We had to return to the Colombo area to catch our flight out of Sri Lanka and while we were traveling around the country we heard about a small town north of the city that was closer to the airport and more tourist friendly called Negombo so we decided to give it a try. We found a hotel 1 block from the beach with free airport transfers for $22. We arrived around 2pm from Kandy and headed straight to the beach. It turned out it was World Children’s Day and there was a huge festival going on so we spent about an hour wandering around soaking up the party vibe while I munched on every new snack I could find. From there we headed to a bar for 1 drink where we ran into another traveler from Germany who was also on the last night of his trip. We ended up chatting over beers and shisha for over 4 hours.
It was the perfect ending to an amazing trip. Sri Lanka left us both wanting more. We fell in love with the people, the food, the landscapes and the overall laidback vibe. All the locals we met were surprised we were from America and all asked why more Americans don’t come here. We had no answer. It was clean, safe, cheap, traveler friendly and full of things to do. The best way I can describe it would be if Costa Rica and India had a baby it would be Sri Lanka. It has the best features of both places with out each places worst features, like Costa Ricas crime and Indias pollution and crowds. We have already decided we will be back next Nov for the Tuk-tuk tournament. This country is quickly becoming a tourist hotspot for so many good reasons. Tourism here is obviously the best chance the country has to prosper after recent set backs due to covid and economical/political problems. Two familiar countries and two new ones coming up. If you read this to the end and would like a postcard leave us a comment!
