How to survive the lockdown in Sri Lanka!
Sri Lanka is currently still under a nationwide lockdown, which has been extended again.
Initially the lockdown was supposed to last until 31.08, then it was extended until 06.09 and yesterday it was announced that there will be another extension. Currently, 13.09 is in sight for the end of the lockdown. However, as before, this depends heavily on the Corona numbers. Hospitals in Sri Lanka are overcrowded, more and more people are falling ill and many are dying because adequate medical care is not available.
The delta variant in particular is severely affecting the country and its inhabitants. To control the spread of Covid-19 and thus prevent further deaths, the government declared a lockdown at the end of July. There is a nightly curfew, all restaurants, stores and even supermarkets are closed. Only one person per household is authorized to be outside and there are military checks on the streets throughout the country. Furthermore, it is not allowed to leave the respective province or even make trips for pleasure.
When we flew to Sri Lanka, we were aware that we were flying into a lockdown. However, it was a bit shocking that also the supermarkets were closed and that you have to order everything online. However, since we have already experienced several lockdowns — even while traveling — we already dealt with it before the start of our trip and “equipped” ourselves as best we could.
The right accommodation during a lockdown
There are not many possibilities to do something or to be physically active during a lockdown. Being confined to the apartment for the most part leaves only a limited space to move around. As mentioned earlier, we had initially rented a villa with a private pool so that we would not feel confined despite the restrictions. However, due to the cancellation of AirBnB, we then moved directly into an apartment. This we had booked until 02.09, in the hope that the lockdown ends at the end of August.
When the extension was announced, we looked around again for apartments and decided that we want to move to the sea. So we looked for an AirBnB apartment with an ocean view and balcony and moved again in early September. Moving during a lockdown is not so easy, because many hosts are not directly on site and have no way to prepare the apartments or even hand over the key. At others there are rules from the property management that renting to guests during the lockdown is not allowed.
So I wrote to some accommodations and finally we could choose between 3 options. We then decided on a larger apartment in a high-rise building right on the oceanfront of Mount Lavinia. Here we have one bedroom, 2 bathrooms, 4 small balconies — all with sea view — and another large living room with a small kitchen as well as a counter. For Marc there is even a desk with office chair and I have converted the couch as a workplace. I sit as well as prefer with the notebook on the lap in the bed or also the couch.
Normally, there would also be a pool with ocean view and a gym in this building. Unfortunately, these are closed at the moment. But there is also here — just like in the previous apartment — a roof terrace with a brilliant view of the sea and the sunset. There is enough space to do some sports or just get some exercise in the fresh air when the ceiling falls on your head.
What to do during a hard, nationwide lockdown?
Besides the daily work on the notebook, there are not many options to do something during the lockdown. Therefore, we have already equipped ourselves with a hula hoop and a skipping rope before our trip and can do some sports if we are motivated enough. We also try to use the time to push our own ideas and projects or just to sleep for a long time.
The view of the open sea and the wide beach are definitely a huge plus. I go out on the balcony several times a day for a few minutes and just look out at the ocean. The sound of the waves, the salty air and the wide view directly create a certain vacation feeling. So we also watched the first two days as well as evenings the beach again and again. Actually, it is forbidden to leave the house for more than one person. However, there are always people on the beach who go for a walk, play soccer or just relax on the beach. We have not seen a control so far.
Therefore, we decided to also go to the beach once to see if we would be checked and sent back home. The first evening it was a queasy feeling, as if one would do something totally forbidden. Even though there is more than enough space on the beach to keep a sufficient distance — and generally only a few people are there — it was a bit strange at first. There is a path leading over the railroad tracks to the beach. We were directly approached by the locals and led between two huts, through an incredibly narrow, narrow alley, to the beach.
The locals here are very open-minded as well as hospitable and are very interested in where we come from and how long we stay. We quickly realized that you can also take off your mask on the beach and stay here for a bit without any problems. There are no controls — at least not so far — and the locals are happy when they see a new face. Since the lockdown was extended again until 13.09, we have decided to go every day once to the beach to walk a little or even take a few photos.
At least we get out a bit and even if you can’t do anything else, at least you’re on the beach.
Whether it’s a walk in the early morning, during lunch break, or to match the sunset. The beach and the sea always have a calming effect, I find. Since it gets dark here by 6pm, that’s our time to order dinner. There is more than enough choice here.
Even if it doesn’t seem like much, the little things like a walk on the beach, the possibility to do some sports on the roof or just having a wide view make the lockdown much more bearable. Normally we wanted to travel on 10.09, but have now decided to extend the accommodation here until the end of the lockdown.
