Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka
2017

How did we end-up in Sri Lanka? Well ever since we started Word of Life (the church we pioneered and ministering at), we know how hard it is to do this without encouragement and kindness. God brought kind and generous hearted people to pray with us and encouraged us. So in giving back, we always been on the look-out for faith-filled, faith-full servants of God that need that little hand of partnership and encouragement to go forward. A senior man in God who has now gone back to the Lord...introduced us to a ministry called "God's Church-Swarmi Church". Pastored by Pastor Chandana, Indu and their family. It was through this introduction that God began our association with Sri Lanka.

Let me say, twice we been to Sri Lanka, twice we have not seen what Colombo looks like . We had always ended up in the province or region of Galle. Galle is the ancient port city of Sri Lanka. Some say when Jonah ran away from God and got swallowed by a whale, he ended up in Galle-Tarshish. Don't know how accurate this is. Some say Sri Lanka is famous for whale watching.

Anyways on to the travel part of this story. Lets start with preparations before the trip. 

1. Preparations

You need two main currencies before you go. Sri Lankan Rupees and/or USD or European currency.Mind you, Sri Lankan rupees may be small compared to others, however things in Sri Lanka are comparable to prices elsewhere. You would need Sri Lankan Rupees when dealing with locals. USD is mainly for transport, hotel and formal dealings. You can change your currency once you land in Sri Lanka airport. 

For Malaysians we need visa before we arrive in Colombo. This can be easily done through the E-visa website for Sri Lanka. I paid USD35-40 per person. Kids below 12 yrs old are free of charge.

Hand sanitisers/wet wipes is definitely a good idea to have too.

3. Upon Arrival

Bandaranaike International Airport is quite modern with all the necessary services provided..Sometimes Pre-paid Sim packs would be given for free to passengers. However you can get connected at the various telecommunication kiosks located at the arrival hall. Getting to Colombo and further is easy. You can actually pre-book pick-ups online. There are also airport taxis if you just look for the counter. 

Both trips there, we had arranged a van to pick us up to bring us to Ahangama or Weligama. Ahangama is a small town before Weligama in Galle. Takes about 2-3 hours to reach. Cost wise is around USD90/LKR13,500 per trip.

4. ACCOMODATION

We didn't know what to expect with Sri Lanka. So we went first time without any expectations. We were going afterall for missions and not holiday. First trip to Sri Lanka is 2014, we were recommended by our Australia Pastor friend to stay at a resort called Insight Hotel in Unawatuna/Ahangama. Ahangama is a small one street town. However we enjoyed the hotel thoroughly. Service was warmth and the staff were caring. Food was good and portions were more than sufficient too.

Quite a modern hotel with credit card facilities.It has a swimming pool and its fronting the beach. In the mornings you can even watch the iconic fishermen of Sri Lanka standing on their stilts fishing. I booked using one of the travel/accomodation websites. If you click on this link..it will take you to Agoda's offering for Insight Hotel. By the way service speed in Sri Lanka is quite different from what we may be used to in Malaysia. Meals have to be ordered and the time you want to have your meal has to be booked way before. 

 On our recent trip, we wanted to stick to a strict budget so we decided to look for reasonably good accomodation. So initially we chosed Ocean Dream Hotel. However a week before our departure from Malaysia, they cancelled our booking.They cited their rooms are undergoing upgrading. Ok nevermind, they were kind enough to recommend Goviyapana Beach Hotel. GPH  looked awesome on website and the price was attractive too.

I even called before we left Malaysia to ensure our booking was in place. 
However the accomodation when we arrived wasn't what we hoped it to be. Why did we settle initially? Well the reviews were mix and we were sold out on it having an awesome view of the ocean. However maybe we travelled the tail end of their holidays and tourists peak period and we were the only guests there...so maybe they felt no need work too hard. 

Our stay there was frought with poor water supply, constant electricity cuts and the food was pathetic. Food was charged at normal rates but cooked by the hotel caretaker and not the actual chef. Worst of all was when it came to payment. Most hotels would commit to receive the rates agreed on hotel bookings online. 

Thank God, next to GPH was another hotel called Sayurima Tourist Hotel.  They served freshly cook meals throughout the day. Will consider this hotel next time.

Lesson learned is when travelling to a less developed place, never never scrimp on accomodation and food. Spend a little more on these is important.

5. WHAT TO DO IN WELIGAMA

From our hotel we rode on "TUK-TUK" to Weligama which was the next major town. This is where Pastor Chandana's church is located. You can also board the many stage buses that ply the route in front of the hotel which costs something like 10-50 rupees. Tuk-Tuk rides comes somewhere between LKR100-500 (about RM1.50 to RM15). The next major region would be Matara..Alot of tourists come to Weligama to surf and back-pack.

Besides ministry we did not have time to enjoy more. However just observing the lifestyle and enjoying the local cuisine was sufficient for now.

You can go to Global Enterprise in Weligama to do some shopping to get tea and other Sri Lanka goodies at local prices. In closing...the best thing in Sri Lanka is the people. They are hospitable and warmth kind of people. Food wise, I love their various sambals. They love to serve and without asking anticipate your needs up ahead. 



Other than that their cuisine is similar to Malaysian indian cooking styles with all the dhalls, dhosais and curries. 

You should go. Go on pre-planned group tours is best I suppose...that way you get to see and do more there. 

We will be going again as the Lord leads.


extra - there's one thing in Sri Lanka you must drink. Ceylonese Tea always calms all senses. Its a delightful thing. That's their Ceylonese Tea. So light and fragrant. Steeped properly and mixed with hot milk it was a calming and soothing delight all the time.


FINALLY ITS MINISTRY

Here's Pastor Chandana, his wife Sister Indu and family. Pioneered a Church called God's Church in Weligama. Our second time there needs no introduction. God moved so powerfully to heal, save and encouraged. We also had the opportunity to bless the children with shoes and stationery for school. If you are ever in Weligama, drop by their church on Sundays at 9am onwards. Pastor CHandana's daughter Nayomi translates to English very well. We are looking onto God on how He wants to continue to use us if ever to continue helping this Church. We know whats its like to be left alone and for God to use people to pour His kindness to us so we do likewise unto others.God is too good.  God's church in Weligama is just above the Sampath Bank in Weligama.

Regards 11/3/17

Edwin Koh Boon Leng