Since 1st of jan it`s been necessary to obtain an ETA (visit visa) on-line for Sri Lanka.
It took 5 minutes to fill in the form and pay $20 for a 30 day(extendable ) up to 90 days visa application.
The site tells you it will take 24 hours to assess your application and notify you if you have been granted ETA or not!

Within 10 minutes of submitting application my ETA had come thro`...so easy!

Shame Indian visas aren`t quite so easy.

... shame Sri Lanka, which is desperate for foreign exchange, has started charging for these visas which used to be free.
India of course does offer visa on arrival for some countries.

AndyD 8-)#

We went last year and would never go back..lovely place but full of cheap rip off merchants...shame. Even the Gardens charge a different entry fee for foreigners...how do the flowers know the difference? We all look the same to them!

Obviously taking a tip on entry fees from India then.
How sad I am to read that

Dread - x

Sorry but although we had a great time and certainly we made some good friends there we felt that the scale of extras for skin tax was well above that here. We went from Colombo to Galle to Kandy and then on to Trinco...it was a lovely trip but we got tired of having to check the prices for everything. The final straw came when we went to buy a bottle of water and the old lady in the stall asked 25 rps for a bottle which we knew was 15 rps. When challenged she said it was cold...

When the Tsunami hit Sri Lanka my immediate thoughts went to some old friends of ours in Ambalangodo, who fortunately, were safe and sound.In fact Hikkadua and Ambalangoda were not hit as bad as , say, Gaul down the coast.Within two days of the Tsunami hitting,Sri Lanka was the first one to wave the begging bowl in the worlds face.India refused to accept aid but Sri Lanka demanded it....sys quite alot about a country does that.

... and when they got the aid none of it got past the sticky hands of the politicians and babus - that says even more about a country!

AndyD 8-(₹

The country is noticeably divided between the rich in the west and south and the poorer Tamils in the east and north. We lived just outside Trinco and had to pass thro twelve army check points to go home every day. We were there to discover where my wifes Great Grandfather used tro live in 1907 as he was in the RN there. And we did with the help of some great people.

What a breathe of fresh air Sri Lanka is!
Reminds me of what Goa was like 17yrs ago.Lots of rickshaws and locals riding bicycles with granny on the cross bar.
Saw a home delivery vehicle today for gas bottles........a bicycle!
Every where is so clean,every one puts their litter in bins.
The beaches of Negombo are supposedly polluted!! 95% cleaner than Goan beaches and no sun beds or shacks.The guest houses along the beach front have their sunbeds within their confines!

I should have been moving on to the beautiful hill station of Kandy tomorrow but due to family circumstances in the UK I`m staying near the airport in case I need to return .Not a good start to my 2 months internment.

Will keep you all informed on Sri lanka if I get to see more of it!

All the guide books poo-poo Negombo as a tatty suburb of Colombo, but we found it quite pleasant, crowds of local people walking along the beach to take the morning air, or crowding round the snack wagons in the evening.
Only drawback, the restaurants are ridiculously expensive.

AndyD 8-)#

Found a fab one tonight at the end of roas where Im staying as didn`t want to be out for long.
Local curry and rice(pork,chicken,prawn) plus Dal,pumpkin curry ,brinjal curry and salad ,poppadom and a big bottle of beer for 550slk and NO service charge!About£3 at current rates.

The 10% service charge is a killer!

Had various vadas and prawn cakes for lunch at Negombo beach park.50p for a bagful that was too much to eat...in a bag made from a used school exercise book....was a bit dubious of things that could get attached to the like!!

Nice to taste some local food as most restaurants have menus similar to Goa with the addition of Devilled whatever you fancy.

Got to be cheap whatever the price:

300 grams of mushrooms in Florida supermarket = $3.69 + 6% tax - bloody outrageous! Bread & other staple carbohydrates just as vastly over ****ing priced.

H.

Pleased you are enjoying SL and we liked Negombo too..the town was interesting, the port great and the restaurants lovely. We stayed in Marine Guest House and we couldnt have been made more welcome..loved it. Have fun..

At that price, maybe they were "magic"? Would explain a lot........


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Hey Hem

You having a bit of tourettes at the moment ? that's the second post containing xxxx - and you're usually so restrained

Dread - x