Wild Frontiers

Flight Information

Flight time to Colombo from London is 10:45hrs with Sri Lankan Airlines. Please be aware that this is not a daily service.

Useful Tips

• Stop regularly for road side King Coconut refreshment " they keep you hydrated and are full of minerals that are good for your health and particularly hangovers …apparently. Ask for “Tambili”

• Travel to Sri Lanka at almost any time of year " The double monsoon system means that there is always a good part of the island to be in.

• Try some “toddy” a delicious and relatively harmless local brew from the juice extracted from the huge flower of the Fishtail Palm. This juice is also produces the sucrose free brown sugar loaves of “Jaggery”.

• Sri Lanka is where the word Serendipity was made - bear it in mind and see what comes up.

• Be aware of Poya days. These are days on which the moon is full and they are a public holiday in Sri Lanka so most shops and businesses will be closed and the sale of meat and alcohol is forbidden.

Recommended Reading

If you want to read up on your destination we recommend a variety of guidebooks such as Bradt Travel Guide, Odyssey Guides, The Rough Guide and Footprint Guides. All these publications have good general information as well as more specific country information that will help orientate you in the areas you visit.

Good books and maps of Sri Lanka are available at Stanfords in Covent Garden, London or online at www.stanfords.co.uk

Relevant Reading:
Memory Dies, by Ambalavener Sivanandan is a story about three generations of a Sri Lankan family searching for coherence and continuity in a country struggling with colonialism and ethnic wars. It charts the history of Sri Lanka for close to a century.

Monkfish Moon, by Romesh Guneskera is a collection of short stories- some with no definite ending. This is a startlingly accurate but unsentimental portrait of Sri Lanka and Gunesekera rises above the overused and unthinking image of Sri Lanka simply as a paradise despoiled. Another collection of short stories is At Water’s Edge, by Pradeep Jeganathan.

Paradise Poisoned: Learning about Conflict, Terrorism and Development from Sri Lanka’s Civil Wars, by John Richardson is the product of 18 years of research and possibly the most extensive study of Sri Lanka’s development and also its terrorism and civil conflict. Using this as a template, he looks at some of the fundamental issues we face with development.

When To Go

Broadly speaking October to March tend to be the most pleasant months to travel to Sri Lanka. Temperatures will range from 20c to 30c degrees but drop much lower at night at Nuwara Eliya (5C). The skies should be clear and sunny.

Packing List

Below is a list of general items you might take with you on a Wild Frontiers trip to Sri Lanka With your booking confirmation you will receive a packing list specific to your tour, so please treat this as a general guideline only.

Luggage:
It is best to use a soft bag - rucksack/hold-all/duffel bag - so it can be transported and stored more easily. On all our trips a small daypack is practical for keeping general items (e.g. camera, books, wallets etc.) at hand when your main pack is out of reach. It is also handy for day trips and excursions.

Clothing:
In general you should bring clothes you feel comfortable with. However, you should be aware of certain cultural sensitivities, particularly when visiting religious sites.

Therefore as a guide we suggest a packing list like this:
• 4 x Light cotton shirts or T-shirts, short sleeved and long.
• 2/3 pairs of cotton trousers. If preferred, women can wear dresses and skirts.
• Pair of shorts " zip off trousers are ideal
• 2 x Lightweight jumpers or sweatshirts
• Good quality fleece or warm jumper
• Change of clothes for evenings in hotels
• Men are required to wear a collared shirt, tie and jacket for dinner at the Hill Club (the jacket and tie can be borrowed from the Club)
• Sun hat
• Swim suit or trunks
• Set of light weight waterproofs
• Warm hat, gloves and scarf for the Adams Peak climb
• Nightwear
• Thick and thin socks
• Pair of walking shoes/boots (walking)
• Pair of adventure sandals, trainers or pumps
• Travel towel, travel soap, universal bath plug and toiletries
• Two pin plug adapter (see ‘Electricity’ section)
• Water bottle in which to decant mineral water from large 5 litre bottles
• Torch (a head-torch keeps your hands free)
• Sleeping bag liner of cotton or silk
• Various chargers for mobile, cameras, etc
• A bandanna or large handkerchief is useful for dusty tracks
• Pair of good quality sunglasses

Personal First Aid Kit:
While we do carry a large medical kit on all our group tours, we would still advise that you take some of the basics with you. This should include:
• Any prescription medication required (please inform the tour leader at your pre-departure meeting about these)
• Antibacterial dry hand wash
• Painkillers
• Rehydration salts (Gastrolyte)
• Travel motion-sickness tablets (e.g. natural ginger tablets)
• Diarrhoea remedies
• Antihistamines
• Cold/flu decongestants
• Mosquito Repellent
• Insect bite cream
• Laxatives
• Blister pads
• Plasters/Bandage/Steri-Strips
• Sunscreen
• Moisturiser/after sun cream/lip balm
• Contact lenses and solution
(A kit with most of this in is available at Nomad Travel www.nomadtravel.co.uk)

Optional Extras:
• Ear plugs (if sharing a room and when sleeping in dormitory)
• Alarm clock
• 3-4 plastic carrier bags are very useful for dirty washing, dirty shoes and rubbish
• Binoculars
• Small packs of tissues
• Money belt or secure pouch for money and passport etc.
• Eye patches if light affects your sleep
• Sewing kit/scissors
• Writing materials
• Spare batteries/camera memory cards
• Swiss Army knife
• Trekking poles
NB: If you wear glasses, it is advisable to bring a spare pair since opticians are rare. If you wear contact lenses you may find that climatic changes and dust can create visual irritation, therefore, it is advisable to bring a pair of glasses.

You might be tempted to buy a few souvenirs here and there, so leave a little room for those extra purchases!!

Hand Luggage:
Although it is very rare that luggage goes missing on flights, it has been known to happen and so it’s a good idea to carry a spare top, toothbrush, wash kit, underwear and any other essentials in your hand luggage so that you can at least freshen up while waiting for your bags to catch you up. If you wear your sturdy shoes/boots it will also reduce weight in your luggage and keep them safe.

Practical Information

Time:
Sri Lanka is 5.5hrs ahead of GMT.
A useful website to check the time zone differences is www.worldtimezone.com

Food and Alcohol:
Sri Lankan cuisine is hot and spicy. The staple food is rice, which is prepared with both veg and fish based curries. All dishes are cooked on the base of coconut milk and flavoured by liberal use of spices. The Sri Lankans are expert in preparing fish dishes; Mallung, Sambol, Lamprais, Buriyani and Polos Pehi are some of the most popular. Juicy sweetmeats like Kavum, Halape, Thalaguli and Wattalapam are also found all over. It is probably one of the oldest representations of vegetarian food in the world and is traditionally served on a banana leaf.

Sri Lanka is among the topmost producers of tea worldwide and it is highly acclaimed. Ceylon black tea is said to be the best in the world. Indigenous cold drinks are made of fresh fruit while two local alcoholic drinks are Toddy and Arrack. Toddy is made from the juice of the Kitul palm and Arrack is distilled toddy.

Electricity:
Those bringing video & digital cameras that require battery chargers should also bring a two-pin, continental style adapter. In most hotels you can charge from the mains using a travel adaptor plug.

Money:
In Sri Lanka the unit of currency is the Sri Lankan Rupee.
To check out the latest exchange rate for the places that you are visiting you can go to www.oanda.com
A few points to help you plan:
• Payments are mainly made in cash.
• Major credit cards, US dollars and Sterling are accepted widely.
• ATMs are available but not to be relied upon. If using ATM machines, be sure to notify your bank before you travel.
• Traveller’s cheques are inconvenient but best if brought in US dollar currency.
• It is useful to bring lots of small denomination notes.

Language & Religion:
Sri Lanka has a multi ethnic and multi religious population. Buddhism constitutes about 70% of the religious faith on the island, many of whom follow the Theravada school of Buddhism. These beliefs were introduced in the 2nd Century BC and Sri Lanka has the longest continuous history of Buddhism of any predominantly Buddhist nation. Hinduism constitutes just over 7% of the population.

Cultural Sensitivity:
At Wild Frontiers we are very aware of the ethical impact tourism can have on ancient cultures. We realise that taking a group of tourists through such a region can have a negative impact on the lives of those who live there and on all our tours we therefore go to great lengths to minimise the negative and accentuate the positive…after all, there are also many good things that the tourist can bring.

To help this process we ask that our clients do not hand out pens or sweets to children. As one sign in Egypt emphatically put it, ‘Please don't make beggars out of our children!' No matter how well intentioned, in our opinion the dolling out of free gifts fosters a ‘beggar mentality' that is ultimately extremely destructive to a society. In addition we do not condone giving out money to beggars or ‘students'.

However, we also realise that we are exceptionally privileged to be travelling in areas where most of the people have far less than us and that the desire to ‘help' can be very powerful. As a result we ask that you refer to your trip dossier for information on the Wild Frontiers Foundation which supports specific projects in the areas where we travel.

Photography:
Please remember, we are guests in the countries through which we travel and we may sometimes inadvertently cause offence by taking photographs without first asking permission.

Also many countries have very strict rules about taking photos of army, police or any official personnel; restrictions apply at borders, bridges and any government building. Please exercise care in this regard as the penalty may be to have your film and/or camera confiscated.