Sri Lankan Adventure
February to March 2024
It all happened because of my teenage obsession with Duran Duran.
My Husband had just had a knee replacement. We filled his three months of recuperation with travel guides. We bought seven. Loosely related to places that we wanted to visit over the next few years.
After a few days, they each made their way to the shelf over the stairs. Home to our ever-growing collection of (mainly) Lonely Planet guides.
One book didn’t make it.
On Christmas Day 2022, I gave my husband tickets to a Caribbean Cruise. He wasn’t overly impressed, neither of us had ever had designed on cruising. But we felt we couldn’t dismiss it without trying it.
A year later in, 2023 I gave my husband a copy of ‘Cinnamon Gardens’ by Shyam Selvaduri. Inside a slip of paper, outlining the flight details to Colombo. (This was more of a hit than my 2022 gift.)
My husband had always been in love with India, and I had always loved Sri Lanka – from afar. I’d never been. Duran Duran filmed the videos for their ‘Rio’ Album here. Therefore since the age of 13, I had wanted to go.
Carl had a nice new knee which he had waited five years for. There was to be no stopping him now. It also turns out that the fishing in Sri Lanka is excellent. So he started a search to find a fishing rod which would fit in his rucksack.
By the time we were two weeks out from leaving the U.K. we were better prepared. We had a much grasp of the Public transport system. Also why so many people hired a car and a driver. He began to hatch a plan to hire some wheels. Three wheels to be precise. How crazy have you got to be to hire a Tuk Tuk? For two weeks? In a country you have never been to previously?
Our plan included getting off the beaten track. To visit some place’s not on the tourist trail. To find deserted beaches. Drive into the National Parks. See elephants for free. Stay outside the main towns. Basically, we wanted to have an adventure.
To be fair Public transport in Sri Lanka isn’t great. The buses are driven by maniacs. On board you spend your time board holding your breath, trying to make yourself and therefore the bus thinner. The trains take hours to get anywhere (be it incredibly cheaply). All tending to leave incredibly early in the morning.
We flew from Heathrow to Colombo with Sri Lanka Airways, who serve curry for breakfast. Whilst this sounds odd, it’s actually, very tasty. It also set the tone for the next month.
Paratha flatbread with coconut and spinach sauce and a chickpea curry dish.
Colombo airport was perfectly adequate. Through immigration pretty quickly, we picked up our rucksacks and headed into arrivals. Having picked up a 30 GB sim for £8, we looked for our driver.
Our accommodation arranged for a driver to pick us up from the airport and It all worked perfectly. On arrival, we dumped our bags in our little bungalow, slipped on some flip-flops and headed out of the garden, onto the beach. We stood, looking at the sea and listened to the wind in the palm trees, the waves breaking on the rocks. This was to be our home for the next couple of days.
Curry made another appearance for supper and having now had it twice we were converts. Sri Lankan curry is super delicious. We were more than happy to live on it for a month.
Planning a rest day for the following day we poured over maps of the area. Drinking Local tea out of ‘Sri Lanka’ mugs. With ‘beach’ as far as the eye can see, it seemed the only choice was to walk north or south.
We chose to walk North. Through Sarakkuwa Beach to the fishing boats at Aruthaini Beach. Here as it was so hot! Carl, stripping to his pants and heading for a swim to cool off. Thinking he was being discrete, he was almost immediately joined by various fishermen with the same idea.
Pottering back to the main road, we stopped at a roadside ‘shed’ for a coke. Its owner an old man who recounted Queen Elizabeth’s visit in 1954. Being 80 years ago, later we spent time trying to guess his age before wandering south. Heading down a lane looking for the lagoon, we arrived at ‘. This brought us to ‘Dutch Tails’ A stunning spot for lunch.
I thought this was a perfect time for me to show off. I had learned during my research locals call Hot Buttered Cuttlefish just ’HBC’……. all locals but those in Ja-Ela perhaps? Feeling a fool after the waiter had no idea about the acronym. We ordered ‘Lion’ Beer to cool us whilst waiting for our food.
Apparently, you can have your Lion beer in a half-litre glass if you are a ‘man’. If you want to drink beer and you are a ‘girl’ then they recommend the tinned ‘Lion’. For the life of me, I couldn’t work out why. Its the same but smaller!
Our second night at Ayana Beach came with our second dinner. Not just ‘Curry and Rice’, this was the whole kit and caboodle. Chicken, pumpkin, chickpeas, beetroot, daal, coconut sambal, sweet coconut bean curry, basmati rice, and fried popadom.
When leaving the UK we thought we would eat simple healthy food this month. Loose some weight maybe? The food is all so tasty. Carl hates vegetables and this is mainly vegetables, and he is happy. Maybe plan to eat just once a day?
Utilising an app called ‘getme’, we concluded that the hour-long taxi ride into the city should be about £6! So, the following morning we left our beautiful accommodation and moved on to Colombo.
Colombo is an interesting place. It’s an Asian city like most. Sprawling, noisy, polluted and a bit smelly in places. Add into the mix the temperature of over 35c, and that we are not huge city fans, we are glad to be staying just one day.
Colombo has an interesting mix of ‘the old’ with the shiny and new. It seems to be a city that wants more. The youth embrace the westernisation within their city wearing western clothes and piercings, eating in KFC and Burger King. Throwing into the mix the older generation that still wears the traditional sarong and it’s a confusing mixture of generations and cultures.
There are huge hotels and skyscrapers of apartments being built, contrasting vividly with their modest neighbours. There is even a new part of the city being built on land reclaimed from the sea called Port City.
We spent an afternoon in Colombo. Visiting ancient Buddhist temples. Abusing the very lax H&S and crossing the train tracks in order to get closer photos of the trains. Popping into KFC for a cold coke, in order to abuse their aircon. Turning down the frequent offers of a Tuk Tuk Ride!
We finished in a Cargills supermarket where we bought some supper and provisions for tomorrow. The 6.05am train to the ancient city of Polonnaruwa.
Accommodation in Colombo expensive. In an attempt to stay on budget we stayed at ‘city rest fort’. More of a hostel, but we had a room with a private bathroom (but no windows) and slept soundly.
Colombo is a little quieter at 5.30am! We walked the 10 minutes to the railway station in the dark; and only asked three times if we wanted a tuk-tuk. We decided this was some sort of record, but it was very early.
Our 7 1/2 hour train journey started promptly at 6.05am. We decided to book seats in second class aircon (ceiling fans) for the equivalent of £4 each. Not bad for a 250km journey!
It is important to note that you exchange your booking number for your ticket at the railway station. We had done this the day before.
We made our way into the countryside. The sun started to appear through the morning mist, and this indicated it was time for breakfast. Sri Lankan families started to unpack plates and lunch boxes. The carriage filled with a delicious aroma of sweet Sri Lankan curry. Looking over to the spread of a family breakfast, he was offered a plate.
It’s a hot and bumpy, arduous journey. With all the windows open we looked for elephants. We saw only monkeys, peacocks and buffalo.
At every stop, the train filled with vendors. Selling everything from nuts to Samosas, doughnuts and drinks. We found ourselves wishing we hadn’t shopped for food yesterday!
Of course, we even managed to take a photo hanging out of the doorway. Sri Lankan railways are great fun but make exceptionally slow progress. Meanwhile, the children thought it was great fun having Western tourists in 2nd class. We exchanged sweets and photos of each other.
On arrival we checked in to our hotel. We booked this hotel because of the views over the lake and because Elephants visited at night. No elephants from the train but we now couldn’t wait to see elephants in the evening. This is going to be brilliant!
Enjoying a Traditional Sri Lankan Breakfast. A fruit platter to start, then String Hoppers, Coconut Roti, White Potato Gravy, Daal, Egg Curry, Chicken Curry and Chilli & Onion chutney. We reflected on the lack of elephants on our first night. We knew nature doesn’t deliver on demand so we consoled ourselves with feeding the wild Mongoose bananas from Breakfast.
Today we were heading for Polonnaruwa. The second capital of Sri Lanka after the destruction of Anuradhapura in 993. The monumental ruins are the remains of a fabulous garden city created by Parakramabahu I in the 12th century.
Ok, enough of the history lesson. Sites like this are charged in US$. In this case $30 per person. So that’s $60 for the two of us. But the locals get in for free. I guess the question is, is it worth it? Well, for us there are two answers to this question.
1. If you are a lifelong Duran Duran fan, you will know that the temple scenes in the ‘Save a Prayer’ video were shot at this site, and if you have waited 40 years to visit, then yes, it’s worth every penny.
Or
2. I’m no history buff. Carl will spend hours wandering around archaeological sites. I infrequently find them engaging. At least Polonnaruwa was standing upright. It is a very large, impressive place, and remains a religious site to this day. In fact you have to remove your shoes, cover your shoulders and knees and remove your hat.
We walked the site. About four hours in the sun. Or it could have been ON the sun. It was as hot as the surface of the Sun. Let’s just say it is a little uncomfortable on your feet.
The site is so immense that although you can walk, (we did and it’s about 4 miles end to end) most people employ a tuk-tuk to drive from one area to the next.
We didn’t hate it, but to be honest, most of the best bits are at the end.
As we returned to our hotel the staff were excited to see us. They wanted us to see the elephant on the edge of the lake! The far side of the lake. Too far away to really see or photograph. We remained on the hunt for elephants.
We cooled off with an evening dip in the pool. Over dinner, Carl made friends with ‘Chip & Dale’ who both love Coconut Roti. Then our evening turned into a trial by Iguana. During the day a huge iguana had entered the roof space above our room. Despite trying to drive it out by tapping the inside rafters of our room, we spent the night listening to it ‘tap dancing’ above us.
The following morning we left our ‘hotel by the lake with no Elephants’. We caught a bus to Dambulla and checked in to our next guest house. We managed to arrange a tuk-tuk and driver for RS3000 which was about £7.50 for three hours
The main draw in this area is Sigiriya. Sigiriya is an ancient rock fortress located near the town of Dambulla. It also featured in Duran Durans videos but we have a hunch that the band were probably dropped on the top by helicopter. It’s a long vertical walk. But it is on the tourist trail. As such the Sri Lankan government charges tourists $35US to walk up the 200m tall monolith. There is an old fort and a stunning view. Incidentally, if you are Sri Lankan you can do the same for approximately 25 pence!
I am too short for lots of steep steps. Carl’s knee is still healing. So the walk up, for us, was not going to be a smart thing to do. We did visit a Buddhist temple a few miles away. 150 steps led up to a shrine with views out over the surrounding area for a donation of 100 rupees. We then drove out to Sigiriya rock to take some photos. Sri Lanka is so green and lush despite the high temperatures. It is just stunningly beautiful.
As if we hadn’t suffered enough, we decided to ask our driver to drop us outside town at the Dambulla Cave Temple. In the heat of the day taking the steep steps to the top of the mountain was quite hard going. Again you leave your shoes. Again walking around the temples where the ground was as hot as hell was a bit tricky. Trainer Liners are a good idea and are allowed. We had heard mixed reviews, so we were in two minds about going, but we were glad we did it. Spectacularly carved Stone Buddhas in every cave with intricately painted ceilings, it was a phenomenal site.
The following day we moved on. We had decided to stay on a small farm. Subsistence farming in a small community.
Tonight’s accommodation was ‘Ridge Boundary View’ overlooking ‘The Knuckles’ Mountain range. Owner Ruwan said he would cook for us. There were no other food options in the area so we decided that this would be fun. We had no idea what we ate but it was delicious.
Being Buddhists, we were confident the food was to be all vegetarian, and Ruwan took exceptional time to explain what each dish was. We should have made notes. Lesson learned. We ‘heard’, snake gourd, banana, green beans and aubergine. The rest were new words and new vegetables to us.
Following an excellent sleep the following morning we ate a delicious freshly prepared breakfast. Rice hoppers, daal, coconut sambal. Sri Lankan dosa, fresh papaya, and a new fruit for us, ‘Rose Apples’.
We sat and chatted with Ruwan over breakfast, he then took us out for a walk around the area and his village. What a stunning area! Views of the blue mountains, lots of lakes and a beautiful river. If we had known about that yesterday, I think Carl may have spent the afternoon fishing!
It’s amazing how many of the plants and trees that are used in his cooking. Everything from Curry Leaves, cinnamon, and numerous fruits and vegetables. They grow everything!
It was a flying visit as we were just passing through but it’s such a restful quiet place. A shame to leave so soon. That is the nature of travelling, constantly moving on, seeing new sites, and making new friends. Thank you Ruwan at Ridgeboundary View. It was a pleasure.
Next on the list was Kandy. Another Bus ride to another large sprawling city, smelly and noisy, Full of traffic that never stops and quite frankly everything I hate about cities. On the tourist trail, we planned to make the most of our visit. There were two reasons we were there:-
1. It’s the home of the ‘Temple of the Tooth’, one of the holiest Buddhist temples in the world.
2. We need the train station
The centre of Kandy has a huge lake. The road all the way around it made it constantly noisy. The Ice cream vendors will try and rip you off as you are a tourist and obviously only here for the temple.
Kandy is also in a dip, with steep hillsides all around. Our hotel up in the hills, had arranged for us to be met from our bus at the Bus station in town. We held on to the WhatsApp number of the driver. Such was the confusing ‘warren’ of lanes and buildings on the hillside, we feared we would never find the hotel again. We had the hotel mainly to ourselves. There was only one other couple at the property to share the pool with. We ordered food via a delivery app and enjoyed the clean air and silence at night, overlooking the city.
On our second day we walked down the hill and over the railway lines to get into town. We visited temples and markets, walked the lake. Visited the famous temple and finished the day with a cultural show.
Carl is never very impressed with cultural shows. I was praying for an improvement on the flaminco show I made him sit through in Granada. I wasn’t disappointed. High energy and stunning for the full hours and loud enough to make your ears bleed. The show finished with everyone moving outside for a fire walk. Having already walked 11 miles that day, we called our friendly Tuk Tuk driver and asked him to take us back to our hotel.
The following morning the Tuk Tuk driver was back at dawn to take us to the station for our train to ‘Tea Country’.
So we bid farewell to our sleek modern hotel room with aircon and swimming pool for £14 a night. At the station, Breakfast was easy. There were several stalls selling samosas and parathas.
Bitten by something under his eye, Carls face has blown up like a balloon. Or perhaps it was a reaction to me making him sit through a cultural show the previous night?
The famous, slow scenic ‘Tourist Train’ travels at about 35 kph. It stops at various places and all are great to take photos. We were now in ‘tea country’ and alighting in Nuwara Eliya we were in ‘Little England’. It’s about 10C cooler, which is welcome. The town boasts a park, horse track and golf course left by the British. Not much else and I struggled to see what people found so endearing about the place.
However we picked up our Tuk Tuk from here. We were masters of our own destinations from this point. Going to places we couldn’t get to without a driver. We had 18 days of our trip left and we were planning to drive out to the east coast. Turn South heading around the Islands famous coastline before heading back to Colombo.
Carls face was now worse and it looked like two or three mosquito bites…… but no one is looking at his face. They are all looking at the Tuk Tuk. Never for one moment did we guess that our Tuk Tuk Cabriolet would be lime green. One thing is for sure – it’s going to be easy to see!! Really drawing attention to itself – and the white guy driving, who waves at the children pointing.
Pretty easy to drive. Same as a motorcycle but with a 200cc engine. With two people and luggage, let’s say it’s not fast.
Somehow the speed is the pleasure of it. The views are amazing. Being able to stop anywhere. Take photos. Buy street food (delicious). For us, this hire really made this trip.
Our first mission was to find the viewpoint for the famous Nine Arch Bridge. People walk down and across the bridge just to take photos when the train comes along. We sat on a locals veranda and watched with freshly squeezed pineapple juice.
In Ella we were still in the mountains, be it 60km down the road at a lower altitude. So of course that means the heat and mosquitoes are back. There are tea plantations everywhere. It is hard to believe that they tried Coffee first. I wanted to visit and try my hand at picking some of the coveted leaves.
We chose the Uva Halpewatte Tea Factory tour and spent an hour tea picking followed by Halpe tea sampling. The guide was excellent and provided a wonderfully comprehensive explanation about the plants and the process. He also explained the future problem. The same the world over. The younger generation aren’t prepared to work for so little money. In this case, the tea pickers receive about $3 a day to pick 8kg of tea. That’s a lot of tea! Without the younger generation coming into the tea trade no body knows what will happen. Maybe AI-guided machines?
It was a beautiful morning in the fresh mountain air with stunning views. In the afternoon we drove down through the hills to the Ravana Falls . It’s a long time since I saw such an impressive waterfall! Beautiful!
The traffic, particularly Sri Lankan lorries, are crazy and don’t forget your Poomax pants!
We left Ella the following morning at 9. We were heading out of the hills. On meandering minor roads, marvelling at the views and the amount of hillsides turned over to tea production. It’s truly astounding the number of tea plantations there are in this region!
So as we wound our way east leaving the mountains behind us, the roads got straighter and the air got hotter. Without really noticing, the tall pines and tea bushes gave way to fields of crop and palm trees.
We stopped a couple of times for fuel, (it is only a 9 litre tank), and a small shop for samosas for lunch. These were made in the shop and they were still warm and so so good!
An old Sri Lankan grandma appeared and without a single word of English convinced Me that I should also buy cake! Carefully wrapped in a banana leaf and presented like a precious fragile object. Even with the extravagance the bill was just under 500 rupees, about £1.25!
So the hunt for elephants went on. We headed for a National Park in the East. One which gets very few tourists compared to others. It sits next to the largest lake in Sri Lanka, and you can even go on Safari by boat.
We dropped off our bags and set out in our tuk-tuk on roads around the park to see if we could find some Elephants. Roadside warning signs indicate their presence, as they do all over Sri Lanka but we saw none. Only buffalo, and a very unusual Buddhist temple. As if a consolation prize, Carl found a fishing spot, and tried his hand with the locals.
We decided to sign up to a jeep safari to find Elephants, and I am beginning to wonder if we are becoming obsessed! Tricky things elephants!
We drove, we walked, we bought ‘bait’. We drove some more. Elephants are never where you expected them to be, and they are certainly not where they were yesterday, and it seems, not where they were an hour ago!
As the hours ticked by I could see the desperation on our drivers face. We saw buffalo, which were nice but ‘no trunk’. We saw crocodiles, ‘great, but no trunk’. At this point, I swear I saw a trickle of sweat on his forehead as the words echoed in his ears, ‘no elephants, no pay’.
We had been out 4 hours. Constant phone calls to contacts produced nothing but ghosts. Luckily a random man at the side of the road on his motorbike said a lorry driver told him he’d seen some, and to follow him. We did, and these are the results.
(Not great photos but please bear in mind they were shot on an iPhone at full zoom, not an SLR.)
March is out of season for Elephants and rather than in the National Parks they are inland feasting on what is left after the rice harvest. It was a long day. We saw probably 15 elephants in total, but the quest for elephants is over. Now we can head to the beach.
Would it be crazy to stay in a beach hut, in a tree, with tuk tuk parking underneath? Let’s find out! Travelling East for two hours we found the beach and we settled into our ‘tree house’ for three days of R&R
We originally found this property when we first start our planning. It’s not fancy, rather basic. No aircon or hot water. Big open vents in the tops of the walls to let the sea breeze in. A ceiling fan and mosquito net over the bed. What more did we need?
So why were we here? Well, we were going to head north again to another town with a nice beach, but headed south instead. After all the driving and everything else we realised that we were doing what we always do. Too much driving. Not actually taking the time to fully engage. To and enjoy where we were.
As the pictures show, no people! 6.5 km down a track off the main road, no shops, no restaurants, hardly any 4g phone signal (unless we are in the tree house by the window).
This evening Carl went and stood in the warm waves casting lures into the surf for an hour as the sun set. If only we had more time we might stay a week!
March is out of season in the East of Sri Lanka. What does that mean exactly? Well, our host says it’s not so sunny and the surf isn’t so good. In season this place is packed with ‘surf dudes’ from all over the world.
Out of season at Light House Beach there were just us, a Swedish couple relaxing for the past 3 weeks, and a British family with their three young children.
Which leaves a question. If a basic hut on the beach costs just £10 a night (before a long stay discount is applied). You could spend three months on the beach for less than £1000. Throw in the most delicious food at £2 to £3 a meal. Water at 30p a bottle…..do you think you could live a basic lifestyle for three months? By basic I mean delicious vegetarian food, private but open air showers and toilets. Palm tree views. Lots of long long walks at dawn along the beach before it’s too hot. Sitting watching the surf. A cooling sea breeze almost all day. Yoga available wanted. Just peace and quiet.
Could you? Would you? Would you get bored?
After three days of swinging in a hammock on the balcony and swinging on a rustic ‘swing’ hung from the trees on the beach; we hit the road before 8 am. Our plan was a long driving day. From the east coast, down and around two National Parks to the south coast.
There is a road that cuts through Yala National Park, ominously named ‘The Elephant Road’. Well with a name like that, we just had to take it……. And true to its name, we found an elephant. Just one, a small one, but he made a beeline for our Tuk Tuk. All Tuk Tuks, because they contain tourists, and tourists think it’s ok to feed the elephants rubbish food.
Finally an elephant up close and personal! But slightly scary and at one point I was demanding that we ‘drive drive drive’ as the elephant came towards us at speed looking for something sugary.
It took in total 7 hours to get to our small hotel in Tangall. Within 20 minutes we were cooling off in the pool. It had been a very long day with a lot of driving but we were now in an excellent position to explore the beautiful coastline of the South.
With only just over a week to go, we are aiming to visit as many beaches as we could along the southern coast of Sri Lanka. Amazing beaches but a bit rough for swimming.
We went to Mirissa and Weligama beach. Whale watching with the Whale Watching Club in at Mirissa coincided with Carls birthday. So as a special birthday treat he was up at 5 am. Followed by a 15 minute drive in the tuk tuk to the port in the dark.
Six hours at sea and we saw Fin Whales, Spinner Dolphins and Bottlenose Dolphins. These guys don’t chase the wildlife like some of the others do.
The call comes in, ‘Contact, Whales spotted ‘ and then bedlam with boats everywhere. These guys are more ethical and calm and the trip was better because of it.
Then a birthday cake appeared which was a nice touch and shared with all on board.
An afternoon by the pool sunbathing and reading, I think only the third time on this trip! Always approaching a new location like this. With a huge dose of scepticism. Too many times you arrive somewhere that has been, for want of a better word, ruined, by tourism. Not that there is a lack of them here, there’s plenty, and the beach is a testament to that. Weligama is full of small guest houses, hotels, small ‘family’ restaurants and cafes that cater for long term travellers. And I think that’s why we like it.
Carls birthday evening was spent chatting with fellow travellers (a German girl, two French guys and an American). Talking about our trips, place we had seen, countries we had visited and where to next. It was a great way to finish off a birthday. Beer and tall tales in A42
But, for Marissa word is spreading. The sky scraper hotels are starting to arrive. Marriot have a new hotel on the beach front that looks ridiculously out of place,. Further up the beach another monstrosity, larger than the Marriot, is going up. You can see the effect almost instantly. A new beach bar for example, just a block down, opened three days ago. They charge 700 rupees for a 300 ml Coke, twice the price of a local bar. It’s a shame but I guess this is what happens to all beautiful beaches the world over!
We like Weligama though, and would like to stay a while longer.
We moved on after the third day as we still had to see Galle. So we left our tuk tuk at our hotel in Boossa for the day and took our last bus ride (12.5p each/each way) to our last town. Here we explored the fort settlement, totally unlike anything else we had seen in Sri Lanka. It is totally worth a visit. It’s a regular big town but with a very quaint old quarter in the form of an old Dutch fort. In practice, it’s a fortified town with lots of narrow streets with bars and restaurants that lead to quite relaxed gardens.
We found one at the VOC (the name of the Dutch East India Company) and sat with a lemongrass gin and tonic, the first one of the trip!
Purchasing a birthday card from a lady with restricted mobility, a postcard to send home (finally) and had the lad at the main post office stamp it for us. We wandered the veg market still amazed at the variety of vegetables that we can’t name. Then we wandered the huge bus station to find the right bus playing pop videos.
I was also persuaded to embark on the only touristy shopping I’ve done in all of the four weeks…….but there is still no picture perfect sunset, and still no fish for Carl
It was a good day out, and the last outing for the Sri Lanka guidebook. We can’t believe it’s over! Carl can’t believe I’ve driven a tuk tuk over half way around the country. We can’t believe how delicious £2 vegetable curry is!
It’s was the weekend, our final two full days and we had the pool to ourselves. Yesterday we closed the circle, with Carl embarking in his own five hours of Galle to Colombo ‘Mario Cart’. If he had the choice he would have been lobbing pineapples (instead of shells) at the neighbouring racing traffic. He was heroic – I know he quite enjoyed it. For my part, I was mainly ‘eyes averted’ to protect my fraying nerves.
To ensure we really felt like we had completed the circuit, as we headed down the towards Negumbo we turned at Ja-Ela back to Dutch Trails for one more Lion Beer overlooking the Lagoon.
So, finally where it all started we arrived at Negombo. A tourist centre. A mixture of the old and the new. Along the beach, a shanty town with narrow roads, and fishermen’s homes.
With fish laid out on the beach to dry, quite frankly, it stinks. It’s a smell that lingers along most of the coast and I guess goes with the fishing boats. I can’t help but wonder, with the increasing tourism, how long it will be before the big hotels drive the fishermen out? Let’s face it, you pay £1000s to visit a ‘swanky’ hotel and lay by the pool, the last thing you want is the stench of drying fish!
I guess some will adapt as in the pictures here. Fishing boats, given a lick of paint, a new sail, and then punting ‘Catamaran’ sailing trips along the coast to tourists.
During the drive to Colombo we also visited the tsunami museum. This coastal area was hit by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, and was the site of the largest single rail disaster in world history (by death toll), with 1,700 fatalities. This occurred when the crowded passenger train was destroyed on a coastal railway by the 15metre high wave that hit the coast.
During the drive to Colombo we also visited the tsunami museum. This coastal area was hit by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, and was the site of the largest single rail disaster in world history (by death toll), with 1,700 fatalities. This occurred when the crowded passenger train was destroyed on a coastal railway by the wave that hit the coast.
The photo gallery was sobering to say the least. It’s estimated that 30,000 people lost their lives in Sri Lanka in that one event.
The large Buddha was a gift from Japan, and its shoulders stand at 15 metres, the height of the wave. The photo gallery was sobering to say the least.
As we sat by the pool, smug in the ability to save the best accommodation until last, we were contemplating what comes next. Surely the next Asian Trip must be to main land India, a trip we have been discussing for nearly ten years?
