Sri Lanka or Ceylon as it was known until 1972 is called the teardrop of India due to its shape and location. Â Itâs a tiny island nation off the Southern tip of India known for its natural beauty. Â Its history, sadly, is marred by a twenty-six year civil war which only recently ended in 2009. Â
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Sri Lanka is home to many different religions and ethnic groups with the Sinhalese being the majority (they make up three-quarters of the country) and the Tamil's who are the minority. Â The Tamil's occupy most of the Northern province of Sri Lanka, however, they are a minority in the rest of the country. Â When Sri Lanka gained independence from Great Britain in 1948 relations between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamil communities were strained. Â Rising tensions led to the formation of militant groups (specifically the Tamil Tigers) advocating for independence for the Tamil people in the North from the rest of the country. Â The civil war that followed cost the country tremendously. Â Tourism slumped, the government had to spend crippling amounts on defense forces and foreign and local investment dried up. Â It's claimed approximately 80,000-100,000 people were killed during this time. Â The Sri Lanka military finally defeated the Tamil Tigers in May, 2009. Â As such, the nation is only now slowly getting itself back on its feet. Â
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My flight to Sri Lanka started with a stopover in Doha, Qatar in the Middle East. Â Since no flights go non-stop from Frankfurt, I chose Qatar as a stopover point as I had never been to this tiny country. Â I spent a full day in Doha and after having a look at their very impressive skyline, have decided that this is where all our money for oil is going! Â Other than a lot of sand and some serious skyscrapers that put any skyline in the West to shame, there wasn't a whole lot to do in Doha. Â After spending the day in the city I headed back to the airport for the continuation of my flight to Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. Â
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With natural beauty waiting outside of the capital city, the first thing I did was exit the hustle and bustle of Colombo and hopped a train for the two and a half hour ride to Kandy in the hill country. Â With a higher elevation I escaped the very oppressive heat of the coast. Â There were no first or second class tickets left and so I bought third class. Â Traveling with just my small backpack, I can get around pretty much anywhere easily. Â I ended up sitting in the snack car as I had ample room on a bench I found and watched the world go by through the open train door. Â The countryside was green and lush. Â As we pulled into Kandy I left the total pandemonium that was the train station, got out my map and found my way to the hotel I had picked out. Â I was delighted to find an old, colonial British hotel that most likely had seen better days. Â A charming room with a toilet down the hall only set me back $11. Â I sat on the terrace a while to watch the busy street below and saw beautiful flowers arranged in a beautiful manner for sale. Â I later went down and found out they were flowers for sale to be taken to the Buddhist temples as a gift. Â I wandered around Kandy for the day and that night took in a traditional dance complete with a fire eater. Â
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A couple days later I found my way further North to a former royal capital; Polonnaruwa. Â I quickly found and hired a guide and driver to take me to the many ruins in and around the area. Â As a former royal capital, almost 1,000 years old, the Polonnaruwa area has many sights including, my favorite, a huge standing and reclining Buddha carved from a slab of granite. Â The standing Buddha stands over 23 feet high with the reclining one stretching out at 45 feet. Â After many hours of roaming, I hopped back in my ride and headed back to Kandy. Â I had been enduring a serious cold at the time and had been blowing my nose constantly when my guide finally suggested we stop at the local herbal healer. Â I agreed and we eventually pulled up to a beautiful, landscaped area set amongst beautiful plants and trees. Â The old healer came out and asked what was wrong, immediately giving me some awful tea infused with a variety of herbs. Â After talking for only about 2 minutes and telling him I had a serious flu, the next thing I know he gets some potent, natural balm and starts putting it up my nostrils with his finger! Â I generally don't left people I just met stick their finger up my nose, but he seemed to know what he was doing. Â He gave me the jar of herbal balm and sent me on my way. Â Within minutes I was able to breath freely through my nose and no more Kleenex were needed after that. Â My nostrils were free and clear the rest of the trip!
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I eventually hopped another train for a five and a half hour ride to tiny village of Ella set in the midst of tea country. Â Sri Lanka (Ceylon) tea is well known throughout the world. Â I decided to spend a day at a tea plantation, since I had never been to one before. Â As I walked into the huge factory the smell of tea was overwhelming. Â Numerous, long wooded boxes were stretched out each containing huge amounts of tea leaves that had just been plucked from the surrounding area. Â On the drive to the factory, I could see many people out amongst the plants picking the leaves. Â Each had a large, white bag on their back which was affixed to their head by a large strap that went across the forehead. Â I watched as they would grab a handful of leaves and then toss it over their head into the bag. Â When full, they would return to the factory and each bag would be emptied into the long, wooden boxes to dry. Â The area was kept warm and amazingly the new leaves would be dried within a day. Â They were then dropped onto the lower floor where they would go into a variety of machines. Â I was most amazed at when complete, the tea was dumped in a huge pile on the floor and several women with shovels would walk around the pile tossing a shovel full of tea from the outside into the middle, a low tech way of quality control. Â Making sure all the tea was mixed, there would be no variation in taste, rather, every bag would taste the same.Â
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My time in the beautiful tea country came to an end as I caught a five hour bus ride to Welligama on the Southern coast of Sri Lanka. Â Old school buses are often overhauled and serve as local transport in third world countries. Â I got on an old, bright red school bus and had to stand for the entire 5 hours as it was so packed. Â We wound our way around the Sri Lanka countryside until we finally came to the fishing village of Welligama. Â I found a place to stay and checked out the small village and beaches. Â Cows are free to roam wherever they like in Sri Lanka and as such I found it an odd sight to see several cows on the beach! Â Numerous vendors had the days catch on display for sale. Â I found a restaurant right on the water and picked a fish for my dinner. Â At the crack of dawn the following day, I rose early to go out to the ocean to watch the stilt fisherman. Â They were the most elegant looking fisherman I've ever seen. Â Several wiry men were perched on top of stilts out in the water, not far from shore, with their lines in the water. Â Every morning and evening they can be found doing the same. Â How they stood on the tiny, thin stilt for hours, I don't know. Â I spent a few more days in the area before catching the train up the coast back toward the capital.Â
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I stopped short of Colombo and relaxed on the beach at Mt. Lavinia. Â Eventually I made it back to the hustle of Colombo; a seriously hot city. Â I almost felt ill it was so hot. Â Interestingly, while watching Anthony Bourdain's show on Sri Lanka, he mentioned the same thing. Â The heat is almost sickening. Â Not being a fan of heat, the capital was almost too much for me. Â I spent the last day buzzing around the market, trying to keep cool and had one last great fish dinner before heading home. Â
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Sri Lanka is pleasant and really does have some beautiful, natural scenery in its countryside. Â It's very obvious, however, the country is still getting over the effects of its long civil war. Â Â Â
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