(CNN)Barely 20 minutes into our 4WD trip and a leopard nonchalantly crosses the sand road some 10 meters ahead of our vehicle. Any more carefree and it'd have walked up to the jeep and casually asked for the time of day and a cigarette. The leopard is the latest surprise on a surprise-filled long weekend in Sri Lanka. The encounter is eyebrow-raising because our guide, Manjula, has passed Managing Expectations 101 with high honors. "There is a good leopard population at Yala," Manjula said, "but it's hard to see them as they tend to want to keep away from us.
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Leopards are the main draw at Yala National Park
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Traditional Sri Lankan dinners have seemingly endless curry options
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Like its tourism industry, Sri Lanka's surf scene is in its relative infancy
Yala
Yala National Park
They congratulate themselves over every bird we spot in @placeholder.
Yala
Yala National Park
One of the biggest surprises of the day is the layout of @placeholder.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan
Sri Lanka
"Our leopard subspecies is completely unique to @placeholder and marketing of the park is often too heavily focused on the leopard," he says, echoing the false warning Manjula had given us.
Manjula
Manjula
"Our leopard subspecies is completely unique to Sri Lanka and marketing of the park is often too heavily focused on the leopard," he says, echoing the false warning @placeholder had given us.