Girls Trip to Sri Lanka

I am writing this four years after the fact. In those three years in our little girl gang from college, there have been five weddings, four post graduate degrees and three kids. Five of us have moved away from Pakistan, spread out over five different countries. I was feeling nostalgic, so here goes.

Now, I know it’s not a big deal for most of the world but getting eight brown girls together away for a holiday is a struggle that only we can know. So here’s how we did it, our itinerary and some lessons I learnt along the way.

Getting them together

The toughest part is getting everyone together and coordinating the dates: One has a cousin’s wedding to attend, one is struggling to get time off from a high pressure job, and one has yet to convince her parents to ‘let’ her go. If we had tried to accommodate everyone, it felt like nothing would happen. The bride said she was inflexible about the dates. Worked for me because if nothing else at that time; her and I would go together and if you know me, you know I am irresponsible enough to miss other life events to go travel!

Location

I think agreeing on a location was the second hardest task.
A lot of us are very picky. (Hint: it was me). I did not want to go to a country I had already been to before.
Most of us had a super tight budget and earning in PKR rules out half the world.
The bride was free in January, and going to a cold country for a bachelorette trip is unforgivable, so that rules out even more countries.
I think our last concern was safety –  we wanted a country that was friendly towards female travelers.
We settled on Sri Lanka!

Visas and booking

Having a Pakistani passport means you can’t just pack your bags and book a flight to anywhere. That was another thing we had to account for. Lucky for us, the Sri Lankan visa is online for Pakistanis and we got it in two days. Sri Lankan Airways flies directly to Colombo every alternate day and was very affordable at that time. We chose a mixture of Airbnbs and hostels so we could do budget traveling but also enjoy the occasional splurge of a luxurious Airbnb.

Planning and itinerary

This is where I come in. I am extremely – excuse my french – anal, about planning my trips. I thought this would be a bit more of a struggle, we were eight very different personalities so while planning was exciting, it was also frustrating at times because it felt like a big responsibility and if everything goes to shit, it’s kinda my fault. While I am very bossy about how I want to spend my days on vacation, my self esteem is also tied to everyone telling me how well organized my trips are and so I wanted to accommodate everyone.

You can find read my detailed guide to traveling in Sri Lanka here. For a much shorter version:

Day 1: Colombo

I am not a city person so I wanted to spend minimum time in the capital but still get a feel of the city. If you plan to spend longer in Colombo you can spend the day exploring the city, visiting the National Museum and Gangaramaya Temple, which houses a museum of Buddhist artifacts. Take a stroll in the Viharamahadevi Park, which is the largest and most popular park in Colombo. At night, head to the Pettah Market, where you can sample some delicious street food and experience the hustle and bustle of local life.

For us, we just spent the day in Colombo on our hostel rooftop catching up.

Day 2-3: Sigiriya and Dambulla

We rented a car for our trip and I’d recommend that to anyone traveling to Sri Lanka. On day 2 we drove from Colombo to Sigiriya, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in the central province of Sri Lanka. Visit the Sigiriya Rock Fortress, which is a massive rock structure that was once a palace of King Kasyapa. There is also Pidurangla rock, we managed to do a sunrise hike to the top of the rock and would definitely recommend it for the views!

Day 4: Minneriya National Park

The next day was for morning safari in Minneriya National Park, which is known for its elephant population. You can also spot other wildlife such as deers, monkeys, and a variety of bird species. After the safari, visit the ancient city of Polonnaruwa, which was the capital of Sri Lanka from the 11th to 13th century. Explore the ruins of the city, which includes impressive temples, palaces, and statues. In the evening, return to Sigiriya or Dambulla for another night.

Day 4-5: Kandy and Ella

This was one of the top things on my to-do list in Sri Lanka; I had seen countless videos of the train ride to Ella. We got extra lucky on the train as it was mostly empty and we got the perfect seat for theride (on the floor, near the train door) through lush forests, tree plantations and small towns. Ella is one of the cutest towns I have ever been to. Visit the Nine Arch Bridge, which is a stunning railway bridge that spans a deep gorge. You can also hike to Little Adam’s Peak, which offers panoramic views of the surrounding landscape.

Day 6-9: Hikkadua and Gale

Most of the beach towns are pretty close to each other and the last few days of our bachelorette trip were spent lazing at the beach. Welligma is another beach close to Gale that is very popular for surfing and though I couldn’t find the courage to try surfing, maybe you will!

A Lesson

The most valuable thing I learnt on this trip is that it’s okay if everyone doesn’t want to do what I want to do. The only reason it was such a successful trip was because everyone got to be ourselves, leaving behind all the people pleasing behaviors we have internalize so much. I like to wake up early and not have to miss out anything on my to-do list. That is something you cannot impose on seven girls. Everyone had space to spend their time alone doing what they love. You don’t have to stick together. This allowed the early birds to do some exploring, grab a coffee and breakfast, while the others woke up and got dressed without me hovering over their heads. We would always have something we could all enjoy together during the day. And that’s the best advice I could give a big group of friends traveling together. To give each other room to be yourself, without hard feelings or expectations. Nobody likes a buzzkill.

Cherish those memories for the rest of your life

We said we would do a bachelorette trip before every wedding. A friend got married this year and half of us couldn’t even show up, a trip would be a long shot. I guess I too have been forced to prioritize other life events as I got older. With more responsibilities, it’s becoming harder to get everyone together. This was the first time I was traveling with seven girls, and to be honest I had spent so much time hiking with boys before this, that I had internalized some of the stereotypes for a big girl group that I am now ashamed to admit. I feared there would be drama, disagreements and diva behavior. There was none of that. What we did have was a lot of positivity and support for each other, mutual trauma sharing sessions, lots of dancing and singing and a whole lot of love. I realize we might not be able to have a similar life experience again and I will cherish those 10 days spent in Sri Lanka with my girl gang for the rest of my life!