As an office worker in Ho Chi Minh City with a hobby of exploring new lands, I am always attracted to destinations that few people choose. Therefore, when looking for a destination for this trip, I decided to choose Sri Lanka, a South Asian island nation in Southeast India. Before the trip, Sri Lanka was still a rather unfamiliar name to me. But the more I explored, the more I realized that this place has many interesting and different things than I had ever imagined.
I chose a flight with a departure time of 6:30 PM. After about 5 hours of flying, I arrived in Colombo. Arriving in the evening, I could rest and be ready to start exploring this island nation the next morning.
Before the trip, what I knew about this South Asian country was the image of Lion Rock Mountains, the Nine Arches Bridge and the train routes through mountains and hills, tea plantations. The first time I came to the island nation, I chose a relatively light itinerary, spending 2-3 nights at each point instead of trying to visit many places. Thanks to that, I had more time to explore every corner.
After a night of recharge, on the first day of the trip, I woke up early to explore Colombo, the economic center of Sri Lanka. The first impression was the crowded traffic weaving between old colonial architectural works mixed with modern features. I arrived at Jami-Ul-Alfar Mosque - a mosque with extremely eye-catching horizontal red and white stripes.
Throughout the journey, I prioritized traveling by public transport such as buses and local trains instead of renting private cars. This method helps save costs and has the opportunity to observe the local rhythm of life. In return, travel time is often longer, schedule depends on running hours and sometimes has to accept crowded scenes.
Leaving Colombo, for the next 2 days, I stayed at Sigiriya - where the famous Lion Mountain is located. Foreign tourists need to pay 35 USD (more than 900,000 VND) for an entrance ticket, the climbing time is about 1 hour, relatively accessible.
After buying tickets, I departed from the foot of the mountain at 5:30 am to catch the full sunrise on the top of the Lion Mountain. Climbing through 1,200 steps, the natural scenery, sunrise and sacred atmosphere blend into a poetic picture.
Recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, Sigiriya stands out with traces of ancient Sri Lankan civilization. Here, I admired the Mirror Wall, which preserves about 1,800 prose and poetry works in Sinhala, Sanskrit and Tamil, reflecting the cultural and linguistic life over many centuries.
In Sigiriya, visitors can admire the Lion Rock Mountain from many angles. The tuktuk driver suggested I stop by Pidurangala, the most beautiful sightseeing spot towards this symbol. The rock mountain appears between the green of trees and mountains, creating an impressive scene. The road up is quite easy to go, taking about 30-60 minutes. When arriving, many tourists are also waiting to watch the sunset.
During the trip, I mainly traveled by tuktuk - a small colorful vehicle that weaves through the roads in Sri Lanka. I often book a car through PickMe or Uber to know the price in advance, which is both convenient and avoids being charged high prices.
In Sigiriya, I tried quite a few local dishes, from Kottu Roti, curry rice to pol sambol, achcharu. In the evening at the homestay, I ate a traditional Sri Lanka meal with rice, curry and chicken, while eating and listening to the host tell stories about local life. The dish here is quite spicy but with many flavors familiar to Vietnamese tastes, so it is relatively easy to eat.
I also tried King Coconut, a typical and quite popular coconut in Sri Lanka. On the way, I was impressed with the friendliness of the local people - wherever you go, you can easily see smiles and open welcomes for tourists.
From Sigiriya, I enjoyed the 4th and 5th days of my journey in Kandy, Sri Lanka's last ancient capital. Strolling around Kandy Lake in the heart of the city, the calm lake surface reflects the surrounding hills, creating a rare quiet moment amidst the journey of many destinations. Sitting by the lake watching locals stroll, I clearly felt the very unique peaceful rhythm of life in this ancient capital.
Kandy streets are crowded, shops are scattered, but the pace of life is somewhat slow and gentle, carrying the typical melancholy of an ancient capital. I like to enjoy the trip by recording everyday moments where I come to.
If you want to best feel the culture and pace of life of a land, start from the markets. The market is a place for buying and selling but is also likened to the "heart" of each locality. There, daily life and local culture appear most realistically. The Municipal Central Market Market in Kandy is such a destination, always bustling with stalls selling all kinds of fruits, meat, fish, vegetables, interspersed with souvenir stalls.
Kandy is suitable for tourists who like to explore culture, with a large pagoda located in the royal palace of the last king, Kandy Museum displays exquisite artifacts, recounting a glorious era before becoming a British colony.
On the 6th and 7th, the next stop was Ella. Arriving there, I bought a round-trip ticket for the Ella - Badulla route, the train is about 25 km long and takes about 1 hour. I chose a non-reservation ticket, meaning I can stand and sit anywhere. The train runs at a speed of 35km/h, slow enough to enjoy and capture the scenery around the journey. With a price of only about 60 Sri Lankan rupees, equivalent to 5,000 VND, this is probably one of the cheapest train trips I have ever experienced.
The train route takes tourists through Nine Arch Bridge - Sri Lanka's most famous check-in point. The bridge was built in the early 20th century, entirely of bricks, stones and cement, without using steel structures. With 9 continuous arch bridge spans, the structure stands out in the mountains and forests. When the train slowly crosses the bridge, many tourists wave to welcome them below, creating a bustling and unique scene of Ella.
I spent the afternoon leisurely wandering around the small town of Ella, nestled among the misty mountains. Fresh air, far from the noise of bustling cities. Small slopes, lush green tea gardens and the slow pace of life of the people made me want to stay for a few more days.
The scenery of the mountains and forests from Little Adam's Peak made me decide to add this destination to my itinerary. The way to the summit is quite easy, only about 20 minutes. From above, in front of me are continuous hills, stretching across the Ella mountains and forests - a scene enough for me to want to stand for a long time and admire.
On this trip to Colombo, after carefully researching, I chose to fly with Vietjet from Ho Chi Minh City directly to Colombo, Sri Lanka. With many convenient flights during the week, choosing a flight and itinerary that suits me is much easier. Frequent and continuous promotions from the airline such as 0-dong tickets, promotions to give checked baggage also help save quite a lot of costs.
I planned and booked tickets early on this trip, so it was both very good and I was also given 20 kg of checked baggage. The experience on the flight was also more special for me when I tried hot, fresh dishes right on the plane and when landing in Colombo, I enjoyed the music of Sri Lanka.
Go and experience Sri Lanka yourself, I believe you will never forget the experiences in this country.
