Tea is an essential part of Sri Lankan culture, and is their second leading export commodity, behind textiles. Sri Lanka’s hill country is liberally dotted with terraced tea plantations, and many of them have wonderful tea houses right at the road side where you can relax, drink their teas, and enjoy the mountain atmosphere. And […]
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WoWasis travel tips and avoiding scams in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is a wonderful place to visit, not as touristed as other countries in the area, and full of friendly people and terrific sites. Like any other country, there are some things to keep in mind, and a few things to avoid. We here at WoWasis have already written an informative post on hiring […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis visits the Peradeniya Botanic Gardens in Kandy, Sri Lanka
Kandy is a rambling old town that requires no more than a day to see just about everything. At night, the best spot we’ve found is the Pub Royale, located in the Queen’s Hotel building, where — on a good night — a magnificent 4 piece accordion band plays Besame Mucho and other hits from […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis visits Galle, colonial city of southwestern Sri Lanka
Built by the Dutch in 1663, the colonial city of Galle is a pleasure to walk through, keeping within the confines of the fort area. Our journey took us there on a Sunday, which happened to also be Mohammad’s birthday, so all museums were closed. Everything else was open, including boutiques, antiquities shops, restaurants, and […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis tours Sri Lanka on the Haputale – Badulla hill country train
We here at WoWasis love to take scenic trains. And there is none finer in Sri Lanka than the route along the Colombo-Kandy line that runs in the hill country north from Haputale to Badulla (see the video), through the towns of Ella, Demodara, and Bandarawela, and into the countryside. Or you can go south, […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis visits Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka
Arugam Bay in southeast Sri Lanka is fairly well known for surfing, and waves are best in the high season, between April and October. In low season, it’s still a great getaway, with plentiful inexpensive beach bungalows and hotels, picturesque fishing boats, and an opportunity to swim in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis tours the Pottuvil Lagoon mangroves near Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka
Arugam Bay in southeast Sri Lanka is fairly well known for surfing and other water sports, but you’ll be missing something extraordinary if you don’t take a nearby mangrove eco-tour in the village of Pottuvil. The tour is by outrigger, polled through the mangrove waters by local people, is managed by the Hidiyapuram Fisheries Cooperative […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis beer review: Some great beers from Sri Lanka
Similar to the situation in which we found ourselves while reviewing Vietnamese beers, we here in your WoWasis beer tasting room can’t find any reason not to stay exclusively with Sri Lankan-produced beers while in that country. Sri Lankan stouts and lagers rank with the best in Asia. Here’s our report: For sheer everyday drinkability, […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis visits Sri Lanka’s magnificent Aluvihara rock monastery
In the ancient cities area of Sri Lanka, on the road from Dambulla to Kandy, 3 km north of Matale, is Aluvihara, an undervisted and non-commercial shrine that we here at WoWasis feel is well worth a stop, We loved the Dambulla cave temples nearby, but the overt commercialism there we found to be disconcerting. […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis visits Sri Lanka’s Spice Garden hawkers
On the road from Colombo to Kandy, especially near the area close to the Elephant Orphanage (which we feel is overpriced and unworth the visit, unless you’ve never seen an elephant before), you’ll find a number of signs saying ‘Spice Garden,’ or ‘Spice Grove,’ fronting local spice operations. We visited one of them, The Island 25 […]
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