Sri Lanka Update 2008

bijapuri

looks like I've got 3 weeks free starting in Blore this July. So . . . any updates on traveling in SL would be appreciated. I spend a few months there in 84, which means I know nuthin!

Anyone been recently?

anyone know how the war is going, and where?

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PeakXV

Wow - tough decision. So beautiful, so inticing, so unsettled.

Saw this article a few days ago which wasn't exactly encouraging:

Sri Lankan president vows non-stop war against Tamil Tigers

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We shall not cease from exploration and at the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started ...and know the place for the first time.
T.S. Eliot

Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

Sama

I know nothing about what is going on now. but when I was in tamil nadu in january, I read stories in the chennai papers everyday about how the tamil tigers were going to change their bombing focus to "soft targets", that is, civilian targets like buses and other non-government, non-military targets. and while I was in india in january, I read stories about how they did bomb buses, etc., they had moved out of their zone up north and targeted columbo.

I was supposed to travel to sri lanka this month with my Buddhist group that is led by the monk with whom I sit (he is from kandy.) when I was in india I emailed him and said, no, I feel I can't go because of what I've read in the papers. the stories just made me too nervous about going.

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My India, 2005-2008

Nick-H

The stories I continue to read in the paper would make me nervous.

I wouldn't go.

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Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

anu_k

The situation there is not good. There have been a number of bombings in colombo recently and these only look set to continue given the stance the military action being taken in the north.
Personally I would avoid travelling there.

Also at the moment, monsoon flooding in the south has affected coastal towns - galle, matara etc.

Scandojazzbuff

SL is on my list too but I've been shuffling it back into the deck for all the same reasons that concern others.

Last February or so, I posted an enquiry about Pakistan and its safety. I was invited to go (still am, have standing invitation) but thought the better of it. The very same day I was due to go, an Italian restaurant in Islamabad was bombed. A couple I know did go and reported nothing but good reviews. They were in both Islamabad and Lahore.

So, methinks the chances of something happening to you is small but there is always that small chance that lingers in our mind that can make the decision against it.

If you do go, please blog us.

atala

If you go to Sri Lanka just go by taxi from the Airport which is way upnorth from Colombo to your destination. Avoid State buses, since they are targeted by the LTTE. Private buses have not been targeted in the past.

Nick-H

I may be a wimp, but war zones don't figure high on my list of holiday destinations.

Radjesh

SriLanka was on my radar last summer, but I had just found Indiamike back then and the rest is history...

One of my friends is a Srilankan. He says its safe there, but then having spent all his life there, his safety level may be different from ours.

Rydah

I think I should comment on this thread...it's my second year living in Sri Lanka. I first came here in 2005, then spent a (safe) year living in South Korea, then came back.

This country has so much to offer the tourist but the downward spiralling effect of civil war makes me so sad and speechless. The effect on the locals is beyond belief. I'm only affected by it in terms of the cost of living and through the interaction I have with the locals.

If you do come, I'd suggest you hire a private van and driver, do not use public transport of any sort. Visit mainly the south and the hill country. I wouldn't visit the 'cultural triangle' at this time.

You probably have already been persuaded not to come...but let me know if you need help on details.

Rydah

Johnny Bowtie

I'm an American, though I don't advertise it, and I have a friend coming from the states in september who wants to see Sri Lanka.
We're planning a quick jump and a trip to Kandi.
What I can't find out is: do I need a Visa before I get there or is a tourist visa available at the airport?

We will, of course be watching the activity there and switch plans if things heat up.

Thanks for the tip on the private car. We'll go that route if you think it won't attract too much bad attention.

obione980

VOAs for Americans on arrival - free. Same for almost all other nationalities too.

Mickey S

I was in Sri Lanka for a day three weeks ago. The postcards I sent to the UK never arrived.

obione980

Did you post them in a post box - or give them to hotel reception or similar?

Shit happens - anywhere! But - I'd think the problems with the civil war against the LTTE outpoint your lost postcards (unfortunate though that is)!!

Mickey S

Gave them to the hotel reception, with stamps already affixed.

Then again, some of the postcards I sent from India last Christmas finally turned up in March, so there's hope yet...

From a purely personal point of view, the lost postcards were much more of an issue than the civil war.