Sri Lankan Adventures - Part 1

I just returned from an amazing two week holiday in Sri Lanka with my friend Kerryn. It feels like I've been talking about visiting Sri Lanka for years so it was nice to have it become a reality. The country itself is quite small and with winding mountianous roads, it isn't the easiest place to get around. So our two weeks were spent split between the gorgeous southern coast and the mountainous hill country. In truth, it felt like two completely different holidays and now I'm planning to return in January.



Galle

Kerryn and I decided to skip Colombo, the capital, and head straight to the beach. After much haggling and some tricky negotiation, we hopped in a taxi and were on our way. Sri Lanka currently has one highway, that has a toll and runs from outside of Colombo to Galle. The highway was completely empty and brand new and the toll was a couple of dollars. As we would find out later in the trip, the highway was a blessing and well worth the money.

Galle is an old Dutch colony with a beautifully walled in peninsula where most of the tourist trade occurs. Between the quaint little roads and tuk tuks, the place is loaded with charm and was a great introduction to Sri lanka.

Exhausted but happy to be in Sri Lanka.

Crazy kids jumping off this rock into the ocean. Even crazier guys out in the ocean videoing them.

The Galle lighthouse and temple.

The first of many happy photos.

We arrived in the late afternoon, settled into our guest house and went out for a late lunch. We went to a local place with a great view of the ocean and some tasty veggie curries. As we were eating, a crowd formed along the fort wall. Apparently there are a group of Sri Lankan boys that run and jump of the cliff at the edge of Galle and some photographers were out in the ocean filming them. I didn't manage to capture it but it was pretty harrowing to watch.

Wish I could ship a tuk tuk back to the US with me.

We watched a lovely sunset that evening and strolled through town, ending the night with a lovely meal of gluten-free chocolate cake and beer/wine. Not a bad start to a holiday.

Lovely sunset.

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Lion beer, white wine and gluten free chocolate cake....one of our more extravagent dinners.

The next morning, I woke up early for a run around the fort and managed to take some photos too. We had breakfast of hoppers and coconut sambol at a quaint little Dutch tea shop and got our holiday planned by the local proprieter. He suggested we move on to Mirissa and enjoy the lovely beaches there, before making our way down the coast.

So we hired a tuk tuk and headed down the coast.

Those Sri Lankans love their tea.

Quality street art.

A stroll around the fort.

Can't get enough of the tuk tuks.

So many beautiful hidden coves.

Galle from a distance.

The Peace Pagoda

Buddha beneath the Bodhi tree.