Sri Lanka – Galle & Unawatuna ‘part 1’

With this trip, I realized that not all trips can be planned in the same way, for the reason that some countries require more time to travel from one area to another. As we are weekend nomads, we travel mostly on long weekends, which gives us only 3 or 4 days. Having only limited time a decision has to be made, 1.)do a quick glance at some sites or 2.)spend quality time in only one location and take it in, properly. We wanted to see too many in one visit and looking back would rather have spent the weekend in one area.

 To give you an idea:

• We stayed in Galle for a day and a half;
• half a day travelling to  Ella with sightseeing along the way;
• Ella for a day and one whole day on the road trying to see Nuwara Eliya, tea plantations and Kandy before heading back to the airport.

(As mentioned before, too rushed, we would rather go back to Sri Lanka to visit Kandy and Sigiriya as one trip, as well as another trip for the Highlands and tea plantations; this is if we use only long weekends again). 

So how did I come to this conclusion, well here is our experience in part 1 and part 2 of Sri Lanka. 

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Day 1

Arriving at 9 pm at Colombo airport,  we set off to Unawatuna 153 km away via the expressway, it took about 2 hours. All still good.

We arrived at Nooit Gedacht Heritage Hotel, which is a garden-set Dutch Colonial building(1735). Beautiful rooms with well-selected pieces of furniture to suit the style of the building.

We got up early to visit the World Heritage site Galle fortress which is about 5 km away. As we stepped outside the hotel grounds we found a lot of tuk-tuk drivers, as well as a bus stop, and lucky enough as we exited, the bus to Galle came pass.  Whilst still moving the bus fare collector called out”40000 rupiahs!” and, I jumped on, with a long skirt and all, eish! (On the bus we realized it was 40000 rupiah for the both of us, it is about 40c only?)

Galle

Galle in itself is any explorers dream. Around every turn, there is something to discover.

For me, the Dutch Reformed church was a special visit, as it is the same church I grew up with. They relocated the gravestones to the church interior, the floors to be exact. And they still have Sunday services. 

Galle fort walls are just incredible. According to one shop keeper, it kept the big tsunami waves out. They only had a bit of water running through the shop.

 

The Local market

Exploring through the streets of Galle we came across a local green ‘craft’ market called the ‘Good Market‘, open on Saturdays. Here I tried the most interesting coffee I have ever heard off and date cake. Lime espresso. A shot of espresso on ice and a shot of fresh lime juice. Refreshing!

 

Food, food, food!!!

I have not eaten as often as we did here. There are just so many nice little places, have to try all!!! One of our favourites ended up being ‘a minute by tuk-tuk‘ in an old hospital building overlooking the ocean. Good food, a stunning view and location, no wonder we went back for dinner again as we really enjoyed it.

The small little streets also provided us with enough coffee shops for pit stops and numerous little shops/galleries to browse through. One, in particular, was a museum house with collections, all sorts of collections from all over the world. They also have a gem exhibition (Sri Lanka has about 50 types of gems) and a very friendly lady who demonstrated bobbin lace making. O my, it is just incredible the fine detailing and patience, of course, I was stuck here for a while. Would love to try it one day myself.

Galle has a lot of character and photo opportunities,  it was difficult to select which to use or not.

 

DAY 2

During the morning we explored the area closer to our hotel. We set off by tuk-tuk, stopped at a Spice and Herb garden,  found it interesting and informative as they guided us through the garden explaining the various uses of the plants/herbs. They do sell some products too,  but I found it to be a bit expensive,  (I did not read any reviews or planned to visit this which I should have done to get a better idea).

We took a stunning ride up to the top of the hill in Unawatuna to visit the Japanese Peace Pagoda, on the way up, look who we spotted strolling along the road…

Unawatuna a beautiful, golden beach with turquoise water, where is my swimming costume?

 

THE ROAD TO ELLA

We had a driver take us to Ella with a few stops along the way. Our first stop was at a Turtle hatchery and rehabilitation ‘centre’.  Some of the turtles that were there on our visit had injuries from boat propellers or were stuck in fishing nets and one even had ‘bubble butt’, which is apparently caused by trapped gasses which makes them float and not able to swim deeper.

One of the reasons shared with us on how this happens was that the turtles mistake plastic for food and eat it. Just imagine a plastic bag floating around in the water, easily mistaken for a jellyfish. The plastic gets stuck in their stomach and prevents them from eating or swallowing their food properly causing gasses to build up and this floating can lead to starvation.

Some of the other turtles’ shells were damaged due to boat propellers and therefore have been at the centre for a while, they are almost ready/healthy to be released. Another has lost her one fin in a fishing net but has almost completely adjusted to only having three. Seeing all of this made me really sad,  but also glad to see that there are people who care.

They also have a camped off area (incubator) on the beach where they protect eggs. Turtle eggs are at risk of either being dug up to be eaten or as soon as they hatch birds catch them before they could reach the ocean. Here they keep them safe until they have hatched, ensuring they are strong enough and then they release them on the same beach they were laid on. According to the turtle sanctuary, there is a much higher survival rate.

 

Our second stop, stilt fishermen. Try to spot the odd one out… He had to try it out.

This style of fishing is believed to have started during WWII, sadly after the 2004 tsunami hit Sri Lanka it crushed most of the coast, due to this we were told that this is a dying tradition; not all are ‘real’ fishermen anymore, some adapted this for tourism, they just pose for photos.

As we drove past Udawalawe National Park we spotted an elephant walking next to the lake, resulting in our last spur-of-the-moment stop for the day. Keeping our distance behind the fence we relaxed here for a while, admiring this elephant and a few others on the opposite side of the lake roaming around freely in this National Park.

We arrived in Ella after dark, bit tired as the ride there took most of the afternoon. Tomorrow we shall explore the hillside country of Sri Lanka.

to be continued……

 

Travel plan:

• Accommodation:                   Nooit Gedacht Heritage Hotel
• Accommodation style:          Historical/Heritage, Budget, Boutique
• Price range:                          $
• Interesting finds/souvenirs:   Tea (flavour tea like chocolate), hand painted mask at Eco market

*Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are my own