The sunset at the quiet Ahangama Beach where our surf camp is at
Until I got out of Colombo Airport today, I had imagined Sri Lanka being very similar to Southern India as it is only about 30 kilometers separating the two countries. It had been a couple of years since we were backpacking for over two months in India, but the impression wegot after just a few minutes in Sri Lanka seem to be quite different to what we had expected, mainly due to three reasons:
– It is much more quiet in Sri Lanka, its more like Europe in that way
– Sri Lanka is much more clean and the air more fresh
– People are polite when talking to you and they do not stare
We arrived early morning and have been traveling all day, where we have not yet seen a single rat, we had people stopping for us when crossing the road and we have already had a meal with beef! Of course there were some tough price haggling at the airport where they tried to fool us and the taxis drove like crazy passing trucks and buses on narrow roads, but it was not even near what it would have been like in India. I am writing this, well settled in at our surf camp in Anhangama, were I might have been just lucky with the people I met and the time visited, but I think it is safe to say that India and Sri Lanka should not be judged all the same. Do not get me wrong as India is in fact my favorite travel destination of all time, but Sri Lanka has a much more “mild” feel to it and it already feels like a place that I am going to enjoy.
