A spectacularly beautiful island nation just off the southern tip of India, Sri Lanka’s storied past is matched only by its colourful present – a land of sights and flavours unparalleled by any other. Variously controlled since the 16th century by the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British, Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948, but was rocked by civil war from the early 1980s until 2009. Tourism boomed in the years that followed including my visit in 2011, although it wasn’t all smooth sailing with economic woes and a series of terrorist attacks being further compounded by COVID to negatively impact the nation’s fortunes. The country is almost exactly the size of the Australian state of Tasmania, and about three quarters the size of Ireland. 

I spent three nights but four full days in Sri Lanka, travelling on overnight flights both ways from Dubai, my home at the time. Overnight is a slight exaggeration, with a flight time of less than four hours I didn’t get much sleep, so wasn’t in the best condition upon my arrival. Nevertheless, I powered through and headed straight from Negombo airport up to Kandy for my first night, then back to Colombo and down the coast via Hikkaduwa to the resort village of Unawatuna. I based myself there for a couple of nights, with a visit to nearby Galle, before heading back up to the capital for a final day’s exploration. My experience of Sri Lanka seemed much like the best of India but with few of the disadvantages, and the food was incredible, my favourite being a crab curry on the beach at Hikkaduwa.