Sri Lanka - best explored by dilapidated bus

Dad and I hit the ground running in Sri Lanka and I was determined that he would have a trip to remember.

Before planning my trip, Sri Lanka was known to me because of 3 things: tea production, the civil war with the 'Tamil Tigers' and cricket. I later realised it also exports coffee, rubber and cinnamon, it elected the first female Prime Minister and has a rich cultural heritage dating back to the Paleolithic era. Not to mention a

cracking curry.

The backpacking lifestyle certainly didn't stop when I met my Dad and we planned to take the charming ramshackle local buses up to the tea hills, around the cultural triangle before finally hitting the war-torn north east coast. A brief summary could read: bus, elephants, bus, hills, bus, temple, tea, bus, cave temples, bus, big rock, bus, ancient ruins, bus, wild elephants, bus, beach, sea, aaaaahhh. But I'll take the time to expand...

First stop was the Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage for a larger than life welcome to the country. There is something momentously surreal about being so close to these enormous land mammals and we stood wide-eyed, cameras poised, like the rest of the tourists on day trips. Sadly, after this initial awe, we started to question the reality of the orphanage and the regular contact the elephants had with the public. For an extra charge, visitors could feed the babies bottles of milk, which had the essence of a popular fairground attraction with the pushing and shoving to boot! We also saw a few elephants tied up, throwing up another morality check despite the obvious good the orphanage does.

Thankfully, bath time down by the river was an all more pleasurable experience as the elephants were left to roam and play away from the crowds and boundaries of the sanctuary. We sat near the water's edge in admiration, anticipating what else Sri Lanka would have in store for us.

It was then back to the bus, each journey throwing up a new story as we interacted with the benevolent locals and bounced through the exotic jungle terrain. Every single person on these buses seemed to make it their principal priority to ensure Dad and I got off at the right stop, never exasperating the friendly ticket master with constant reminders of where the 2 tourists were heading.

Every journey was a carnival, serenaded by Singhalese music, honks and food sellers and I was delighted that my Dad was enjoying it even more than me! It's these experiences that characterise the true adventure of travelling and leave the lasting impression on all those who take the ride.