Sri Lanka is very beautiful with all that tropical lushness and some beautiful beaches and ocean. It reminds me a lot of what I thought I would see when I first went to Hawaii - lots of dense green tropical flora accented with coconuts and bananas, miles of beach, limitless sun that just sneaks behind some rain clouds for a bit of rest now and then, and a slower, simpler life. In the west, we clear areas, build housing divisions and then plant a few trees and roll out some lawns. Here, they carve a hole in the jungle and build a house before the jungle leans back in around it, shading the house with palms and filling the yard with rich greens and bright blossoms - quiet returns and the birds and animals and insects resume their lives.
There is also a lack of some of the modernness we are used to in the states. It's like they build everything using materials and technology that were available to us in the states 50 years ago. So, everything works, but without the authority, confidence, reliability or finesse we have come to expect. There aren't many big buildings and downtown areas are a chaotic assemblage of convenience and availability focused entirely on minimally functional; aesthetics are replaced by signs and posters and the garish banners of marketing. There are all the basic modern products of department stores, but availability, diversity and selection are as limited as high-end products are missing. On the other hand, you can get tailor made clothes for the same price as generic clothes in the States; no-name sunblock for a buck probably works just as well as the Froggy Doo-Doo brand for ten bucks; and, the perhaps over-priced local art and craft works are way cheaper than the way over-priced
sophisticated art found in chic studios in the West. (Fortunately, I am not traveling with porters else I would likely be buying all sorts of leather works, clothes, carvings and statues that I don't need so I could gift them to somebody else to not need.)
But, overall, Sri Lanka is a magical and wonderful land with plenty of quiet places to walk or pause, ancient works of devout humankind, incredible works of nature. Even the bustle of towns and cities are isolated in great expanses of peace. I imagine that Sri Lanka is as Hawaii was before it became Hawaii; but, now with the war ended, it will one day soon become as Hawaii is.
Sri Lanka is very beautiful with all that tropical lushness and some beautiful beaches and ocean. It reminds me a lot of what I thought I would see when I first went to Hawaii - lots of dense green tropical flora accented with coconuts and bananas, miles of beach, limitless sun that just sneaks behind some rain clouds for a bit of rest now and then, and a slower, simpler life. In the west, we clear areas, build housing divisions and then plant a few trees and roll out some lawns. Here, they carve a hole in the jungle and build a house before the jungle leans back in around it, shading the house with palms and filling the yard with rich greens and bright blossoms - quiet returns and the birds and animals and insects resume their lives. 
There is also a lack of some of the modernness we are used to in the states. It's like they build everything using materials and technology that were available to us in the states 50 years ago. So, everything works, but without the authority, confidence, reliability or finesse we have come to expect. There aren't many big buildings and downtown areas are a chaotic assemblage of convenience and availability focused entirely on minimally functional; aesthetics are replaced by signs and posters and the garish banners of marketing. There are all the basic modern products of department stores, but availability, diversity and selection are as limited as high-end products are missing. On the other hand, you can get tailor made clothes for the same price as generic clothes in the States; no-name sunblock for a buck probably works just as well as the Froggy Doo-Doo brand for ten bucks; and, the perhaps over-priced local art and craft works are way cheaper than the way over-priced sophisticated art found in chic studios in the West. (Fortunately, I am not traveling with porters else I would likely be buying all sorts of leather works, clothes, carvings and statues that I don't need so I could gift them to somebody else to not need.)
But, overall, Sri Lanka is a magical and wonderful land with plenty of quiet places to walk or pause, ancient works of devout humankind, incredible works of nature. Even the bustle of towns and cities are isolated in great expanses of peace. I imagine that Sri Lanka is as Hawaii was before it became Hawaii; but, now with the war ended, it will one day soon become as Hawaii is.
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