R
Asian Continent



Sri Lanka:A Place Like No Other
Here is a country that is a microcosm of almost everything that can be found in Southeast Asia to interest tourism but without the negative sights that leave some travelers to the region in culture shock.
By Rod Lopez-Fabrega


Sri Lanka hangs from the southern tip of the huge Indian sub-continent like a droplet about to plunge into the waters of the Indian Ocean.

Sri Lanka (a.k.a. Ceylon) has been described as a dewdrop on the stem of the Indian lotus. Somewhat over-heated poetically, but geographically the description fits Sri Lanka well, as this island, only four percent larger than the state of West Virginia, hangs from the southern tip of the huge Indian sub-continent like a droplet about to plunge into the waters of the Indian Ocean. In many ways, however, the description is apt as this is a lush and handsome country with a culture that stretches back over 2,500 years; amazing archaeological monuments that are now declared World Heritage Sites; unspoiled wildlife reserves; outstandingly pure beaches; excellent accommodations in five-star hotels, elegant beach resorts, and ecologically designed lodges; Ayurveda spas; superior diving opportunities; noted golf courses; exotic festivals; friendly people; and the heritage of years under British, Dutch and Portuguese occupations evident everywhere.

The government is a democratic socialist republic that maintains its ties to the British Commonwealth and governs with a popularly elected president, prime minister and parliament in the British mode. In summation, prosperous Sri Lanka contains everything that makes Southeast Asia a fascinating magnate for Westerners--without the grinding poverty and human want that underlie the attractions of so many countries in the region. What is more, everything in compact Sri Lanka is easily accessible from Colombo, the capital, via a thorough network of paved highways and a good transportation system; and English is spoken almost everywhere.



...in almost every village you pass you will see a statue of the Buddha looking down on the passing parade.
A sample tour you might consider:

You arrive at Colombo's Bandaranaike airport on a connecting 10-hour, Sri Lankan Airlines wide-bodied jet flight from London, Paris or Zurich (shorter connections from Tokyo or Dubai) and are transferred to Jetwing's Royal Oceanic Hotel. This comfortable resort hotel is located on the beach of the quaint nearby fishing village of Negombo. After a short rest and a swim in the warm Indian Ocean, you are driven by air-conditioned 12-passenger bus, to the Palm Garden Village Hotel in Anuradhapura for your first overnight.

Your first impressions as you are driven along the country's fine road system is that in many places modest homes and shops line the roadways, but there are no signs of the poverty so visible in other Asian countries. Everywhere, the lush tropical vegetation fills the landscape, and domed dagoba temples seem to pop up every few miles. On a prominent corner in almost every village you pass you will see a glass-enclosed shrine with a statue of the Buddha looking down on the passing parade. Surprisingly, there may also be a similar shrine at another corner clearly dedicated to a Christian saint. This is, after all, a predominantly Buddhist country, but one that is tolerant of most religions.


The base of the temple is surrounded by a frieze of elephants in bas relief.
Anuradhapura and the Bo Tree:

Anuradhapura is the most celebrated of Sri Lanka's ancient ruined cities. This city is the repository of several priceless treasures of Buddhism. One is the dagoba of Thuparama, an immense spire-topped dome that is believed to enshrine the collarbone of the Buddha, himself. The base of the temple is surrounded by a frieze of elephants in bas relief. Another remarkable treasure in Anuradhapura is the sacred Bo Tree said to have been grown from a branch of the tree under which Siddhartha Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment. As the story goes, a sapling of the ficus religioso that sheltered the Buddha was brought from the Magadha Kingdom of ancient India in a golden bowl 2,250 years ago and planted on this spot in Sri Lanka, bowl and all. It is said to be the oldest authenticated tree in the world. How was it authenticated? Apparently, a special caste was designated to care for this priceless tree, and from the very beginning, this family and its descendants have looked after the Bo Tree. Surprisingly, the tree itself is not a very impressive specimen, but it is, nevertheless, protected by armed guards and venerated by almost everyone for its association with the source of Buddhism.



Polonnaruwa, the ancient capital of Sri Lanka from the eleventh to thirteenth centuries...


Polonnaruwa and the Cave of Knowledge

Your tour then moves on to Polonnaruwa, the ancient capital of Sri Lanka from the eleventh to thirteenth centuries and the repository of outstanding ruins, frescoes and enormous statues of reclining Buddhas. The ruins of the old city are on the shores of Lake Topawewa, man-made during the reign of a twelfth century king—a huge task, when one considers it was accomplished with nothing but manual labor. What remains of the ancient city itself is a cluster of palaces and temples contained within a rectangular city wall. The foundations of the royal palace and the king's audience hall are particularly well preserved.




An outstanding site in Polonnaruwa is the Galyhare, also known as the Cave of the Spirits of Knowledge. It is an outdoor rock wall where giant standing and reclining sculptures of the Buddha were carved out of the living rock. It remains a holy and venerated shrine and a place where young Buddhist priests and students are brought to meditate and to receive religious instruction.



Sigiriya, with its impregnable palace fortress built in the fifth century B.C...rises from the Sri Lankan plains like an Asian Masada or Machu Picchu.

Sigiriya, the big rock

Dinner and overnight is at the Sigiriya Village Hotel in Sigiriya. The hotel grounds are sumptuous and its high-ceilinged reception and dining pavilion is stunning. Overlooking this notable resort is the towering Sigiriya Rock Fortress. This remarkable place alone is worth a trip to Sri Lanka.
If you are physically fit, you can climb the amazing rock of Sigiriya with its impregnable palace fortress built in the fifth century B.C. by Kasyapa, a security-obsessed usurper to the throne of Anuradhapura. Surrounded by acres of pleasure fountains and gardens (still being excavated by archaeologists,) three crocodile-filled moats, and two sets of perimeter walls, the rock rises like an Asian Masada or Machu Picchu. On the climb up metal staircases anchored to the shear walls, you will pass the few remaining and now priceless wall frescoes of several of Kasyapa's 500 harem beauties, their colorations and details miraculously preserved though they were painted fifteen centuries ago.


In Dambulla's second cave, there are 150 beautifully carved and preserved gilded statues of gods and Buddhas.

Dambulla's sacred cave temples:

From there your tour moves a short distance on to Dambulla and its five cave temples filed with Buddhist murals and many Buddha statues. Visitors must remove their shoes and approach the shrines bare-foot. The first cave is filled with the 47-foot-long recumbent image of the meditating Buddha. Fresh lotus flower bouquets fill a shelf directly under His gaze, and pilgrims kneel in veneration before Him. Your guide explains that, to believers, the Buddha is not considered to be divine. He is not a deity to whom one prays. One can venerate His wisdom and pay homage to His enlightenment. In the second cave, there are 150 beautifully carved and preserved gilded statues of gods and Buddhas. The rock ceilings are painted in brilliantly preserved and intricately detailed patterns and images of the holy figures. All the caves are cool and the textures of the rock floors as felt through the bare soles of your feet are almost those of living flesh. It is an amazing place—the womb of this religion of peace.


...the adventurous can rent-an-elephant for a short but exciting ride down jungle paths and across water.


Ride 'em sahib:

For a radical change of pace, nearby is the Habarana Special Elephant Safari where the adventurous can rent-an-elephant for a short but exciting ride down jungle paths and across water. As many as six would-be elephant equestrians climb up a bamboo scaffolding and slide on to the howdah saddle on the animal's back. The elephant's mahout--a man who literally lives with his charge--walks by the beast's side, and off you go for the ride of a lifetime. Ask for either Sita or Gemunu, two gentle giants with soulful eyes. As your van leaves the safari center, the highway crosses a river, and you may see other elephants enjoying their daily bath, their mahouts lovingly scrubbing and scratching trunks, flanks and behind those gigantic, floppy ears.




There is much to see around Kandy...



Many varieties of tea are grown in verdant fields that carpet the hills in linear patterns made by rows of low-growing shrubs.
Kandy:

Spend the night at the Sigiriya Village Hotel.
Then, it's on to Kandy, Sri Lanka's second largest city, and home of the Dalada Maligawa, one of Buddhism's most sacred temple grounds containing the palace of Sri Lanka's former king and the holy of holies, the repository of an actual tooth relic of the Lord Buddha. It is said that in all the world there are three of the Buddha's teeth--one in India, one in Thailand and this one in Sri Lanka. All are Buddhism's most sacred relics. The Dalada Maligawa houses the tooth in a carefully guarded shrine, behind a gilded altar and inside a series of nesting golden and bejeweled caskets. The caskets are brought out once a year for the crowds that gather at that time, but the tooth itself is never displayed.



Time for Ceylon tea:

There is much to see around Kandy: its handsome hillside residences, Malwatta and Asgiriya, the two most important Buddhist monasteries in Sri Lanka, drives and walks to visit tea plantations, and enough activities to fill an entire second week. Of special interest is a drive to the highlands for a visit to a tea plantation. Who has not heard of Ceylon Tea? Not so surprisingly, perhaps, is the fact that it was Scotsman James Taylor who got the ball rolling in 1867on his plantation in the central highlands, areas cool and subtropical and meeting all the agricultural requirements for growing the world's best teas. Now it is the island's major crop for export and represents a full 22 percent of the world's tea exports. Many varieties are grown in verdant fields that carpet the hills in linear patterns made by rows and rows of low-growing shrubs. Experts classify teas according to the altitude at which they were grown. The medium grown are the ones to be found around Kandy, and these are classified as bright and producing a dark brew. A tea estate that is well worth visiting is the Melfort Tea Garden on the Pussellawa plantation. Spotless, whitewashed building house drying tables and all the processing equipment to sort and prepare the various grades of world-famous hand-picked Ceylon tea. The "plucking" is done largely by Tamil women, descendants of workers brought from India during the colonial era. Their children walking home from school in their crisp uniforms are just as curious about you as you are of them.



The orphanage houses as many as 65 elephants that were either abandoned in infancy or wounded.

Elephants, elephants and more elephants:

Overnights are at the Mahaweli Reach Hotel in Kandy.
On the road from Kandy to Colombo, it is worth stopping at the pachyderm orphanage. Established in 1975, the orphanage houses as many as 65 elephants that were either abandoned in infancy or wounded. They make quite a spectacular show for visitors having lunch on an open veranda as the elephants enjoy their bathing and play time in the river below. In the old days, there were more than 30,000 elephants in Sri Lanka, but these wild herds were decimated by hunters during the colonial period. However, this orphanage and a new ecological awareness are bringing the numbers back rapidly.


Colombo is surprisingly westernized, yet with its own unmistakable Sri Lankan character.

Colombo, capital of Sri Lanka:

Arrive in Colombo and spend the next few nights in the Galadari Hotel, comfortable and located along elegant Galle Face Drive next door to the Presidential Secretariat and not far from the Portuguese Fort overlooking the harbor. This is a free day for exploration of Colombo, the country's capital city, cosmopolitan and filled with many-starred international hotels, shopping centers and surprisingly westernized, yet with its own unmistakable Sri Lankan character. You will notice that almost all shop and business establishments are named in English. Shopping possibilities are many. The Sri Lanka Gem and Jewelery Exchange is a place for fine gemstones, and the Sri Lanka Handicraft Board stores are good for all kinds of metal, fabric and woodcrafts of high quality.




There's much more:

For those with more time, the beaches and beach resorts of Sri Lanka are outstanding. Jetwing Holidays, the islands major tourism agency, owns and manages 15 excellent and very popular beach hotels and resorts, safari hotels, up country lodges, and transit hotels. In addition, a subsidiary, Jetwing Eco Holidays operates a complete adventure service that includes wildlife safaris, trekking, bird watching and cultural tours. The young owners are so committed that they themselves lead tours on an extraordinary selection of birding and nature safaris ranging from a 12-night/13-day package tour for truly serious birdwatchers to safaris to the country's national parks where wildlife is abundant. Gal Oya and Udawalawe National parks are home to large herds of wild elephants and Wilpattu National Park has a sizeable leopard population. Another option for planning more excursions while in Sri Lanka is the extensive program of reasonably priced tour packages offered by Sri Lankan Airlines. These cover every possible combination of attractions, from day trips to more extended six- and seven-day adventures.

Finally, surrounded by the warm waters of the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka offers exceptional diving opportunities along its southern and western shores. Reliable dive-tour packages and underwater safaris and expeditions are offered by specialist agencies. Shipwreck dives are of special interest. In addition, for another kind of water sport, whitewater river rafting is another possibility, though we can't personally tell you about that.

Some useful references:

Ceylon Tourist Board, 212-432-7156, Fax 212-524-9653, ctbUSA@aflusa.com ;

Sri Lankan Airlines, 877-915-2652, Fax 732-205-0299, sales@sltusa.com ;

Jetwing Travels, 011-94-1-345700, Fax 011-94-1-345725, jettrav@sri.lanka.net
A word about safety:
For years there has been a strictly internal struggle based on ethnic/economic differences between the Tamil areas of the north and the rest of Sri Lanka. In March 2002, the issue is well on its way to a final peaceful solution. Sri Lankan tourism officials emphasize that all tourist locations have remained unaffected and that since the inception of this squabble, four million tourists have already visited Sri Lanka. French and British tourists come on fully-loaded charter flights or on Sri Lankan Airlines, an excellent carrier with a fleet composed entirely of wide-bodied, state-of-the-art aircraft. The airline itself offers 21 economical tour packages within the country, covering most sites of interest to tourism. In fact, for tourism, this is a safe country with petty crime at a minimum--especially as compared to street crime in the major cities of northern and central South America. As always these days, it is prudent for the prospective traveler to check with the U.S. State Department's consular travel recommendations.

Photo Credits: Rod Lopez-Fabrega, and Sri Lanka Tourist Board
© 2002 ROMAR TRAVEL GUIDES