Indian Excursionist: Culture

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Buddha Statue at city center, Colombo, Sri Lanka

It has become a tradition in India, newly wedded couples are bound to discuss their honeymoon plans with everyone. Discarding the suggestions of others of going to Bali, Maldives, Kerala, Paris, Thailand, etc. I chose to visit the less explored country, Sri Lanka. Everyone said, "Why Sri Lanka?". This post is meant to be an answer to everyone who were surprised.

P.S. Never decide your travel destinations, or any important decisions of life, solely on the suggestions of others. I would rather suggest Listen, Think and then Decide.

So, I chose Sri Lanka for multiple reasons. Firstly, it was not going to be crowded as other destinations, because 'as per tradition' everyone were going to the places mentioned above.Secondly, it is a pocket-friendly country with countless beautiful places. Thirdly, we were able to cover almost every terrain, from beaches to mountain and from a heritage city to a completely modern city Colombo also the capital.

This is what our itinerary looked like :

Day 1 : Kandy

Day 2 & 3 : Nuwara Eliya

Day 4 & 5 : Bentota

Day 6 & 7 : Colombo

Kandy:

Kandy is declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO.Although, I did not find anything worth in the city as a whole. If you are going for a peaceful holiday then you could spend one day here. There is not much to see here, except for Temple of Scared tooth relic (which we skipped on purpose), Kandy Lake, Upper Lake drive and on the way from Colombo you should visit Pinnawala Elephant orphanage. It felt like a normal city, I don't know why it has been declared world heritage site.Still, we managed to spend our day here resting at the river facing hotel.

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, Sri Lanka


View from Ganga Addara Hotel, Sri Lanka

Kandy Lake as seen from the Upper Lake Drive, Kandy, Sri Lanka

Kandy Upper Lake Drive, Sri Lanka

Nuwara Eliya:

Nuwara Eliya is also called 'Little England' of Sri Lanka. The name suits perfectly. This town has the charms, with cottages and houses that were designed for the British for their Holidays. The houses and the view gives you a glimpse of English towns.The climate here is completely different from most other parts of Sri Lanka. A day or two is enough for this cute little hill town. A visit to Ramboda falls is must if you are here.You should travel to Nuwara Eliya by train as it offers a scenic view as recommended by most of the travelers. But we already had a van booked, so we drove from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya.If you follow the greatest indian epic 'Ramayana', you are at the right place. The famous Ashok Vatika, where Sita, wife of Lord Rama was captured by the evil Ravana, is in Nuwara. This place is now a temple called Seetha Amman Temple.

Ramboda Falls is 109 m high and is one of the highest water fall in #srilanka. It ranks 729, in worlds highest water falls. Ramboda comes on the way to Nuwara Eliya from Kandy. The sight is really soothing from a distant view. But as we move closer to the falls, it becomes fierce and deadly.A must visit place when you are in #Lanka. #waterfall #indianexcursionist #wanderlust #travel #bloggerslife #travelblog #srilankatourism #srilankanairlines #rambodafalls #nuwaraeliya #littleengland #kandy #wanderer #excursion #photography #travelphotography #exploresrilanka #shotononeplus #globetrotter #follow #followforfollow @cntraveler @malindoair @natgeotravel @srilankanairlinesofficial @indiantravelers @srilankantourism @ig_srilanka @cntravelerspain

A post shared by Nitin Bothra (@indian.excursionist) on Dec 19, 2017 at 6:45pm PST

Foggy view from Villa de Roshe in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka

View from Villa de Roshe Hotel in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka

Bentota:

We left at midnight for Bentota in our cab, as there was nothing left to see in Nuwara Eliya, due to rains.We already had booked a beach side resort Earl's Reef Beruwala. And we still can't stop praising ourselves for booking it. During our visit to Sri Lanka, the country got hit by cyclone Okhi which ruined most of our city tour. Although, we were blessed by the Sun at Bentota. And this was the best place in the whole of our trip. Good food, beautiful beaches, and most of all an amazing weather. A river safari in the river Madu should not be missed if you are here.

Earl's Reef Beruwala, Bentota, Sri Lanka

Sea view and a provate beach at Earl's Reef Beruwala

Bentota Beach, Sri Lanka

Madu River Safari, Bentota, Sri Lanka

Colombo:

We then reached the captial city of Sri Lanka, Colombo.Due to heavy rains and the cyclone we were able to visit Colombo only one day. In which we covered a few city sites and did some shopping at a nearby mall Liberty Plaza. But, the hotel location provided us with the scenic view of Colombo. Unfortunately, we couldn't go to any casino or bar due to rains.Colombo seemed a bit dull during the night compared to other capitals of the world, this surprised me. Either I chose the wrong curb of the city or the city had no nightlife on roads.

Independence Square, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Galle Face Green, Colombo, Sri Lanka

St. Lucia's cathedrial is a peaceful place.

St. Lucia's Cathedral, Colombo, Sri Lanka

In my trip I experience the tranquility and the scenic beauty of nature. The mountains, the beaches and the beautiful towns around rejuvenated me. So, if you are planning for a holiday which is more of relaxing type than Sri Lanka is a place to be.

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As children we have heard a lot many scary ghost stories. These haunted stories still scare us in our dreams. We tend to drowse our-self in a pure hair raising experience on most haunted places in world.

It is amazing to see how people, although scared of paranormal events, but crave to feel those unexplained jolts or 'Kick' as it is said now-a-days inspired from Bollywood.

You may have heard about lot of beaches, hotels, houses, palaces and even a complete town being haunted of mysterious powers. Some claim these are true while the others say those are mere mind games which are created by 'chemical locha' and make us think them to be real. One such place is situated about 17 kms from the golden city of Jaisalmar known as Kuldhara Village.

Kuldhara is a deserted place with a despondent environment brings sadness to the heart when one thinks of those unfortunate people who were forced to leave the land of their forefathers. However, the place doesn't seem to be spooky for any reason other than the legends themselves, and for our own perception based on those stories

After a visit to the golden city we had our lunch and headed towards Sam sand dunes. We knew about a haunted village situated nearby, but it was not on our wishlist. We were already mesmerized by the adventures that awaited us at sand dunes, it never occurred to us that Kuldhara Village was on our route. So when driver said that this road leads to Kuldhara Village, The Haunted Village, do you wish to visit ? We responded forthwith. Hell YES !!!!

It was a well planned township, but was demolished by the then king Salim Singh. The story behind this godforsaken town was just like every romantic Bollywood flick we saw. A king liked a girl, who was the daughter of the head of town (The Paliwals). The village did not approve of this. Even the girl rejected the proposal. King got furious, ordered his men to collect extra taxes and create havoc to the life of villagers. Ultimately every villager abandoned the town and since then no one has ever returned.

This place was not at all spooky. But it was a unique experience of exploring a demolished town. The tourism department has renovated a house, which they claim to be the home of the Paliwal Brahmins.The hut was not even close to a place which will give you the chills. Infact its beautiful architecture was ruined by the tourists, who ruined the place with the 21st century garbage. People are so pathetic that they even carved their love stories on the walls. I mean it was somebody's house.

Nevertheless, the carvings and some house paintings gave us a feel about the past.

The town had a temple which was pretty much new in construction. But as per the locals it was ancient. A couple couldn't resist the picturesque landscape and grabbed the photo opp at the roof of the temple. It is an unique experience to see people capturing the memories of their journeys with their loved ones. I believe these are mere modern tactics to preserve your experiences. These travels should mark a memory in your heart as well. Then and only then you can say, yes we enjoyed our getaway.

The disrupted walls of once a home to the working class of the 18th century Jaisalmar. It seems unrealistic, as how can a person do such ferocious deeds and ruin life of innocent lives just to satisfy his selfish interests.

My friend taking a stroll in this secluded town.

We saw a bunker like structure in the house. People say that these were built for hiding from the atrocities of the King. This was somewhat spooky considering it was all dark in there and there was not any kind of stairs to climb down and explore what's in there.

So after experiencing this not so haunted place we were about to exit this village, when suddenly my eyes discovered something funny and unique which was not expected. Jurassic Cactus Park.

Scientists say that in earlier ages the sea at Jaisalmer was deepest nearby at Kuldhara village due to which fossils of many types of sea animals were found there. The stones at Jaisalmer basin are of different time period with which it is easy to find out after a study. The scientists also found evidence of a river flowing after the Jurassic period. As per geology, after the Kremedian period (150 million years ago) the sea started moving backward and rivers started flowing. Fossils of flying dinosaurs were also found in nearby villages of Jaisalmar including Kuldhara.

So we were not too happy with this visit except for the fact that some dinosaur fossils were found in these areas. It may also be true that during the English rule, people wanted to protect these fossils from the hands of the greedy, so they devised this whole horror story.

If you want cheap horror, you can sure visit Kuldhara Village. But if you want the real deal, I would not refrain myself from saying that you will be disappointed here. I would not at all recommend anyone to visit Kuldhara Village, because the only horror at this place is of not finding anything worth visiting and wasting your time.