“I’m coming back single,” I thought.
This was the first time we were travelling together as a couple. Sri Lanka has been on my to-visit list since the start of the year but things were never going through as planned. But this was the only trip we were going together for the year and we wanted to make the best out of it. As curious and huge outdoors people, we needed somewhere new, with mountains and seas – Sri Lanka seemed like the perfect plan.
We landed in Sri Lanka at 2am in the morning, and an accidental turn saw us exiting the airport. This means we were unable to get back in to find a place to rest before the first bus at 5am. So we took a tuk tuk to the nearest bus station… and found no one there. It was creepy as hell.
And finally, the bus was here after 3 hours of waiting in the cold.
But there was only 1 seat left.
The bus situation was terrible; the aisle was a mere foot wide, with no air conditioning, and the bus driver was blasting loud music throughout the whole ride. The poor boy could only stand in this terrible situation while our bus driver swerves and turns like a kickass F1 driver. And this happened for a good e 2 hours before a local hurriedly choped a seat for him as he was nodding off.
It was such a difficult ride, having people’s bags and warm bodies shoved in your face throughout the ride, while you battle the humidity and stuffiness in the bus ride. All I wanted was a good shower and a quick nap when we reached Colombo.
This was Victor’s first backpacking trip, and I was so worried he wouldn’t be able to get used to the madness. Plus, this whole bus journey wasn’t helping.
“Maybe he’s gonna leave you when you two get home. You’re too ambitious to choose Sri Lanka for your first trip together! You should have stuck with the typical places around Southeast Asia!” I thought.
All was good when we reached Colombo, we didn’t see any tourists around. Lugging on our heavy backpacks, we trotted to our hotel.
Unfortunately, the room was not ready when we arrived, so we slept on the sofa in the open area. But at the very least, the hotel view was such a treat!
Thankfully, the host was kind enough and gave us another room as he saw how tired we were. Finally, a comfortable place to sleep after 12 hours of travelling!
First stop: food!
We took a quick day trip around the city. With a guide, we took a scenic and historic walk around Viharamahadevi Park.
We were too tired, and retreated to our hotel after an early dinner. Got to catch a wink for our train ride the next day!
Next stop: Kandy, on the most beautiful train ride in the world
Conquering the world one step at a time. 