Sri Lanka

They had a brutal civil war that ended only recently

You have to fly to get there and once you're there you have to fly to get back out

It's not the most appealing Real Traveler destination because if you're poor you tend to want to get the most facebook photos for your buck

>>1152434
It doesn't have tourism infrastructure to the same degree as most of SE Asia due to the recent conflicts, plus it's got that Indian subcontinent chaos/grime. This is changing fast though./

But it's a beautiful country, the food's great, lots of people speak English, the geography's varied, the beaches are good, it's cheap and safe. Would recommend.

>>1152495
>It doesn't have tourism infrastructure to the same degree as most of SE Asia due to the recent conflicts, plus it's got that Indian subcontinent chaos/grime. This is changing fast though
Would you rather go to another country for a first time Asia backpacking trip? We´re not really looking for Real Traveler shit but rather want to just have a good time...
How long have you stayed there?

Any other advice is very welcome!

>>1152587
Yeah you should be fine. On the SW coast there's a few pretty touristy beach spots. Transport isn't difficult to organise as everyone speaks English. If you want it easy it doesn't cost much to hire a driver.

I've been a couple of times, spent a couple months there.

Would recommend Galle, Adams Peak, Kandy Botanical Gardens, Sigiriya Rock and whichever coast is in season when you visit. Colombo isn't anything special. If you're feeling adventurous the north is meant to be amazing (I haven't been).

The people are friendly and helpful, be bold and you'll enjoy it.

Food is absolute shit. Literally the worst in Asia, or super overpriced touristic stuff.
Hotels are overpriced.
Many sights are overpriced.
Generally the atmosphere is unpleasant. Everybody wants to rip you off - way more than anywhere in SEA. People are retarded cheaters.
Everything there is in Sri Lanka you can find in Malaysia better and cheaper.

Oh damn, your confusing me /trv/. Of course not everybody has the same opinion on a country, it sounds you had completely different experiences.
Can the others agree with what >>1152779 said about pricing and getting ripped off (especially in comparison to SEA countries)?

>>1152767
Thanks, I´ll keep your suggestions in mind!

>>1153034
I'm going in December too for 3 weeks. The sights have set tourists prices which are a lot more than what locals pay and there is no room to negotiate.

But in terms of the atmosphere >>1152779
must have had a rough time because no-one I've spoken to has said anything like that. Most people talk very highly of it. I think it's got a more mature crowd in terms of travellers compared to SEA in general too.

>>1152779
Ignore this guy. Can't be fucked going into it but none of this is true from my experience.

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I went last year
AMA
stayed the first night in negombo
then went to mirissa
nuwara elia
and took a sea plane back to colombo from kandy
shit was dope
highly recommend

>>1153034
>>1153239
I got my money's worth for the most part, then again I'm not a total noob.
Malaysia is completely different to Sri Lanka

How does Sri Lanka compare to India in terms of cleanliness (poo in loo factor) and getting ripped off due to white skin?

>>1153239

I'm skipping Colombo completely and heading straight to Kandy. Good idea?

Also, should I skip Nuwara Eliya and climb Adams Peak instead? How sick is the Hill Country?

>>1153173
>>1153053
>>1153034
>>1153240
Ok guys I will elaborate.
Food. Sri Lanka is avery poor country, worse than even Myanmar and on par with East Timor (the poorest SEA country). 99% of people there can't afford meat or any decent food besides roti and curry rice. And most don't ever eat out, hence there are very few eateries (comapred with Thailand where there's a food stall like every 10 meters), and the choice there is very poor and bland, even if the prices are low. Elsewhere, it's oriented at tourists and few rich locals, hence overpriced. In supermarkets prices are like 2x-3x of Malaysia/Thailand (funny, even Maldives supermarkets are cheaper!), same in international fast food like KFC. In tourist towns there are touristic restaurants, but they are expensive, the simplest dish will start at $3 and upwards to $10-15. Seafood is surprisingly expensive.
Hotels. Aircon room starts at ~$16 (2000 rupee), but in the top visited places it'll be more like $25-30. Even in Negombo which is a dirty shithole with the ugliest beach I've seen in Asia. In Malaysia nad Thailand you can get an aircon room for $10-12.
Sights. Sigiriya costs $30, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa $25. Compare that with Angkor for $20 - Angkor is like 20 Anuradhapuras in one place. Also price difference for locals and foreigners could claim world record - it's 80 times! In SEA the difference is 5-10 times at most, in Malaysia 2 times at most.
Sri Lanka was the first place where locals tried to scam in small eateries, markets, shops, and in the most retarded way possible. Literally: "- How much is this? - 100 rupee - Ok I'll take it, here's 100 rupees - Give me 150".
>>1153249
I actually liked Colombo. There're almost no scams and touts, everything is much cheaper (durian in Colombo = 100 rs, in Dambulla = 300 rs, in Galle = 400 rs), and it has a colonial center. Unfortunately accomodation is very overpriced for some reason. You can stay in Negombo though.

>>1153255
Yeah, and summing up Sri Lanka isn't the worst country ever and if it's your first time in Asia it can be pretty decent especially if you don't care about keeping the budget low. But after many many months of travelliong all over the world for me it was mostly a disappointment, and it falls into the category of countries where I don't want to come back again.

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>>1152779
>Food is absolute shit.
I couldn't disagree more. The food was fantastic; Thailand-tier. Only catch is that it's hard to find proper restaurants, so often you have to settle for 'short eats', and I ain't complaining -- pic related.
>Hotels are overpriced.
Prices for things vary from country to country. Yes the hotels cost more than in, say, Vietnam, but they're generally comfy with helpful staff.
>Many sights are overpriced.
Ok I agree with this. Something like $25 US for entry to the big attractions. But still worth it.
>Generally the atmosphere is unpleasant.
Is this the only developing country you've been to?
>Everybody wants to rip you off - way more than anywhere in SEA.
I agree the hasslers and rip-offs are annoying but I disagree that they're worse than anywhere else.
>Everything there is in Sri Lanka you can find in Malaysia better and cheaper.
Everything you find in France you can find in Spain better and cheaper. Does that mean you should't visit France?

I'm not gonna insult you, I just think you're categorically wrong.

>>1153255
oops, I just saw this post. Thanks for going into detail.
Still, I think you're being too harsh on the place. And admit it, you'd suck a dick for a platter of short eats.

>>1153255

I mean, I'm not super committed to the budget traveler thing. I have about 1.5k saved up for this trip, I think it's enough for 2 weeks.

>>1153255

And dude you're complaining about fruit costing 100 rs and 400 rs? You're literally complaining about it being a dollar more. Like who cares.

>>1153282
300 rs = $2. And yes, you don't care if you travel once a year for 2 weeks when you get a vacation off work, but you do care when you live there or travel perpetually.

>>1153284

Ok, I'm not a "real" traveler I get it

>>1153266

Tell me more about the food! This is the main reason I travel. What kind of food should I get?

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>>1153286
Well jeez, if you're wanting to spend $1.5k in two weeks, you could eat at a gourmet restaurant every night.
Most people seem to agree that restaurants are just plain hard to find. We walked all around the town which serves as a hub for Srigriya and Dambulla, and all we could find was a pizza place and a dirty little shop that served chopped roti.
We ate at one fancy restaurant in Colombo, cost about $20 per person; I think it was delicious but I overdosed on coconut sambol so I couldn't taste much.
I enjoyed the typical blue-collar restaurants which were often steamy, windowless dungeons with long communal tables, full of men eating soup with their hands. They generally served something like pic related. I think they sometimes gave us stuff we didn't order to cheat us out of more money, but it was all very cheap so I didn't notice or care.
The best meal I had was at a beach restaurant in Mirissa. All along the beach were boats packed full of ice and an assortment of fresh-caught fish. You point to the fish you want and they cook it up for you to eat on the beach. Wash that shit down with a Lion Stout. Possibly the best meal I've ever had.

The over-arching characteristic of the food was 'spicy as a motherfucker'. I got perpetual diarrhea because of the spice, not because of poor food hygiene, which speaks well of the restaurants.

>>1153286
Not the guy you asked but the food's great. It's not expensive. As with most of Asia you're expected to barter for just about everything outside of restaurants.

Breakfast is good - Iddiyapam, egg hoppers, really good fresh fruit.
A cheap, basic meal would be red rice, daal, coconut sambal and a couple of curries made from okra, jackfruit, aubergine or another veg. Maybe chicken/fish curry or a fried egg. It can get pretty samey if you're outside the cities (there were days I had the meal for lunch and dinner) but it's fine.
By the coast you'll get good fish, crabs, prawns.
Kotthu is a dish where they take a roti, vegetables, meat and a load of spices, fry them together with egg while dicing everything up. Perfect if you've been drinking.

Fuck, now I want some Sri Lankan food.

>>1153304
I'm never ordering kotthu with fish again; they didn't take the bones out of the fish before they chopped it up.

>>1153255
>"- How much is this? - 100 rupee - Ok I'll take it, here's 100 rupees - Give me 150".
never happened to me
I had my breakfast at the hotel usually
then went to small eateries during the day
at night, like in mirissa, went to those beach restaurants and ate the fish etc.
never once ever did anyone try to scam me
I also wasn't on a strict budget so $40+ a night hotels was no problem
just not sure why the heck you're talkling about Malaysia in a Sri Lanka thread

>>1153302

Haha don't get too excited, that 1.5k includes hotel and transportation.

And ah shit is Dehli belly really that big of a problem here? The one time I had Sri Lankan food I got diarrhea

>>1153304

Holy shit that rice and curry thing sounds great. I'm so fucking pumped for the food.

Anyone ever been to Tangalle? I have a beach cabana there for a few days

Also, what are common scams I have to look out for? I'm traveling alone.

Should I be booking ahead accommodation for a trip in dec-jan ? Kinda want some flexibility in where we go but it is the high season

>>1153249
Yes, Colombo is a shithole. You should absolutely minimize your time there.

Was in Lanka for a month this summer, I'll reply later today

>>1152495
>recent conflicts
> it's cheap and safe

hmm

>>1154214
>ended over 7 years ago
>wasn't in tourist spots

>>1154166

Post 'em anon!

>>1153249
The hill country is amazing, make sure you spend time in Ella. Also, I didn't get the chance to go to Horton Plains but it looks amazing. Colombo and Negombo, though close to the airport, are shitty - skip them. If you like safaris, you can go to Uda Walawe as a day trip from Ella or another nearby place in the hill country.

>>1155986

What's so good about Ella, I planned on skipping it

>>1156053
It has a cool backpacker vibe, so it's got some good places to chill and meet people and have a beer. But more importantly, there are a couple of decent hikes there, some good nature (there's a cool waterfall which lots of locals hang out in all of the time), a good tea factory which you can visit - and it's just an absolutely beautiful area. It's basically just a pretty town of tea plantations.

>>1154766

Aight, forgot about this. These are my best tips for Sri Lanka

Mirisssa had the best beach, theres even a badass island which you can easily swim to from the shore, which is straight out of the pirate age

Arugam bay has the best surfing and surprisingly good nightlife. Party at mambos, stay somewhere close to the surf break. Eat at Tandoori hut.

Its a good idea to travel along the coast, then head into the country, see ella, hortons plains, kandy, sigirya etc.

Hortons plains was one of the best things we did. You have to get up at 5, but so fucking worth it. Amazing national park and views.

Uda Walawe national park is great for spotting elephants, we had a bull come right up to our car and aggressively flaunt his penis.

Yala is better for leopards, but much harder to spot.

Ella is overrated desu, didn't really see the appeal, except the walks were great.

Take the train as much as you can, and car as little as you can. They drive like morons and I saw two people die on the road just while I was there.

Eat at the good local places. The best stuff was the 12 course buffet which seemed to have the same stuff all over. Chicken curry, eggplant curry and that green salad is great.

Short eats are great for train rides, so are the peanuts. Roti is always a god send. Eat all the fruit, just do it. Get some soursop if its in season.

My favorites in Lanka were Hortons plains, Nuwara Eliya, Mirissa, Galle, and Arugam bay.

Skip Colombo, Hikkaduwa and Negombo completely.

Sigirya is also amazing.

>>1156162

Should I skip Tangalle for Mirissa?

>>1156290
Never went to Tangalle, but heard good things.

Beach might be as beautiful, but you wont meet as many people, and its not nearly as developed from what I read.

>>1153329
>>1153282
>your criticism of hotels and food being ridiculously overpriced is invalid because I can still afford them
Ok?

>>1156470

Hm yeah I'll definetly consider Mirissa then.

Did you go up Adams Peak? I was thinking of doing that over a day in Nuwara Eliya

>>1156509
We skipped Adams peak for Hortons Plains and the end of the world, which was amazing.

Heard mixed things about adams peak, some said it was absolutely amazing - best view they'd ever seen etc, others said it was meh. But then again, they were norwegians - spoiled people when it comes to mountains.

Either way, I can vouch for hortons.
Also, if you like surfing, arugam bay is a must

Anyone have any more pictures?