Travelfood

My prejudice about the island of Sri Lanka was that it would be as dirty and chaotic as in India, but I was proven wrong. During our long drive to the inlands of the island I noted hardly any rubbish along the road, everywhere was green and flourishing and the air was clean. I spent just a little time by the sea although my hotel was on the white sand beaches of Negombo. Many say that the sea is not particularly clean and that there is a lot of trash by the beaches. I hope that the cleanliness of the inland does not mean that the trash is lead out to the sea.

My main destination was Sigirya in the center of the country and its fortress on a steep-walled cliff deep in the jungle. High up on the top, among ruins and wall paintings, the views were extraordinary and the air much cooler than on the ground. To reach the fortress you need to climb some iron ladders, which are bolted into the cliff and it felt claustrophobic although the ladders did not totter too much.

I am not a big fan of Indian food and there is a lot of that served in Sri Lanka. The chicken curry I had was good, though, because it was accompanied with for example manioc, pickles and papardam rice puffs, and there is something for everyone. During evenings you just need to follow the chopping sound of metal against metal to find food. That is heard from street kitchens, where they serve chopped roti bread with chopped meat and vegetables in spicy sauce straight from the frying pans. The name of the dish is kottu.

You see smiling people everywhere in Sri Lanka. Smiling men wear traditional colourless clothes as men do all around the globe, while smiling women wear the most vibrant colours. The smile is not faded when the hotel did not find my reservation and although the hotel was full, they found a room for me anyway. The smile faded just a little when a motorcyclist was pushed by my driver. When I left the country, I suppose I had a broad smile on my face as the happy Ceylon-islanders have.

Asia, food, Sri Lanka, travel, travel experiences