And there you have it! After many twists and turns and a good month's delay, here are finally the articles about our trip to Sri Lanka . Sorry to those who were waiting for them. As I mentioned before, it wasn't a destination on my priority list, but since the main goal of this trip was to return to France, Sri Lanka happened to be on the way...

So Jitima, who was also due to come to France, suggested stopping off on the way to this pearl of the Indian Ocean as it is affectionately called (because of its shape, like a tear which according to legend would be a tear of a goddess or a pearl from a necklace of Lackmi, wife of Vishnu).

12-day tour to see the essentials

So, we set off on a 12-day tour of the island of jewels, the resplendent island, or the spice island—all nicknames given to this small piece of land separated from India by a mere 31 km across the Palk Strait (a country we also plan to visit, but on the return journey!). Starting from Colombo, our trip will take us from Galle to Anuradhapura , but in chronological order, passing through Ella, Nuwara Eliya, Kandy, Dambulla, Polonnaruwa, and Anuradhapura. We also made a detour to Sigiriya before heading back to Colombo.

In 12 days, I'd say we managed to see almost all the essentials, from the southern beaches and tea plantations in the mountains to the ancient cities of the Kingdom of Sri Lanka further north. My only regret is not having been able to visit Udawalawe National Park , a nature reserve that rivals any African safari, due to a lack of time and also money (I should mention that for this trip, I did a Bangkok-Colombo-Dubai-Paris-Amsterdam-Kolkata-Bangkok combo ).

Colombo-Galle, which bus should I take?

We had decided to travel directly from Bangkok to Galle , towards the southern tip of Sri Lanka. As soon as I arrived at Colombo airport, I took the time to get a local SIM card to have internet on my phone (it cost 1300 rupees, or €7) before taking a taxi to the bus station. Taxis were relatively expensive, as the information was a bit confusing, and we opted for the station near Colombo Fort (Bastian Mawatha). Yes, because there are several bus stations… We had also considered taking the train.

While we did find a bus to Galle from Bastian Mawatha, it was a local bus, whereas we were looking for the new buses that use the brand-new expressway connecting Colombo to Galle in just 1 hour and 30 minutes. To do this, you need to go to the Maharagama station , further south in the city. The bus cost us 750 rupees for the two of us.

In our case, it took us no less than 3h30! Besides the fact that we wanted to arrive as early as possible to see as much as possible upon arrival and to rest from the trip from Bangkok, I had an urgent need like I've never had before, and believe me, holding it in for more than 3 hours when it's really really urgent... it's a nightmare! I was on the verge of peeing in a bottle or throwing myself off the bus during a stop when a train was passing... But given how anxious they are to wait... I preferred to abstain.

Driving in Sri Lanka, a style apart!

Oh yes, you shouldn't be afraid… Driving in Thailand, by comparison, is almost like driving in Europe… No discipline whatsoever, and they're all speed demons, that's how you could sum up the driving style, overtaking anything on the side of the road or even passing oncoming traffic, stopping suddenly to pick up passengers along the way, and yet it still took over 3 hours… Considering it's only 120 km… That gives you an idea of ​​the numerous stops and, in the end, the low average speed…

 Arrived in Galle, phew!

We arrived in the late afternoon, knowing that we weren't staying in Galle itself but near Unawatuna at Sam's Guest House on Matara Road. The tuk-tuk we took from the Galle bus terminal had a bit of trouble finding the hotel, which we hadn't booked but had simply spotted in the guidebook. It's a family-run hotel that, while quite nice, is rather basic. After paying the 400 rupees for the 6km ride, we barely had time to drop off our bags and find a restaurant for our first dinner in Sri Lanka.

The least we can say is that it was very quiet (even at the hotel there didn't seem to be many people, we saw a few locals but no foreigners), anyway, welcome to Sri Lanka!