Before delving into our experiences in Sri Lanka, I think it’s good to provide some context about the country. I absolutely knew nothing about Sri Lanka until we met Rundi in Koh Tao last month!

Where is Sri Lanka? Sri Lanka is a small island off the southeastern tip of India (it’s the same size as South Carolina!).

It’s often referred to as the teardrop of India (but don’t mention that to Sri Lankans.. they aren’t the biggest fan of their “big brother” neighbor). It has 22 million citizens and had 2-3M tourists (pre-covid) per year and just over 200k in the past two years.

A quick history lesson from Sam :)

In 1950, the same year they became independent from Britain, Sri Lanka was up there as one of the richest countries in Asia. Zero debt and a thriving export industry made it a desirable country to be from and live in. By 1980 however, they’d become engulfed in a gruesome civil war that took 150,000 lives and lasted until 2009. The government that ended the war in 2009, propelled the country into a decade of rapid growth (all fueled by high-interest loans from mainly China). This developed a huge, highly educated middle class, many of whom have since emigrated across the world as lawyers, teachers, doctors etc. That same government stayed at the helm until 2022, when the economy crashed, leaving many without energy or electricity for months (one of our homestay hosts talked about how his whole family had to live off just the coconut and rice they had on their land for months, eating one meal a day). After things boiled over and Sri Lankans forced the government out through an attempted ‘coup’ last year - we’ve found the country and its people to be in a really interesting state.

Why? Because even with all of this going on ^, they have an incredible amount going for them. They have free healthcare, a vast road and public transport infrastructure, and a free education system (school + university) that teaches in English from the age of 5. This, in addition to many elders speaking English due to the colonial times, means a huge % of the population country is proficient in English and we felt that. We’ve had in-depth conversations with 9-year-old kids on the trains and 70-year-old grandads at our homestays. The country is, at large, a highly educated population of middle-class families who know what the good times look like but don’t have much to do in this present moment.

In many ways, we realised Sri Lanka is a developed nation battling through some tough moments.

30% inflation, a devaluing currency (1 USD was 200LKR a year ago, now its 320LKR), a weakening passport (countries are removing their visa/travel access due to political instability), and a government who are up to their eyes in high-interest loan repayments and largely out of money all together (the number of half-finished government projects we saw up and down the country was startling). For those who are staying (1 in 25 Sri Lankans left the country last year - many illegally), Sri Lankans’ hope and optimism lie with tourism, and we’ve been feeling that every day by their warmth, willingness to help, and genuine appreciation that we are here.

Sri Lanka- Exploring the North

After a few days of relaxing in Negombo, Sam and I decided to rent a scooter for 10 days to explore the northern part of the island.

The north is primarily home to Sri Lankan Tamils (Hindus). Most of the civil war was fought in the north because the Tamils wanted independence from the Sinhalese (Buddhists from the south). Most areas in the north only opened to tourists within the past 15 years. To this day, it doesn’t get nearly as much tourism as the south.

We’ve visited lots of temples/ ruins over the past 5 weeks, which forced us to come to a realization. They just aren’t our thing! We’re deciding to opt out of future religious/historical sites that don’t interest us and focus on things we want to do rather than things we’re “supposed” to do. (If anyone feels similarly about historical/religious landmarks and plans to visit Sri Lanka, you can skip Anurhandapura hehe).

We went to Jaffna for 2 days, which was the Tamils’ capital city pre and post-war. It had a strong influence on South Indian culture (mostly Hindu and lots of roaming cows with bindis in the city center!). Many people warned us we would see remnants of a crumbling city/ war zone, but instead, we were greeted with a lively, bustling city with more money to spend than other areas in the north. Most Sinhalese Sri Lankans whom we met have yet to visit Jaffna and were super impressed when we told them we went :)

Highlighting a few updates from the north below:

Scootering: Our first ride was 3 hours, which was a WILD introduction to driving in Sri Lanka. We rode through buzzing city centers during school pickup time, which actually felt like a real-life video game. Sam was constantly navigating oncoming traffic, parked trucks, huge local busses, scooters/Tuktuks fighting for a sliver of open space between cars, stray dogs, and crossing cattle. He did an amazing job and made it look easy (although my glutes were suffering days later from soreness of clenching my legs on the bike every time he accelerated and then abruptly halted).

The roads in Sri Lanka are arguably better than we’ve seen in the US/ UK. They are extremely well-paved and hardly have potholes. It was a pleasant surprise!

Overtaking is extremely common here. Most roads are one-lane highways, where cars will constantly pass one another by speeding past them in opposite lanes. Scary for us, that meant HUGE local busses zooming at us going 70 MPH in OUR LANE!!! We quickly found out the buses run the roads and to always let them pass you because they WILL NOT MOVE.

Scootering also forced us to embrace even more minimalism. We were forced to pick our most essential items and share a backpack between us during the 10 days (it’s all that fits on the bike!). It was a test to realize just how much you actually need to travel with. After the 10 days, it made Sam immediately started purging unnecessary clothes from his backpack (not me though, still hoarding over here!!).

Roadside Dining: After a long drive, Sam and I would stop at various little huts on the side of the road to grab food and stretch our legs.

One hut in particular blew us away. It was run by a husband and wife, who were the few people we interacted with who had very limited English. The restaurant was empty besides their young son and parents were hanging around. The food was buffet style, which is super common in Sri Lanka during lunch hours. These “restaurants” will display rice, curries, lentils, and fixings in clay pots for self-serve. We had never done a buffet yet so our communication was a bit wonky. I felt really bad trying to communicate with her to figure out what everything was, the pricing, and how to order (Was this a self-serve buffet? Do they serve it for you like a lunch lady would?? Did certain curries cost more than others??)

These were the questions running through my head that had me overthinking the entire situation. It was the first time I felt really out of place and unable to properly communicate this whole trip. After a few exchanges, and many confused faces later, we ended up being escorted to make our plates.

The whole family watched as we took our first bite. We showed our enthusiasm with wide eyes and big smiles.

Eager to continue pleasing us, the husband presented raw fresh fish that they fried on the spot for us (an off-menu indulgence!). The family was so happy and proud to serve us. They ended up calling a cousin who spoke fluent English to tell us to leave a Google review (they had just created their Google page and only had one review!) The son kept staring and watching us eat. Maybe it was his first time interacting with Westerners/a white guy/latina lady hehe.

It was the best Sri Lankan food we had on the whole trip and an amazing experience that ended with BIG smiles and lots of pictures. In the end, they only charged us for the buffet (not the fish, desserts, and other sides they dished out for us), but we told them to charge us for everything. It totaled out to ~$5 USD.

If that lunch taught me anything, it’s to push through the uncomfortable messiness and confusion of not speaking the same language to experience something really special.

Elephants! — Elephants are extremely wild and common in Sri Lanka! You’re likely to spot them crossing highways, intruding in backyards/gardens, and acting similar to deer in the US. When driving at dusk or dawn, you have to be extremely careful because that’s when they are the most active (and are known for charging at cars if not careful). Luckily, Sam and I didn’t have any scary interactions while on the scooter.

We visited two different national parks for day safaris to see the elephants (and other animals) in the wild. The first, Kaudulla National Park, has the highest concentration of Asian Elephants across the world. There are nearly 200 wild elephants roaming the park. We opted for an afternoon safari and saw 70+ wild elephants chomp on grass and bathe. It was amazing! Our jeep also kept a safe distance from the elephants until the elephants decided to walk right behind our jeep and stayed close by for a few minutes.

The second safari, Willpatu National Park, houses the most wild leopards in the world. There are nearly 350 roaming around (as well as elephants, water buffalo, crocodiles, deer, etc). We were told there was a good chance to see leopards and they are most active in the afternoon as well. Sadly, we didn’t spot one. But on our way out of the park were face to face with the LARGEST lady elephant we’d seen, which made our day.

Kitesurfing: Since we loved our time scuba diving in Thailand, we figured we would continue to find new activities to learn during our travels. While researching Sri Lanka, we found out that Kalpitiya is the BEST place to learn to kite surf in the WORLD!

Kalpitiya is a weird place. It’s on the northern end of a peninsula, off the west coast of Sri Lanka, and is extremely remote. There are no more than 10 kite schools and has no restaurants, no town, no working wifi, or really anything other than kiting. There are wild donkeys roaming the beaches. We were a little surprised when we first got there just how remote it was, but were surprised to learn there is a strong kiting community filled with expats who discovered a slice of kitesurfing heaven on the windy coast of Sri Lanka. I’m curious to see how this place develops in the next 10-15 years.

As for the sport, Kitesurfing is HARD. A 3-day course is not enough time to master the sport. There are two main components to kitesurfing: kite control and board control.

Kite control was EXTREMELY frustrating for the first day and a half. The kites are ~8-12 meters long and when mishandled, will have you LITERALLY flying in the air like a plastic bag (ok I’m being dramatic but it felt like that). With the wind, your body is being pulled SO strongly, it’s tough enough trying to manage the kite’s direction without completely crashing it into the water. Sam input: Laura took up 90% of the first two days of learning just tryna figure out how to not be scared of the kite :) It wasn’t that hard

Then comes the actual surfing. The boards are super similar to wakeboards/ snowboards (which we both have never successfully done). By day 3 Sam and I barely got up on the boards. I lasted maybe 3 seconds while Sam lasted 1 (and that’s being generous ;)). Sam's input: This bit was proper hard. The classes were a bit expensive and it felt like you needed to dedicate a few weeks of kiting to actually enjoy it. We decided to leave after day 3, but most people we met were staying at the kite school for 1-3 months. It was a bit culty and by the end, we were ready to move on..lol

Homestays: Most of our accommodation has been in homestays/ guesthouses. They are super popular in Sri Lanka and actually offer the best deals for breakfast and dinner while being able to chat with various locals about their experiences. Similar to bed & breakfasts, most are run by a husband (manages the bookings/ guests) and wife (cooks the food). In Sri Lanka, they say the best food is the food cooked at home so we’ve been leaning into this idea and having “home” cooked meals as often as we can vs. eating out!

Sri Lankan food is similar to Indian, with lots of roti (similar to tortillas/ scallion pancakes) and incorporates tons of coconut, fish, curries, and spices. The food not only is SPICY but has so much flavor packed into every bite, it’s delicious but A LOT going on. Sam's input: Laura’s stomach still struggling. Mine is stronger than ever. Sri Lankan breakfasts have been our favorite where the guesthouses dish up, hoppers, string hoppers, coconut rotis, omelets, fresh fruit plates, and MORE.

After dropping our scooter off we headed to Colombo, the capital, for a couple of nights before heading down the much more visited South. We were ready for some beach and mojitos!

P.S. If you made it this far, it’s Ilene and Celia’s bday. My gift to you both is this update 😉