As we had been based in Madulkelle we knew travelling to down to Galle would take most of the day – especially as everyone we spoke to sort of winced at the thought of it, which didn’t help.  We decided to go by train as we knew how long that would take and cost, plus we were advised that to hire a driver for that journey would be quite expensive.  We had luckily thought ahead and bought our train tickets from Kandy to Colombo a few days earlier as this guaranteed us seats in first class carriage again, but we knew we would have to buy tickets for the next leg when we got to Colombo.  We arrived early (as always) at the train station in Kandy and waited for our train which was coming down from Ella.  To pass the time we had some really tasty street food from the vendors outside the train station, I can highly recommend the samosas.  The train was comfortable and we snoozed our way back to Colombo.

The train arrived slightly late in Colombo so we thought it might be tricky to catch our connection, so we ran across the platforms and had to exit the station to buy tickets to get to Galle.  I’m not sure this was the best way to do it but at the time it was the most straight forward.  After “queuing” (people throwing money at the ticket office over your shoulder) I got two tickets to Galle second class for 400rps each. (Side note, the price seemed to vary depending on who you bought it from and where, as on the way back it was only 300rps for a longer journey).  We still had two minutes to spare to leg it back through to the train but somehow we made it to the platform and then frantically tried to find a carriage that we could squeeze onto, luckily there was one with just enough space at the door for 2 people so we hopped on and set off.  The journey down the coast to Galle is nice as you spend most of it next to the ocean, and as we were standing at an open doorway with nothing between us and the track we got a pretty good view.  It took just under two hours to get down to Galle so we arrived just at sunset.

Our hotel was a little outside of Galle to the north, a 10 minute tuk tuk ride to a town called Boossa (600-800rps).  We were staying at Arabella on Boossa which is a hotel / guest house screened by a large gate on the main road, but once through that is a little oasis.  Everything is white an airy, and as you walk through you are rewarded with open views across the palm tree garden to the ocean – there is also a private beach front.  I had paid slightly extra for us to have a first floor room with a balcony, which I would recommend as the ground floor rooms only have shuttered doors and no windows so you wouldn’t be spending much time in your room.  Our room was lovely, well to an architects eye as it was all white and concrete.  The restaurant in the hotel is very good too, though not cheap, we had dinner there twice and for a traditional Sri Lankan curry was 1500rps.  In fact Galle was the most expensive part of our trip as it is definitely learnt to capture the tourist market with prices to match. 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The next day we decided to explore Galle so hopped in the tuk tuk which waits outside on the main road. We got dropped off at the main gate to the old town of Galle which is a historic Dutch Fort.  We had our trusty guidebook to hand again and in the Lonely Planet there is a self-guided walking tour around the old town and fort walls which was just the right length for what we needed.  The tour is good as it gives you a form of direction, plus a bit of history and info about the town.  We ventured down to the lighthouse and around the walls to the south before heading back in towards the centre.  It was very hot that day, especially as we were used to the cooler climbs of the mountains, and so by lunchtime we were ready to find some shade and refreshment. We stumbled across the Prince of Galle which is a hotel but also does the most amazing ice tea – it even advertises the fact outside.  This was the perfect rest stop sitting in the airy balcony watching the world go by.

• 

• 

• 

• 

The Dutch Fort itself is mostly houses and hotels and then a few primary streets of shops.  These were the most touristy shops we had seen in Sri Lanka, and they ranged from traditional souvenirs to large boutiques, plus a lot of jewellery shops.  We bought a couple of things, and also postcards – the only ones we had found anywhere! We felt that once you had walked around a bit there wasn’t much more to see in the Dutch Fort, so we headed out and found a tuk tuk to take us to Unawatuna beach (around 600rps one way)- we had been told by almost everyone we spoke to that was the best beach to go to near Galle so we had high hopes.  We hopped in a tuk tuk and after around 20 mins we turned down onto a small road lined with surf shops, cafes and bars which winds itself along the back of the beach.  When we were dropped off at the far end of the beach and as we stepped out onto the beach I have to admit I was a little disappointed.  It is a nice beach, great for swimming, and I can see that a long time ago it would have been an attractive place (like it looks on google images), but now it is just lined with never ending restaurants and bars with sun loungers and to be honest it felt a bit like going to typical package holiday resort.  We had a nice enough lunch at King Fisher, but the hour and a half we spent at Unawatuna was probably enough.  The surf shops did look good though. 

We headed back to our hotel for a bit of a rest , including a swim in the lovely pool, and then headed back into the Dutch Fort for dinner.  We had drinks first at the Taphouse by R&R at the Dutch Hospital which has a nice courtyard out the back, before heading for dinner at the Fort Printers – we had booked this earlier in the day when we walked past.  The surroundings of the Fort Printers are lovely, very sleek décor which makes it feel quite special.  Just to keep my curry theme going I had lobster Sri Lankan curry, which was really good but it was the spiciest of the whole trip, which coupled with the hot evening finished me for the night! Richie had a tuna steak which looked really good.  For desert we went across the road for ice cream before heading home.

We had arranged with our hotel to go whale watching the next day, which meant setting off in a tuk tuk at 5am to get to Mirrissa in time.  This journey took a lot longer than we had anticipated, but an hour and a half later we arrived at the harbour. There are a lot of tours based in this harbour and unfortunately we had no idea which boat was ours.  After a lot of chat between our driver and various people we found our boat (Sayuri Whales Watching) and also our second problem, we had no cash as we thought we could pay by card.  But as usual the welcoming Sri Lankans were kind enough to let us on and we would sort it out later.  We were shown to our seats on the lower level, and some people took the sea sickness pills which were being handed out, including Richie.  I have been sailing since I was very small therefore generally my constitution is ok so I passed on the pills, also I am a bit nervous taking something when you have no idea what it is, you’re just handed a pill! We set off into the Indian Ocean, with a box of breakfast goodies and hot tea handed out to everyone.  Not long out the harbour the boat was bouncing up and down in the swell, so I knew it wouldn’t be long til Richie was green and I was right, half an hour out and he was hurling into a sick bag – though after that he did cheer up a lot, and despite ongoing bouts of sickness for the full 4 hours he was in good spirits.   Not long into our trip we saw a pilot whale, but then it was along hour before we made it out to where the other boats were hovering.  Luckily our boat was in a perfect position by chance when the 28m long blue whale appeared 50m away and we sped along side it.  We saw the whale 4 more times from various distances and it was really exciting but personally I found the experience was tainted slightly by the sight of 13 diesel chugging boats repeatedly speeding after a flicker of whale.  I shouldn’t complain though, as it turns out that was the first whale sighting that week so we were very lucky!  Nearly 5 hours later we returned to shore, with everyone on deck either sick or asleep from the tablets, and then me sitting in the middle.  Our tuk tuk driver was waiting for us so we quickly got some cash at an ATM to pay the tour and headed back up the road towards Boossa. 

We thought we would have one more shot at finding a nice beach so after consulting our guide books once more we headed north to Hikkaduwa (around 500rps in a tuk tuk from Boossa). We were told that Hikkaduwa isn’t as nice as Unawatuna but we thought it was lovely.  The beach is flat (unlike Unawatuna which has a steep rake down to the sea) and a marked out area for swimming.  There are no real stalls or bars on the beach, which makes it feel much more relaxed, which is what I think Unawatuna used to be like.  We relaxed there for the afternoon, spending time swimming and reading before heading along the main street of Hikkaduwa to look at the shops and find something to eat – Richie was finally feeling back to normal.  We had some food at Mamas Coral Beach Hotel, which was fine but not fab – just bar food.  The shops were ok, we bought some elephant trousers and other nicknaks but nothing too exciting.

Our final day in Sri Lanka was spent in Boossa before traveling north to the airport.  We were told by the hotel about a nearby turtle rescue centre so popped down to Mahamodara Sea Turtle Hatchery on our last morning.  It was 500rps each to go in which was fine as it is essentially a charity, and there was quite a number of turtles held there.  The man running it came and showed us round, explaining about the sanctuary and the various turtles they have.  Some of them were being rehabilitated due to injuries from fishermen, others were babies waiting to be released, and then there were some too badly injured to ever be released.  It was really interesting, but probably don’t need more than half an hour to 45 mins tops.  The rest of the morning we spent in the pool at our hotel, they kindly let us stay past check out and use the shower downstairs after being in the pool before we left.

• 

• 

In the afternoon we jumped on our final train at Galle to head north to catch our flight home.  We decided to get the train to Negombo as that is next to the airport, and you can buy a ticket all the way from Galle (300rps each) even though you have to change in Colombo.  Even though the train arrived early it was packed as it came from Matara, so once again we were standing in the small vestibule with an open door each side, but at least this kept it cool.  The train got quite busy the closer it got to Colombo as it was 5pm on a Friday, but nothing too bad.  Once in Colombo Fort train station we found our train to Negombo which we had been told would be quite busy.  Oh my goodness it was packed, with at least 3 people deep hanging out the door! But we survived and around an hour in it started to quieten down and we got a seat.  We decided to get off a stop early at Katunayaka as this was closer to the airport, and jumped in a tuk tuk to the airport (300rps).  Overall it took an hour and a half from Colombo, longer than I thought but potentially easier than trying to find a taxi or bus, and definitely cheaper. 

• 

• 

Colombo airport is quite small so don’t expect to be able to while away the hours with lots of duty free shopping. When you enter there are some shops and also a lot of exchange stalls so its a handy place to change any remaining rupees back into your own currency – you just have to find the same company that you bought them from and present your receipt. Beyond the shops is a basic security check and then the checkin desks. After this you go through border control (customs) and then you are in the area with shops and cafes. There are the usual duty free fragrance/alcohol/chocolate shops, a few tea shops which are expensive and a couple of cafes/bars. I would advise waiting in this area as long as possible, as when you find your gate (go through another security check) it is essentially a holding area with nothing at all other than seats, not even a toilet.

And that was the end of our Sri Lankan adventure! I would do it all again in a heartbeat, and would love to go back. I think next time we would do a slightly different route but the options of where to go are endless. I would highly recommend it to anyone to visit.

Your Portfolio Archive currently has no entries. You can start creating them on your dashboard.