jam25mack

Surely you're joking yeah?

Miss Ann Thrope

What does the evidence suggest?

jam25mack

That you brown nose each other at every opportunity.....

scrubbedexpat141

Thank you everyone.

Lots of research happening.
Notes taken.
Updates soon - because I know you all love to hear back from me about these trips.

DXBtoDOH

The dirty secret about Sri Lanka:

You go there because 1) it's cheap from Dubai, 2) hotels/food are cheap, 3) it's a heck lot cooler than Dubai in the summer, 4) you can have cheap beer in a tropical climate.

End of.

All the talk about 'culture' and 'historic monuments and temples and palaces' and 'scenery' is fine but nothing comparable to the real stuff in India (although, before Miss Anne and Meow accuse me of racism, there are pretty green bits to Sri Lanka, but it's not really the reason we go there )

Shawlands

While being in the region, its def one to tick off - I would never go to SL from the UK.




SL fits the bill more as a stopover to the Maldives rather than the end destination itself. Rough it with a full circle tour(in 5 star accommodation still), sweat it out with the minging curries and mosquitoes, then spend 4-5 days in the Maldives relaxing and recovering. Enjoy it while its still above water.

scrubbedexpat141

Points 1 and 2 are our motivation.
It's the trade off for me having the Japan holiday in August....she can have a beach holiday with zero 'exploring' pressures.
Point 4 interests me greatly too.

I'm sure SL has loads to go and explore but it's not why we are going and I know I'll probably do some anyway, I can't help myself.

Miss Ann Thrope

I can accuse you of complete ignorance - and what a silly comment about the "real stuff" in India as most of that is just a few hundred years old compared to much older stuff in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has excellent historical sites and the advantage of being a compact size so it's easy to follow the narrative thread of their history through the various sites, for example the three successive capitals.

The ancient capital, Anuradhapura is in a reasonable state of preservation given that it's 2,500 years old - there is certainly no site of the same scale and quality of that antiquity in India. It's worth a visit even if your interest in ancient history is only passing (unlike my obsession) and blessedly free of hordes of tourists - though it is a bit out of the way hence the absence of tourists I guess. The huge stone ponds are particularly spectacular, comparable to Roman engineering in scale and artistic accomplishment. The adjacent site of the temple of the Bo tree supposedly grown from the branch brought by Buddha (with branches supported by golden struts so they don't touch the ground) is fascinating more from what it demonstrates about Sinhala culture and the intertwining of monarchy, state and religion.

The medieval capital of Polonnaruwa is more visually spectacular, spread out over a large contiguous site. It's a thousand years old and somewhat reminiscent of Angkor Wat given the adjacent massive water management systems though it is older and not as huge. You can see the structures of many of the buildings so is more relatable than Anuradhapura which requires some interpretation and is also much busier but so so worth it. If you had to pick one of the ancient capitals to visit this would be it - though again it's not easy to get to in the middle of the island. Again, there is nothing comparable from the same era in India.

The late medieval capital of Kandy is notable for its beautiful location on a mountain lake but not nearly as historically or archaeologically interesting as it is a modern city with little left to see of the old city save the temple of the golden tooth. This is where the Buddha's tooth is kept (under wraps so you won't see it) but you can follow the chain of history as possession of the tooth defined kingship. Granted India has far more impressive sites from the same period, particularly from Mughal rule, but the hassle factor in Sri Lanka is much less and I am much more interested in the older stuff frankly.

Kandy is also a gateway to the highlands and a few hours drive from elevated tea-growing country with spectacular scenery - granted it is similar to tea-growing areas in India or Kenya or Myanmar but much more accessible. The previously mentioned Nuwara Eliya is 3,000m and the climate feels like Scotland which is apparently why so many Scottish plantation owners lived there and the feel of that is evident in the colonial architecture of the old clubhouses and hill stations. The drive on down through the mountains via Ella is truly spectacular.

That is without mentioning Sigiriya, the fantastic 4th century palace atop a huge rock which is an adventure to climb in itself and the hilltop shrine of Dambulla not far away. Or the very well preserved fortified 18th Dutch city of Galle. Or the several national parks with wildlife safaris and mountain climbing, far less crowded and chaotic than what I have experienced in India. Or the newly accessible sites in the north around Trincomalee and Jaffna. Or the beautiful buildings of pioneering 20th century Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa (he was the originator of that "modern tropical" style of dark wood and open pavilion style buildings). Or the stilt fishermen, spice gardens etc etc...

Sri Lanka has a huge cultural and natural bounty contained in a compact space: coast, jungle and mountains in very close proximity. The hassle factor is far lower than in India though there are plenty of rip-off merchants but they are very easy to spot.

Meow

There is plenty of history in SL and many good reasons to go there apart from it being cheap. I went there from the UK long before I moved to Dubai.

Re SL curries, Rick Stein has a great SL chicken curry in his book Far Eastern Odyssey which I make regularly. Even my SL cleaners reckon it's pretty authentic. You have to make a full dry spice mix first but I made a load a couple of week ago so have plenty of that going spare if anyone want some. (The Roasted Sri Lankan Curry Powder in the recipe.)

The Highs and Lows of a Conflicted Cook: How to feed a crowd of people . . . . Sri Lankan Chicken Curry Recipe

DXBtoDOH

Some people can't pass up an opportunity to show off how culturally and morally superior they are. I see I won my private little bet.

You go to Sri Lanka because it's cheap, it's green, it has beaches and as you admitted in your final paragraph, it's far less of a hassle than India. It's India lite for those who are afraid to tackle the filth and hassles of India.

As a backwater island the cultural and artistry heritage of Sri Lanka pales in comparison to the chaotic complexity and artistry splendours of India but it's decent enough to keep you occupied for a few days on a cultural circuit where you pretend you're looking for something beyond greenery and cheap beer.

Millhouse

SL is great, I loved it. It's basically Thailand with desi food.

Meow

I am sure you never used to be so unpleasant.

Miss Ann Thrope

I see a pattern: you make some grossly generalised or unsubstantiated claim. Then when it is undermined by facts you:
a) resort to personal insults and mischaracterisation;
b) try to pretend you some other point entirely.

You must be President Trump!

My idea of holiday bliss is trekking around (sometimes obscure) historical and archaeological sites. I find sitting on the beach excruciating though I am very fond of beer. Maybe I get a bit carried away with my enthusiasm for the subject and waffle on a bit but in this case it's because there is so much to waffle on about. India is a huge and diverse place with countless splendours but little in the way of well preserved major sites dating back more than 500 years except religious sites of often very highly questionable provenance. Sri Lanka does have excellent and unique ancient sites, all in a compact manageable area as well a host of other interesting cultural and natural attractions and that is why I went there (and have also been to lots of different parts of India).

I really don't know why you insist on this pointless argument in the face of irrefutable facts? Oh yes, sorry, it's the Trump thing...

scrubbedexpat141

Me too. It's beyond dull. It's soul-destroying.

Slowly I shall turn this trip into activity mornings, beach/pool afternoons....which basically means I get to go exploring in the morning and sleep all afternoon, then drink....repeat.

jam25mack

That's why I get on with Cambodia, you can drink while exploring! Instead of doing one of the rip off temple tours in Siem Reap I rented a Tuk Tuk the night before (when he brought me back from the bar) for the next afternoon. I told the dude I needed to see 3 specific temples in a few hours and that I needed a chilly bin stocked with travel beers. Had a great afternoon the next day wandering round a temple, then beers en route, then temple, then beer, then a smoke on top of a temple, then beer.... then beer.... then beer......