For a Westerner who travels in this country, negative experiences can leave only negative feelings. Sri Lanka is densely populated with over 100 year’s old infrastructure. Roads and railroads are mainly from era when this island was called Ceylon and was governed by British. Public transportation is based on two cycle motorized rickshaws that rule the roads. It takes plenty of time to travel in Sri Lanka due to roads in bad shape with very heavy traffic. Also, no one should consider this country as tropical beach destination; there are hundreds of places with much better beaches around the world. Why to visit Sri Lanka? I would say that for people culturally aware and interested in Asia this can be a great experience. This country may show many similarities to its close neighbor India, but also differs a lot. Sri Lanka may be even better choice when considering travel to this part of the world.

The most important while visiting countries in Asia is to stay away from bureaucratic tangle, constant conning and awful hotels. I am not taking about avoiding contact with local people, but about all the disadvantages that come form negative experiences during your travel. Sri Lanka has many hidden oasis of relatively inexpensive clean hotels with comfort and relaxation so needed after days on dusty roads and many hours with annoying beggars. Such places allow you to come back from the exertion of the previous day and filter out only the best and nice experiences.

To get around Sri Lanka so called independent travelers often hire a driver. I do not like to be escorted all day long. I decided to rent a car at the airport and drive everywhere myself. It requires a little bit of caution on the road, but makes you absolutely on your own. Driving in Sri Lanka is exactly like in many other countries in Asia; cows and people walking on roads, busses that suddenly stop in unpredictable places, hundreds of scooters and rickshaws (tuk-tuks) riding in absolutely all directions.

Sri Lanka’s capital city Colombo is absolutely uninteresting and staying there is wasting of time. During our trip we visited mostly historical places like Kandy, Dambulla and old colonial city of Galle. Sri Lanka is also a great place to see monkeys and elephants.