Sri Lanka in August!

[wombatrois]

I was there in March, just before Easter! We generally like those cities that most people don't, but Colombo didn't do it for us. And what the Chinese are doing on the waterfront near Galle Face is criminal. The best meal we had there was at Upali's for lunch. Lunch at the YMCA restaurant after a walking tour was also good (Curry Pot). The walking tour was OK - more about the bloke who ran the tour, but still saw some interesting places that we wouldn't have seen otherwise.
The tea country was OK - there are some quite good walks if you're into that. The weather is cooler, but still humid. If I had to choose again, I would go to the ancient cities - we weren't there long enough to do both comfortably and chose the tea country. The tea is great. It's better to eat in your hotel or guesthouse. We stayed in some quite expensive joints and the food was pretty good.
The south coast was our beach bit - Unawatuna, although we stayed up the hill in the jungle and took a tuk tuk down to the beach when we wanted a bit of salt water. Galle is lovely and walking around the fortification at sunset is a beautiful way to finish the day (warning - you will not be alone!).
I'd only wanted to go to Sri Lanka for about 30 years, so perhaps the anticipation caused an over expectation - I was slightly disappointed. I'll probably go back again one day, though.

[Herc]

I would be interested in Asian vegetarian restaurants. South Asian or South East Asian, as long as there are vegetables.

If you end up in Ella. Go to Matey Hut.

[ceylon_tea]

Chi, most Sri Lankan restaurants can be considered vegetarian as they all serve vegetable curries. Here's a few I like:

Nuga gama - traditional Sri Lankan
Gallery Cafe - Sri Lankan fusion

Not vegetarian, but I highly recommend ministry of crab. Needs reservation. Amazing crab curry.

[Citizen Baba]

I just finished that book on the Sri Lanka civil war and its aftermath, “The Divided Island”. Excellent and very readable. Seems after the war the government wanted to fuck Tamild of all stripes, kill criticism, and install violent hypernationalist Buddhist triumphalism everywhere.

Ceylon — If there’s anything at all you want to know about the country, just ask.

[Geoffers]

Sigirya is worth visiting, but it's not the 8th wonder of the world, as they claim. My 4th visit last year will definitely be my last, no longer value for money . The train from Colombo to Kandy is excellent, pay the extra for the scenic front carriage.Local fast food like hoppers are good. As everywhere, don't trust the taxi drivers, they will rip you off if they can. Learn the value of the rupee before you arrive.