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Style in Sri Lanka

by Alice Luker

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Tag: cinnamon red

March 11, 2019 journal / Sri Lanka

How to fall in love with Colombo

I must confess, I love Colombo. The ever growing sense of opportunity, exciting new start ups, the local and the luxury coexisting.

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Lottery stalls are popular all across Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 My favourites are the yellow lottery huts in the centre of Nuwara Eliya, illuminating in the early morning crystal clear sunshine 🙌🏻💛☀️ #hillcountryvibes

Who would have thunk the teeny seaside village Hiriketiya would have so many restaurant gems? 💎 There are a handful of REALLY good, friendly spots (think mahi mahi fish tacos, fresh citrus beetroot salad, poke bowls, authentic Italian seafood spaghetti and loads of mouthwatering veggie & vegan options 😍) serving up local ingredients with pure love & soul ❤️ Malu is a laid back outside cafe specialising in all things poke with a little hut for rain or shine, literally opposite the beach ☀️🏝 If you’re heading to the south coast and love a good food pilgrimage my advice is don’t miss Hiriketiya! 🇱🇰 #vitaminsea

The Textile Pavillion, my favourite room, at the unforgettable (and by that I mean I constantly use it as my ‘wish I was there’ daydream spot!) the @kandysamadhi 🙏🏻💛 My #1 spiritual place to stay on the island- humble, breathable, slow paced and authentically soulful. Every day I spend there it makes me feel more like me. I’m going to make it a ritual to stay here for the first week (or few nights depending on the schedule 😅) for future trips to the island 🌴☀️ Where’s your happiest place in Sri Lanka? #happyplace #somuchyellow

There’s something magical, otherworldly even, about walking through this beautiful corridor in the Temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa). The first time I was here was 2003, wearing a pastel pink top and blue floral skirt (I was anything but stylish as a 14 year old!) holding a blue lotus flower as an offering- I love looking at those photos. Despite being one of the most visited sights in Sri Lanka, the temple is a must ❤️ Who’s been? 🇱🇰 #Kandy #SISLxKandy

Another Jaffna capture in the central market ❤️🇱🇰 Stalls with all kinds of incredible handicrafts line the side alleys (alleys isn’t a great word to install confidence but it’s perfectly safe and the best word to describe it 😅) mostly made from Palmyrah- a variety of palm tree seen further North of Sri Lanka 🌴 What would you buy from this stall? 🤔 #jaffnalife

Banana shopping in Jaffna’s central fruit & veg market 🍌🇱🇰 Local markets and independent sellers across the island make it so much more accessible to live a low waste life. While everywhere in the world has its own issues of sustainability (Sri Lanka included as plastic bags are still widely used) I think we can all be inspired by the simple act of buying the best quality directly from small scale growers and sellers 🙏🏻💚 It not only tastes better (#superfresh 😂) but FEELS better knowing you’ve directly supported someone’s livelihood and family ❤️❤️❤️ #supportlocal

Wandering through Peradeniya Gardens, just 20 minutes from the centre of Kandy 🙏🏻🇱🇰 I remember walking through the royal palm avenue (the most Instagrammed spot!) as a 14 year old girl and gazing up at the palms towering over me 🌴 My favourite parts of the botanical gardens is the orchid house and suspension bridge overlooking Mahaweli river 💚 P.s the best time to visit is early morning or mid afternoon when it’s cooler- we went around 3pm which was perfect 👌🏻

One of the best foodie spots @omirissacafe along Galle Road (FYI Galle Road literally runs all the way from Colombo!) in Mirissa. Wood fired pizza, A-MAZING seafood platter with tuna, calamari, fish, jumbo prawns, crab and salad 😍🇱🇰 I’m loving the latest restaurants along the south coast, there’s so much choice these days 🙌🏻 What’s your favourite spot? ❤️ #mirissa #lankalife #pizzaoclock

One of the most delicious meals I’ve had in Galle Fort 🙏🏻 A pescatarian tasting platter with coconut crumbed prawns, paneer korma, biriyani, bruschetta on fluffy Lankan bread, tuna with a cheese sauce, battered fish with pol sambol mayo, aubergine boats and cucumber with shrimp in sweet & sour sticky glaze ❤️ If you fancy trying this yourself contact @galley52 in advance as it’s not on their menu 🤫❤️🇱🇰 • I’ve recently added Galley 52 to my Foodie’s Guide to Galle Fort along with several other spots now on my radar: ✨@dumplingslk for incredible Chinese dumplings 🥟 ✨@pilgrimshostel for the best authentic pizza 🍕

Just had the most incredible experience exploring Vietnam over the past month 😍 I haven’t been posting (apart from the occasional Instastory) because I wanted to go back to the kind of travel that truly inspires me, immersing myself 100% and reflecting & editing photos 📷 at the end. Not constantly wondering how my trip will look on social media but letting it freely F L O W 💚 • We’ve booked ourselves into the @samadhicentrekandy for the next 5 nights after a quick overnighter at @hive68hotel in Negombo (near the airport as our flight landed at midnight) to slow down for a few days and reconnect to the beauty and pace of Sri Lanka 🇱🇰🙏🏻 • I’m writing this post at the top of the Zen Lounge, swinging on a hammock overlooking the Knuckle mountains. Despite an encounter with a fluffy caterpillar (I had to pull several needles out of my leg 🐛 no biggie 😅) and still feeling a bit sore from sleeping in unexplainable seated positions on the plane to Colombo ✈️ there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. I ❤️ Sri Lanka • This incredible view was during our time in #Sapa, the hill country of Vietnam. We went on a treck with a H’mong tribeswoman (through an ethical tour company called @ethosvietnam) who took us through the most picturesque valley of paddy fields 🍃🇻🇳 • #vietnam #sapamountains #sapavietnam #passionpassport #slowtravel #travelandlife #NGTUK #guardiantravelsnaps #mountains #viewgoals #paddyfields #naturelovers

The view of Adam’s Peak from Ellerton Bungalow in Kandy at sunset 💚 Such an incredible spot to soak up the beauty of the mountains ⛰ Blog post on my trip with @qtravelsrilanka (visiting historical sites and hotels I’ve never been to before) coming soon! #SISLxKandy

One of my all time favourite breakfasts in Sri Lanka. Mung beans, grated coconut and lunu miris 💚🙌🏻 • Mung beans are super high in protein, chilli gets the metabolism going for the day (plus I’m a major chilli fiend 🙋🏻‍♀️🌶) and grated coconut is light, fresh and cooling 🇱🇰 I ordered 1kg of dried organic mung beans (amazon prime is a wonderful thing 😂) to my place in the UK for when we head back in August for a couple of months. Hoping it will inspire me to keep cooking healthy meals without giving in to processed food & ready meals which is EVERYWHERE in the UK! ❤️ • I would love to know what your favourite Sri Lankan breakfast is? 🇱🇰🇱🇰🇱🇰

There’s one thing above all which amazes me about Sri Lanka and Sri Lankans is the sense of community on this small island. If one person needs a helping hand, 5 will come together to help. When a tuk tuk breaks down on the side of the road, fellow drivers stop to fix it. • When I was in a car crash (thankfully unharmed) back in 2017, people from the neighbouring village flocked to help, an older woman walked all the way up the grassy bank to hold my hand and walk me to safety ❤️ The vast majority of Sri Lankans consider themselves one united family, at the beck and call of their fellow islanders. They fought for this unity for 26 long years, they now desperately seek peace 🙏🏻☮️ • Despite overseas help to develop the tourism industry in recent years, the heart of it’s success lies in the simple authentic beauty of Sri Lankan hospitality. Yes, Sri Lanka benefits from visitors, but I believe the exchange surpasses in the experience that can be gained. This beauty is largely responsible for thousands of people falling in love with the country, myself included 🇱🇰🇱🇰🇱🇰 #srilanka #anuradhapura #onelove

While Colombo is emerging out of a state of lockdown, the island awaits in hope. Despite the UK recommending otherwise, my parents are coming to Sri Lanka in a couple of days. It reminds me of the time they brought my brother and I out for our annual family holiday shortly after the end of the civil war. We were the only guests at the hotel in Nilaveli, determined to support the local community, who we had previously met and fallen in love with. Everyone I know who’s experienced Sri Lanka’s magic first hand has the same resilience and right now the island needs US in spreading the love far and wide 🙏🏻❤️ • For the next few weeks I’m planning to avoid busy public areas and stay at smaller boutique hotels, homestays and guest houses when travelling. Senseless terror attacks have taken place in every country of the world. I didn’t let terrorism stop me from visiting London, Paris or New York. In a country hugely dependent on tourism to support 2 million innocent lives, I’m DEFINITELY not going to let it stop me from being in Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 • There are many parts of the island which are calm and quiet. Nuwara Eliya and the hill country, all the way to the Northern tip in Jaffna, the rustic north west in Mannar, the hills surrounding Kandy. Mihintale near Anuradhapura at sunrise when it’s at it’s quietest or Ritigala Monastry, canopied by the calm of the forest. I’m travelling by car to Kandy tomorrow instead of the train. Using this time to travel DIFFERENTLY instead of stopping altogether 💚🙏🏻 If anyone would like suggestions of low key places to visit in Sri Lanka, please comment whereabouts (in the country) below and I will reply with some suggestions. • Stay strong Sri Lanka, I am forever by your side and know thousands more who are too ❤️ #staystrongsrilanka #onelove

Following the attacks in Colombo, we decided to drive down to Bentota to a small villa for safety, nature and peace of mind 🙏🏻💚 We will be continuing our travel plans while avoiding public transport, busy public areas and larger hotels for the near future. • Terrorist attacks sadly happen everywhere in the world, in my home country of England and most recently Sri Lanka. The effect is no less than devastating and my heart aches for both those lost and a country that has fought so hard for peace since the end of the civil war in 2009. But this is not a moment that should define Sri Lanka. Tourism should not be haulted, nor travel plans wholly cancelled. Life SHOULD go on as it does in every other country effected by terrorism. Sri Lanka is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, an Aladdin’s cave of wildly unique diversity. • Thousands of equally beautiful souls are the heartbeat of the tourism industry. The lady from the local village here at our villa offering Ayurvedic treatments to the gardener sweeping the leaves every morning at 6am. It’s not all big commercial names of hotels and agencies. They filter down to individuals dependent of the trade to provide for themselves and their families, just as the vendors at Borough Market following the terrorist attack in London did too. I’m sure if you’ve been to Sri Lanka you can remember several people, perhaps by name, who have left a mark on you. I can still feel the nostalgic warmth of the smiles from many I’ve met along the way. The lady in the photo from @livingheritagekoslanda included. Such a mark each made that they contributed towards shaping my future, 15 years later after my first trip in 2003 🙏🏻 • Terrorism has no race and no religion. Hate is the only word that defines any individual involved in acts of terror but love will always rise stronger. My personal bond with Sri Lanka will not be broken by ruthless acts of terror. I stand strong with everyone on this beautiful island. My Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Hindu and non religious friends now and always ❤️ We all share one thing in common which is our humanity 🌍🙏🏻 #ayubowan #namaste #lovewins

Alice Luker

Alice is a UK based travel blogger & professional travel photographer who has been venturing across Sri Lanka since 2004.

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