Rice and curry but no Wifi

by Soohia Irvine (Australia)

I didn't expect to find Sri Lanka

If you are looking for the deep and dark realisation that you are a walking zombie, the tropics is where to find it. Sri Lanka, the land of rice and curry, surf and culture is one of the final frontiers of true topical living. What is booked as a dream escape, quickly becomes an internal reckoning as you realise that paradise comes at the cost of black outs, public transport not arriving and food being out of stock, because seasons are still a thing in some places. The locals may say “rice and curry no problems” but I found myself in fact full of problems as I tried to live in a world where it was entirely impossible to lean in to your old comforts and habits. I signed up for a holiday, what I got was an adventure. A way of living that is almost without technology, a trust system of believing someone or something will be there when it’s suppose to be. A way of eating that is dependent on proud mothers cooking from their restaurants/homes, only what is in season, in unison with the land. A way of loving that is deeply intimate as there is nothing to distract from that love, you cannot play the game of using social media stalking and vengeance. You can however slow your pace, stop resisting and come to the startling realisation that this is how life is suppose to be. Entirely present, witnessing the beauty of nature untouched by mans deviant ways. The coast of Sri Lanka, stretching from beach to beach is filled with towns that get smaller and smaller the further you go along. As you do, the heat relaxes the muscles, the clear blue salt water purifies you and you will happily eat rice and curry forever, no problems. Sri Lanka is not a place a travel, it’s a place to adapt, to live and soak in it as much as possible and do as the locals do. It’s only then that you will experience its magic and secrets. The important things, like the value of your own happiness and the less important but still very useful facts that you should always say yes to a reggae night and a lime in a coconut is actually a very helpful hangover cure.