August 12, 2025 • 18 mins
Pippa Hudson speaks to our listener, Cindy Illing, as she shares her adventure in Sri Lanka.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're with Kate talk this sperbaton on lunch.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Now it's time to do some armchair travel as we
wander the world together. And today we are wondering quite
far away from home as we share a listener's adventure
in Sri Lanka. Cindy Ellen contacted me a while ago
to share some stories and photos of her incredible experience
cycling more than five hundred kilometers through the so called
Emerald Isle. Did you know that that term is used
(00:27):
for Sri Lanka as well as Ireland. I learned something
new in this engagement with Cindy, and that was the
first piece of information that is one of many that
is going to whet my appetite to go and visit
this part of the world. Now, Cindy is joining us
via zoom this afternoon to talk to us about the experience,
some of the highlights, and to share some insights that
might perhaps be useful to future travelers who choose to
(00:47):
visit this destination. Cindy, it's great to have you joining us.
Thank you for your time this afternoon. Hi, tell us
a little bit about yourself before we talk about this trip.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
I'm a interinesta.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
I enjoy exercising outdoor kind of person and enjoy traveling
to different destinations.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Okay, run of them all.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Places, which explains the quite awfu beaten track nature of
this particular trip, Cindy, which we'll get to in a moment. Okay,
so you have traveled quite a bit before. Had Sri
Lanka ever been on your travel bucket list? I know
it was a family wedding that sort of prompted this trip.
Isn't something you'd been thinking of doing anyway?
Speaker 4 (01:26):
Yes, I think Sri Lanka has always had like an
exotic sort of feel to it and this was a
great opportunity to go and explore it.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Okay, So you get the invitation to come to a
wedding and you decide we're going to do that, but
we're first going to explore some of the country and
make our way to that wedding in quite a different
kind of way. What sort of when was the Cindy.
What sort of time of year was it that this
trip took place?
Speaker 4 (01:51):
So it was earlier this year and we decided to
try cycling. Both myself and my husband are keen cyclists,
and the idea of sort of hopping in and out
of spending a lot of time in a car visiting
different places just really didn't appeal.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
However, the idea.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
Of sort of the journey part of it, not so
much the focus of the destination, but actually getting there
and going slowly and just observing the countryside was very appealing.
And Sri Lanka are doing a lot to promote cycling
in that country. So yeah, I disappeared down a rabbit
(02:34):
hole of finding out more about cycling in Sri Lanka
and it was definitely a possibility, and yeah, that opened
up our trip for us.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Yeah, now let's talk about getting there before we talk
about the highlights of the trip itself. Firstly, I know
it's about a nine hour flight. Did you fly direct?
How did you physically get to Sri Lanka?
Speaker 4 (02:55):
Yeah, so I was in a no direct flights to
from South Africa tissue makers, so it is like a
bit of a hop, skip and a jump and there
are lay over so it is I mean, it is
a long flight. I can't remember the exact details, but yeah,
it's it's not a direct flight.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
So a bit of a distance. You need to be
prepared for breaks in between. Did you take bicycles with
you or did you go, knowing that because they're on
this push to promote cycling, you would be able to rent, rental,
buy them there what did you do in terms of
the actual bicycles that you rode?
Speaker 4 (03:27):
And we decided to take our own bikes just pick
from a point of view that were comfortable with them.
They you know, they've made to fit us and we
used to riding them.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
And also just kind of looking at the photographs of.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
The rentals, the ones that I did see, they did
look that great, and I thort of rather deal with
the bike that, you know, than an unknown and then
I don't know what the maintenance or backup supporters, whereas
at least here you can get your bike service beforehand
and you know, hard works. And so that was a
russianal for that. And it's literally a case of putting
(04:03):
your bike in a cardboard box and hoping that it
gets to the den.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Okay, every the optimist in that story, Cindy, but the yeah, okay,
so the bikes get there, you get there, and you
then set off on a bike packing holiday. And as
you said, this was not your run of the mill
tick off a list of the top tourist attractions and
stay here in hotels or some of the beach drinking
cocktails in amongst all of that, you guys set out
on a route that took you over five hundred and
(04:31):
thirty kilometers in nine days, including some race days in between,
to be fair, but that really took you sometimes into
the middle of nowhere and very much off the beaten track.
Sidney give us a sense of where you traveled, the
kind of terrain you moved through, and just a little
bit more of a sense of of what your bicycle
trip looked like.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
So we decided to travel down the sort of the
central spine of Sri Lanka. The main reason being is
that during March, the areas are incredibly hot. I mean
it's hot and it's humid that it's you know, high
thirties and very high humidities, whereas so the interior is
slightly elevated, it's mountainous and it's cooler, and that was
(05:14):
the rationale for that. And it's pretty, it's it's scenic,
but it's also very hilly, so there's a fair amount
of climbing involved, but you know, very uphill, there's a
lovely descent. So you've got to look at positives on
that side, and so we started. So you land at Columba,
which is the capital, and we decided to disorganize a
(05:39):
transfer to the center to a place called Cigarea, just
because cycling out of Columbo it's a really big, busy,
noisy city with lots lots of traffic. And yeah, we
just decided to start in the middle of in the
country and and just.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
You know, your drive there. So that's what we did.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
And then you over a series of a couple of days,
well curse a week, we literally cycled down the center
of Sri Lanka, through the highlands and then down down
to the coast to a place called the Weela.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Now your starting points Sigaia, I know, home to and
I saw your photographs of an incredible rock fortress and
beautiful water gardens. It is one of the sort of
tourists the hotspots of Sri Lanka. Did you make a
point of tracing a route that would take you past
some of the sort of the major sites or did
you try and deliberately avoid them?
Speaker 3 (06:33):
No, and there were some.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
I mean, we're not a typical like we have to
go and see all the sites. But Siguria was the
one place that we did want to go and see.
And it really is an impressive rock fortress.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
You know, it's this amazing granite dome and that sort of.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Rises out of these flat floodplains and they're.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Beautiful gardens all around it.
Speaker 4 (06:58):
And just the engineering and the fact that people.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
Lived up on this rock fortress, it's mind blowing.
Speaker 4 (07:05):
And you know, they've dug or they've tizzled little canals
in the little ditches in the actual rock harvest the
rain water and that goes into massive storage reservoirs and
they have these sort of underground conjurits linking up the
water ponds and things.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
So and I mean, this is a good century results.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
It's really spectacular and the layout is yeah, it's really
beautiful and yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
So I can really recommend it.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
And yeah, so that was definitely that That's why we
wanted to start there, and it was kind of in
the middle of the country and on our route and
the right track.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
I just want to say for anybody coming into this
conversation midway, our guest joining us by a zoom is
Cindy Illing, who is one of our listeners who recently
completed Are fairly recently in March. This year, completed the
cycling trip through Sri Lanka, making their way towards a
family wedding, but doing so in quite a different way
on a bicycle through a very beautiful, elevated mountainous area
(08:08):
of Sri Lanka, sort of off the major tourist pathway,
but doing it their way, savoring the journey as much
as the destination, and doing it on bicycle. Listeners starting
to ask quite a number of questions around your trip, Cindy,
including the first one saying did you feel safe the
whole way through? Is security something you need to be
mindful of in Sri Lanka?
Speaker 4 (08:29):
We felt totally safe for a very good at tourism
at moments, so yeah, good, ye mind.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Okay, that's great. And then Kim enjoying the conversation. Thanks Kim,
she'd like to know what is communication like around Sri Lanka?
Speaker 1 (08:45):
What about internet access?
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Now, it sounds like you were going into parts of
the country that probably going to be the least connected
of all, but any comment, you were briefly in the
capital Colombo and other areas, what was connectivity like?
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Connectivity is actually great.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
So we when we landed, we just got local and
some cards I'd read up beforehand that people have tried
sums and they were the coverage wasn't great, Whereas if
you actually got a local some card and did a
some swap, you got and then there's fantastic coverage and
DAFT is really cheap.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
So that's good.
Speaker 4 (09:21):
I mean it is quite slow, but I mean it's
enough for WhatsApps and you know, sending photographs and things
and you know. Yeah, but I mean it's great. There's
coverage just about everywhere. Okay, it's even in the emergency places.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Interesting.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Okay, I'll take back my incorrect assumptions.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Then thank you.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Let's also talk a little bit about the food. Because
I hear the words stri Lanka. I'm sure a lot
of people the first thing they think of is cricket.
The first thing I think of is curry, because some
of the nicest curries I've ever eaten have been stree
Lunkan curries. Tell us a little bit about what you ate.
I know you are quite adventurous in terms of wanting
to eat local and stay local.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
I share the culinary aspect of your trip with us.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Yeah, the food was amazing.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
I mean, at one stage we were having carry for breakfast,
lunch and suffer. Right, it's so good that you want
to eat breakfast, you know, you want to eat it
all day long. So yeah, and the fresh produce is amazing.
I mean, there's just so we pretty much many ate
vegetarian because we stayed in local abnb's and we ate
(10:25):
at local cafes along little shops almost like stalls actually,
and yeah, so most of the food enough, it was
pretty much vegetarian.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
So it was you know, lots of lots of.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
Curries and fresh fruit, fresh fruit, fresh squeeze juices.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
Yeah, it was delicious.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
And obviously on a hot day you do want to
have that coke and you can always find the ice
called coke even in the middle of nowhere anywhere in
the world.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:55):
Yeah, So, and whereas like on the curses, obviously when
we were at the wedding then we have it was
its more up market areas, so there's a lot more
you having your fish prawn carries and fish carries and
things like that. But Inland when the food was it
was very simple, yeah, but delicious.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Nonetheless, I just want to say a few people asking
for information on hotels et cetera, that this wasn't that
kind of trip. And I'm not going to put Cindy
on the spot by asking her to speak on an
area that she's not familiar with. But Cindy, in general,
you've just mentioned the coastal area, the more developed areas,
more up market, the way you traveled, eating local, staying local.
(11:35):
Obviously you didn't have transport costs once you were on
your bicycles. But in terms of affordability and and and
pricing of things, do you want to chat to us
a little bit about would you have would you describe
us as a cost effective destination?
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Absolutely, well, it depends where you want to say it.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
So we we we did homestairs. So you just go
to Airbnb and you find local homestairs and accommodation.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
It's very reasonable, very comfortable, and.
Speaker 4 (12:05):
Obviously, you know, you look at reviews and stuff like,
actually you choose, you know, where you want to go.
But I mean, but I mean that's simple. You know,
it's nothing fancy on the curse. There are a lot
of you know, expensive results where they charge everything in
US dollars and you have your luxurious accommodation, you know,
but but we stayed in very simple accommodation shared bathrooms
(12:28):
things like that. Okay. I mean aving's clean, food, delicious,
and that's kind of it suited our needs perfectly, okay.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Yeah, And I mean that's wherever you are in the world.
It's it's obviously different strokes for different folks, and some
are going to want the upmarket, luxurious version and some
are going to want the simpler version. Were you paying
in rupees most of the way, that's the local currency, right, I.
Speaker 4 (12:47):
Mean another accommodation. I was at book through Airbnb, so
that was all up front. I was a bit worried
about I pre booked all the accommodation because I was
a bit worried about cell phone coverage and not being.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Able to find accommodation late in the day.
Speaker 4 (13:04):
So I pretty much pre booked all that and that
was just paid in rands and the locals.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
Yeah, you just pay in rupees. And I can't even
remember what things cost, but I mean your rands. It
was pretty much.
Speaker 4 (13:16):
It was very reasonable and nothing was successive, okay, so.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Your rounds will stretch a little bit. That's pleasant to hear.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
For a change.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Somebody asking about well if you stay local, if you
stay local, yeah, yeah, your your rands.
Speaker 4 (13:29):
Will go a long way if you stay local and
buy local. But the minute you go into like in
the coastal areas where there a lot of you know,
Barign tourists there where, and their currencies are much stronger,
the prices are a lot higher there. You're right, you
feel you feel your rands.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
I just want to say again, if anybody listening has
also been to Sri Lanka and maybe you did it
a completely different way or saw a completely different part
of the country.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
Maybe you were only.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Interested in visiting one cricket stadium after the next, or
going surfing at the beaches, that's absolutely fine. If you'd
like to share with us, we'd love to hear a
voice note on seven two five six seven one five
six seven. In fact, I believe one has just come
in from a listener who's also traveled there previously and
wanted to share her highlights with us.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Let's take a listen.
Speaker 5 (14:14):
Can I just say that the food in Sri Lanka
is fabulous. I'm pescatarian and I have never ever had
so much food. And what else was good about it
in terms of food?
Speaker 4 (14:27):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Yeah, the Beer.
Speaker 5 (14:29):
Lion is one of their local beers who kicks a punch.
I've been to Sri Lanka three times. It's lovely. I
love that country so much. As the first time I went,
I stayed near Siguria Rock and the name of my
hotel was Alia Resort and something something hotel and resort
something something beautiful, beautiful, beautiful place. Another place I also
(14:51):
visited on another trip was Nigombo, which is by the
by the coast, by the beach. Oh, guys, Sri Lanka,
I love it.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
My name is Danny, Danny. I love that message. Thank
you so much for the feedback. And what better recommendation
can you have than somebody who went back not once,
but twice, but three times.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Cindy, would you go back?
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Do you feel like you is there are parts of
the country you'd like to go back and see see
that you missed on this trip.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
I don't know about going back yet. I think there
are other places.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
That I would like to explore on bicycle. I mean
we did it quite yeah, in depth, so I thank god.
There are the world's big place and there are lots
of new places to discover. But I mean it is
a great destination. I can highly recommend it.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
So before we let you go, just one or two
practical questions, Cindy in terms of visas, am I right
in thinking that it's an online electronic visa process that's
fairly simple.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
There are no terrible visits.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
To VFS or TLC or any of those noteble that
you have to deal with.
Speaker 4 (15:51):
No, it's one of those few places where as a
South African it's actually quite a straightforward process and you
don't have that drama associated and you do you do,
just need to check that you.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
On the right website.
Speaker 4 (16:06):
There are a couple of dodgy Sri Lankan web you know,
posing as official websites and then you end up paying
a few dollars extra, So just double check that you're
actually on the right website. But okay, yeah, you literally
apply for it the week before you leave and it
texts like twenty four hours or something to get so
it's fairly straightforward.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
Okay, thank you so much for that. And then also
just a note to be mindful of seasonality. There is
a very wet season in Sri Lanka. When they talk
about a dry season and a wet season, the wet
season is very very wet indeed, and that is October
to January, so the best times to visit, I'm told,
are December to March. So you were lucky with the
timing of the wedding that you got the end of
(16:46):
that absolute.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Sweet spots, and now we're they're good for you.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
Yeah, I mean, you know, it's all relative. I mean,
it rains a lot in Sri Lanka.
Speaker 4 (16:56):
So I think it's it just there's sometimes in the
year it rains less some other times, and they've also
they're also different areas have got different seasons, So yeah,
you I think you need to work out where you
want to go and then just check whether it's a
dry away season. But I mean it's hot, so in
(17:18):
some ways the rain is actually quite a welcome relief
from the stifling heat. So you know, it didn't the
weather didn't really affect us. I mean we you just
ride in the rain and because it's so hot, it
doesn't really bother you. But I would imagine if you're
on a beach holiday in the rainy seasons, probably not
a good idea.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
Sidy.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
You've done such a wonderful job of sharing your own
adventure and painting the mental picture for all of us.
I want to thank you so much for joining us
on wonder the World today to share your story, and
I hope you've got not just lots of photographs, but
lots of wonderful memories to hold on to the feeling
that this trip clearly evoked for you.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Thank you so much for sharing it with us.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
It's a pleasure, really great with us.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Cindy Illing, one of our listeners sharing with as her
tour cycling adventure off Sri Lanka in March of this year.
If you'd like to tell us where you've been when
you've wondered the world and share a story like that,
send me an email to Pepa h at cape talk
dot co dotz a
You're with Kate talk this sperbaton on lunch.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Now it's time to do some armchair travel as we
wander the world together. And today we are wondering quite
far away from home as we share a listener's adventure
in Sri Lanka. Cindy Ellen contacted me a while ago
to share some stories and photos of her incredible experience
cycling more than five hundred kilometers through the so called
Emerald Isle. Did you know that that term is used
(00:27):
for Sri Lanka as well as Ireland. I learned something
new in this engagement with Cindy, and that was the
first piece of information that is one of many that
is going to whet my appetite to go and visit
this part of the world. Now, Cindy is joining us
via zoom this afternoon to talk to us about the experience,
some of the highlights, and to share some insights that
might perhaps be useful to future travelers who choose to
(00:47):
visit this destination. Cindy, it's great to have you joining us.
Thank you for your time this afternoon. Hi, tell us
a little bit about yourself before we talk about this trip.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
I'm a interinesta.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
I enjoy exercising outdoor kind of person and enjoy traveling
to different destinations.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Okay, run of them all.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Places, which explains the quite awfu beaten track nature of
this particular trip, Cindy, which we'll get to in a moment. Okay,
so you have traveled quite a bit before. Had Sri
Lanka ever been on your travel bucket list? I know
it was a family wedding that sort of prompted this trip.
Isn't something you'd been thinking of doing anyway?
Speaker 4 (01:26):
Yes, I think Sri Lanka has always had like an
exotic sort of feel to it and this was a
great opportunity to go and explore it.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Okay, So you get the invitation to come to a
wedding and you decide we're going to do that, but
we're first going to explore some of the country and
make our way to that wedding in quite a different
kind of way. What sort of when was the Cindy.
What sort of time of year was it that this
trip took place?
Speaker 4 (01:51):
So it was earlier this year and we decided to
try cycling. Both myself and my husband are keen cyclists,
and the idea of sort of hopping in and out
of spending a lot of time in a car visiting
different places just really didn't appeal.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
However, the idea.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
Of sort of the journey part of it, not so
much the focus of the destination, but actually getting there
and going slowly and just observing the countryside was very appealing.
And Sri Lanka are doing a lot to promote cycling
in that country. So yeah, I disappeared down a rabbit
(02:34):
hole of finding out more about cycling in Sri Lanka
and it was definitely a possibility, and yeah, that opened
up our trip for us.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Yeah, now let's talk about getting there before we talk
about the highlights of the trip itself. Firstly, I know
it's about a nine hour flight. Did you fly direct?
How did you physically get to Sri Lanka?
Speaker 4 (02:55):
Yeah, so I was in a no direct flights to
from South Africa tissue makers, so it is like a
bit of a hop, skip and a jump and there
are lay over so it is I mean, it is
a long flight. I can't remember the exact details, but yeah,
it's it's not a direct flight.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
So a bit of a distance. You need to be
prepared for breaks in between. Did you take bicycles with
you or did you go, knowing that because they're on
this push to promote cycling, you would be able to rent, rental,
buy them there what did you do in terms of
the actual bicycles that you rode?
Speaker 4 (03:27):
And we decided to take our own bikes just pick
from a point of view that were comfortable with them.
They you know, they've made to fit us and we
used to riding them.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
And also just kind of looking at the photographs of.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
The rentals, the ones that I did see, they did
look that great, and I thort of rather deal with
the bike that, you know, than an unknown and then
I don't know what the maintenance or backup supporters, whereas
at least here you can get your bike service beforehand
and you know, hard works. And so that was a
russianal for that. And it's literally a case of putting
(04:03):
your bike in a cardboard box and hoping that it
gets to the den.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Okay, every the optimist in that story, Cindy, but the yeah, okay,
so the bikes get there, you get there, and you
then set off on a bike packing holiday. And as
you said, this was not your run of the mill
tick off a list of the top tourist attractions and
stay here in hotels or some of the beach drinking
cocktails in amongst all of that, you guys set out
on a route that took you over five hundred and
(04:31):
thirty kilometers in nine days, including some race days in between,
to be fair, but that really took you sometimes into
the middle of nowhere and very much off the beaten track.
Sidney give us a sense of where you traveled, the
kind of terrain you moved through, and just a little
bit more of a sense of of what your bicycle
trip looked like.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
So we decided to travel down the sort of the
central spine of Sri Lanka. The main reason being is
that during March, the areas are incredibly hot. I mean
it's hot and it's humid that it's you know, high
thirties and very high humidities, whereas so the interior is
slightly elevated, it's mountainous and it's cooler, and that was
(05:14):
the rationale for that. And it's pretty, it's it's scenic,
but it's also very hilly, so there's a fair amount
of climbing involved, but you know, very uphill, there's a
lovely descent. So you've got to look at positives on
that side, and so we started. So you land at Columba,
which is the capital, and we decided to disorganize a
(05:39):
transfer to the center to a place called Cigarea, just
because cycling out of Columbo it's a really big, busy,
noisy city with lots lots of traffic. And yeah, we
just decided to start in the middle of in the
country and and just.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
You know, your drive there. So that's what we did.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
And then you over a series of a couple of days,
well curse a week, we literally cycled down the center
of Sri Lanka, through the highlands and then down down
to the coast to a place called the Weela.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Now your starting points Sigaia, I know, home to and
I saw your photographs of an incredible rock fortress and
beautiful water gardens. It is one of the sort of
tourists the hotspots of Sri Lanka. Did you make a
point of tracing a route that would take you past
some of the sort of the major sites or did
you try and deliberately avoid them?
Speaker 3 (06:33):
No, and there were some.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
I mean, we're not a typical like we have to
go and see all the sites. But Siguria was the
one place that we did want to go and see.
And it really is an impressive rock fortress.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
You know, it's this amazing granite dome and that sort of.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Rises out of these flat floodplains and they're.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Beautiful gardens all around it.
Speaker 4 (06:58):
And just the engineering and the fact that people.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
Lived up on this rock fortress, it's mind blowing.
Speaker 4 (07:05):
And you know, they've dug or they've tizzled little canals
in the little ditches in the actual rock harvest the
rain water and that goes into massive storage reservoirs and
they have these sort of underground conjurits linking up the
water ponds and things.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
So and I mean, this is a good century results.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
It's really spectacular and the layout is yeah, it's really
beautiful and yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
So I can really recommend it.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
And yeah, so that was definitely that That's why we
wanted to start there, and it was kind of in
the middle of the country and on our route and
the right track.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
I just want to say for anybody coming into this
conversation midway, our guest joining us by a zoom is
Cindy Illing, who is one of our listeners who recently
completed Are fairly recently in March. This year, completed the
cycling trip through Sri Lanka, making their way towards a
family wedding, but doing so in quite a different way
on a bicycle through a very beautiful, elevated mountainous area
(08:08):
of Sri Lanka, sort of off the major tourist pathway,
but doing it their way, savoring the journey as much
as the destination, and doing it on bicycle. Listeners starting
to ask quite a number of questions around your trip, Cindy,
including the first one saying did you feel safe the
whole way through? Is security something you need to be
mindful of in Sri Lanka?
Speaker 4 (08:29):
We felt totally safe for a very good at tourism
at moments, so yeah, good, ye mind.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Okay, that's great. And then Kim enjoying the conversation. Thanks Kim,
she'd like to know what is communication like around Sri Lanka?
Speaker 1 (08:45):
What about internet access?
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Now, it sounds like you were going into parts of
the country that probably going to be the least connected
of all, but any comment, you were briefly in the
capital Colombo and other areas, what was connectivity like?
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Connectivity is actually great.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
So we when we landed, we just got local and
some cards I'd read up beforehand that people have tried
sums and they were the coverage wasn't great, Whereas if
you actually got a local some card and did a
some swap, you got and then there's fantastic coverage and
DAFT is really cheap.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
So that's good.
Speaker 4 (09:21):
I mean it is quite slow, but I mean it's
enough for WhatsApps and you know, sending photographs and things
and you know. Yeah, but I mean it's great. There's
coverage just about everywhere. Okay, it's even in the emergency places.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Interesting.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Okay, I'll take back my incorrect assumptions.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Then thank you.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Let's also talk a little bit about the food. Because
I hear the words stri Lanka. I'm sure a lot
of people the first thing they think of is cricket.
The first thing I think of is curry, because some
of the nicest curries I've ever eaten have been stree
Lunkan curries. Tell us a little bit about what you ate.
I know you are quite adventurous in terms of wanting
to eat local and stay local.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
I share the culinary aspect of your trip with us.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Yeah, the food was amazing.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
I mean, at one stage we were having carry for breakfast,
lunch and suffer. Right, it's so good that you want
to eat breakfast, you know, you want to eat it
all day long. So yeah, and the fresh produce is amazing.
I mean, there's just so we pretty much many ate
vegetarian because we stayed in local abnb's and we ate
(10:25):
at local cafes along little shops almost like stalls actually,
and yeah, so most of the food enough, it was
pretty much vegetarian.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
So it was you know, lots of lots of.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
Curries and fresh fruit, fresh fruit, fresh squeeze juices.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
Yeah, it was delicious.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
And obviously on a hot day you do want to
have that coke and you can always find the ice
called coke even in the middle of nowhere anywhere in
the world.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:55):
Yeah, So, and whereas like on the curses, obviously when
we were at the wedding then we have it was
its more up market areas, so there's a lot more
you having your fish prawn carries and fish carries and
things like that. But Inland when the food was it
was very simple, yeah, but delicious.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Nonetheless, I just want to say a few people asking
for information on hotels et cetera, that this wasn't that
kind of trip. And I'm not going to put Cindy
on the spot by asking her to speak on an
area that she's not familiar with. But Cindy, in general,
you've just mentioned the coastal area, the more developed areas,
more up market, the way you traveled, eating local, staying local.
(11:35):
Obviously you didn't have transport costs once you were on
your bicycles. But in terms of affordability and and and
pricing of things, do you want to chat to us
a little bit about would you have would you describe
us as a cost effective destination?
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Absolutely, well, it depends where you want to say it.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
So we we we did homestairs. So you just go
to Airbnb and you find local homestairs and accommodation.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
It's very reasonable, very comfortable, and.
Speaker 4 (12:05):
Obviously, you know, you look at reviews and stuff like,
actually you choose, you know, where you want to go.
But I mean, but I mean that's simple. You know,
it's nothing fancy on the curse. There are a lot
of you know, expensive results where they charge everything in
US dollars and you have your luxurious accommodation, you know,
but but we stayed in very simple accommodation shared bathrooms
(12:28):
things like that. Okay. I mean aving's clean, food, delicious,
and that's kind of it suited our needs perfectly, okay.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Yeah, And I mean that's wherever you are in the world.
It's it's obviously different strokes for different folks, and some
are going to want the upmarket, luxurious version and some
are going to want the simpler version. Were you paying
in rupees most of the way, that's the local currency, right, I.
Speaker 4 (12:47):
Mean another accommodation. I was at book through Airbnb, so
that was all up front. I was a bit worried
about I pre booked all the accommodation because I was
a bit worried about cell phone coverage and not being.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Able to find accommodation late in the day.
Speaker 4 (13:04):
So I pretty much pre booked all that and that
was just paid in rands and the locals.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
Yeah, you just pay in rupees. And I can't even
remember what things cost, but I mean your rands. It
was pretty much.
Speaker 4 (13:16):
It was very reasonable and nothing was successive, okay, so.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Your rounds will stretch a little bit. That's pleasant to hear.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
For a change.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Somebody asking about well if you stay local, if you
stay local, yeah, yeah, your your rands.
Speaker 4 (13:29):
Will go a long way if you stay local and
buy local. But the minute you go into like in
the coastal areas where there a lot of you know,
Barign tourists there where, and their currencies are much stronger,
the prices are a lot higher there. You're right, you
feel you feel your rands.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
I just want to say again, if anybody listening has
also been to Sri Lanka and maybe you did it
a completely different way or saw a completely different part
of the country.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
Maybe you were only.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Interested in visiting one cricket stadium after the next, or
going surfing at the beaches, that's absolutely fine. If you'd
like to share with us, we'd love to hear a
voice note on seven two five six seven one five
six seven. In fact, I believe one has just come
in from a listener who's also traveled there previously and
wanted to share her highlights with us.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Let's take a listen.
Speaker 5 (14:14):
Can I just say that the food in Sri Lanka
is fabulous. I'm pescatarian and I have never ever had
so much food. And what else was good about it
in terms of food?
Speaker 4 (14:27):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Yeah, the Beer.
Speaker 5 (14:29):
Lion is one of their local beers who kicks a punch.
I've been to Sri Lanka three times. It's lovely. I
love that country so much. As the first time I went,
I stayed near Siguria Rock and the name of my
hotel was Alia Resort and something something hotel and resort
something something beautiful, beautiful, beautiful place. Another place I also
(14:51):
visited on another trip was Nigombo, which is by the
by the coast, by the beach. Oh, guys, Sri Lanka,
I love it.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
My name is Danny, Danny. I love that message. Thank
you so much for the feedback. And what better recommendation
can you have than somebody who went back not once,
but twice, but three times.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Cindy, would you go back?
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Do you feel like you is there are parts of
the country you'd like to go back and see see
that you missed on this trip.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
I don't know about going back yet. I think there
are other places.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
That I would like to explore on bicycle. I mean
we did it quite yeah, in depth, so I thank god.
There are the world's big place and there are lots
of new places to discover. But I mean it is
a great destination. I can highly recommend it.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
So before we let you go, just one or two
practical questions, Cindy in terms of visas, am I right
in thinking that it's an online electronic visa process that's
fairly simple.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
There are no terrible visits.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
To VFS or TLC or any of those noteble that
you have to deal with.
Speaker 4 (15:51):
No, it's one of those few places where as a
South African it's actually quite a straightforward process and you
don't have that drama associated and you do you do,
just need to check that you.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
On the right website.
Speaker 4 (16:06):
There are a couple of dodgy Sri Lankan web you know,
posing as official websites and then you end up paying
a few dollars extra, So just double check that you're
actually on the right website. But okay, yeah, you literally
apply for it the week before you leave and it
texts like twenty four hours or something to get so
it's fairly straightforward.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
Okay, thank you so much for that. And then also
just a note to be mindful of seasonality. There is
a very wet season in Sri Lanka. When they talk
about a dry season and a wet season, the wet
season is very very wet indeed, and that is October
to January, so the best times to visit, I'm told,
are December to March. So you were lucky with the
timing of the wedding that you got the end of
(16:46):
that absolute.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Sweet spots, and now we're they're good for you.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
Yeah, I mean, you know, it's all relative. I mean,
it rains a lot in Sri Lanka.
Speaker 4 (16:56):
So I think it's it just there's sometimes in the
year it rains less some other times, and they've also
they're also different areas have got different seasons, So yeah,
you I think you need to work out where you
want to go and then just check whether it's a
dry away season. But I mean it's hot, so in
(17:18):
some ways the rain is actually quite a welcome relief
from the stifling heat. So you know, it didn't the
weather didn't really affect us. I mean we you just
ride in the rain and because it's so hot, it
doesn't really bother you. But I would imagine if you're
on a beach holiday in the rainy seasons, probably not
a good idea.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
Sidy.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
You've done such a wonderful job of sharing your own
adventure and painting the mental picture for all of us.
I want to thank you so much for joining us
on wonder the World today to share your story, and
I hope you've got not just lots of photographs, but
lots of wonderful memories to hold on to the feeling
that this trip clearly evoked for you.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Thank you so much for sharing it with us.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
It's a pleasure, really great with us.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Cindy Illing, one of our listeners sharing with as her
tour cycling adventure off Sri Lanka in March of this year.
If you'd like to tell us where you've been when
you've wondered the world and share a story like that,
send me an email to Pepa h at cape talk
dot co dotz a
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