After a short flight (1h30), I arrived at the (only) international airport of Sri Lanka. I got a 30-day visa on arrival by paying $25, very fast and hassle-free. The airport was very clean and modern, nothing like Chennai’s or even Mumbai’s airport. Right there, I got a prepaid Sri Lankan SIM card and got some money from the ATM (the money-changers do not change Indian rupee for Sri Lankan rupee). There were no rickshaws or taxis waiting outside for the ride, and instead there was a free shuttle bus to the nearest bus station, which was cool.

I wanted to go to Negombo, stay the night over there, and the next day head inland. Negombo is the closest town to the airport, and it is located beside the ocean, so obviously it has become a major touristy town. I boarded the bus to Negombo. Like India, the ticket could be obtained in the bus, and it was 20 rps. I gave the guy a 500 bill, as I didn’t have a smaller note. He got it and told me that he would give me the change later, without giving a receipt (In India, they write the reimbursable amount on the back of the ticket, but he wasn’t giving any tickets). After 10 minutes or so, I began thinking that he might deny that I gave him a large bill and I don’t have anything to prove against it. So I thought about asking for change from passengers, and getting the 500 rps bill back. The woman that was sitting beside me gave me 20 rps and said “go and give it to him, sometimes they pocket the money.” She didn’t accept my 500 bill, in spite of my insistence. That was a nice first encounter with Sri Lankans!

I arrived in Negombo, not having any rooms reserved. I looked in my book and found a hotel-infested road (obviously the beach road) to increase my chance of finding a room. I looked into many hotels and guesthouses, but they were either full or very expensive. I knew Sri Lanka is more expensive than India, but not that much! It took me some time to find a room in a cheap guesthouse.

After arranging a hotel for the day after in Kandy, where I wanted to stay for two nights, I headed out. I wanted to see some fishermen who do “stilt fishing,” so I started asking around beside the lagoon to see where I can find them. I then saw a photographer surrounded with a bunch of locals. At the sight of his camera and his lens, I found out that he should be a serious photographer (he had the 135 F2.0. Someone carrying that lens around should know what he is doing!). I went forth and asked him if he knows where I can find those fishermen, and he said not here. I immediately understood that he is French, and started talking in French with him! As all other Frenchmen when they talk to them in their language, he got excited and started giving me advice on what to visit and where to go in Sri Lanka (as he had been there for a couple of weeks). His name was Patrick, around 50 years old, and he was semi-professional in photography. We started talking more and more, and we found out that we have a lot of similar interests in photography. We planned on meeting for dinner later that evening to talk more.

Over dinner, we talked a lot about traveling and photography, and we took advantage of the WiFi in the restaurant and his laptop, and I showed him my series of “Faces of India” on Flickr. He liked them a lot and we discussed some of the photos. For him, it was very interesting that my photos were very humanistic, or in other words, centered around humans and characters. He also shot people, but in a very different way. He showed me his photos, and first off, they were absolutely fantastic. He shoots only in black and white, and he always has a human character in his photos, but in his words, he “utilizes” humans to complete the “composition” (you can visit his website, www.poiraudeau.com, and see some of his fantastic work). For instance, he rarely had the people facing his camera, to indeed decrease their impact. It is a very solid approach practiced by many photographers, but very different from my current one. Anyways, we had a very hot and fruitful discussion over dinner (and yes, all in French!), that it made it worth it to visit Negombo!

The next day, I left Negombo to visit the Elephant Orphanage in Pinnawala, on my way to Kandy.

Side notes:

  • The prices given in my guidebook, Lonely Planet, are totally off. None of the hotels and restaurants are charging that low anymore. The book was printed in 2009, and it is not very up to date now.
  • One problem that the guesthouses here have is that they have dogs. I really don’t like to be barked at and threatened by the gnawing teeth of a big dog whenever I enter the house.
  • The first obvious difference I see between Sri Lanka and India is that here is considerably more expensive. I think it’s at least around 80% more expensive than India. On the upside, it seems that the poverty is less here, or at least less up-in-your-face all over in the streets. It is also considerably cleaner and there are fewer animals in the streets. I have yet to see a cow roaming around in the city.