We had been looking forward to this for so long that we weren’t sure what to do when we finally touched down in Sri Lanka. After some fairly swift moving through the Philippines, Timor-Leste and a brief stopover in Malaysia to catch up with friends we finally had a month to spend somewhere with only a small amount preplanned. It was strange because we’ve always been the sort of travellers who don’t really plan too far in advance but by this stage we were coming out of nearly 5 months of fairly tightly planned travel and it felt so good to have some freedom. The only thing booked was a 6-day safari trip around the country that would be starting 2 days after we arrived. As part of this package was the most welcome addition of airport pickup…as a backpacker, haven’t you always wished (as you get onto that dodgy looking local form of transport from the airport after a long flight) that it was your name on one of those signs as you exit customs. Well today was our day because there was the man with a sign that had my name on it! With a quick stop to get money from the ATM (no ATMs appear to have bank fees in Sri Lanka) we were on our way to our guesthouse in Negombo (actually a lot closer to the airport than Colombo). The first thing that struck both of us was how green everything was. Here we were on the outskirts of a major city and all you could see was green. Green fields, green banana leaves, green rice paddies, green coconut palms… just green. Check in at our guesthouse was a breeze and we were soon wandering around our local streets looking for our long awaited (we are massive fans of Southern Asian food) first Sri Lankan meal. The only thing nearby looked more like a convenience store than a restaurant but the smiley and enthusiastic gentleman who ran it seemed excited to whip something up for us so we agreed. For 620Rs ($5.25 AUD/3.90 USD) we had 2 large portions of fried vegetable rice, 2 vegetable stuffed roti and 2 parata bread. This was the dream! It turned out that this was on the more expensive side of things, because the next day we managed to get 2 large plates of rice and curry for 240Rs ($2 AUD/1.50 USD) but you can’t really grumble at $2.50pp for a freshly cooked and very sizable dinner! Now, our safari tour was expensive by backpacker standards (in fact, it was just expensive) and with the amount of time we had in the country it may not have been necessary to indulge in the expense, but we had a wonderful time. Because this a backpacker blog have to acknowledge that this absolutely isn’t the cheapest way to visit the national parks and explore the ‘highlights’ of Sri Lanka but it was a great way to see a lot in a short amount of time with minimal hassle and effort. Our tour cost $950USD per person including transport, activities, breakfast and dinner everyday and 1 lunch. During this time we covered a significant amount of ground and saw the most amazing wildlife. Here’s a breakdown of what we did and saw to maybe help you choose what you would most like to do.
This trip was definitely one of the most expensive ways of doing this and as backpackers it would be a lie to say that this was the cheapest way of seeing the most, as it really wasn’t. All up the entrance fees and safaris that we went on would have cost us a total of around $700USD ($942.10AUD) for two people. Obviously on top of that we got all of our transportation, meals and accommodation (which was seriously luxurious) but you can see there is definitely money to be saved! There are guaranteed cheaper ways of seeing all these national parks but I wouldn’t take back this experience for anything. I would however say that it isn’t necessary to visit all of these parks. For leopards Yala and Wilpattu are the best so you can just pick one. For elephants Udawalawe and Minneriya are equally good but for different reasons. Udawalawe is best for up close encounters and Minneriya is better for herds. I would say overall our best wildlife experience was at Yala but the least amount of respect for the animals and environment was shown here. For the amount of respect shown Wilpattu (followed closely by Minneriya) would be my pick but we saw the least here. The end of our 6-day tour saw us finishing up in Anuradhapura, which is part of the ancient cities circuit. This was our first actually independent location and we were really ready to get back into traveling on our own. This city has a large variety of ruins you can visit but unfortunately most fall into the expensive list as part of the $25USD ($33.75 AUD) day pass. Everything we read said that you cannot see everything in a day even if you do hire a three wheeler (tuktuk) so you either have to pay this fee twice or be very selective about what you choose to see. We decided to skip the pass all together and just visit the few cheaper sights instead. The first sight of real interest was the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree. This tree is over 2000 years old and has been constantly guarded throughout the centuries, even through colonial periods and civil war. There is apparently a charge but we did not encounter anywhere to pay this on the way into the temple. This is also an easy walk to Ruwanwelisaya, which is also worth checking out and gives you good views of Jetavanaramaya. Jetavanaramaya is part of the day pass but we found the views from both the other temples and the main road sufficient for us. After a rest day and a day exploring we were ready for a trip to the north. We had both found Anuradhapura trying as there was a lot of overcharging and willingness to scam you which we found more prevalent here than anywhere else in the country, so it was off to Jafna on the train. There is a direct train from Anuradhapura to Jaffna which takes 4-hours on the slower cheaper train. We booked in advance and the tickets cost us 700Rs ($5.95 AUD/4.40 USD) each for a 2nd class ticket but we learned that there is definitely no need to book in advance. It costs a lot more to book, tickets never sell out and if you really want a better chance of a seat buy a 2nd class ticket on the day. This journey without booking should cost 280Rs ($2.35 AUD/1.75 USD) for the same 2nd class seat. To be honest there is so little difference between the classes that we chose 3rd class from this journey onwards. The train journey was beautiful and I really do recommend taking as many trains in Sri Lanka as your adventure will allow. Once in Jaffna we managed to find a simple guesthouse (1800Rs/$15.30 AUD/11.35 USD – negotiated down from 2000Rs) really close to the station, but a word of warning you should really consider upgrading to aircon in the north, because wow does it stay hot all night up there! Jaffna was a breath of fresh air when it came to pricing. Here everyone gave you a fair price, from room rates to transport to food. It was here we were able to learn what we should be paying for meals etc. rather than having to navigate and negotiate the minefield of inflated tourist rates. Rice and curry will set you back a hefty 120-150Rs ($1-1.30 AUD/0.75-0.95 USD), vegetable roti cost between 30-50Rs ($0.25-0.40 AUD/0.20-0.30 USD) and chickpea and lentil snacks cost between 10-30Rs ($0.08-0.25 AUD/0.05-0.20 USD). Jaffna itself is an interesting place to walk around. It is a lot greener than you would expect given its proximity to the salt plains and if you look past the shiny facades of the newer buildings you can see the old abandoned ones pock marked by both time and bullet holes. This city in no way feels left behind or recovering but it does feel different to the rest of the country.
We didn’t feel the love we expected to feel for Jaffna but we are glad we had visited. We spent our 2 days wandering around and visiting the main sights like the pubic library, Jaffna Fort and Nallur Kandaswamy temple. Our favourite sight would be the temple and try to go around 10am when there are prayers happening as the music is lovely and it is very peaceful to observe. Having not fallen hard for this hot city we cut our stay short by a day and jumped on a train southward for some cooler weather.
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The road less travelled…more like the road not travelled at all! So, we had made the decision to come to Timor Leste in the full knowledge that this was certainly an off the beaten track destination. South East Asia’s newest country and still one of the youngest in the world having only gained official independence in 2002. We came knowing that this was not going to be the easy and efficient travel we had become so accustomed to in eastern Asia and nor was it going to be the almost down-trodden path of the banana pancake trail throughout the rest of South East Asia, however, I don’t think either of us were prepared for quite how unprepared Timor Leste felt for visitors who were not members of the peace corps, or international aid agencies! The first thing worth noting is that the Timorese people are some of the smiliest and friendliest we have encountered anywhere in the world. Walking down the street you are frequently met with waves of stern and serious looking faces that almost instantly break into beaming grins as soon as eye contact is made. This warmth unfortunately lulls you into a bit of a false sense of security however, when you ask for assistance with pretty much any basic requirement of a visitor to an area and the response is almost always blank and helpless shrug! Upon arriving in Dili and having done all of the research it was physically possible to do (given the almost total absence of information regarding Timorese travel) we set about making our plans for our two week stay on the ground as we figured this would be easier and likely more efficient…how wrong we were! What actually transpired was us spending the better part of 5hrs walking 14km all around Dili trying to find information about…well anything really! We wanted to know where we could buy ferry tickets to go to Atauro, how we could get to Cristo Rei, if it was possible to get a bus to Mt Ramelau and if so where the bus station was…or in fact if there was a bus station at all. We had read that there were bars and dive shops all along Avenida de Portugal where one could find other travellers and all the information one needed about exploring the country. Turns out, not so much. What was actually there was one dive shop with an adjoining bar that was empty and the Hotel Esplanada, which housed the Timor Adventures tour office which was unmanned and shut. There were a few other travellers in there but it certainly didn’t feel like the information sharing hub we were hoping for. Upon returning to our guesthouse, tired, sweaty and with more questions than we had initially left with we were delighted and elated to discover that our hostel owner was in fact a pretty good source of information about what to do in Timor and how to do it. In order to save you time and stress we have decided to provide a little list of the things that we learnt in Dili in terms of the kind of information tourists might need when landing in this lovely but very alien land. Arriving at the ‘airport’:
Accommodation: There aren’t a huge amount of options available in Dili and even fewer on the budget side of things. We stayed at Casa Minha which is an incredibly basic but very functional backpacker place conveniently located about 10mins walk away from the port, right between the city and the seafront (just next to the New Zealand embassy). The family who run it are absolutely lovely, the owner speaks very good (nearly perfect English) and like I said can provide you with very comprehensive information about travel around Dili and Timor Leste in general. We paid $20USD for a double room with aircon and shared bathroom and shower. Like I said, this is the epitome of basic but considering the prices of other places in Dili it’s very good value and in a good location. Tickets to Artauro: Things regarding travel to this nearby island appear to be changing at a rate of knots, but this is where things stand now (May 2018). The public ferry goes twice a week from Dili port. One company goes on a Saturday morning (Nakroma) and another goes on a Thursday morning (Laju Laju), both leaving at 8am. The Saturday ferry costs $4pp and the Thursday ferry costs $5pp. There is also a ferry run by a company called Dragon Star that goes everyday except Wednesday, is slightly faster and costs $13pp (see picture for timetable and details). Gone are the days of only being able to travel between Dili and Artauro once a week or having to catch the hotel transfers at a cost of $35-45pp.Buying ferry tickets: From what we gathered it is only possible to buy your tickets for the public ferries the day before (and possibly on the day as well – although I’m not sure I’d risk this). The process of doing this is a bit unorthodox, but it works. You go to the port (we went at around 8.30am on Friday for the Saturday ferry) and wait by the gate with locals and potentially some other travellers – we met three foreign students, all of whom were on internships. At the gate the process is to wait until an official from behind the gate acknowledges you, when they do you are to hand over some form of ID (driver’s licence, proof of age card…I’d avoid giving them your passport, although they did all seem incredibly trustworthy) and the cost of the fare. Our experience showed us that exact money meant the whole process happens a lot faster. The official will then take the ID and money away and will return within about 5-10mins with your ticket with your name on it and any change you are due. Every ticket needs it’s own accompanying ID so you can’t just go and buy 10 tickets for a group of you without these. We had heard that foreigners are allowed to enter the port around the back and buy tickets in a more conventional way, although it was unclear to us how this would have been possible and also didn’t exactly seem fair when this is the process that locals have to go through. Like I said, it is pretty unconventional but it is definitely legitimate and it works. Getting to Cristo Rei: From central Dili this is surprisingly easy. The microlet number 12 goes all the way there and it’s actually the end of the line so there’s no need to figure out where to get off. The 12 can be picked up along the main road that runs along the waterfront and you simply flag it down to stop it. For ease of landmark definition we noticed that the route goes past Burger King on the corner of Rua de Be-mori and Rua 30 de Augusto (see picture), this is next door to Cheers Bar which you will see marked out on almost every Dili map you can pick up around the city. Because the 12 just does a continuous loop from the city to Cristo Rei this would be a good location to pick up and drop off from if you’re heading to Cristo Rei. The journey takes about 20mins and costs 0.25c (as do all microlet journeys anywhere in Dili). Getting around Dili: If you have an interest in visiting some of the towns/cities around Dili like Dare, Liquica and Emera these are all very well connected by micros and buses. Lots of buses (e.g. for Liquica or Emera) leave from the Tasi Tolu bus terminal, which is at the end of the number 10 micro line (about 20-25mins outside of Dili centre). Micros anywhere in Dili cost 0.25c per journey and the mid distance buses cost from 0.50c to $2. It seemed a bit daunting taking transport out of Dili to more remote areas at transport seemed so sporadic and disorganised, but everywhere we ventured there was always an option for getting back…even if it looked like it might just be jumping in the back of a truck. The locals are so friendly they would always find a way to help get you where you needed to be! Food: There are an abundance of supermarkets in Dili and a reasonable amount of nice looking tourist orientated restaurants. Most of these restaurants can be found along the Avenida de Portugal and dotted around the centre. These all looked like they had a good variety of food and the average cost of a dish in these places was $7-10. We were very lucky to find a little local place called Restaurante Tavirense on Rua 30 de Augusto (about 5mins walk from aforementioned Burger King, going towards the centre). This place opens at 9am until the evening and serves food canteen-style where you are given a portion of rice and then choose from a range of meat, fish and vegetable additions. We ate here multiple times and the cost of our plates ranged from $2-3.25pp. Money: There are tonnes of ATM’s all around Dili although a lot of them do not accept foreign cards. If you have a Visa card then you need to look out for any machines with the logo ‘Loos 24’. These ATMs accept foreign cards and do not charge a fee. If you do not have a Visa card then your only other option to get money out of an ATM will be the ANZ machines, which unfortunately charge a crippling $7USD fee!! If you arrive with cash, either AUD, IDR…and potentially other currencies too, there are plenty of legitimate money changers on the street corner of Rua du Palacio du Governo (see picture bellow). LGBT: Timor is a developing nation only 16 year in to developing it's identity as an idependent country. As a conservative Catholic(ish) nation it's LGBT rights are a little lacking but on the ground we found people warm and welcoming with very little judgement. Considering their recent history of being invaded by Indonesia which is considerably more conservative they are doing well. Homosexuality is legal and in 2015 they held their first pride march with and among the participants of the pride march were LGBT citizens, nuns, religious ministers, indigenous leaders, students, and government officials. For a little nation still finding their way they are the leaders of Human Rights protections in Southeast Asia including LGBT rights. Budget Time $$$So here's what it really cost:
$1,089.07 AUD for 13 days Accomodation: $679.42 Food: $141.55 Transport: $86.59 Miscellaneous: $79.93 Entertainment; $39.97 Drinks: $36.30 Souvenirs: $25.31 This means an average daily budget of $41.88 AUD per person, per day. |
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