Time flies… It’s already one year I have been living in Sri Lanka: I have experienced more in one year here than anywhere else in the world: from culture differences, which spreads into mentality, society, way of facing life in general, religion, ways of working to the funny, weird politics behavior, constant street harassment, to even experience some sort of food poisoning and that sweet mosquito bite that gave me the “blessing” of having dengue fever.

Well, I am still alive. It is not a war, though it can be seen as one type of survival lifestyle, which is not the typical life frame I was expecting to live within. But all is good at the end! And I am very glad to have had all those experiences, sad and cheerful moments, as I gained the opportunity to grow up. Couldn’t ask for more. =)

As a sum up of my 12 months in this island I am going to share some of my captures around the country, not forgetting the fact that Sri Lanka has a very strategic position in the middle of the Indian Ocean, that let me easily travel to places such as Oman, Kuwait, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Maldives, China, Vietnam and UAE. Though low cost airlines aren’t as cheap as in Europe, prices can still be affordable, and a good chance to get great deals is by weekly monitoring the AirAsia website for new promotions or by stalking Skyscanner day and night. They should give me an award for being such an active stalker =P

Let’s start from Jaffna, up to the very north of Sri Lanka:

Kanthale:

Exotic stay in Trincomalee (if it doesn’t rain):

Admiring the Mother Nature from the top of Dambulla:

Golden sunsets in Mount Lavinia:

A bit of adventure in the middle of the ocean in Mirissa Beach:

Surfing in Hikkaduwa:

In between the green and the beach of Bentota:

Expressing love at the top of Sigiriya rock (I was the one taking the picture “-.- ):

Beautiful and colorful Kandy:

Snake charming in Galle:

Picking tea leaves in Pussellawa:

Last but not at least, my favorite, the city of Colombo (though many tourists don’t even visit it, I still think it’s a must). Here is why:

A mix of religions..

Top views..

The art of its sunsets..

Walking in the park..

Its fascinating Temples..

… And a lot more!

Unfortunately I still miss some places around the island, but I’ll work on it soon.

As I usually say, I was born in Italy but raised around the world. Each of my experiences made me seeing the world with different eyes, from different angles, even though I still have a lot to learn as Gandhi once said: “Live as if you were to die tomorrow, learn as if you were to live forever”.

“As natural selection acts by competition, it adapts the inhabitants of each country only in relation to the degree of perfection of their associates; so that we need feel no surprise at the inhabitants of any one country, although on the ordinary view supposed to have been specially created and adapted for that country, being beaten and supplanted by the naturalised productions from another land.”
― Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species