"Serendipity" a Sri Lanka Travel Page by Maxus

I have been to lots of places in the world but as I explain on my home page none has left as deep an impression on me than Sri Lanka and for the best part of 10 years I have either just back from a visit or preparing for my next one. I have never fully understood my obsession with the place, it is a beautiful island with its fair share of historical sites but I have always preferred to spend my time ‘village side’ with real people rather than looking at ruins in the Cultural Triangle.

Being an island, Sri Lankan history and culture is a little less blurred around the edges than some, it’s more distinct and somehow more ‘fathomable’' for an outsider who likes to know what makes things tick but if you are interested in finding out more about Sinhalese society and culture you need to get away from the main tourist areas, where you are simply a source of cash.

Sri Lanka has changed a lot in recent years and not all the changes have been positive. When I first came here people who didn’t rely on tourists for a living would politely ignore you, those who did need your money would use their easy charm to separate you from it. Well that’s pretty much as it is now but much of the politeness and charm has gone, there seems to be an attitude that being polite to foreigners is somehow demeaning, tourists are there to be fleeced and if they don’t like it they shouldn’t come.

Increasingly I meet people in VT whose experience of Sri Lanka has been less than magical, the tips below are designed to help you get out and about with a minimum of hassle.

My ramblings on Sri Lankan life and culture are on my home page, below are links to some tips for travellers heading to Sri Lanka, I hope you find at least some of them useful.

If you are visiting this page because you are considering a trip to Sri Lanka – all I can say is do it and do it now because it’s changing fast

Below there are links to a series of honest travel tips some of which you may find useful

If you have any comments or questions please don't hesitate to get in touch.

September 2009: News Agencies are reporting around 25,000 cases of Dengue Fever so far this year resulting in at least 245 deaths, the number in the whole of last year was 1,456 with 85 deaths and with around 7,000 new cases reported in July alone, there is no doubt that the current outbreak is serious and tourists should be concerned.

From what I can gather, the worst places to be are Kandy, Kegalle, Colombo, Gampaha and Kurunegala.

There’s no preventative medicine all you can do is try not to get bitten and if you get flu-like symptoms go to see a doctor ASAP (don’t take aspirin, the last thing you need with Dengue is a bleeding stomach). As ever good medical insurance is vital.

The Sri Lankan army now have control of all the territory formally held by the ‘Tamil Tigers’ who were most or less wiped out in a dramatic and bloody last stand. The civil war is apparently over and the Sinhalese are looking forward to the sort of economic growth they should have enjoyed years ago but with significant support overseas I doubt we’ve heard the last of the LTTE

The future is anyone’s guess.