’t like First Class very much because windows can be dirty and cannot be opened (which you want to to take photos) and the air-conditioning can be very cold apparently.

A view of unreserved Second Class. You think it is crowded?

Then better don’t try Third Class!

But there is always room for someone selling delicious snacks

We travelled three legs in Second Class:

• Colombo to Kandy
• Kandy to Nuwara Eliya
• Galle to Colombo

A look into a rather old Third Class carriage

Two trains passing each other near Colombo. Not many stretches have dual tracks.

For all trips we just walked up to the station a few minutes before departure without reservations. Part of Second (and the same goes for Third) Class is reserved, meaning you do get a seat. There is a surcharge,  which is worth it, but again we were too slow. Tickets are very cheap by Western standards with each trip costing us less than LKR200 per person (up to three hour journeys). The unreserved carriages just cram as many passengers in as can fit, meaning it can get very crowded (Second Class is still bearable compared to Third).

Nanu Oya station, gateway to Nuwara Eliya

The train rides are very scenic, both along the Western coast as well as the Hill Country. They are so scenic that you won’t mind the delays which can run from half an hour to hours. Our last trip from Galle to Colombo looked it would arrive on time until we reached the suburbs where we stopped for over 15 minutes with no apparent reason. Luckily the train waited at the platform of a small station and since Sri Lankan trains don’t have doors (or nobody bothers to close them), we just got off there.

Hiking along the train tracks near Ella

The ride from Nuwara Eliya (or more specifically Nanu Oya) is said to be one of the most beautiful in the world, running through hills and hills of tea plantations. For this stretch we booked the “Expo Rail”  tourist train which is an extra carriage that is attached to the regular train. This can be booked online… After all it is ran by a private company that seems to be a bit more entrepreneurial than the government. Priced at a LKR1’000, you get some snacks but more importantly a viewing platform without windows. And you want to spend most of the time there for the views since inside they are blasting movies on a screen. Unfortunately we were unlucky with the weather and the delay of the train, meaning it got dark fairly early into the trip.

Thew view from the “Expo Rail” carriage towards the back of the train…

…and the front.

Traveling by train in Sri Lanka is a great way to see the scenery and a lot more relaxed than going by bus. Just make sure that you get an agent to book tickets for you (I’d recommend Second Class but also Third Class if reserved is fine).

Enjoying the scenary on the way from Galle to Colombo

Old school timetable at Kandy

and even older school at Kithalella