Sri Lanka Day 1: Colombo to Ella
We had Holi, the Indian festival of colors celebrating the onset of Spring, on March 10, a Tuesday, so I took a day's vacation to combine it with the weekend and make a 4-day trip to Sri Lanka.
I started the first day at Colombo, went directly by train to Ella, spent a day there, visited Kandy for a day, then came back to Colombo for a few hours and caught the flight back. My budget was around Rs.25K ($350) of which the flight tickets accounted for Rs.18K.
- Gold leaf plate in Brahmi script from 1st century CE detailing construction of Buddhist monastery.
I started the first day at Colombo, went directly by train to Ella, spent a day there, visited Kandy for a day, then came back to Colombo for a few hours and caught the flight back. My budget was around Rs.25K ($350) of which the flight tickets accounted for Rs.18K.
- Gold leaf plate in Brahmi script from 1st century CE detailing construction of Buddhist monastery.
Sri Lanka's ancient History begins from around 600 BCE when Prince Vijaya with 700 followers arrived there after being expelled from Vanga (Bengal, India).
The Brahmi script seems to be similar to the Dravidian languages like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, while the spoken language itself was Sinhalese Prakrit.
Arahand Mahinda Thero, the son of Ashoka the Great, introduced Buddhism in the 3rd century BCE, and it continued to flourish till the 5th century CE (a period of almost 8 centuries).
Indian kings such as the Cholas and the Pandyas conducted warfare against the Sri Lankans and saced viharas from the 5th to the 11th century CE making it difficult for Buddhism and forcing them to retreat South.
Again, in 1215, the South Indian leader, Kalinga Magha invaded, looting, ransacking and pillaging everything in Anuradhapura (the ancient capital of Sri Lanka). He is known as the founder of Jaffna. The Tamil - Sinhalese racial war perhaps traces itself back centuries.
There is a grand myth prevalent in India that Indian kings were peaceful, or that Buddhism is a peaceful religion. Wars and warfare were common in the ancient world, do not shy away from any religion.
The connection between warfare and religion is age-old and it has always required the absolute moral authority of a Church, Mosque, Vihara - or a long dead Chairman Mao's Giant Photo, or Mein Kampf to sanction a massacre, to justify driving people out from land and livelihood.
I can imagine some of the Sinhalese Buddhists praying Buddham sharanam gachhami (I seek refuge in the Buddha) when carrying out the Mullivaikkal Genocide in 2009 of over 40,000 Sri Lankan Tamils.
The Brahmi script seems to be similar to the Dravidian languages like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, while the spoken language itself was Sinhalese Prakrit.
Arahand Mahinda Thero, the son of Ashoka the Great, introduced Buddhism in the 3rd century BCE, and it continued to flourish till the 5th century CE (a period of almost 8 centuries).
Indian kings such as the Cholas and the Pandyas conducted warfare against the Sri Lankans and saced viharas from the 5th to the 11th century CE making it difficult for Buddhism and forcing them to retreat South.
Again, in 1215, the South Indian leader, Kalinga Magha invaded, looting, ransacking and pillaging everything in Anuradhapura (the ancient capital of Sri Lanka). He is known as the founder of Jaffna. The Tamil - Sinhalese racial war perhaps traces itself back centuries.
There is a grand myth prevalent in India that Indian kings were peaceful, or that Buddhism is a peaceful religion. Wars and warfare were common in the ancient world, do not shy away from any religion.
The connection between warfare and religion is age-old and it has always required the absolute moral authority of a Church, Mosque, Vihara - or a long dead Chairman Mao's Giant Photo, or Mein Kampf to sanction a massacre, to justify driving people out from land and livelihood.
I can imagine some of the Sinhalese Buddhists praying Buddham sharanam gachhami (I seek refuge in the Buddha) when carrying out the Mullivaikkal Genocide in 2009 of over 40,000 Sri Lankan Tamils.
Sri Lanka as a country has a population of 21 million people, around twice that of my home city, Hyderabad.
Around 75% are Sinhalese Buddhists. The roughly 11% of Sri Lankan Tamils are significant more in the North towards Jaffna. There are also 9% Sri Lankan Moors (predominantly Muslims).
It is rated high on the Human Development Index among Asian countries which isn't very apparent from the streets of downtown Colombo, near the Fort area.
Sri Lanka also prides itself on being one of the highest South Asian nations in terms of Per Capita GDP, a fact that this man in Pettah market with the two-wheel cart may disagree with.
It does rate higher than India, Vietnam, and the rest, while the averge figure of around $4,000 an year does not present a true picture everywhere because of large income inequality.
Pettah Market (literally meaning a market "outside" the Fort area), is a busy place at 8 am and gets busier as the day progresses. Each street has developed a specialisation - electronics, clothes, mobiles, etc.
Around 75% are Sinhalese Buddhists. The roughly 11% of Sri Lankan Tamils are significant more in the North towards Jaffna. There are also 9% Sri Lankan Moors (predominantly Muslims).
It is rated high on the Human Development Index among Asian countries which isn't very apparent from the streets of downtown Colombo, near the Fort area.
Sri Lanka also prides itself on being one of the highest South Asian nations in terms of Per Capita GDP, a fact that this man in Pettah market with the two-wheel cart may disagree with.
It does rate higher than India, Vietnam, and the rest, while the averge figure of around $4,000 an year does not present a true picture everywhere because of large income inequality.
Pettah Market (literally meaning a market "outside" the Fort area), is a busy place at 8 am and gets busier as the day progresses. Each street has developed a specialisation - electronics, clothes, mobiles, etc.
Pettah market may not really represent the true picture compared to the skyscrapers in Colombo, but it is also a view of one of the sections with high population densities and how it lives.
Colombo Fort Station in Sri Lanka's capital, is somewhat smaller than Hyderabad's Railway Station.
The Sinhalese script almost looks like Telugu, Malayalam or Tamil, including some of the diatrical marks and shape of the letters but has different words.
I kept looking for at least the remnants of the 16th century Portuguese "Fort" from which the area got its name, but understood there was no building called the Fort really! The Dutch had taken over from the Portuguese, and were in turn supplanted by the British who remained till 1948 when Sri Lanka got its indepedence.
Colombo Fort Station in Sri Lanka's capital, is somewhat smaller than Hyderabad's Railway Station.
The Sinhalese script almost looks like Telugu, Malayalam or Tamil, including some of the diatrical marks and shape of the letters but has different words.
I kept looking for at least the remnants of the 16th century Portuguese "Fort" from which the area got its name, but understood there was no building called the Fort really! The Dutch had taken over from the Portuguese, and were in turn supplanted by the British who remained till 1948 when Sri Lanka got its indepedence.
We did visit the Maritime Museum which served as a warehouse in the Fort during British times.
The train ride from Colombo to Nuwara Eliya, Ella, and Baitulla is one of the most gorgeous train rides. It is on par with some of the great train journeys in the world. Nuwara Eliya is hill country and tea country, and the train continuously ascends through the mountains.
The train is without any airconditioning, and it was very hot and humid in Colombo. We had chosen the best class (observation class) and were seated right at the back of the train, where we could see out through the back facing windows.
Sri Lankan railways doesn't have any online reservation. Reservation opens around 35 days before the journey and runs out fast just like in India. I had booked online tickets through a UK based agent that I found was the only source which sent a person to book the reserved seats at the railway station.
Tea estates dot the region of Nuwara Eliya.
Sri Lanka has some geat coconut arrack that is quite strong, and came highly recommended by a friend. While he had suggested fish to go along with it, the liquor store didn't serve any. I tasted a large shot, and it came across very smooth, and didn't smell anything like coconut.
The train ride from Colombo to Nuwara Eliya, Ella, and Baitulla is one of the most gorgeous train rides. It is on par with some of the great train journeys in the world. Nuwara Eliya is hill country and tea country, and the train continuously ascends through the mountains.
The train is without any airconditioning, and it was very hot and humid in Colombo. We had chosen the best class (observation class) and were seated right at the back of the train, where we could see out through the back facing windows.
Sri Lankan railways doesn't have any online reservation. Reservation opens around 35 days before the journey and runs out fast just like in India. I had booked online tickets through a UK based agent that I found was the only source which sent a person to book the reserved seats at the railway station.
Tea estates dot the region of Nuwara Eliya.
Sri Lanka has some geat coconut arrack that is quite strong, and came highly recommended by a friend. While he had suggested fish to go along with it, the liquor store didn't serve any. I tasted a large shot, and it came across very smooth, and didn't smell anything like coconut.
Goa's best coconut fenny tastes bad and has a very pungent smell in comparison, so I was expecting this arrack also to stink to high heaven.
Cafe Sameera close to the hostel where we stayed in Ella. The food is barely edible and it was a bad decision not to move to other close by restaurants for dinner.
Cafe Sameera close to the hostel where we stayed in Ella. The food is barely edible and it was a bad decision not to move to other close by restaurants for dinner.
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