The one week holiday in Sri Lanka on March 2007 was too short to discover such a beautiful country but long enough to know that I want to go there again and visit more extensively the next time! It was not only the country but also the kindliness of the people that I've never seen anywhere in the world that makes me want to return to Sri Lanka once again! They all smile at you and in a very friendly way! Not in excess but just naturally. And you can feel it since it comes from the bottom of their hearts!
A very good friend of mine accompanied me on this trip and he was a fantastic travel partner! So, thank you very much Nicolas for all the good moments and laughs! "Check it out"! (*)
The charter flight Edelweiss Air was an amazing experience. The service reminded me the old Swissair times and the cabin atmosphere was much different from a regular airline. As everybody was going on a beach holiday (there were passengers to Sri Lanka as well as to Maldives), you can imagine how happy everybody was!
The Ranweli Holiday Village in Waikkal (west coast) was the best place to stay! This "eco-friendly" hotel provides nice bungalows with beach view, very good and tasty Sri Lankan and international food, two bars (one by the swimming pool) and it has an excellent Ayurvedic centre. A very special thank you to Shanthi Ranasinghe for our long chat and for convincing me to do the foot therapy as well as to Dr. H. M. L. Menike Herath, the Ayurvedic Physician! Well, next time I'll definitely have a complete therapy: head, body and foot! The hotel also organizes beautiful traditional Sri Lankan weddings (for westerners) and sightseeing tours. We went on an early morning bird watching tour (special thanks to Mahinda Ekanayake, Senaka Pathmakumara and Chandrasiri Nimal), 4 hours bicycle tour (special thanks to Bandusiri) and a full day tour to Yapahuwa and Panduwasnuwara (special thanks to Anuruddha Jayasinghe and Upali). Even the shop with their traditional handicraft souvenirs was good enough to find out all you need and the shop keeper Nihal Thamel was also very friendly. One last thank you to the bar steward Thilina S. Kulathunge that was very cheerful and that kept serving us the best mocktails and cocktails by the pool! "Ayubowan" to all of you! (In Sinhalese, it means "May you have long life", for those that don't know, and that's their traditional way of greeting at any time of the day!).
As a proof that this holiday was an unforgettable one, mind that I've made 2525 photos in one single week! ;-)
Already back to Switzerland, and because I've brought a few Sinhalese songs that I liked so much and wanted to have the original CDs, being in trouble to find their names (the ones I got were misspelled), I've just connected to a Sri Lankan music forum and asked for help! And guess what? The next day I've got the answer so a big thank you to Chrisanthie that also recommended me other names and songs! "Ayubowan" to Chrisanthie as well!
As a conclusion and before I'll add the next comments regarding my second visit to Sri Lanka (oh yes... it's already in the air!), I would just say... Are you in troubles to find a holiday destination whereas you can combine beach and visits? Well, Sri Lanka is definitely the place to go! And you won't regret, I can tell you! :-)
(*) "Check it out"! When we were in our bungalow listening to the radio, there was a spot on the radio station saying "Check it out"! And we listened to it so many times that it remained stuck in our memories until today! Oh well... It's just too bad that you can't hear it by simply reading my words!... ;-)
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