That was one of my opinions of Sri Lanka. Was there for a six-day media trip with AirAsia. Fortunately Joleen and Gareth were also invited.

Though they produce their own brew, booze is not a highlight if u travel there. Beer is not easily available, neither are toddy and arrack. A huge difference to d last country i went to, Laos.

Sri Lanka is known for its tea plantations (we oso got), textiles and gem stones (*yawn*).

Arrack is bascially coconut brandy. Toddy (coconut beer/wine) is distilled to produce arrack. Pure n natural.

Toddy is rested in barrels, then distilled. The arrack is then aged in wooden barrels for a few years to mellow it out.

Sum dude tryin to sell me unmade arrack. Idiot

Of course i was resourceful enough to nail a good bottle of arrack pretty quick. The top grade shit there is brewed by DCSL, and the best vintage is “VSOA'” (Very Special Old Arrack). A bottle cost 760 rupees, which is only about 20-plus bucks. Haha!

Sortin out my supply. Seems dodgy. Dats where u get booze over there

Had it neat to start. So surprised at how smooth it was. One of the smoothest liquors ever. Taste a lil like rum, easy on the palate, and the finish is almost non-existent. No “aaaarhhh” or “fuck!” or major burning in d mouth or chest. Too easy. VSOA weighs-in at 36.6%.

Had “Old Arrack” too, also by DCSL (33.5%). Tastes a lil harsher.

Sweet relief

Whacked their local beers – Lion and Three Coins. Preferred 3 coins – found it light-tasting and smooth, similar to Beer Lao. A large bottle of beer costs 4-bucks plus. ABV is 4.8%.

The itinerary other than my sporadic drinking opportunities involved firstly visiting an elephant sanctuary. Didnt expect to see so many! If u ignore d fences, d chains that some of d animals wear, d handlers who beat them, and d hundreds of other fuckers there, u’d think ur on safari! Haha

Wild

Well not really

I'd get outta d way

There was also a shop across d road selling shit made from elephant shit. Jeez.

Yea no shit

Collect, boil, strain, make paper, sell. Dam good idea, coz these fat bastards probably crap 100 kilos a day. And their crap dont smell.

My fave part was d rafting we did upcountry. Pretty mellow stuff tho. Nutin more than Grade 3 rapids.

Our ride to the put-in

Local meal after d rafting - spicy food n Three Coins

The itinerary by Sri Lanka Tourism was bad. Didnt hit the mountains or nice beaches, nor the Malay kampung. I just realize i did not even learn a single word of d local language! Haha. Dats a first! Meaning either we never really given opprotunities to mix with the locals, or i wasnt interested in dat place.

The country is full of army and cops all over d place due to the terrorism issue with the LTTE (Tigers). They all carry AKs. Coz of terrorists n suicide bombers. And photography is very restricted in some city areas. You get told-off or chased-off by d soldiers.

On d final nite decided to walk around d city by d sea. Soldiers came up to us and told us to move along. Managed to grab one of ’em for a photo, and finally made them smile. (Quietly grabbed his gun too, but the camera didnt catch dat. Haha)

Tuk-tuk driver who believes in da cause

Got drunk, stole a tuk-tuk and got arrested

View of Colombo n Indian Ocean from Hilton

Some duty-free purchase (Colombo airport). Pretty good for about 30 bucks!

Arrack session goin on

Buddhist pilgrims arrive for prayer

Maybe they so obsessed with their great tea they forget to booze

Dis shit is like stir-fried roti-canai-kueh-teow. Lots of noisy chopping goes on

Very common this UFO thing

Feasting w Joleen

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"Dont shoot me now. I come in peace." Or should i say, i come pissed

All in all, had fun, coz i alwayz do!

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Brain damage rating: 7/10