Month: July 2018

What a big day!! We are finally at the airport after having the day you have when you know you have to get to the airport. Check out at our homestay joint was 11.30 so we started off hanging about the room until 11am doing the packing, ablating, hair washing etc. Then we set out. It was my express aim not to end up in a pool of sweat immediately today not wanting to take the taste of sweat home with me. We had decided to just have a leisurely day of the long, slow lunch under a fan etc. But of course as soon as we set out there I was dripping away!! We went to places we had liked along the way. The first place we went to Rose had a beer and I had a white wine…we thought this was OK because it was after 11am!! We had little snacks and sat under a fan being relaxed!!

Then we moved on to another place for more small dishes and another beer and white wine. Also under a huge fan. Now what I have been meaning to mention is that the Jehovahs Witnesses have had a very large convention in Colombo and they moved into Galle in their droves. We kept seeing all these people with green lanyards and wondering what the fuck they were doing with their name tags on. But it is one thing about the Jehovahs, they are very friendly (possibly hoping to gain another soul), so we had a conversation with one couple who explained it all to us with great pride. So back to the second watering hole today, we’re sitting there and in walks a little group of JW’s. The place is empty and they sit at the table right next to us…uh oh!! We kept them at a distance until they were leaving…but we cut that short!!

So after a sojourn at this next place we set off again, just to make sure the sweat was in full flight. We bought a most delicious ice-cream and headed back to our homestay for our cases and a Tuk Tuk. You should have seen us piling into the Tuk Tuk with our cases, extra bags etc. I just wish I’d taken a photo.

Next adventure, the train up to Colombo. First class, so there we are with 4 Chinese and 2 Indians…no air/con. A big observation window that was great until the engine came and attached itself and all we could see was engine. But there were fans in the roof and we opened all the windows. The train was late setting out and an hour late getting in which doesn’t bode well for the 2 most anxious people in the world when it comes to getting to airports on time.

Anyway we got in to Colombo and were immediately accosted by a taxi driver. We then had a fight as I was bargaining and Rose just wanted to get into the fucking taxi. Long story short we were only 4.5 hrs ahead of our flight and here we sit waiting for time to pass once again!!

Friday night: Home now. Dear Jule picked us up at the airport. Tired but happy to have experienced Sri Lanka. End of Blog until the next saga

Really our last day although tomorrow we have time on our hands before we set off for Colombo and then the airport in the afternoon.

This was a fairly laid back day if you can be laid back while pouring sweat and plodding the streets. We went off to have breakfast in the AM. That was nice and relaxed. Then we were going off to the New Town outside the walls to the Dutch Market and a state run tourist shop for souvenirs that Kathy Kimpton had recommended. We decided to get a Tuk Tuk there because we didn’t really know where we were going. The Dutch Market that we’d heard so much about was a complete fizzer. We then went to the Tourist Shop and lo and behold…another fizzer. So we scuttled back into our Fort. We went home to use the loo (always a rather unpredictable experience in this part of the world) then set off for lunch. We went back to A Minute by Tuk Tuk and had some food and fluids then set off again to do a bit of shopping. Shop, shop…last day…panic, panic.

Then we came back to the accommodation to drop things off. Stayed briefly and then set off again for a bit more shopping. Interspersed with a couple of Singapore Slings on the balcony overlooking the sea. Then back home for the nicest couple of hours of the day sitting on our balcony overlooking the ramparts and watching the sun go down with Sri Lankans walking along the ramparts and playing cricket in front of us. I swear one of those guys is a member of the Sri Lankan Test Team, he was so good!!

Time to go out for dinner. We had been planning for a special swanky dinner for our last night and we achieved this, it was delicious at a place called “The Fort Printers”. I had the lobster I was hankering after…so divine!! It was marred only by the fact that I swiped a glass off the table at the very last minute… so bad. But we got over that…Rose was mortified, but again not the end of the world. Home we came and tomorrow we start to pack up to get ourselves back to the people we love the most!!

For some weird reason we both slept badly last night. I think its that thing of starting to think about home and moving your head into the problems you have to face kind of space. And the place we are staying in is also weird. So I think that contributes.

Notwithstanding, we were up and about before 9am. We had to go to the Galle Railway Station to get our tickets for the trip up to Colombo on Thursday. We set off on foot…only 700 M each way, we got our tickets, no worries and started walking back. All just too easy except for the heat and the sweat that started to pour off me until I was in a lather before breakfast!!!

We went to a nice place for Brekkie (this homestay is the first that hasn’t provided it) and had a yummy breakfast that was best for the break it provided and the fans that helped dry up the sweat!!

Then we were on a mission to do the walking tour of the fort around the ramparts…it was only 3 kms, normally no problem at all but in fact the sweat…OMG the sweat!! It was up and down steps and along the ramparts but by no means a hard walk except for the melting factor!! It is really lovely and we looked down at Galle International Cricket Ground…hallowed turf, we looked out over the bay and we walked down through the streets. We stopped for a juice and then carried on, visiting the Dutch Church (where John Irwin is buried), the Anglican Church, the beautiful old Colonial Hotel etc. We ended up at the Dutch Hospital which we slid into on a slick of my sweat and had firstly a drink and secondly a lunch overlooking the ocean at a place called ‘A Minute by Tuk Tuk” which naturally reminded me of ‘5 Minutes By Tractor.’ I had the tuna, Rose the devilled beef – hot hot hot – she says it made her eyelids sweat.

Then back to this homestay to flop down under the fan and the a/c in an attempt to dry up. But guess what, the electricity went down and it all cut out. The sweat continued to pour.

We set out agin at about 5.00 and went back to the Dutch Hospital precinct to have two pre dinner Singapore Slings. Then tootled off to a restaurant for dinner – pretty ordinary though. Saving the best for our last night tomorrow night.

Hoping for a good night’s sleep under the fan and the air con tonight.

On the move again. Paradise Lost as we breakfasted and said goodbye to our little piece of heaven. Mind you the bill brought us rapidly back down to earth. Nonetheless it was a beautiful respite from the hustle and bustle that is Sri Lanka.

We had booked us a driver to take us to Galle but soon discovered that the lovely manager at Coco, Ninuka, was taking us himself. It was his day off!! Thats not to say we didn’t pay for the privilege but it was nice to have him take us. It was also the first ride on the Sri Lankan roads where we weren’t holding our breath most of the time!!

Along the way is the place where the stilt fishermen are found. Now, this is an ancient tradition of fishing and it is the iconic photo of Sri Lanka so of course you have to stop to see. But the reality is that it is now staged for the tourists. So, we walk onto the beach and the first thing we see is a group of Japanese Tourists; and the second is one of the fisherman asking us for money to take photos. So I handed over my hard earned (Rose took the role of observer) and a fisherman hopped on his stilt and pretended to fish. The really hilarious thing was that two Japanese tourists, who must have paid more than their fair share, also hopped on stilts and pretended to fish. Certainly not a great photo opportunity for us. But really it was priceless !! We stayed a few minutes and left…but needless to say I have my photo!!

We were dropped at our next place in Galle, Villa de 19, another homestay and a very considerable step-down from Coco. But you have to be satisfied with the level you can sustain and we are satisfied!!

Galle is so totally different from every other experience we’ve had in Sri Lanka. The whole town is UNESCO World Heritage listed and is really beautifully preserved, a bit like similar towns in Japan. Hand in hand with this is that we suddenly find ourselves well and truly back in the tourist scene. It is buzzing with white fellas from all over the world. This is a rude awaking from the towns we have been in since leaving Colombo where we were often the only foreigners. But it is quid pro quo because along with the foreigners comes all the tourist infrastructure. You can get coffee, gelato, wine and you can shop til you drop if thats your thing!!. There are lovely shops to poke your head into all over the place, restaurants with all manner of food and more importantly they are in beautifully preserved heritage buildings from the Dutch and Portuguese eras.

So out we went walking to get some wine and beer, home to drop them off then out again to eat at a classy restaurant called Fortaleza. That’s all great but at the same time expenditure has also matched the move into an upmarket world. We just keep telling ourselves to stay cool, its our last 3 days!!

Back to have a nightcap, a shower and hit the hay!!

Another delicious breakfast, and another bright day ahead. After brekky we set off to walk into town because it was market day. Our plan was to explore the market and go to the bank then walk back. The heat us like a wall and I was very soon sweating like a pig. By the time we got to the market which seemed even hotter, the sweat was pouring down my back. However, I love a good market and this one was no exception. Bustling with people, every kind of fruit and vegetable known to man, and a very friendly atmosphere as well. Having perused the stalls and taken a few mandatory photos we started walking back passing more little stalls along the way including the man sitting with his one fish (in the stifling heat), cutting off little bits and selling them.

By the time we got back to our beautiful hotel my little straw hat was wet!!!! But we didn’t yet succumb to the desire to jump in the pool. We took a breath, sat under the fan to dry out and set off in the opposite direction to find a place for a bit of lunch. We were again stalked by a weird young man on his motorbike just as happened yesterday. We’re not sure what they’re up to but it is a bit unsettling in what is otherwise a very safe and friendly country. Anyway we found a place for a beer, a glass of red that had been open for maybe 6 months and a small bowl of chips to share…most uninspiring and then we walked back.

Really the best place to be is right here, we cant equal it anywhere in this town and it is such a relief to flop inside. On with the bathers and we headed poolside for a few blissful hours. Then its shower, more downtime and now preparing to enjoy our dinner. The food is so good that we can’t wait. They were trying to get me a lobster but I don’t think they were able to.

After dinner: No lobster but a most delicious Sri Lankan Curry and Rice. Fish for me and Chicken for Rose…it was really lovely. Bummer for Rose for desert…Banana Fritters. Absolutely yummy but while they weren’t looking Rose heaved a fritter from the dining room table out over the balcony onto the lawn. Immediately afterward a staff member walked down to the lawn…god knows if he trod on a fritter!!!

Goodnight!! XXXXX