Day 3 ,4: back to Colombo to Chennai….. End of the trip....

Day 2 at kandy ended with all the spots to visit. The last day was rest time for me and some shopping to do and get back to Mysore from Chennai. The ticket reservation to Colombo was done in the intercity train and from Chennai to Mysore, there was no reservation done as I was unsure what time the flight might reach Chennai. I decided to travel in bus to Bangalore and catch 3PM train to Mysore from Bangalore.

Got up early morning at 9.30 AM and spent some time after breakfast. Then I went to nearby handicraft shop to purchase some items. Man the prices were too high. I bargained and got 30% discount on them. But still I felt they had quoted high price. Since my budget for shopping got exhausted, I couldn’t do more. So finished the shopping and came back to room. Paid the bills and then packed my stuffs. It w-as time for me to travel back to Mysore.

Left the room and came near kandy lake. There were couple of Indo-Lankan restaurant and I had a good meal there. Some SL people helped to describe the menu and I got what I wanted. For 70SLR I had full meals and headed to Kandy railway station after purchasing Ceylon Tea. Train was at 3PM and I reached there at 2PM.

Roamed around the station, got some snaps of the heritage railways station and took my seat in the train. I was happy to have the window seat, later I got to know that I had not been given window seat L. In SL trains, the window seat is not marked with letter W. so its bit confusing.

One SL lady came and told that she has the window seat and said that she will exchange the seat aftr some time. She was traveling to Colombo and spoke fluent English, was astonished to see that there are people who speak fluent English in SL also; by looks it was clear that she was brought up outside SL. I had to leave the seat and the train started at 3 PM as scheduled. On the way the, took some snaps of beautiful views of the nature. The shots which I missed when traveling to kandy. Aftr an hour, she offered the window seat so that I could continue my photo session.  Train reached Colombo at 5.45PM. I had plenty of time to spend. Was not having any idea what to do. Got out of the train station and started walking near the station towards the harbor. Met some SL executives and asked them are thre any nearby spots to see. They said WTC and seashore is nearby and I can spend some time there.

Started walking towards the SL WTC and took some snaps of the building. There was heavy security in that area as it is a military zone and then I walked around the seashore. Took some snaps there, spent some time there. Then I looked at my cell and time was still 6.45PM. I saw that the light house was nearby. Then I decided to walk towards the light house. I had to enquire the security forces and then enter into the area as it was clearly marked restricted zone. I went to the light house , by that time it was 7.30 and I came back to the SL telecom building. There I saw a good hotel, Harbour, asked for fried rice as it was only veg item available.  Food was good there. Enjoyed the meals there and it was worth 250SLR. I asked the hotel cashier for the directions to the Colombo bus stand and left from there. Reached the station and waited for the bus 187. one more person there who was there , an executive helped me to get the bus as there were some busses with 187/1. Said thanks to him and got into the bus.. The bus reached airport station at 9.45. From there I caught the airport shuttle. On the way, all people were made to get out of the bus, I was shocked, we have not even reached airport and thy were asking them to get out. 2 foreigners who were in front seats were not asked to get out. The security guy came to me and asked my passport and he looked at it and went away. Then the bus took all the passengers who had got out and it started. All SL citizen’s ID card and luggage is verified. They co-operate as its for their safety.

After entering to airport, the luggage were scanned before the entry to airport and its mandatory, some Indians who were there were cribbing. They should understand that its for their safety. After getting the luggage’s scanned, I went into the departure lobby. Time was 10.30 and I called home and friends from there and then it was a long time wait for me as I had to get in only at 1.30AM for checkin counter. Roamed around the lobby and got some snacks to eat. At 11.30 PM had some snacks and refreshed myself. At 1.30 entered in to the check in counter and got the boarding pass and waited in the departure lounge, there was one more security check before u could enter into the boarding area. After roaming around duty free shops, i sat in the lobby after taking some photographs. The camera was now exhausted as it had to work around 450 snaps which I took in the entire journey, the most till date.

The plane started at 4AM and landed in Chennai at 5AM. The crowd was too much as there were some tourists from SL to India.

This was my trip to SL J, the first ever trip for me, where I traveled alone. It was bit hectic, adventurous and I had some lonely time back from home. Wish I had more time….  U know, time never waits…

Ok folks one more post where I will put some points of SL, and the moments ….

Happy reading…

Lanka trip Day 2: Beat in kandy

After witnessing a a mini war on first day and enjoying a good journey on the way to kandy, it was the next day where I had some plans to go out and explore the lankan land.

After discussing and chking out some info in the media, I decided to explore Dambulla and return back to kandy on second day. Dambulla is a must visit place as it has some beautiful Buddhist temples and nearby Dambulla is sigriya.

Major attractions of Dambulla include the largest and best preserved cave temple complex of Sri Lanka, and the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, famous for being built in just 167 days. The city also boasts to have the largest rose quartz mountain range in South Asia, and the Iron wood forest [Wiki].

Sigiriya is an ancient rock fortress and palace ruin situated in the central Matale District of Sri Lanka, surrounded by the remains of an extensive network of gardens, reservoirs, and other structures. A popular tourist destination, Its situated about 15 kms from Dambulla.

So plan was set and as usual I woke up at 9.30AM instead of 7.30 AM. Too lazy to get up as it was a leisure trip for me. After having some bakery stuffs which I had got last night, I got ready to start to dambulla. I had info that the busses to Dambulla leave from goods Shed near Kandy station. I met the guesthouse owner and had a chat with them. He suggested me to visit sigiriya and then he suggested me to start as early as possible and reach the destination. I left for goods shed near the ralway station at 10.30 . On the way I went to the View pint on the mountain and took some snaps and there also I saw heavily guarded military people, it was for our own safety. The guys were so young that they looked like in their early 20’s … young army, ready to combat at any emergency.

After I reached the gods shed station , I asked a police person where will the bus to dambulla be. My god, the problem started there. He understood it a gampola. He pointed to the bus which was standing next to him. Then I asked the bus conductor, he also misunderstood and said it will go to dambulla. Damn it . after the bus started and went near the  peridaniya university complex. Then I got to know my day went for a toss. I had got ticket to gampola instead of dambulla. I reached there and I went to the railway station opposite the bus stand. I met a gentleman who was about 60 yrs , I asked him the way to Dambulla. He told that I am in opposite direction and also he apologized for the mistake done by policeman. I was astonished that were people in SL who can help you in guiding you to proper place. So kind of them, it was great to meet them. Also he told me to go back to kandy and visit temple of tooth and return to guest house as time was less. I started back to kandy @ 1PM and reached there at 2PM.

Note: Older generation SL people help you a lot. They guide you to proper places in case if you are lost. Also they are good in understanding English and you will fell more comfortable talking to them. Thanks people for helping.

Reached kandy and roamed from market to clock tower. I went to ATM to withdraw money as I needed some to survive there. Stupid, corp bank card didn’t work. So I had to leave and walked around the main kandy road and ate some ice-cream and had some juice to refresh myself. Got some cash in the nearby ATM with ICICI bank card.

I thought of getting a SIM card for emergency communication. Etisalat were selling the SIMcards for 100SLR with 25 RS talktime. The guy who was a sales person spoke in half English and he asked my identity proof for the connection. After I got the card, he said that it will be activated in 5 minutes and I can recharge in any of the shops. Then I went to a nearby shop to get it recharged. The IDD call rates to India was 2RS per min ( it will be 4RS after tax). The additional rates are not told in advertisement. Still it was cheap . for 125RS you can call 28 minutes to Indian mobiles and u get a SIM also.  Mobile tariff in SL are dirt cheap. If any one needs them , they can get in airport itself by producing your ID proof. I suggest you to go for Mobitel or Dialog or ETISALAT. All offer 2Rs call to India. In future days it might get reduced to 1RS also. After recharging I started to walk towards the top of the kandy to go to Bahiravokanda Vihara Buddha statue. After a long walk of about 30 minutes from kandy city, I reached there. Here also I had torrid time asking direction with the police people. They need to be trained in English badly.. One more middle aged SL helped me to get to the location. They were so kind in giving directions. Also they said not to deviate.  After traveling through Kandy international  stadium , I reached the top.

Note: If you don’t say anything many places u will avoid unnecessary shelling out of money. Cause foreign tourists are asked to pay money for certain places. Here also I had to shell out 200 SLR. There are numerous reload phone booths to charge your mobile currency. Since you are a visitor, it is advised to go to a nearby shop where reload is done and get it done. After reload, u will get a message from operator which confirms your money is safe.

After spending some time there, I started to descend down the mountain. I had a small stopover in the temple and took some snaps of Kandy city and spent some time sitting and watching people.

Since the 17^th was a full moon day, it was a holiday in SL. All kandy was empty. I planned to go to kandy temple of tooth as I had more time with me so that I could avoid the next day hassles.

I reached temple of tooth. This temple has many entrances; you can choose to go through any one of them. You will be frisked when you enter the complex, not once but twice. I entered the complex near to the International information centre. This entrance had some temples and there was a huge crowd of people who were listening to preaching as this day was auspicious to them. I entered into the temple after dropping my slippers in the counter. I walked through the crowd and getting frisked once again, I entered the temple complex. Note, foreign tourist needs to pay 1K SLR to enter into the complex by getting a ticket.  

One good thing is that you can take photographs inside the temple and no one will stop you to do so. But u cant take ur photo facing back of the statute as it is not ideal. There are signboards saying that.

The temple is so beautiful that the architecture is ultimate. Got some photographs , the idol was covered ,so couldn’t  get the glimpse of the statue. Went to the first floor where the tooth was kept, this is not displayed to public. After getting some snaps I reached to the temple complex, visited the kings palace. Then it was time to exit out of complex. I spent more than two hours in the complex and then clicked some snaps. Me decided to leave at 6.30PM. After reaching the main road, roamed around the streets. I had a vanilla milk shake in the shop. The owner recognized me and said I have seen you somewhere, I said no; he said that he had come to the guest house with his GF last night. Actually he introduced himself last night, I had forgotten. Then I remembered him. After having a wonderful milkshake for 40 SLR, I said bye to him and left to the guest house. En route to the guest house I searched for my dinner as I was hungry. En route I found that no hotels were open and all hotels were serving non veg. Since the SL ppl will not have rice in night, it is difficult to get the rice.  

Was walking near the main kandy road, there was a mobile shop selling dosas. I decided to get it . Got one masala dosa and 2 vadas for my dinner. I gave him 100SLR, he was saying something. At the same time one couple ( again mid aged) came , I asked them what was he telling. They toldme that I needed to give him 10SLR more and he said whatever price he is telling was correct. So kind of them, I paid him the cash. Thanked them and started to walk towards the guest house which was 20 minutes from there.

On the way I took some snaps of the kandy temple of tooth , it came too good with the night scenary settings. Wlaked back to guest house and found that the hotel whre the fight happened sterday was clsed. I thought that I got dosa and did a good thing. Else I shuld have been walking back to get it.  Reached the guest house, had a nice dosa. The stuffing was spicy and was in SL type. Anyway it wuld not have mattered me as I was too tired and then decided to go for sleep. The next day was my travel day to Colombo as the trip at kandy was complete. I had got the reservation done on the first day itself as I didn’t want to face the same situation as the travel to kandy.

That’s it for day 2 @ lanka.  The next post will have my trip data on the 3^rd day. Kandy is a city which is very old and they have preserved the tradition. You can find old buildings and architecture is superb. A must place to visit. Do give it a try. Lonely travelers u can do adventure. A person traveling with family, it is advised to plan the trip properly as it is difficult for you to do adventures. There are lot of travel agents who can get it done. Also look into the tripadvisor and lonelyplanet weblink for hotel details.

Lanka Trip - Colombo to Kandy ( day 1 @ kandy)

Helloooo alll

This post is about the time i spent traveling to kandy. Hope travelers might get some inputs and they enjoy the post.

After landing in Colombo at late night/ early morning i was very tired. Getting out of the flight to airport lobby, i wondered how this small country cares for the events they organize .Airport was decorated with the hoardings and welcoming visitors for the world cup. It was like a festival for them. Really appreciate them for the efforts. After clearing immigration, i came out. Went to the money changers, in airport, u have all SL major banks and u need not worry. But be careful that you are not carrying INR with you. Have TC or any standard currency ( $ or Pound, Euro).

There was a airport shuttle waiting and people note that this airport shuttle drops you to nearest bus stand and there will be 187 bus route waiting to take you to Colombo.

Some points here: No Visa required for Indians to travel to SL. In Colombo getting to bus stand needs to be reached via the airport shuttle and u need not to pay anything to travel in the airport shuttle.

Bus fare in aircon bus to colombo is Rs78. U have to have exact change to give to the collector. If you dont know llocal lanaguage ask fellow travelers, they will help you out if they know English.

After reaching Colombo bus stand in early morning 4, i had the next task in front of me. I had read in blogs and website that travel to Kandy in train would be beautiful. So After asking people for directions, I reached Colombo fort railway station. I asked railway personnel for the train, they said , the tickers to intercity train will be issued at 6AM. the train was supposed to leave at 7AM from fort to kandy.

Since i had 2 hours more, i thought of getting money in nearby ATM by trying to use my ICICI account. I went around and finally i found the ATM after asking some military people there. Near Colombo and around SL, the People are secured by the army people. They ask vehicles to stop and make sure that all is well.

I came back to the station and there was a guy who informed me that the tickets will be issued @ 6 and he himself initiated and formed a queue. Meanwhile army people came and asked for ID proofs for all the people in Q. Security is so strict here that all the SL people carry their ID cards when they move out.

So finally waited for more than an hour to get the tickets and got tickets in 3rd class as 2nd class seats were sold out.

Note: Tickets to any trains in SL is issued before 30mins to 45 mins b4 the train departure.

Ensure that you follow Q system.

There is no reservation in 3rd class bogies. So its better u get the seat or else u travel by standing.

I then went to platform to wait for the train. The fort railway station is old and still they have maintained it beautifully like a heritage structure. Nice to see that structure is maintained in a heritage style.

The train came and the people started rushing in to the bogies, the guy who helped me to get ticket directed me to get into the bogie and told me that catching seat can be easy if you are fast. I followed it and got a seat, window SeatJ. I had chance to take some beautiful shots during the journey.  Subsequently the train was crowded and train left Colombo fort at 7AM to kandy. On the way, it was time to take some beautiful country side shots. This route is so wonderful that it is one of the best. U will move through city side, country side and the Ghat sections where u travel to the top. More than 15 tunnels and beautiful mountains, the train traveled 2.5 hrs to reach Kandy at 9.30. I got some 50+ snaps during the travel. It was so scenic that I suggest people to just travel in the rainy season once, it will be damn good to watch. This route gives Indian western ghats travel , the run for its money.

After reaching kandy, it was the time to find my guest house so that I could have some rest and get ready for the rest of the day. I had Google map and the mail sent by the guest house confirming my accommodation. I started to travel using the map to reach the guest house. I lost the wasy and asked passerby people to get to know the way. Finally after traveling for 30-35 minutes, I found the guest house. Since I was alone and wanted to enjoy the walk, I went by walk not bothering to take the auto.

Note: If you can bargain with the auto guys you can take autos in SL.

I got into the guest house, care taker said that all rooms are booked; I was confused and said that I have the mail saying that my accommodation is confirmed. Then he called his boss and said that my stay is confirmed. I was relieved. Checked in to the room, had a good shower and I was ready to doze for a short while as my body was not allowing me to stay awake. I went to sleep for 2 hours and then got up by 2PM.

Now it was the time to find my food. Since the caretaker told that food needs to be ordered b4 2-3 hours b4 the actual time, I thought I would go to kandy city to have some food. Again started to walk down as there were no autos. Reached the kandy lake in 3 minutes as it was a downhill travel. Had some snacks as I didn’t find any veggie food.

Then got some energy to travel round the city. Did some rounds and got some idea where the roads were. Since 15^th was a holiday all shops were beginning to close by 3PM. Then after making some beats round the city centre, I decided to walk round the kandy lake and have the kandy temple glimpse. Then I reached the guest house by 6PM. Had a chat with the caretaker and got to know some info of kandy city and how to travel to some other nearby places. HE gave some good info and by 8 I decided to have dinner at the nearby restaurant located near kandy lake.

Went there by 8 and found that only veg fried rice and dosas were available for veggie food. So ordered veg fried rice and started to have it . 150 bucks was the cost and it was worth it . t was damn good. During the dinner, there was some altercations going on near the food counter and suddenly heard the glass broke. Families with ladies and kids started to move out. Then suddenly we see that the fight was starting. The guy who broke glass was fully charged and the hotel people came and started to fight.  That guy went out and he came with the gang and he started to fight. Then came the big drama, the hotel people came with all kitchen weapons to hit them, I thought something will go wrong and it did go wrong, the guy who started the fight was hit badly and suddenly the police came , still they were not able to control the guy. Some how it got cool when the big maama ( inspector) arrived. I asked some people there, they said, its was rare here. Strange to see the big fight in place where they preach peace. After dinner at the hotel, it was time to leave. The hotel floor was filled with blood droplets and glass pieces.

Fried rice was too good, but the fight made it sour…. Reached the guest house ,watched TV for sometime and it was time to sleep. The next day’s plan was to go to Dambulla, cover Sigriya and come back to kandy.

Note: SL people are friendly , esp people who are middle aged, they will help you out if you are in search of directions. It will be added advantage if you have a SL person with you.

The second day trip in the next post…

Lanka Trip: Mysore to Colombo....

Trip’s part 2. My experience from mysore to Kandy  will be the post’s main theme. February 15^th was the day I had booked shatabdi train to Chennai and from there to Colombo via Spicejet.

Day started wwith me running to office to collect my relieving letter as it was not done due to some miscommunication from my side. So I had to rush to get it. People in office thought that I had not resigned and am still working after they saw me in the office!!! I showed them the visitor badge and then they realized. Even the security people were telling, y are u parking ur vehicle outside… I had to clarify them that I am no longer in the organization.

After I got the Letter,it was time to say a final goodbye and then left the company to home. Got some cash, was planning to get some $$ as I was skeptical of INR getting accepted at SL. The nightmare came true when I reached SL. I had some $20 AUD and $10 USD, took it and started my packing. With some Indian cash and my bag ready, I was ready to fly………..

Reached the railway station to catch the train, had reached early and had to wait some time to get into the AC bogie..  with music player on to the ear , and timely snacks enjoyed the journey to Chennai.

Reached Chennai at 9.25 on time and then crossed over the road to park station to catch metro train to trisulam. Since I was alone, I was least bothered to worry to travel in taxi. With 7Rs ticket I reached the airport in 29 minutes. The fastest way to get there;  Super economical travel with comfort. Reached the airport departure gate by 10.25 . I seriously pity our Indian security. They should have a serious mechanism for people who move into the airport. I really appreciate the SL and US guys. Security is so strict …

After entering the airport, I wanted to exchange the currency, Thomas cook , the cheater counter was there, USD selling rate was 50.50 Rs and SLR was.70 ps. Cheaters No1. I advice people not to exchange money at this counter. They charge very heavy price. For me ICICI bank charged .42 Ps for on SLR. I saved 28 ps on each SLR.

Called to friends from airport and then stood in a long queue of immigration counter. Damn it, 100 people at one time it took 30 minutes to get my turn. I donno y the immigration dept will not open more counters during the late nights as there are lot of flights from Chennai to other parts of the world.

Waited In lobby for 2 hours in departure lounge and then boarded the flight at 11.55PM. Wanted to sleep in flight , but I couldn’t as it was a very short flight 45 minutes travel and in between the short commercial breaks of airlines were there.

Finally touched Lanka @ 2.00 AM on 16^th .  this was my 5^th  foreign country where I had landed in last 30 years. Was expecting more things to come.

Came out of the flight, amazed to see the airport decorated like a bride for worldcup 2011. Hats off guys , u make your country proud. They were welcoming ppl for the cup and it was a festival for them. In India , we people eat, sleep and pray cricket, but stingy BCCI were unable to spend some money at airports to welcome people. Useless guys, only they see incoming money , not outgoing..

More in the next post…

The trip lanka... preamble

Hello 2 all ...

It was a long time since i was planning for a trip. Every time I was thinking to go with a gang. But who on this busy world will come, all people need some time for their personal life. So waited and finally decided not to ask anyone and leave them. Moreover I wanted to have some time for myself as I would be joing a new company in a short while.

Trip planning:

Trip planning was being done since jan 2^nd week and I had short listed some places.. Mauritius, Maldives, lanka and goa. KF holidays and jet holidays were having some deals. Websites providing deals were not within my budget. 

So, decided to look into some airline websites as they would give a good deal on tickets. Also look for some good web links like lonelyplanet.com and tripadviso.com for hotel reviews. Began doing that and finally zeroed in on lanka for the trip J . It would be a good experience for me to travel alone and enjoy some quality time. Also it was a time for me to experiment on the trip and do adventures.

Trip itenary was still not finalized as my passport had gone for visa cancellation. So had to still decide on the date of travel. On 10^th feb, I got confirmation that my passport will reach me by Monday. So decided to travel on 16^th and arrive back on 19^th back in mysore so that I could get a days of rest.

I will write a separate post on my trip in lanka as it will be bit long.

Trip schedule was like this :

15 feb- Leave to Chennai from mysore in shatabdi. From Chennai central, catch a local train to trisulam( airport station).

16feb- Arrive at Colombo in spicejet airways. Clear immigration and catch a local bus to Colombo fort. Catch a train to kandy which was @ 7AM ( intercity express).

Arive at kandy, go to guest house( days-inn) and take a rest. Roam around kandy lake and get back to guest house for sleeping.

17feb- Visit to Dambulla( unfortunately it was missed), went to the top of kandy where Buddha temple was present. Go to temple of tooth kandy and do some shopping.

18feb- getup late and catch intercity express to Colombo and reach Colombo city. Roam around Colombo and visit nearby places at Colombo fort station. Catch a bus to airport. Settle in airport and catch 4AM spicejet aircraft back to Chennai.

19feb- catch a bus to Bangalore and from Bangalore reach mysore and take rest for the day.

19^th feb was horrible for me as bus from Chennai to blr took 11hrs to reach due to some stupid issues created by bus conductor and one idiot passenger. But not taking care of that , the rest of the trip was more satisfying. Finished trip in 12K INR in total which had all stuffs included.

Following might be useful for you people to plan the trip to lanka :

1. Check for a good deal at spicejet as they offer tickets for <6K from Chennai ( flights are of odd times)
2. Book a good hotel/guest house in central kandy, else you will end up running around.
3. Visit temple of tooth and a must travel in train from Colombo to kandy in intercity express.
4. Tickets can be reserved in advance by any of your friends in Colombo or u need to wait till 6AM @ Colombo fort station to get the tickets. Tickets are hard to get L for the train.
5. Veggies u will have a torrid time as vegetarian food is difficult to find. Bakery items are plenty.
6. Lankan people are nice, but English is not the common language. If you know tamil, its easy for you guys to converse with people.
7. In shops try to bargain when purchasing and start with 50% of the said value, u can even start with 40% of the actual price.
8. Never carry indian currency. No lankan banks will accept Indian currency( even SBI said no to indian currency). Carry USD or any international debit card so that you can withdraw money easily in ATM's.

More details on my trip in the next post.

Nice article....

Read this article in the following link ( Thanks for the author):

Nice one.... Hope it helps ...

Many people in society feel that they are left out and alone. Do you feel that way? Here are some steps to help you stop feeling lonely.

Understand that you just can't stop feeling lonely, if you think you are lonely. Try to fill the thoughts of loneliness with moments of togetherness. If possible, think back to pleasant times when you were not lonely. If you don't have any happy memories, try to imagine a situation in which you would not be lonely. Then establish what it would take to create this situation in your present life.

Be content with yourself. Love yourself for the person you are, no matter if you are lonely. The world has room for a diversity of personalities.

Put some fun into your life by going to games at school, walking through a park, checking out a museum, and so on. However, try reaching out by doing fun things with another person or group rather than doing them alone. What interests or hobbies do you have that could be done with others? Check out the local clubs to see if one would interest you.

Stop being so lost in thoughts, instead look around and see what's happening. Notice people and the environment,live in the moment, and stop worrying about being lonely.

Make some friends, one at a time. You can start by saying hi to a person in school or wherever else you find people, and the next day you make a conversation. Do this with several people over a period of time. Learn and use their name after meeting someone.

Think more about others and not so much about yourself. This is often tough to do, but extending your interest to other people will help channel your thoughts away from your loneliness.

Volunteer. Look for areas where you could help an individual or a group after school or during other free time. By helping others, you will keep busy and get your mind off yourself. Plus, by being with others, you are able to establish friendships.

Thanks for taking your time.....