When I thought about Sri Lanka, beaches and buddha statues came to my mind. Little did I know this small country has so much to offer!

Travelling by train is very very cheap in Sri Lanka! A 25 minutes journey from Ella to Haputale cost less than a dollar, accompanied by rolling carpets of tea plantations!

Want to be more adventurous? Try standing or sitting at the door of the train, more fun if you risk your life taking selfies or even videos! So it doesn’t matter if you secure a seat or not! Get a third-class ticket for a short journey if you care about saving few cents.

Food vendors hustled in and out of train selling vadei (spicy deep-fried lentil cake), samosas (not necessary with vegetable), rotis (in a triangle shape), chickpea salads, coconut pancakes, etc. I never get bored of checking them out!

The strange thing was, the locals love shouting on top of their lungs when the train was going through tunnels. Most of us would end up smiling at each other. It's the moment to strike up a conversation with your nearest stranger. Try on local kids who wish to learn English.

But make sure you don’t miss your destination!

According to Lonely Planet, ‘Sri Lanka is one of the finest wildlife-watching countries in South Asia’. Yes, we’re talking about hundreds of elephants, herds of buffalo, masses of birds, sambar deers, elusive leopards, schools of dolphins, sea turtles, and the world’s largest living mammal — blue whales!

For the whale and dolphin watching tour, I used Raja and the Whales in Mirissa. We saw hundreds of dolphins. Some even chasing us. It was our luck as well to see four whales in one location! I highly recommend their service. There are also tours depart from Galle, that run by the navy. The big navy boats can go much further into the Indian Ocean than the private boats in Mirissa!

As for the national parks, hire an experienced driver is crucial. Yet the weather is something that you can’t predict. No luck on the day I took the tour. The morning rain ruined it. We aimed to see leopards and bears, but they prefer to hide inside their dry caves!

Of course, animals live outside the national parks, so it’s not necessary to pay to see wildlife. Those deers I spotted on Trincomalee’s street were treated like pets, with bread offered by a trishaw driver. The reptile, or was it iguana … was seen sunbathing in a residence where I stayed.

If you’re into bird watching, Sri Lanka has an astonishing abundance of birdlife. I saw birds in public places such as Kandy Lake and Tissa lake. Come with your binoculars!

Almost all guest houses offer home cook rice and curries. You’ll be surprised at how many curries accompanying the rice. If you order lunch, the portion will be significant enough to make it as dinner too!

Matey Hut was one of the many restaurants that offer cooking classes in Ella. The cook made six vegetarian curries and one salad in just 2 hours! The process starts from cracking the coconuts, scraping the white fruit out from the shells, and shredding them! The cooking of each curry was complicated, so we recorded each step in our notes. She showed us the recipes only after we finished the whole session!

My favourite Sri Lankan cuisine was jackfruit curry. It looked like fish. To me, It tasted like fish as well!

Unesco has recognised 8 World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka. An impressive number for such a small island!

1~ Galle Fort, the Dutch fort

2~ Kandy, the heart of Sri Lankan culture 3~ Sinharaja Forest Reserve, a birdwatcher dream place 4~ Dambulla, the cave temple

5~ Sigiriya, the rock monastery or the rock palace

6~ Polonnaruwa, the medieval capital

7~ Anuradhapura, the sacred ruin site

8~ Central Highlands, namely Adam’s Peak, Horton Plains, and Knuckles Range

Phewww… so much to see on a tiny island!

The excellent news is … it’s easy to travel as the distances are short. The only issue was the high entry fees if you are on a budget!

Once I missed a long journey train. It caused me to board many buses to reach a destination. Nevertheless, I was not in a good mood on the hectic journey. But the friendly locals made my day!

I was also curious how many foreign couples that travelling with babies could survive here. I knew an American couple left their baby to a guesthouse owner for a whale watching tour!

If it was not because for the artist Jagath Jayasooriya, I don’t think I would able to appreciate Sri Lanka’s ancient painting. After viewing the wall paintings on the Sigiriya rocks, I decided to visit Dambulla Cave Temple and the Temple of Sacred Tooth.

The Dambulla Cave Temple virtually is a museum, full of buddha statues and wall paintings. The paintings were like wallpaper covering the caves. I read that they date back to the 1st century BC, and were repaired and repainted in the 11th, 12th, and 18th century AD. Some statues were pretty spooky to see if you’re alone in the cave. But well … I don’t think it would happen as the caves were usually crowded with tourists.

Temple of Sacred Tooth is the most sacred temple of Sri Lanka, located in the cultural city Kandy. The design of paintings in the temple was interesting. Of all, I like the painting with two men pulling each other hair the most!

Street food can be found at transport hubs, beachside, and around the school area. You can’t miss hoppers (bowl shape pancake), Kottu (mixed roti, vegetables, and meat), isso vadei (deep-fried lentil cakes with or without seafood on top), samosa (a deep-fried triangular pastry with spiced vegetable or meat filling), and chickpea salad (mainly with nuts and chilies).

Many times I got my food wrapped with used paper. It could be from a student exercise book, examination paper, government letter, application form, etc. You might think it’s not hygienic, but hey it’s a good peek into their life!

My favorite food in Sri Lanka was buffalo curd (similar to greek yogurt). Usually, eat with liquid palm sugar. Traditionally it was made in a clay pot. Only when I was in cities, I saw some sold in plastic tubs, just like how yogurt has been sold. I think it wasn’t as good as the traditional clay pot version.

My favorite dessert? Mixed fruit salad with ice cream on top! Wonderful when you’re exhausted under the hot sun.

One food that I’d rather not try was betel leaf. From bus driver to the monk, Sri Lankan males love chewing betel leaf! To me, the sight of a red-mouth betel chewer is quite a horror to see.

I knew Ceylon tea before I came to know the country of Sri Lanka. Sri Lankans prefer to have it hot, with spoonfuls of sugar and hot milk. There are countless brands here, other than the usual Lipton and Dilmah. Go for tea even you’re a coffee drinker! Because finding good coffee in Sri Lanka is bound to be disappointed.

Talking about strolling the scenic Sri Lankan tea plantations. Don’t miss Lipton’s seat! It's near Dambatenne Tea Factory, 11 km away from Haputale town.

For me, it was unbelievable to be at that spot, standing at where Sir Thomas Lipton used to be and viewing his empire. I can’t help but imagine what he was thinking with such a view.

Sri Lanka is the place to escape to tropical beaches. Golden sand or white sand. You can rarely travel any part of the coast for long without spotting any stunning stretch of sand.

Where’s the best beach in Sri Lanka? I have been to beaches in Negombo, Unawatuna, Mirissa, Tangalle, Trincomalee, and Batticaloa. My favourite was Tangalle Beach which is on the southern coast of the island. I felt the vibe was just right for me.

Surfing is a big hit too. The best place for it should be the surf mecca Arugam Bay. But Weligama, Hikkaduwa, or Midigama could be your choice depending on the season. Non-surfer like me can watch surfers in action by the beachside.

Negombo beach is a popular tourist spot for locals; probably it is because of its distance near Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. But I didn’t expect to see the beach with people in the evening! Families were having picnics. Teenagers and toddlers were playing games in the warm water. It could stay on till late at night. A brilliant idea for many who don’t want to deal with the hot sun!

The first fisherman that I spoke to was a tsunami survivor. He was about to depart to the sea when I asked him for route direction. I can’t recall how we ended up with the topic of the tsunami. It was hard to believe the calm beach was a mass disaster more than ten years ago!

Because of his gripping narrative, I felt melancholy each time I saw a fisherman.

Once, I was on a viewpoint overlooking the Bay of Bengal; there was a view of some venerable sampans (small basic boats) heading towards the roaring sea. To think how someone could risk life to bring food to our plate, yet I knew, for people who live on the coast of this island, fishing could be the only choice to earn a living.

My tribute to them. The unsung heroes.