What do you dream of? Love? Happiness? Money? Or maybe Wisdom? In my case, it was none of those. I dreamt of faith; something I had lost and was desperate to regain. For this purpose, I set out on a 3000-kilometer journey retracing Lord Hanuman's epic quest from the Ramayana. I walked around 1200 kilometers across South India, starting from Hampi all the way to Kanyakumari. After finishing the hike, I motorbiked 2000 kilometers around Sri Lanka, exploring various sites related to the Ramayana.

A short write-up of my motorbike trip around Sri Lanka. Absolutely recommend biking to get around since it is probably the most efficient use of time when visiting Sri Lanka. You can pretty much visit all of Sri Lanka in about 30 days that way. Anyway, let’s get down to it. So this is the route that I followed - 2000 Kilometers covering Sri Lanka’s beaches, national parks, and heritage sites.

Days 1-2. Capital area
Locations: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Welcome to Sri Lanka – land of the funky haircuts, wicked traffic, and smiley faces! We docked at 8 a.m., and were herded towards immigration so slowly, that we thought we would die of old age by the time we got into Colombo. My concern regarding the condition of my passport(got drenched and damaged) turned out to be meaningless though. The friendly officer, without a second thought, gave me a smile and a Sri Lankan visa.

Valid International driver’s licenses / temporary Sri Lankan driver’s licenses are compulsory to rent bikes. Temporary licenses can be acquired at the Department of Motor Traffic – Werahera. Several places in Colombo and Negambo offer bikes for rent.

Days 3-5. Ramayana temples and National parks
Locations: Chilaw, Thiruketheeswaram, Talaimannar, Wilpattu national park

There are three Siva temples in Sri Lanka associated with the Ramayana and they are connected through the following story. After winning the war, Lord Rama started the journey back to Ayodhya. Unfortunately, he had acquired the Brahmana Hatya Dosham for killing Ravana. At Munneswaram, he felt the Dosham weaken and prayed to Lord Siva for a solution. Lord Siva advised him to install four Siva Lingas at Manavari, Thirukoneshwaram, Thiruketheeswaram and Rameshwaram and pray to them to get rid of the Dosham.
The first few days, I visited several of these temples following which I drove in pursuit of the wild in and around Giant’s Tank (birdwatcher’s paradise) and the Madhu (landmines :P) and Wilpattu wildlife sanctuaries (over 130,000 hectares - elephants/leopards). Being used to Indian driving conditions, driving here felt natural to me. Just stuck to the golden rules:
1) Anything bigger than you, wants to and will run you over, given a chance.
2) Driving and overtaking on the wrong side is the right thing to do.
3) If by any odd chance you have functional headlights, use them only to blind oncoming traffic.
4) Expect the unexpected – double overtakes, animals, uber aggressive bus drivers, manic Tuk Tuks, a circus bear on a motorcycle.

Days 6-12. The Cultural Triangle
Locations: Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Ritigala, Medirigiriya, Kandy, Sigiriya, and Dambulla,

Visited these UNESCO World Heritage Sites which are famous for their collections of ancient ruins, dagobas (huge semi-circular structure containing religious relics), temples, and other monuments. With so many places and sites to see and limited time, it’s always a race against time to figure out what to visit and what to skip. Personally, I loved the following –
- Anuradhapura - Atamasthana- Sri Maha Bodhi (Sacred Bo Tree) || The Ruwanweliseya Dagoba (at night)
- Mihintale,birthplace of Buddhism in Sri Lanka
- Medirigiriya Vatadage
- Polonarruwa King’s palace, Dalada Maluwa, Thuparama and Sathmahal Prasada (seven-storied mini pyramid of sorts)
- Sigiriya (Lion’s Rock) and Dambulla Cave temple
- Kandy and the The ‘Sri Dalada Maligawa’ or the Temple of the Tooth
- ‘The Gathering’ (hundreds of elephants gather at Minneriya to feast, mate, play)

Days 13-18. Parks and Recreation
Locations: Adam’s Peak, Nuwara Eliya, Ella, Horton’s plains

I spent the next few days trekking up Adam’s peak to see the sacred footprint of either Lord Shiva, the Buddha, or Adam (depending on who you are asking) etched on a rock at the summit. The highlands of Sri Lanka are beautiful places and climate is absolutely amazing. Nuwara Eliya, Ella, Horton’s plains present wonderful views of the plains, have natural wonders including lakes, caves and waterfalls and offer a multitude of treks upon which one can embark.

Days 19-25. Beach bumming with whales and turtles
Locations: Arugam Bay (surfer’s paradise), Mirissa, Galle, Hikkaduwa, Hambantota

The last week of the trip, I spent driving along the South Western coast of Sri Lanka, drifting from one beach paradise to another, each with its own charm - whale watching, turtle hatching, Stilt fishing, cricket (Galle), the blowhole at Hummanaya and my personal favorite, surfing in Hikkaduwa/Arugum Bay.
There is no experience more humbling than lying on a flimsy wooden board with the ocean below you. You realize how truly insignificant you really are and feel completely overwhelmed by its vastness. However, there is also a lesson to be learnt – there might be a multitude of things out there beyond your control, yet to succeed, you have to cast your doubts aside and paddle forward for that elusive wave, the one that will change everything, the one that will make all the troubles worth it.
It is easy to stay still, the warm sun on your back keeps away the cold of the ocean and makes it oh so easy to sit there and do nothing but enjoy the moment, eventually though you have to take the plunge. To stay still is to stagnate, to sink, and eventually perish. Whatever the choice, the experience is still unique for each individual, either deeply philosophical or a pure unadulterated adrenaline rush, alternating between both, depending on whether you are waiting for a wave or surfing one.

This quote from surfer Gary Sirota pretty much summed up my whole trip, “There are no more committed people on the planet than surfers. We fall down a lot. We turn around, paddle back out, and do it over and over again. Unlike anything else in life, the stoke of surfing is so high that the failures quickly fade from memory.”