Beyond Marrs

We all waited with baited breath as the jeep pulled up next to a small lake hidden in the trees. As we emerged from the forest it came into view—an elephant, basking in the golden, buttery sunlight.

We were in Sri Lanka, the place fabled to be the golden city of Lanka, where Ravana took Sita and where Hanuman saved the day. We touched down in Colombo, the capital, and made our way up the coast by tuk tuk (dad as the driver) and inland to Wilpattu, where we stayed in a small lodge owned by a friendly family.

While we were there, we went on a safari, which is where we saw the elephant. From Wilpattu we headed east to Anuradhapura, a city packed with culture and lots of large brick stupas, including the largest stupa in the world. One thing that was surprising was that when we were there, there were no people at all! We left Anuradhapura and headed southeast, this time to Habarana. This also happened to be where we spent Christmas. On Christmas day, we woke up and exchanged presents. We couldn’t carry too many large gifts (because we only had one small backpack each), so we decided to give each other “steel wool gifts”. That meant that we would find small, simple gifts for each other that could be silly, such as steel wool. That tradition came from mom and dad when they visited Thailand a long time ago, and they shared the same situation. Dad got mom steel wool, and I got Willem a pacifier. After opening presents, we went to the shared area for breakfast. 

A typical Sri Lankan brekkie is a blend of savory and sweet. There are assortments of aromatic curries and dal, served with fluffy, steaming rice and thick, flavorful coconut roti. It also comes with coconut sambal, which is a delicious topping composed of coconut, chili powder and lime, and several assortments of hoppers, such as regular hoppers (a bowl shaped chewy pancake) string hoppers (lacy piles of rice noodles that look like nests), lavariya (string hoppers filled with sweet coconut and molasses), and milk hoppers (hoppers filled with a custardy coconutty center that is sweet). Personally, milk hoppers were my favorite. And finally, after eating as much as possible, you have to have enough room to fit in a plate full of bright, exotic fruits such as papaya, mango, and banana. And to top it all off, you get to have a cup of Sri Lankan tea and a juice. Whew!

Later that day, we packed a bag with some snacks, cameras, and sunscreen, and hopped into a jeep. We drove to the park entrance and got our passes, and then drove into the forest. It wasn’t long before we spied a flash of gray in the tall grasses. It was an elephant! We could barely see anything, so we kept driving. Just up ahead, there were more elephants, grazing on the side of the jeep path. Wow! We kept encountering more and more, and so close to us! Several times, they came so close that I could see each individual hair on their body. By the end of the day we saw maybe thirty elephants. Isn’t that amazing?

After our delightful stay in Habarana, we drove northeast to Uppuveli, a small beach town abundant with fish—and fishermen. We swam in the balmy water and helped pick fish out of nets along with the local fishermen. During our stay there we also visited Trincomalee, a larger town with herds of wild deer roaming the streets and beaches. We explored the fort there as well, Fort Frederick, and even pet some of the deer. We were sad to leave!

After setting off from the quaint little town of Uppuveli, we drove up north towards Mullaitivu. We stopped at a small beach where we spent a few minutes searching for seashells, and drove past herds of cattle wandering in the road. We got to a beautiful lagoon connecting with the ocean, over which was a long bridge. As we neared it, we noticed construction workers on the far end. We got stopped by the police, and they told us that it was under construction (because of the recent cyclone) and we could not pass. We were shocked. What should we do? We considered taking a boat across, but that would mean that we would have to leave our tuk tuk, Ruby Abu, behind. So our only choice was to backtrack. We drove back the way we came for three and a half hours, and then drove up to the small town of Vavuniya, where we collapsed, exhausted, into bed after nine and a half hours of driving.

We only stayed in Vavuniya for one night, so the next day we were off towards Jaffna, the capital of the north. This was one of my favorite places, and it had some of the best Sri Lankan breakfasts. Yum! While we were in Jaffna, we explored some of the things that it was most known for, including the Jaffna islands. These were beautiful, lush and tropical islands with shallow, balmy water and soft white sand. These islands were connected by a series of man-made causeways. Even though these bridges stretched for quite a long way, you could still wade in the water and it would only be as deep as your shoulders. We swam in the flat calm water and explored the bright, technicolor temples. These islands were fairly quiet and not built up, so there was not much of a tourist infrastructure.

While we were at the islands, we heard a cheery jingle from down the street. It was an ice cream tuk tuk! It drove slowly down the road, in search of customers. Ice cream tuk tuks are very popular in Sri Lanka. Almost every town that we went to had several driving around. Bakery tuk tuks were also very easy to spot around town. We bought some ice cream, then were on our way.

We headed south after Jaffna, and down to Mannar island. Mannar island was a small windy place off the west coast. We stayed at the far end of the island, in Talaimannar, a tiny place that feels almost deserted. While we were there, we met two nice kids our age named Gia and Leo. We played together and had so much fun. We also went out to Adam’s Bridge together.

Adam’s Bridge is a chain of small, sandy, uninhabited islands that form a connection between Sri Lanka and India. We only had access to the first island, which was very difficult to reach. First, we waded through a muddy, brackish lagoon, then sloshed through ankle-deep water, and finally walked through a sandy, almost desert-like area while the windblown sand stung our ankles. But it was totally worth it! That landscape was like nothing I had ever seen before. It seemed like another planet. We were lucky to go there.

We tearfully bid goodbye to our friends and set off southeast once again, towards Dambulla. Dambulla was a beautiful town surrounded by lakes, and, on one side, a massive rock protruding from the earth. A short hike to the top rewards you with stunning views of the land below and a glimpse into ancient Buddhism. Why? Because there are around five intricately painted caves with giant Buddha statues. We wandered around, gaping at the colors and designs. It’s so amazing to see how even a long time ago, people appreciated beautiful art as much as we do now!

Our final drive from Dambulla brought us back to Colombo, and back to bustling city life. On our final day in Sri Lanka, we drove into the city and met Suppan, an enthusiastic man who we had met previously in Agra, India. He was trying to travel to one hundred cities in India, but he had to come back home for a visa run. We met him at the Hilton hotel and had some tea.

The next day we woke up before dawn and called a taxi to take us to the airport. As I gazed out at this beautiful country one last time, I thought of how much fun we had. This is one of my favorite places on the planet.

Thank you, Sri Lanka.