Sri Lanka Series in March

hullmackem said:
How would you go about this, it’s a bit of dream to do an overseas test. I’d love to do Sri Lanka and the Windies.
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I always do DIY travel which saves a fortune. 10 days in CT recently cost me about £1.2k with travel, accommodation, tickets and spending money. The cheapest package I saw was £2.5k and you had to pay for booze and food on top of that.

Sri Lanka is a good destination cos the island is relatively small and easy to get around. The West Indies is a bit more difficult cos the islands are quite far apart and travel options between them aren't that great.

There's an ODI tour to the Netherlands next year but I think all the games might be in Rotterdam cos it's where their biggest ground is (10k capacity) and they'll want to maximise the income. Next biggest is only 4.5k capacity.
 


Paddy O'Dors said:
I always do DIY travel which saves a fortune. 10 days in CT recently cost me about £1.2k with travel, accommodation, tickets and spending money. The cheapest package I saw was £2.5k and you had to pay for booze and food on top of that.

Sri Lanka is a good destination cos the island is relatively small and easy to get around. The West Indies is a bit more difficult cos the islands are quite far apart and travel options between them aren't that great.

There's an ODI tour to the Netherlands next year but I think all the games might be in Rotterdam cos it's where their biggest ground is (10k capacity) and they'll want to maximise the income. Next biggest is only 4.5k capacity.
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Cheers for that.
 
hullmackem said:
Cheers for that.
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Google future England overseas tours and it gives you an idea what's coming up in the next 2 years or so. Some tests are more popular than others (Barbados, Galle, CT, Melbourne). The last two of those are every four years and at the same time of year so easy to plan.

My next distant one will probably be NZ in about 4 years time and hoping they play at Hagley Oval and Basin Reserve.
 
Paddy O'Dors said:
Google future England overseas tours and it gives you an idea what's coming up in the next 2 years or so. Some tests are more popular than others (Barbados, Galle, CT, Melbourne). The last two of those are every four years and at the same time of year so easy to plan.

My next distant one will probably be NZ in about 4 years time and hoping they play at Hagley Oval and Basin Reserve.
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Thanks I’ll take a look, will probs be on my own tbf 😂 she won’t come.
 
NorthCountryBoy said:
If you want to use some of your 10 days for tourism as the lads say you could miss some of the test.

We’ve often missed day 1 (you only see one team bat) and day 5 (gamble backfired massively in CT but that was the first time, normally it’s done by day 4) so you could see the best of the cricket and still do loads of the rest of the country.
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think we're going to stay in Colombo for the full test match but just go to day 2-4 of the test and leave day 5 as a possibility depending on the state of the game.

dangermows said:
Hmm, Colombo is good for a couple of nights, but it's abut out the way if you want it as a base to see sights. Tbh, most things are spread out. With Colombo as a base you'd probably only be able to see elephants at Kegalle (foundation) which is much better than the tourist trap Pinnawela.

Given your timescales I'd have a couple of nights in Colombo then either go to Kandy and base myself there (cultural triangle is only a couple of hours away - easy to hire taxi driver for the day to go to and from) or head down the South and base myself at Hikkaduwa and travel to the likes of Unawatuna and Galle from there as day trips.

Edit. Actually, with ten days you've got a bit more to play with. Hmm.
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aye, I've booked Colombo for the ten nights free cancellation while we look at other stuff. Thinking of doing Kandy for 2 nights before the test and explore a bit of that region, down to colombo for the five days, then off to the beaches in the south for the last bit. Seen a snorkelling/blue whale watching experience from mirissa which looks class.

Most importantly where is the best place to get shitfaced?
 
It'sDefinitelyLloydy said:
think we're going to stay in Colombo for the full test match but just go to day 2-4 of the test and leave day 5 as a possibility depending on the state of the game.



aye, I've booked Colombo for the ten nights free cancellation while we look at other stuff. Thinking of doing Kandy for 2 nights before the test and explore a bit of that region, down to colombo for the five days, then off to the beaches in the south for the last bit. Seen a snorkelling/blue whale watching experience from mirissa which looks class.

Most importantly where is the best place to get shitfaced?
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I loved Kandy. Old colonial buildings and a bit of a religious centre for Buddhists. Not a big drinking culture in Sri Lanka. Mainly in restaurants and hotels away from the coastal resorts. The odd bar here and there. Will look up the hotel bar in Kandy I was in. A visit to the Sydney Hotel behind the bus station in Galle is a bit of an eye-opener.

I went in the only bar in Ella and they had two price lists. One for locals and one for tourists! 😂
 
Paddy O'Dors said:
I loved Kandy. Old colonial buildings and a bit of a religious centre for Buddhists. Not a big drinking culture in Sri Lanka. Mainly in restaurants and hotels away from the coastal resorts. The odd bar here and there. Will look up the hotel bar in Kandy I was in. A visit to the Sydney Hotel behind the bus station in Galle is a bit of an eye-opener.

I went in the only bar in Ella and they had two price lists. One for locals and one for tourists! 😂
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that Ella looks really good but can't see us squeezing it in given the time it takes to get there. Colombo-Kandy train looks canny anyway. Any thoughts on the beach resorts? Unawatuna/Hikkaduwa both seem popular
 
It'sDefinitelyLloydy said:
that Ella looks really good but can't see us squeezing it in given the time it takes to get there. Colombo-Kandy train looks canny anyway. Any thoughts on the beach resorts? Unawatuna/Hikkaduwa both seem popular
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Ella was superb. A tuk-tuk there from Kandy and train back could be a day trip. The Colombo - Kandy train journey not a patch on the Kandy - Ella one imho.

The train ticket office at Kandy is a bit bizarre. It's U-shaped with about 8 different windows. I went up to one and asked the bloke behind the grille for a ticket to Colombo. He said I was at the wrong window and needed to be at one about 4 along. Walked round and when I got there the same bloke had walked across and he was serving at that window. He then asked "how can I help you sir"?

The Kandy City Hotel had a smart bar but a slow ordering system if you sat at the bar (get a table and chairs). A place round the corner called rather imaginatively The Pub should have been great with it's verandah etc but service was shite and the beers served in small glasses. Lovely aroma from the bakery below though.

Only been to Unawatuna which was canny and two minutes in a tuk-tuk to the ground (about 65p).
 
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