Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka For 91 Days

For 91 Days in Sri Lanka – The E-Book

We've gathered together all of the articles and over 250 photographs from our three-month adventure in Sri Lanka into an E-Book for your Kindle or E-Reader. Carry all of our Sri Lankan experiences along with you in this portable format. The book includes a comprehensive index, which makes navigation a cinch, and features all our anecdotes, advice and the best full-color images from our months in Sri Lanka. We had an unforgettable time in this beautiful and occasionally frustrating island nation, and hope our experiences can help enrich your own visit there.

Friend-Friends and Other Observations

Confusing slang, seat-snatching monks, bizarre Spanish phrases, indecipherable head bobbles... all just part of learning to live with a new culture! These are some of our favorite quirks and misunderstandings from three months in Sri Lanka.

Colombo Short Stay – Your Posh Condo in the City

With a magnificent setting in the 22nd floor of the Emperor Building, itself part of the five-star Cinnamon Grand's complex, the luxury condo offered by Colombo Short Stay was an incredible place to spend our last night in Sri Lanka. Out on the balcony, with a bottle of red wine and a view that stretches over the Indian Ocean and most of the city, we couldn't have found a better spot to wrap up our journey.

The Rocky Southern Coast of Sri Lanka

An unbroken string of tiny towns and hotels stretches out to the east of Galle. The busy road which hugs the coastline passes through Unawatuna, Dalawela, Thalpe, Habaraduwa, Midigama, one right after the other; each offering tourists an insane number of places to stay and things to do.

The Jungle Beach at Galle

After visiting the gleaming white Japanese Peace Pagoda which provided a wonderful view of Galle Fort, we climbed down toward the true destination of our day trip -- Jungle Beach. Not another person in sight, just twin stretches of deserted sand trapped between the ocean and Rumassala Rock. Having just experienced the soul-crushing lameness of Unawatuna, this beach was exactly what we needed. Peace, solitude and gorgeous nature.

Unawatuna

On our way to the beach village of Unawatuna, just a few kilometers up the coast from Galle, we saw a sign that read "Unawatuna: Tourist Paradise!" Which just goes to prove what we've been saying all along -- Sri Lankans have a hilarious and darkly ironic sense of humor! Unawatuna, paradise for tourists. Ha! That's a good one.

The Habaraduwa Turtle Hatchery

Sri Lanka is one of the world's most important breeding spots for the endangered sea turtle, but heavy development of the coast has contributed greatly to their ever-declining number. To combat that trend, a number of hatcheries have opened along the southern coast. We visited one in Habaraduwa.

The Martin Wickramasinghe Museum

One of our first mornings in Galle, we took a bus to Alanthgama with the intention of seeing stilt fisherman -- one of Sri Lanka's most iconic images. But whether it was due to the stormy seas, the time of day, or the recently completed New Year's festivities, the stilts were unoccupied. Foiled! Now what would we do?

Tuk-Tuking around Sri Lanka

"Why didn't we think of that?!" "Our lives would be so much easier." "It would be so much fun." "Man, I'm so jealous!" These are among the sentences which found their way into our conversations, after we had met Marc and Carina at our guesthouse in Polonnaruwa. The Belgian couple earned our everlasting respect after revealing that they had rented a tuk-tuk for their three month journey around Sri Lanka.

A Sea Turtle Excursion at Rekawa Beach

Sri Lanka has the extraordinary privilege of welcoming five of the world's seven species of sea turtle to its shores. The turtles, who travel around the world and across entire oceans, somehow know to return to their natal beaches when the time comes to reproduce. At night, they emerge from the ocean and lay their eggs in the sand. At Rekawa Beach, the Turtle Conservation Project keeps a watchful eye over the eggs and provides tourists a rare opportunity to see the giant creatures clamber onto land.