Homeland for Ceylon Tea, Colombo/Sri Lanka
It is possible to reach these destinations with a flight of approximately 9 hours from Turkey. While some of the flights are operated as landing in Maldives and then continuing to Colombo, some of them are operated as direct flights.
This week I will try to give you some information about Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka, which those over the age of 40 remember as Ceylon. There are regular airline flights to this city from our country and the modest airport located about 40 km away from the city welcomes its guests. It is possible to reach here with a flight of approximately 9 hours from Turkey. While some of the flights are operated as landing in Maldives and then continuing to Colombo, some of them are operated as direct flights.
Following the landing of the plane, the passengers are taken to the airport terminal area by buses, where they are welcomed by officials in local clothes and carry out the necessary procedures. Since everyone speaks English, there is no communication problem and their extremely helpful approach will attract your attention at first. The people of the country, who are docile and polite, are also very sincere and eager to help foreigners. If you do not have a transfer plan in advance for the place where you will stay at the terminal exit, you can get there by taxi or tuk-tuks, which are widely used in this geography. Since most of the taxis do not have air conditioning, I recommend you to experience the tuk-tuk experience. In this way, you can experience a very airy journey after a long flight in an indoor environment.
Your choice of clothing is important during your trip here. Because when you visit here, you will closely experience that it is a region where the temperature is 25-30 degrees all year round and rainfall (heavy rainfall during the monsoon) is not missing for most of the year. Being careful against mosquitoes during sunrise and sunset hours will reduce your risk of getting malaria. For this reason, staying away from shorts and short-sleeved clothes especially during these hours will make you safer. However, if there is no mosquito net type protective device in the place where you will stay, the use of a mosquito repellent device is highly recommended.
The country's world-famous most important source of income is tea, and you can find all types and qualities at very affordable prices. Since the quality of tea depends on the altitude where it is grown and various processes, it is recommended to choose according to your intended use. Some teas have a very intense and astringent taste, while others have a softer taste. The use of milk, which is a British colonial habit, is generally valid for more intense sweet tea types. Some types of tea are like powdery powder, while others are in the form of larger leaf fibers and have a more intense taste. Depending on your taste, white, green and black tea types are available almost everywhere at affordable prices. The teas sold in tea shops are generally of higher quality and price. Here you can get valuable information about tea, brewing and presentation processes from the sellers.
Due to its tropical climate, tropical fruits can be found even in roadside vendors and are sold at very reasonable prices, freshly picked or harvested from their natural environment. The bargain-free sales made with scales from ancient times will also attract your attention. Likewise, there are also sales of cut and sliced fruit along the roads and you should be careful about hygiene. Hygiene is not an attitude of care throughout the country and it is important to be careful about this issue for your health. The health facilities of the country are also not in the usual features and facilities. For this reason, it is necessary for your personal health to have the vaccinations specified on the relevant page of the Ministry of Health before your trip here.
The city center is located by the sea and is extremely rich both visually and in terms of seafood restaurants. However, the influence of Indian cuisine is immediately felt in the country. The spice level of the dishes is rich and varied, which may cause problems in the first days for those who are not used to it. The areas where you can swim in the sea are generally about 30 minutes away from the city center, and the beach and sand are far from the beauties of our country. The clarity of the water is almost non-existent and the view is not very pleasant. When you see the sea and beaches here, you will once again realize how valuable the beauties of our country are.
As in most of the hotels you will stay in, you can participate in tours for elephants and monkeys by tour operators located near the tourism offices in the city center. The price of these tours, where you will be picked up from your accommodation after breakfast in the morning and brought back to your hotel in the evening with activities throughout the day, usually varies according to the number of participants. The transportation price is usually around 10 dollars on average according to the number of participants. Elephant and monkey activities cost around 50 dollars per person. These tours, where elephants are taken out of the forest and washed and you can take a short ride on them if you want, are an interesting experience for people. When you go to the forest area where monkeys live densely, you will have the opportunity to look at the movements and lives of many monkeys among the trees from a distance. The important thing I would like to remind you is that you should not have food in your hands or in sight, especially when going to the monkey area. In such a case, when you least expect it, the monkeys may approach you for food and try to take it in a not very polite way.
In general, I wish you a pleasant trip in this city where I think a 3-day period will be enough.
