Tame turtles, extreme safari, monotonous food: Yugra resident recounts Sri Lanka trip
In recent years, residents of Yugra have increasingly chosen Sri Lanka for their vacations. A married couple from Surgut, Nadezhda and Anton, visited the Southeast Asian country for the first time. After returning, they shared their impressions with 86.RU.
«We don»t chase five-star hotels«
The couple flew from Yekaterinburg to the resort. On the way, they encountered a minor issue: due to unstable communication, they couldn«t check in online and select seats. As a result, the pair were not only seated apart but ended up not even in adjacent rows. The problem was resolved by an airline representative whom the Surgut residents approached and explained the situation. The flight took about seven hours and went well. At Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in southeastern Sri Lanka, the tourists were not kept waiting long. Passport control and customs were passed quickly and without issue.
«The airport is small and neat. We got our luggage quickly; we just needed to exchange dollars for the local currency—rupees. But apparently, our guide didn»t want to wait long and said it would be cheaper to do it in our resort area. Later it turned out the exchange rate at the airport was very favorable,« Nadezhda said. »In general, exchanging currency in Sri Lanka is very easy. You can do it literally at every step. There are official exchange offices, but private individuals also change money without any problem. We also bought local SIM cards with internet access for 1,000 rubles ($12 at current rates) each—very convenient. We didn«t need calls, but messengers, apps, and websites were always available.»
The Surgut residents vacationed in the resort of Hikkaduwa. They chose a three-star hotel, inexpensive but comfortable, on the first coastline.
«We don»t chase five-star hotels. We had a very compact and cozy hotel with breakfast. The food wasn«t very varied, but there was always something to snack on. The hotel also had a pool—small but clean. The staff kept an eye on it,» Nadezhda shared. «The windows of our room faced the first coastline. Every night we fell asleep to the sound of the waves. At first it was unusual and even a little unsettling. But later we adapted and enjoyed it, falling asleep to white noise.»
«The turtles are huge and almost tame»
The Yugra tourists couldn«t swim at the hotel beach because there were consistently large waves. The couple went to a nearby beach. According to Nadezhda, it was no trouble and cost very little.
«The beach was about one and a half to two kilometers from our hotel. We took a tuk-tuk there for 80 rubles ($1 at current rates) at a convenient time. On site, we rented loungers for 300–350 rubles ($3–$4 at current rates) and relaxed,» Nadezhda said. «The staff on the beach are very friendly and attentive. They bring a stool for your feet, clean the sand off the lounger if needed, and watch your belongings while you swim. The beaches are municipal, but there are loungers everywhere that you can rent.»
Near where the Surgut residents were staying, there is a beach with famous large turtles. They swim right by the shore, allowing tourists to pet and feed them.
«We went there constantly. The turtles are truly huge and almost tame. They lift their heads out of the water to get their treat. The animals are fed algae that local boys sell in bags right there,» Nadezhda shared. «I»ll let you in on a secret: you can collect the algae for free on the shore, but tourists brought there on excursions buy turtle food from enterprising Sri Lankans.«
The sea, according to the Yugra woman, delighted the tourists from the North—warm, clean, gentle with a good entry. On Sri Lanka«s beaches, as in many other places in Southeast Asia, souvenirs, jewelry, and of course food are sold. Nadezhda decided to try boiled corn.
«I really craved boiled corn, like in childhood. I bought it on the beach, tried it, and realized it was completely raw,» the Surgut resident recalled. «I approached the seller; we had seen him several times before on the beach, and he calmly, without complaint, exchanged it for me.»
«The menu at the resort»s cafes and restaurants is quite monotonous«
Overall, the food at local cafes and restaurants did not greatly impress the couple from Surgut, although they noted that portions were quite large and reasonably priced.
«At one cafe we were truly surprised. We ordered pork wrapped in bacon with mashed potatoes. The dish was served with caramelized red onions. It was really tasty and aesthetically pleasing,» Nadezhda said. «Overall, though, the menu at the resort»s cafes and restaurants is quite monotonous. Many dishes come with French fries. I think we«ve had our fill of them for a long time. Sri Lankans often add pineapple to salads. That»s also a matter of taste. At one place we tried dumplings with beef, pork, and chicken filling—quite decent. And of course, we ate a lot of shrimp. On average, one dish cost about 900 rubles ($11 at current rates), and dinner for two cost us 2,700–3,200 rubles ($32–$38 at current rates). There are cheap cafes and expensive ones, but the latter have a different atmosphere: cleaner and more beautiful.«
«These emotions simply cannot be put into words»
Of course, the trip to picturesque Sri Lanka was not without excursions. The Surgut residents went on a safari to fulfill a dream and see wild animals. The tour cost $100 per person.
«We bought the excursion from our tour operator at the hotel. I immediately asked about safety measures, after all, it is the wild. The guide assured us we would travel in jeeps with high sides accompanied by a ranger. In reality, the vehicle had very low sides, my seat lacked a seatbelt, and besides the tourists, only a local driver was in the car,» Nadezhda said. «But after just ten minutes I forgot about all those details and simply enjoyed it. We saw a family of elephants that simply captured my heart. There were also leopards, buffaloes, rabbits, and other animals. Overall, I really liked the excursion. These emotions simply cannot be put into words when you see wild animals just a few meters away.»
However, the fishing trip, for which the Surgut residents paid $80 each, disappointed them. During the trip, it turned out that they would not be given fishing rods or other tackle.
«We often go fishing on our travels. The tour description always says that tourists are given lines, hooks, bait, buckets, and so on. This time everything was different. First, they picked us up from the hotel very early—at 5 a.m. But when we arrived at the water in a minivan, we were told to wait for dawn. Then we transferred to a small boat and set off. We sailed and sailed, nothing happened,» Nadezhda recalled. «After about two hours, we started asking the two guys running the boat when the fishing would actually begin. They explained in broken English that we wouldn»t fish ourselves; we were only supposed to watch the rods set up at the stern of the boat. To say we were shocked is an understatement. Paying nearly 13,000 rubles ($153 at current rates) just to ride around the sea—we«ve never experienced that before.»
The issue with the essentially failed fishing trip had to be resolved with the guide at the hotel. The Yugra residents got a full refund, but according to them, it didn«t really compensate for the wasted time and unpleasant emotions.
«By the way, during the trip, the guys running the boat did catch one fairly large dorado. We took a photo with it and later gave it to our minivan driver who took us to the hotel. At least one person was truly happy that day,» Nadezhda shared.
Despite a few unpleasant moments, the first trip to Sri Lanka overall left a positive impression on the Surgut residents. According to Nadezhda, they liked the climate, the time zone nearly the same as Surgut (a 30-minute difference), and the nature. Additionally, the tourists« flight home was postponed by a day, which the tour operator paid for in full.
«I was so happy,» Nadezhda recalled. «It»s as if that one extra day in Sri Lanka was just what I needed to feel truly rested. The last day was wonderful. We saw a big crab on the beach, jumped in the waves, had dinner on the ocean shore. And to top it off, we saw fireworks.«
Earlier we reported on a trip by a family from Surgut to Phuket Island. The Yugra residents visited a secret beach, spent a night in the jungle, and saw a flooded city.
