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So, you're thinking about a trip to Sri Lanka, but you're not quite sure what to expect. Ugh! Oh, this is exactly what we came north for. Maybe you're looking for all those famous Instagram locations. Can you take a picture? Or perhaps you are looking for adventure on the wind is blowing. I hate it. My mother would kill me. Not me. Mom, I don't want to look down. Whatever you are looking for, we will share with you our sincere impressions of this wild and colorful country. And because we're "budget people" and specialize in bigger and better adventures for less
money, we do it all while spending less than $1,000 each. So sit back, relax, and join us on this epic journey through Sri Lanka. Okay, Ti, do the honors. Play the intro. Woo! So my head always comes late never changes and I try, I try to learn to find my own ways and learn from the stars The series was created thanks to Sri Lankan Airlines, which provide convenient and cheap connections to the island. Book tickets with Sri Lankan Airlines. We are also supported by Wando, an indispensable app for any digital nomad. Discover destinations, jobs, housing and more.
Download it for free from the App Store today. ", after traveling along the entire west coast of Sri Lanka to the north, we had a great time exploring the city of Jaffna and the surrounding islands in our tuk- tuk. Especially here, because we are always looking for adventure and are not afraid of getting completely lost. Wow. Where are we now? In the end, we all fell in love with the atmosphere of Jaffna. Beautiful people, amazing food and stunning views. And we still feel that there is still much to explore here. Jaffna was kind to us, and especially to our wallets. We felt like our combined budget of $3,000 would last us forever here. And out of our
individual budget of $1,000, we each had about $835 left. However, we felt it was better to move on because we want to show you all sides of Sri Lanka. And so, after our great adventure yesterday, we had dinner and went to bed early. And we woke up to embark on the next leg of our great adventure. under the bed. Did you check under the bed? I didn't check under the bed. There are a few rats there. Can you find that white wire to tie up the tent? Yes. Seriously. He was in the room, very long day ahead of us. Today we are going all the way to Trimoli. This is the place.
Turn, turn, turn. Lena is doing great. So, while Lena was driving the first leg of the journey, we said goodbye to Jhapna and settled in for another long day on the road. This time we were smarter and wanted to drive as far as possible in the cool morning hours before the sun became unbearably hot. But we forgot something today. Since this region is very sparsely populated, we did not anticipate a shortage of gas stations along the way. And so, after long hours of traveling through desert landscapes and beautiful national parks, we began to seriously worry that we would run out of fuel, until finally luck smiled on us and we found a gas station. So, we are making good progress. almost ran out of fuel.
Knock-knock. When it is empty, there is still a reserve tank. Do you want to show me how to turn on the reserve? There 's a secret button under our wonderful tent here, and you turn it like this. Yes. Reserve fuel, which we are currently driving on. It's quite stressful. We found a gas station. That's right. Just in time. Works here. Greetings. Good afternoon. Here it is. What? There is no gasoline. No. It's over. Where is the nearest station? 50.
50 km. Yes. It turns out that this gas station ran out of fuel. Wait, this can't be happening. It seems we are walking. 15. Okay. So, everything should be fine. 15. We'll just have to roll with the punches Good. Well, it got really interesting. We have 20 km of fuel. Hopefully not too soon. And the next gas station is 15 km away. We keep our fingers crossed that there will be fuel there. And so we headed south, praying that our reserve tank would have enough fuel to get us to the next town. We had to use every last drop of fuel to avoid stopping in the middle of the road. But after a while we saw the east coast and were greeted by beautiful
beaches along the way. And with the last drops of fuel, we finally reached our destination, the town of Trinkom, and most importantly, the gas station. Let happy. We are so happy. It was very close. Every tire is happy. Tired. So we set off in search of a place to stay for the night. And soon we found a cheap room with air conditioning, which was affordable and very pleasant. Ovva. So at the end of a long and stressful day of driving, we decided to just go to the beach and celebrate our exhausting journey with a cold beer and chocolate for Lina. The next morning we got up early again to watch the sunrise over the ocean. And
since the mornings here are cool and pleasant, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get the boys to work out with me. Good morning. Here at Budgeteers, Tees and I are privileged to travel with a personal trainer, a qualified, internationally recognized superstar. And Lina gets up and shows us new stretching exercises. She.What did you just teach us about cheese? Because this is really interesting, guys. If you are interested. I said, " Okay, let's do some stretches and then we'll do some exercise." And she looked at me like, " So I told them you can't just wake up and start
stretching." You need to warm up your muscles, and only then stretch. I always like to use the analogy that your muscles are like cheese. If you just stretch without warming up, the cheese will break because it's cold, you know? better. If you warm up your muscles and then stretch, the cheese will become soft, stretchy, and not tear. Food metaphors. This suits us. Yeah, we're like, "Oh, now I get it." Okay, let's relax and get the blood flowing, because look what a beautiful day awaits us ahead.
Greetings. It looks great here. Let's do this. And while Lina was driving us, we also worked up quite an appetite. So we went downstairs to enjoy the free breakfast. This is our favorite time of day-breakfast. And we were quite pleased with the extra Western comfort we got today. This is because the infrastructure for tourism is a little better developed in this area around Trincomalee, and there is a very special reason why Westerners travel here from far away. This area is one of the few places on Earth where you can see blue whales, which are extremely rare. It is the great ocean depths near this area that attract these gigantic and mysterious animals.
Blue whales are the largest living creatures on Earth in history, even larger than all the dinosaurs. And, apparently, you can see them here if you manage to get on a boat. So we really wanted to check it out. Okay, we went up north and just finished meeting at the Neombo dive center, and hopefully we've agreed on. whale watching, swimming with them, well, that's something for tomorrow. So if the weather and wind permit, we'll head out to do it tomorrow. Well, now that we're done with that, we're going to enjoy a nice day at the beach. Yes, because everything here is actually more geared towards backpackers. There are many more restaurants here. It's actually very peaceful here. The beaches look
incredible. So we will have a relaxing day and explore Trincomalee and keep our fingers crossed that everything works out tomorrow. Yes. So, we explored the beach, which was very quiet and incredibly beautiful. This is the same place. A little further on we found a very cozy bar where we indulged in a few drinks, such as this delicious royal coconut and lime juice with mint. Mm, looks delicious. We share because we are budget travelers, right? Good. Well, you need to get some good coffee. That's good.
Thanks for the accidentally overrated ice. Yes, we just wanted to relax and have a good time together. And we didn't mind paying a little more than usual for drinks, since all we wanted was to rest from all our efforts on the road. And it wasn't long before the sun and sand became too hot for us, so we needed a refreshing dip in the ocean. The water was beautiful and the beach was huge, but we decided to walk along it and see where it led. And we found a place for locals to relax. Steeply. This is a local swimming spot. So, the local guys say they swim here because the water is nice and clear, and there 's a current here. So you can swim against the current and practice swimming at low tide.
Look, it's the current that's carrying me down. We really like the atmosphere here, so time flew by and we made new friends. That wonderful bar on the beach where we were relaxing, although beautiful, is very expensive. we decided to put down our towels. Let's leave a few things so that it seems like we've taken a table. Let's go find some cheap street food. And we were lucky to find a group of travelers who are just as stingy as we are and looking for the same thing. They said they knew one place, so we just follow them. We'll see what happens, because I'm hungry and want something cheap and spicy.
Luckily, we didn't have to go far to find a good Sri Lankan restaurant. A small family-run establishment with lots of options. Everything was very tasty, cheap and spicy, just the way we like it. And we enjoyed it with our new backpacker friends. After that, we went back to the beach, jumped into the ocean, rested in the shade, and truly enjoyed lazing around. Look, we made some really cool friends, right? Aha. Yes. You know, you can make friends with people who are also hunting for cheap food. Yes, that's exactly what we did. And tomorrow morning, hopefully, we'll go out to sea on a boat and see whales, which makes me both excited and panicky. And joy, sorry,
at the same time, because seeing whales in real life is number one on my wish list, as it is on hers too. The very thought of jumping into the water with a whale is a little scary, right? So let's see how it goes. Let's keep our fingers crossed that we succeed. And we keep our fingers crossed that we find them. And we keep our fists clenched so that we can jump in before they swim away. For now, we'll just enjoy the sunset. Well, let's enjoy. Let's enjoy this pleasant, calm atmosphere. Mhm. Let's rest after the long journey and prepare for tomorrow. That's right. And with the good music playing in the background, we couldn't resist and had a beer. And we just enjoyed the backpacker life to
the fullest, joking and sharing stories with new friends until late at night. I'm still hoping the moon will bring us good weather for tomorrow. Good morning everyone. Good news. Thais is driving down the street in our wonderful tuk- tuk. Here he is. Good morning. And another good news is that the weather is just perfect, and we are going out to sea on a boat to hunt for a blue whale. So, in good weather, we hurried to leave. But first we had to make sure our snorkeling gear was suitable. And then we went to the beach. Since it was early morning, we didn't have time for coffee. And some of us weren't as ready to leave as others.
I think, what is this? I do n't understand what's happening. That is, I understand what is happening, but at the same time I don't. We're going to get on that boat. We get into the boat. Are you ready for this? And I took some medicine for motion sickness. Good. So let's keep our fists crossed today. Let's keep our fists together. Otherwise, we will have the second part of last year with And after we launched the boat, we set off in search of blue whales. But we quickly noticed that this boat trip would not be easy on Lina's poor stomach. Even in good weather, it was a pretty tough
trip. As our light boat bounced on every wave we raced through and salt water splashed in our faces, we headed at full speed toward the open waters of the Indian Ocean. After more than an hour of shaking, we lost sight of any land and found ourselves far out in deep open water. It was the perfect place to see a blue whale. So we all eagerly stared at the horizon, looking for any sign of these large, beautiful creatures. But without success, and after another hour of looking around and moving forward without seeing a single living creature, we began to tire under the scorching sun, as well as question our choice to spend a hefty $50 per person from our budget on this.
These blue whales may be the largest living creatures, but we've begun to realize just how vast the ocean is. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack, but much worse. But we didn't give up, and after a while we noticed something. They see something. Oh, wow. Hello, guys. Oh, they're swimming here. We saw a whole pod of dolphins, and they swam past our boat. But they disappeared instantly because they were chasing tuna. However, it was an incredible sight. Okay, we've already seen dolphins swimming by. This is really cool. We saw them. And now I want to see the next one. This is a legendary creature. So everything is going well.
This guy gives us advice next to the legendary whale. Let's see who's bigger. The chase began, and our boats raced through the waves at full speed. We saw large fountains of water in the distance and desperately tried to close the vast distance. We noticed one and are trying to get ahead of it. Did you see how fast they swam? We were racing at such speed. Blue whales swim much faster than even our speedboat. So he easily overtook us. After taking a few breaths on the surface, the whale disappeared again into the depths of the sea. So with no sign of blue whales and nothing to do but wait, we decided to freshen up and try calling the whales with Patty's special signal. Unfortunately, there was no answer.
However, refreshed, we were ready to continue our search. Well, Mr. Kite. At this point we were actually guessing where the whales might be. Our captain knows this area well, but even he can't predict exactly where the whales will decide to surface. It was only after encountering another fishing boat and asking for advice again that we got the hint we needed. With this new information, all the other boats moved in different directions. It felt like we were taking part in a high-speed chase in the middle of the ocean. And soon we saw something in the distance. Gay. Wow. you kidding? Oh, I'm so scared right now.
But at the same time, I'm impressed. Oh, she disappeared. But it is incredibly beautiful. Nicely noted, guys. How could you miss it? This is just huge. And we only see the tip in the ocean. And there was no one else here. No, no one else. I had already prepared my mask to jump in, but it seems as soon as we arrived he was resting and ready to dive. But his…I mean, we just saw his upper back, and it was huge. You can also see him breathing. They look about the It looks like a huge submarine. Suddenly it pops up. Over the next few hours, we saw even more blue whales, but not from such a close distance.
However, we were happy that we were so lucky. So we could just relax and enjoy ourselves. I like it. Relax. Just relax and love. But soon our captain received a call about another boat with engine problems. So we had to pick up those who were stranded and we headed back to the coast. And after over 6 hours in the rough seas, we were truly glad to be back on shore. Pulling the boat ashore, we immediately refueled with some much- needed Sri Lankan curry. After that, we wanted to explore Trincomalee town more before our last sunset. So we headed to one of its famous temples, located right on the edge of the cliffs. It is called Koneswaram temple. And before the entrance you can see that it is special, because there are many beautiful
deer walking freely through the territory. We took off our shoes, went inside, and paid our respects. Since this is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Shiva, it can be seen that he has a special relationship with animals. We walked around and saw some fascinating things and very bright people. It was very interesting to learn a little more about what Hinduism is. The scenery around the temple was stunning and there were some great views, especially this beautiful sunset. So we decided this was the perfect place to end this episode. Hello everyone. So, today we went whale watching, of course, and it was amazing. We saw many, many blue whales.
Big blue whales. Yes, a bunch of blue whales. Yes, I think it was almost a perfect experience. Ahem. When we saw the whale leap out and its back appeared out of the water, I was stunned. Hmm, it's impossible to fathom how huge it is. It was an expensive trip for us. Um, but we wanted to invest to experience it. Yes, it's.you're in Sri Lanka, there are blue whales, you can see them on a small private boat. Um, this is the best way to see a blue whale. We understood that this was a very intense experience. I don't. Yes, that's true. I didn't think it would be this intense. We were in the boat for, I think, 5 or 6 hours.
We returned at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. They literally searched for blue whales all over the ocean, under the sun. Under the sun, in the stormy, stormy ocean. Stormy sea. And once we spotted one, it was just incredible Yes. I think it took a lot more energy than we all expected. Yes, that's right. And so when we were done watching the whales, we just switched off. We almost lost track of time for a minute or two, and then decided to come here, to this beautiful Hindu temple. It's really beautiful and I 100% recommend visiting it if
you're here. We thought this would be a great place to end the episode. Tomorrow we're going to Dambulla and Sigiriya Mountain-the number one place you guys recommended on Instagram. You keep saying: little, I don't want to say hesitant, but we'll see. This is the most popular place in Sri Lanka on Instagram, so we can't help but go. But along the way, we will find national parks, hopefully encounter wild elephants, new adventures, delicious food, ride a few more tuk-tuks, and we hope you will join us in the next installment of this journey. Thank you very much for watching.
Don't forget to like and subscribe, and I'll see you in the next episode. Thank you for watching Budgeteers. If you enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe. This will help us a lot. And don't forget to click the bell so you never miss new releases. If you're planning a trip yourself, consider getting your own Budgeteers t-shirt. We have our own online store with many cool designs. And finally, I'll leave you with a question. What was the most difficult trip you had while traveling? This 6- hour boat trip definitely made it into our top 10. Write in the comments below, we are interested in hearing your story. See you in the next episode.
No one has shown the true side of this place yet. I wonder if Patty climbed that rock. There is no one. It's like he's all alone there. And it's funny that we were trying to save money.
