Falling in love with Sri Lanka (during a civil uprising!)

We first visited Sri Lanka amidst a civil uprising. Not ideal!

Join us for the story of our first visit to Sri Lanka - which inspired us to create Kirica Fine.

We landed in Colombo just after lunchtime on 9 July 2022. The prior night, unbeknownst to us, and sometime while we were flying over the Indian Ocean, protestors had stormed the President’s palace, forcing him to flee, and eventually, days later, to leave the country and resign his presidency.

We were supposed to have been staying in the Galle Face Hotel nearby, however, recent civil unrest and raucous protests centred just across the road convinced us to make alternate plans, so we left the city straightaway and headed down the coast, into relative calm.

Over the prior month, protests had ramped up due to an economic downturn and high inflation resulting from large debts incurred by the Rajapaksa government to undertake white-elephant infrastructure projects, large pre-covid tax cuts, and, compounding it all, a massive hit to tourism revenues from covid travel restrictions. These led to a depletion of government foreign currency reserves, leading, in turn, to a fuel crisis.

Needless to say, we had a big choice to make in going on the trip! Various agencies had different opinions: the UK FCDO advised against non-essential travel, while their German counterpart said we were fine to go, and our (established and respected) travel agents advised that it was still safe and suitable for tourists to visit.  

After careful review of the facts on the ground, we bought our travel insurance (we almost chickened out when we had to purchase a special policy reserved for war correspondents…) and headed over.

Upon landing in the country, it wasn’t immediately apparent that anything of note was happening. The airport was fairly empty, but covid restrictions were still preventing many people from travelling at that time. The first signs appeared when we hit the road. Most cars (to the extent there were many on the road) were operating at severely limited speeds in order to preserve fuel.

Later, when we passed through the first town, cars and motorcycles lined up outside gas stations to wait, in many cases for days, for fuel to arrive. Public transport and tourism vehicles had access to fuel, in a bid to keep a base level of economic activity in turbulent times.

Despite the less than ideal situation, we found that every Sri Lankan we spoke to was optimistic for a better future and happy to see tourists, as tourism (and gemstones!) is a major component of the Sri Lankan economy. Because of this support and welcome in the face of the unrest, we had the best travel experience of our lives. 

First, the food. As there was a currency crisis, foreign foods were few and far between, so we dove right into the local food and never looked back. Sri Lankan cuisine boasts an amazing blend of flavours, including coconut, chilli, cinnamon, black pepper, curry, tamarind, pandan, lemongrass, and jaggery (sugar made from a local palm tree). Coconuts abound in Sri Lanka - king coconuts for drinking, fresh coconut milk in curries, shredded coconut in pol sambol (a relish made from a blend of coconut, chilli, onion, lime and salt that Sri Lankans seem to add to everything) - and we couldn’t get enough! 

Second, the natural beauty. Multiple varieties of monkeys live everywhere. Beautiful tropical flowers populate well curated gardens, and the national flower, the blue water lily appears throughout the many waterways piercing the coastline. Native elephants and peacocks (native to Sri Lanka - who knew?) live alongside vibrant kingfishers, soaring sea eagles, and reclusive leopards. The coastline offers rolling waves suitable for surfing and fishing, and (thanks to major conservation efforts) huge, wild sea turtles that come right up to the beach to eat seaweed right from your hand. Because of the sparse tourism, we felt like we had the country to ourselves!

Third, the people. Sri Lanka is a country that has welcomed tourists for millennia. It is a key destination for Buddhist tourism - hosting, among other treasures, a Bo tree grown from a cutting of the same tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment - and it remains one of the oldest Buddhist countries in the world.

It has also been a main source of the gem trade for roughly 2,000 years (more on this another time). The people are friendly, curious, and generous, and loved to share their culture with us.

Finally, the gems! We were fortunate to have a guide with us who helped us to find some reputable gem dealers, where we picked up our very first Sri Lankan sapphires and tourmalines. We started to learn about how gems are mined and left our trip with more questions than answers, and a desire for more.

We didn’t know it at the time, but the risk we took started us on our journey to Kirica Fine and we are grateful for our unique and memorable experience! If you’re ever considering a visit to this incredible country, we’d be happy to make recommendations!