All along, we had been putting a lot of thought into whether or not we wanted to go to the north of Sri Lanka at all. We knew the troubled past of the country and we knew that going there meant coming face-to-face with the reality of the situation. We decided though that it's important to see all of the country and to honor the people there by making the effort to spend our tourist dollars where they're needed.
I also feel like it's important to talk about the north. Many people only see the south, and so, only talk to people from there. In the south, the people believe that the government did a great job by ending the war quickly and efficiently. In the north, there is more of an attitude of fear and wariness because the war was ended forcefully without respecting the most basic human rights. I don't say any of this to deter people from visiting or to take away from the beauty and wonder of the country. I say it because I think it's important to not pretend that it didn't happen. The country is on the right track now, but in some places the road forward is longer.
Northern Sri Lanka definitely bears more of the scars of the recently ended war. We could feel it as soon as we started moving north of Kandy, but as we approached the north coast, the contrasts between life there and life in the south became very clear. The south of the country really seems to be enjoying a new age of prosperity and comfort that had definitely not reached the north yet. We noticed much more military presence while we were there. We also noticed that the people were much more wary and kept to themselves more. Sadly, we didn't meet many local friends during our time there.
Our first stop was Triconmalee. We were there in the off-season and you could definitely tell. The first night we literally couldn’t find another place to eat outside our hotel because everywhere else was already closed. There was also a guard post at the beach where armed men were patrolling the beach.. NOT somewhere you want to sit and relax at night.
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
The next day we explored the other way up the beach and found only 1 hotel open that direction as well. We decided to live outside our means for a day and enjoy the luxuries of this hotel. Nestled right on the beach it also had a pool and a couple restaurants.
For the afternoon we treated ourselves to a few drinks and a nice meal while we watched the waves and the different kinds of monkeys that like to come and terrorize the poor hotel workers.
While we were there we found out that there was a huge buffet BBQ on that night and we decided to splurge on it. There were about 8 different food stations with everything from curry to roast meats to desserts. We binged on delicious foods and drinks until we couldn’t eat another thing and finally went home to sleep.
From here we were headed for Jaffna. Again, we didn’t really have any plans here, we were just going to walk about and see what we could discover. Here too we found the atmosphere so different than we had experienced further to the south.
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
As we drove into town there were signs along the highway warning people that the area next to the road is still littered with landmines that have not been deactivated yet. There were bullet and shrapnel scars on many of the buildings that were not in ruins already. There was even a water tower that had been bombed down and left there as a memorial. It felt to us like more of a reminder to the people to stay in line than it was a memorial for the lives lost. Regardless, that contrast between life in the south and life in the north was very clear.
While we were in Jaffna we took a walk around the ruined fort on the sea front. I’m not sure if the damage took place in the recent war or in wars past, or if it was just time that did the unraveling, but it was all at once beautiful and sad, indicative of the turbulent past of the country.
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
From Jaffna, we decided to pay tribute to the lives lost in our own way. We got on a bus to Mannar, the little island town where the true atrocities of that war peaked. Here is where the remaining rebel forces were rounded up onto one beach. When the rebels called for a ceasefire, they were executed instead. We knew that parts of Sri Lanka would be difficult to see, but we felt that it was important to visit anyway. Everywhere you look in Sri Lanka there is beauty, but like most of the world, if you look more closely, hard reality and suffering is there too.
The journey to Mannar remains to this day one of the most taxing journeys of my traveling life (and I’ve been on some long, uncomfortable and boring bus trips). We could hear the bus coming long before it arrived in our line of sight. We got on cautiously and found a couple seats. As it turned out, the noise was the rattle of the motor and it was SO loud and vibrating SO strong that it actually shook the whole bus. It was so bad that if I leaned against my seat back for more than a few seconds I started to get motion sick. Add to that, there was only about 30 minutes of paved road in the entire journey so we were also bouncing across potholed dirt roads.
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
The real treat came when we came across a large construction zone where they were trying to build a road across a marshy patch of lake. The problem was, the only lane they had open was not entirely wide enough for a bus to pass. At times our bus was tipped so much to the side that even the locals started getting up from their seats leaning their weight over to the other side of the bus to try and keep it upright. We were sure we were goners!!! Through sheer luck the driver made it through and we finally got out of the bus on the other side in Mannar. We took a quick tour around the island by tuk-tuk checking out the beach and scoping out for a place to stay.
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
In the end we decided not to linger. Apparently the bus ride there wasn't enough abuse for us and we hopped onto another one back to Kandy. Luckily we were able to make the trip in one day and by that night we were there and on the hunt for a place to stay again.
We got in touch with our new friend Muhammad from our last visit to Kandy and he picked us up in his tuk-tuk not long after we arrived. We were treated to a lovely dinner with his wife, his two kids, his cousin and another traveling straggler they'd opened their home to. They were wonderful hosts, so proud of the new house they had just bought for themselves since his business was doing so well. It was great to see a young family thriving in the new economic boom the country was experiencing.
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
The next morning Muhammad picked us up and took us on a lovely trip to the Kandy Botanical Gardens. It’s an absolutely gorgeous sight with tons of different kinds of orchids and other beautiful plants and flowers.
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
On the long journey the day before, Jamie and I had decided that we were feeling the pull of India and we knew it was time to move on. At the gardens we tried our luck with ticket prices and found a flight to Chennai for the following day at an amazing price. We booked it quickly and then had to break the news to Muhammad that we were off again already.
For the rest of the afternoon, him and his little daughter took us on a scenic tour of the areas surrounding Kandy. It was beautiful the spend the time with them on our last day and to see Sri Lanka through their eyes.
Slowly we made our way back out the the main road to catch the bus back to Negombo for our flight out in the morning. We went out for one final dinner and a couple drinks to say a proper farewell to the country that treated us so well while we were here.
I’ve been dreaming of the day I get to go back and explore this glorious island again.. and FINALLY that day has a date!!! The TravelFreaks fly into Colombo, Sri Lanka on October 27, 2017!!!!!!
Follow along, next Jamie and I jump into India with all 4 feet!!! Hear about our adventures road tripping with locals and making our way from Chennai all the way to Goa in 6 weeks!!