There was just never any issues.
Like... whatsoever.
Which is impressive on its own, but we're talking about a country that hasn't caught a break since I don't even know how long. Probably since the late 1970s, right before a 26-year civil war broke out. Then you have the Boxing Day tsunami. Then the recent fuel shortage which led to mass protests. Probably some attempts at coups in there as well.
And yet, no drama.
I think I mentioned this in the intro or maybe on Instagram, but its nickname, "India Light", while a compliment, isn't fair. Sri Lanka is nothing like India. India is mad. Nonstop. An assault on all senses. No downtime. Constant hassle. Worth it, of course, but man, do you have to work for it.
Not Sri Lanka, though.
From the moment I landed and ended up in the wrong customs line, only to have the policemen behind the glass come out from his box, put an arm around me and walk me to the correct one laughing, it was the most stress-free experience since... well, okay, that's hardly fair because I just came from Nepal, but still—not one ounce of issue.
Pessimists might credit the internal knowledge that tourism is their only dependable dependency, but I've been to places like that and I really don't think that's it. Within Sri Lanka resides a genuine care about an outsider—this could stem from the patience, tolerance and even—although I hate the phrase as it denotes an offender—tolerance from housing four major religions. Maybe it's the island mentality. Maybe it's priding themselves on not being India. Maybe it had a lot to do with the tuktuk.
But it was all just so cool. Maybe cool is what I'm after. Nepal is chill. Sri Lanka is cool. But even like the cuisine—tasty, bit of spice and offensive amounts of palm sugar and coconut milk—Sri Lanka wasn't out to wow you. No truffle oil + aged parmesan + boar with a double cream sauce topped with capers or whatever. Sri Lanka wanted you to be fed. And perhaps it's that simplistic approach to their friendliness and just making sure shit works for the pilgrims... I don't know.
I do know, however, it's a place I'll return to. The beaches weren't the Bahamas. The mountains weren't Montenegro. But everything was just great. An overused descriptor, sure, but it's the truth.
Sri Lanka is just great.
And I'm so, so happy to have gotten there.
x
PS - Oh yeah, I had a bunch of vertical photos I liked, but didn't fit the 16:9 feel of the gallery do didn't know what to do with them so here you go!
... alright, I'm really going now LEAVE ME
