Sri Lanka – 1 month of solo backpacking

Strong WIFI connection. Tasty meal ( you have to pay ). Tuk Tuk ready to fetch you to bus stop or anywhere you want to go. Free pickup from Bus Stop to Guest House.

Ancient city with many historical sites to visit.

Fairly easy hike spot for outdoor lovers. Freezing cold if you arrive before sun rise. Make sure you arrive to witness the sun rise as it is one of the most beautiful scenes.

Stay at Nilaveli Beach and walk along the coast line to witness how the locals live.

Kandyan dance, a must see while in Kandy. As well as tooth relic temple.

Get out there and enjoy the sun, sand and beach. !!!

Another fantastic beach - Make sure to check out the season to avoid arriving during Monsoon season.

Hike up Adam's Peak to get the amazing feeling of accomplishment as you climb up the stairs to the temple at the peak.

While in Anuradhapura. I cycle around with a rented bicycle to visit the archaeological sites under the wonderful sun. I would say Anuradhapura is one of my favourite places to visit in Sri Lanka. The city is well organized. Tourist friendly place. You can clearly see and feel the city, it has its own charm without much effort put into it. I wish we stayed longer here..... oh well, travel must go on !

Can't remember exactly but after around 4-5 hours bus ride from Colombo to Dambulla, I checked into Blue Sky guesthouse before we call it a day after dinner. A good start of the journey with the tasty local Sri Lankan dish. Visited Sigiriya and Golden temple while there.

Ella, a place higher than a thousand feet above sea level has one of the most seek after hiking spot for outdoor enthusiast like me. I hiked up Ella rock which took about 3 hours or so to finish. Little Adam's peak - worth going to have a good view of the surrounding area. You will find elderly folks picking tea leaves as you walk pass the tea plantation up to Little Adam's peak. Don't be surprise if you see someone come running out after you to invite you for a tea. ( its a restaurant - you have to pay )

If you have not been to Kandy, you have not been to Sri Lanka. This cool place up the hills will bring you to surprise. We got into the traffic jam when we arrived. The rain did not help to ease the traffic. My tuk tuk driver was smart enough to maneuver his way through and brought me safely to our guest house - Sevana guesthouse , which expectedly happens to be up the hill too.

Next day, I took a local bus to Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage and it was a relaxing one. You may start getting souvenirs here as I did not see similar thing can be done in Colombo. I didnt manage to find shops with souvenirs in Colombo. Not sure if Pettah Bazaar in Colombo has it. It was too busy for me to even try looking there.

Try to avoid going to the herb's garden if you see people calling out to you. They will try their best to offer you a body massage using traditional herbal products and sell you stuff after inviting you for a demonstration. I felt weird and left after the whole thing finished. I did not feel comfortable with the guys there. Anyway, this is part of the journey... so, no complaints. Life goes on

I managed to hike up Adam's peak too while in Sri Lanka. So much for being on an adventure. I hiked up, stayed for a while under the freezing cold weather and finally got to see the sun rise before I make our way down and continue our travels. I stayed at Dellhouise which is just meters away from the entrance of Adam's Peak. You do not have to pay to hike up Adam's Peak.

Do arrive early as there is a Temple up there where you may witness the morning prayer along with the sun rise.

If you wish to skip going to Nuwara Eliya, you are making a HUGE MISTAKE !!! It is one of the best out of the best places to visit ! It never cross my mind how beautiful and vast landscape this country has to offer. I am glad I visited Horton Plains. No words can describe how amazingly beautiful it is in the morning. It feels like you are in a Safari land in no where close to Sri Lanka. You have to brace the morning cold to witness the magical morning. I can bet you it will be worth while.

According to Wikipedia : "It is well known for the Sri Pada, i.e., "sacred footprint", a 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) rock formation near the summit, which in Buddhist tradition is held to be the footprint of the Buddha, in Hindu tradition that of Shiva and in Islamic and Christian tradition that of Adam, or that of St. Thomas."

Hope you would find Sri Lanka as magical as I did.