When I decided to go to Sri Lanka, I thought of doing things differently this time. For the first time, I arrived in a country without a plan. Sure, I never made definite plans before because I hate sticking to a fixed schedule. However, I always had a rough itinerary of the places I wanted to see and how to travel from one place to another. During my previous trips, I often meet people who become really good friends and I regret not being able to spend more time with them because I’ve already purchased non refundable bus or plane tickets in advance. This time, I did look up the places that I wanted to see in the country, but instead of making my plans semi-flexible like i always did, this time I made them completely flexible. It’s fine if i don’t get to see all those places I wanted to see if I find someplace better. I’ll just decide on the fly and see where things go. That way, it would be more of an adventure.
Apparently, late November isn’t peak season in Sri Lanka. This was apparent the very minute I arrived at the hostel in Negombo— I was the only one there. Good thing another person checked in after a couple of hours. And another guy checked in the next day. From having the entire dorm room to myself, there were now three of us. We had separate plans at first. One was planning on heading north, the other was planning on heading south, while I was keen on heading to the central part of the country. For some reason, the guy heading north and I agreed to go to Kandy first then go our separate ways when we get there. Then the guy heading south read the news that there was some commotion going on in the Galle area, so he decided to go with us instead to Kandy. That sounded perfect– it would be easier to find our way to Kandy as a group. So we tried to find out how to get there. The easiest and simplest way was to go to the Negombo bus station. There are lots of buses heading to Kandy, and it only takes about 3 hours to get there. Theses are ordinary buses though. If you want an air conditioned bus, you need to go to the Colombo bus station first. We’d all rather just take one bus ride instead of two, so we proceeded to the bus station in Negombo. We had to wait until all the seats were taken, and I was sweating buckets. It was hot as hell, and I wondered if we made the right decision to take an ordinary bus. I kept reminding myself that I’ll be saving a lot of money since it only costs 60 Rupees (about 40 US cents). I could choose to wait outside the bus but I’d risk losing my seat. Public buses in Sri Lanka are known to keep getting passengers even if they are already filled to the brim– I’d hate to stand for 3 hours in a crowded bus. Thankfully, once the bus started running the ride was quite comfortable because there was a constant breeze coming in from the windows. Never mind the fact that i was getting squashed by the person beside me. As long as I’m not a sweaty mess, everything was a-ok.
There’s one bus station for long distance buses in Kandy, and it’s called Goods Shed Bus Station. It didn’t look much like a bus station, it’s more of a large lot where buses park. The bus station in Negombo was crowded, but there was some sort order… maybe because it was smaller. The bus station in Kandy was absolute chaos. And it was huge. We were starving when we arrived so we looked for a place to eat. The nearest places didn’t look particularly clean, but the food was dirt cheap and we were starving so to hell with it. I didn’t get diarrhea so it was all good. lol.
Once we checked into our hostel, we decided to explore the area. If you’re looking for a guide about things to see and do in Kandy, read no further. I won’t be able to contribute much about that topic, and here’s why… So we found ourselves in the center of town. We saw the tourist information center so we decided to ask about the attractions in Kandy and Sri Lanka in general. So we ended up talking to one guy who was recommending us a tour of the entire cultural triangle. Besides Kandy, this includes Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Dambulla, and Sigiriya. And he even said he can arrange transport and lodging for us. So this tour would last for 3 days and 2 nights, and private transport would cost around 24,000 Rupees (about 150 USD). At first we all balked at the price. But then once we converted the price to our local currencies, it didn’t seem like such a bad deal, especially since we would divide the cost by three. The we asked about the lodging options, and the ones he offered seemed a little too expensive. He said he can look for cheaper options, ones that would suit our budget. This was when his co-worker butted in. I guess he had a clue that we didn’t have much money to splurge, so he told us it would be way cheaper to just travel to those other places on our own via public transport. It’s also easy too since there are lots of buses going to those places. He then asked us what we wanted to see in Sri Lanka. He said that if we wanted to learn about the culture of the country, we should prioritize visiting the ancient sites first before spending the rest of our money elsewhere in the country. We agreed. So then he proceeded to tell us which route was best for us to take. He told us which attractions to see in each place, how to go about it in the cheapest way possible, and he answered all our side questions. Then we asked what should we see and do in Kandy before heading elsewhere— Kandy is part of the cultural triangle after all. He then told us bluntly, that if we have limited funds, it’s better to not waste our money in Kandy and just head straight to the other cultural sights. We asked him to elaborate. He then proceeded to enumerate the so called attractions.
The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic— you won’t see the tooth and the price they charge for an entrance ticket is outrageous (it’s 1000 Rupees). A waste of money.
The Royal Botanical Garden— nothing spectacular. Don’t waste your money.
The Elephant Orphanage— They provide sanctuary to elephants but the animals are still exploited. Skip it.
The Bahirawakanda Temple— nothing spectacular. Waste of time and money.
Kandy Lake— why not check it out, it’s free.
I almost laughed out loud at his brutal honesty. I mean, this guy was working at the Tourist Information Center in Kandy. He should have been promoting the hell out of the place. And he could have made some money if he arranged a tour for us. Instead, he’s giving us such honest advice without asking for anything in return. After thanking him, we walked over to Kandy Lake since he said it was worth checking out cause it’s free haha. Kandy Lake is beautiful even though it’s artificial. And all those birds flying all over it adds to the atmosphere. Lots of locals hang out in the areas surrounding it. We also saw the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic from the outside because it’s beside the lake. 1000 Rupees isn’t much, but judging from the size of the crowd and the unhappy look on their faces as they were exiting the temple, we decided that we’re better off spending our money elsewhere.
Walking around town we met a local who brought us to a local market to buy souvenirs. At first we were hesitant to follow him. In other countries, people like that always ask for money in return. He brought us to this place where a lot of cheap local goods were for sale. It was the market for locals, that’s why everything was so cheap. It’s hidden from plain sight though unlike the market for tourists. You may not be able to find it without the help of a local. I can’t remember where it was exactly, but it’s inside a building near the clock tower. After we bought some stuff, the local said he had to go somewhere. Amazingly, he didn’t ask for anything in return, especially since we wasted about 45 minutes of his time! Before he left we asked him if he could recommend a cheap place to eat dinner. We kinda got lost in the crowd while trying to look for this restaurant, so we asked another local for directions. He could understand the name of the place, but it seemed that he had a hard time trying to give us directions in English. So he told us to follow him instead. He actually brought us to the restaurant which was about 10 minutes away! He walked all the way to the other direction just to bring us there! Jesus, who does that??? At first I thought that was an isolated case, and I was proven wrong several times. Instead of saying they can’t understand you and then go on their own way, they would actually bring you to the place you’re looking for. It didn’t matter if it was far or out of their way. I’ve traveled to 46 countries, and I have to say that of all those countries, Sri Lanka has the kindest and warmest people. Not only are they incredibly friendly and cheerful, they would go out of their way to help you without expecting anything in return. Even touts and vendors are different. They aren’t persistent, and they will still gladly help you out even if you won’t buy the stuff they are selling.
After dinner, we planned our route. When we arrived in Kandy that afternoon the plan was to go our separate ways the next day. I planned on leaving, while the two guys planned on staying for a few more days. That guy working at the information center was really convincing I guess. lol. So we decided to stay together for a couple more days. From Kandy, the most logical route would be heading to Dambulla and Sigiriya first since those places are closest. From there, we would head north to the other ancient sites. Don’t get me wrong. Despite the crowds, Kandy has its charm. I’m not surprised a number of people fall in love with the place. It didn’t quite offer what we were looking for though. And after seeing the rest of the cultural triangle, I’d have to agree that Kandy isn’t the best part of it. I’d recommend spending a day or two to see if you like it. You’ll eventually have to pass through it if you’re exploring the country so you might as well take a look around.
no roads to follow 
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