Friday, February 21, 2003
Unawatuna, Sri Lanka
It was still dark as I walked to catch the train to Colombo. At the station I didn't have any trouble finding my car - it was the one closest to the station, at the end of the train. I had been led to believe by the guidebooks that it would have an observation deck but, in fact, it was a regular car with rear facing seats. Much to my relief there were more Sri Lankans than tourists inside. I had worried about being stuck with a bunch of loud tourists for the fourhour trip.

I still hadn't decided exactly where I was going. From Colombo I thought I might travel to Galle, an old city located on a small peninsula south of Colombo. I was also thinking about going to Unawatuna, which is a low-key beach town a little farther down the coast. Since I'm not much on laying around in the sun, I wasn't sure what I would do in Unawatuna, but getting to Colombo would be the first step. From there I would see.

We pulled out right on time at 6:00 and I soon fell into conversation with the people sitting behind me. There was a young fellow named Nick with a shaved head and his mother, Eva - both from Sweden. Nick was working for the UN in Sri Lanka and Eva was visiting him. Nick was living in Kandy and they were headed down to Unawatuna for a few days in the sun. When I mentioned I was thinking of going there too Nick asked if I wanted to share a taxi - that decided where I was going.

The train ride through the countryside was lovely. There were wild, greens areas, steep stone embankments, small stations, people walking along the track and farther along, fields under cultivation. The train rocked roughly from side to side and was loud enough to make conversation a little difficult. Being restless I walked the length of the train and ran into a woman who worked at the Queens hotel reception desk. She and her younger sister were heading to Colombo. I stood talking to her for a while.

When we arrived in Colombo Nick set out to find a taxi and, failing to get the price he wanted, we decided to stop at a small café to get something to eat. After eating, Nick went out again and lined up a van for us for 2300 Rupees. Before long we were plowing through thick Colombo traffic heading south. The going was slow, but none of us seemed to be in a hurry.

We spent over the next three hours getting to know each other and looking out at the continuous series of small and large towns we were passing through. It was only after several hours that we started to see scattered open areas. The day was hot and bright and once again I had that great feeling of anticipation: a new, unknown place lay somewhere ahead.

Finally, in the early afternoon we arrived in Unawatuna where the driver dropped us at a guesthouse Nick knew. It was right on the main part of the beach, which alternated between small guesthouses and beachside restaurants its whole length. In many ways it was the perfect tropical resort with shaded palm trees, sloping white sand beach and bright blue surf beyond. There were no large, overbearing hotels there yet.

As Nick and Eva were bargaining for a room I decided I wanted to stay a little father away and took a tuk-tuk to a guesthouse called Lands End. It was located at the far end along where the beach ends and the rocky coast starts. That guesthouse was full, but I did find a great room next door at Sunset Point (1300 Rupees).

My room had cold water, a mosquito net and a balcony from which I could see and hear the surf. It was wonderfully quiet: no music playing, no loud voices, just the wind and sea. Actually, I had the whole place to myself. When I was done unpacking I tried the guesthouse's computer, but couldn't get connected to the Internet. I spent a little time talking to the owner and then walked back to the main beach.

When I discovered I couldn't cash a traveler's check anywhere I took a tuk-tuk to a bank in Galle about 15 minutes away. Back in Unawatuna I stopped at an Internet place to annoy my friends with email telling them about the lovely beach I was staying at. Then I ran into Nick. When I told him I was going to get a beer he said, "Wait while I get Eva."

She had ideas of her own: she wanted to go to a beach restaurant called Rock View which was close by. We sat down and ordered a couple of beers. As we waited, I took my shirt and shoes off and buried my feet in the cool sand. About then a beer arrived. We sat talking and drinking for an hour or so and finally ordered some food. As the sun went down and the air cooled off, I had the best meal of my stay in Sri Lanka: a wonderful, spicy chicken and noodle dish.

We continued drinking and talking. Eva had a charming habit of catching the waiter's eye and ordering another beer. As it arrived she would ask rhetorically, "Don't you think we need another beer?"

Nick and Eva turned out to be excellent company. Nick was as opinionated and as sure of himself as I am. He was the kind of guy I could say, "Oh Nick, that's bullshit," to and he would just laugh at me. We got along perfectly. Eva, who had been an opera singer, was equally great company, but there was never a need to challenge what she said - she was much more agreeable and mild mannered than either Nick or me.

We drank and talked, getting louder all the time. We argued about such important matters as what was the best temperature for beer and whether it should have a head or not. People at other tables kept looking at us and some came over to join our conversation.

Finally, it was time to call it a night. I took a tuk-tuk (50 Rupees) back to my guesthouse and stumbled to my room. As I sat on the edge of the bed I caught the mosquito net and pulled it and the frame down. One of the hotel staff came up and decided it would be easier to move me to another room than to try to fix it so late at night. As my stuff was spread out all over the room it took several trips to round it all up. Then it was quickly to bed with the sound of the sea crashing against the rocks - what a great night.

Saturday, February 22, 2003
Unawatuna, Sri Lanka
I woke feeling amazingly well. A strong breeze blew through my room and I could hear birds singing and the sound of the restless sea. As I was getting dressed one of the hotel staff came to my door and asked when I wanted breakfast. Down in the restaurant my table was set so I could look out upon the sky and the water - what a lovely morning.

Later I walked to the main beach looking for Nick and Eva who I found having their breakfast. They said they planned to lay low today and we arraigned to meet for dinner. Then I walked out to the main road and stood waiting for a bus heading east - I wanted to visit the next town down the coast, Matrara. I didn't have anything special in mind, it's that I didn't want to just sit around. I thought I might find something interesting along the way - and I did.

While I stood there several tuk-tuk drivers came by to offer their services. Finally, I found a guy I liked and decided to go with him. The day was already hot and riding in the open tuk-tuk was quite pleasant. The coast looked pretty much the same: small shops, places to eat, guesthouses and lots of lush, green vegetation. Also, there was an almost continual view of the sea.

About 15 minutes into the trip I saw some elephants standing on the beach. I asked the driver to pull over and walked back to take some pictures. What I found was surely one of the strangest sights of the trip. A group of people, locals and tourists, were strung out around a large, flat area that had goal posts at each end. There were some police to keep order and an elevated stand where a man with a British accent was talking about the coming event.

There were also 8 or 10 elephants milling around and each had two passengers. In the front was a local wearing a turban, apparently the "driver." Behind him was a white-skinned (presumably) English fellow wearing a pith helmet. The English fellow was also holding a long mallet. It took me a few minutes to realize that they were getting ready to play polo - on elephants! Since it looked like they were still quite a ways from the actually game, I decided to just take some photos and then move on.

Shortly we reached Matara, which wasn't much to see. There was a small market and a slightly larger business district, both of which I walked around while the driver waited in the shade. This was wise on his part because the sun was brutally hot. On the way back to Unawatuna the driver insisted we stop at a batik shop - well, I guess I could have stopped him but I didn't. Anyway, it was down a dirt path surrounded (like everything else in the south) by thick broad-leafed growth. The shop had a pretty sad collection of merchandise so I didn't buy anything. We also stopped at a "spice plantation" which was really more of a spice store - again I passed.

I had the driver drop me off at the Rock View and had the same spicy noodle dish again for lunch. Back at my hotel I did some laundry, talked to the owner and then dug out an extra pair of pants and cut off the legs with a borrowed pair of scissors. I hadn't brought any swimming trunks and I planned to use these. I put the shorts on and headed out.

On the way back to the beach I stopped at a little seamstress shop where for 50 Rupees the proprietress hemmed my shorts while I covered myself in a wrap-around skirt she lent me. The whole while she tried to sell me things she had made: a tablecloth, a shirt or a wall hanging. "Come back later," were her parting words.

I met Nick and Eva at about 6:00 at the Rock View. We had a couple of beers while I showed them pictures of the elephant polo. Because I hadn't stopped talking about how good the noodles were, we all had them for dinner. I had chicken (again), Eva had them with shrimp and Nick (the budding Buddhist) had them vegetarian. We all agreed that they were great. More beer followed as we sat just inches for the surf.

At one point, as we were ordering yet another beer, the waited told us that a sea turtle had come ashore a few yards down the beach. We rushed over to find a small crowd surrounding the giant sea turtle. She was flaying around with her back feet, apparently digging a hole. At about this time a young woman appeared and made us all move back a bit. "Don't stand in front of her. She needs to be able to see the water," she admonished us. "And no pictures. The flash hurts her eyes."

So we stood back a bit. The turtle oriented herself toward the sea and continued flaying with her back flippers. It wasn't clear exactly where she laid her eggs - it happened between bouts of digging and covering, what I called flaying - but when she was done she crawled quickly to the dark water and was gone in a flash. Back at the table we were a little awed by what we had been lucky enough to witness. We drank and talked some more and then I took a tuk-tuk back to my hotel where I managed to get into bed without incident.

Sunday, February 23, 2003
Unawatuna, Sri Lanka
I decided to change hotels today. I really liked the place I was staying, but I was planning to travel back to Colombo with Nick and Eva and we would be leaving quite early. I figured it would be easier if we were staying at the same hotel.

After breakfast I walked over to the Sea View and got their last room, a triple for which I talked them down to 1100 Rupees. While it wasn't nearly as nice as the Sunset Point, it was closer to the water and would make taking a swim easier..

Then I got a tuk-tuk to Galle, which was a Portuguese and Dutch colonial port. The old city sits on a small spit of land surrounded by a fortifying rampart. I was dropped off by the old east gate, which is also near a shady fish market. From there I walked slowly around the wall under the blazing sun. The views were terrific, but by the time I got to the far side the heat was starting to wear on me - there was little shade along the way.

On the far side there was a field hockey game going on which I watched for a few minutes. Then I continued across the street to the new town, but found most of the shops were closed - it was Sunday - so I just got a tuk-tuk back to Unawatuna.

At the hotel I put on my recently modified shorts and went for a refreshing swim. The water was warm and the swells gentle. Back at the hotel I sat on my porch and wrote in my journal. Later I met Eva and Nick for dinner, but because we had to get an early start the next day, we didn't linger at the restaurant long.

Monday, February 24, 2003
Colombo, Sri Lanka
5:00 comes pretty darn early. It was still dark as we loaded our stuff into the waiting van. None of us were very talkative as we headed out in the pre-dawn gloom. The road was clear for the first few hours, but the closer we got to Colombo the heavier the traffic got until we were slowed to a crawl entering the city. It was about 8:00 when we finally arrived at the turning point. Nick was accompanying Eva to the airport so I got out to continue alone into Colombo.

I walked for a few minutes, stretching my legs, and then I got a tuk-tuk to my hotel, the Grand Oriental. It was another lovely old colonial hotel. I checked in with my pre-paid voucher (from Stayxs) and talked them into giving me tomorrow's breakfast today. I would be leaving the next day before the restaurant opened.

I got a great, quite room on the fourth floor with a narrow view of the sea. The hotel was located in the modern downtown area called Fort and was right across from the port. The streets were lined with tall buildings and full of activity.

After dropping some laundry off, I got a tuk-tuk to the Fort train station. From there I spent the morning walking the crowded market streets. I also did a little souvenir shopping. On the way back to the hotel an old man stopped me. He was selling sheets of used postage stamps. I'm not too interested in stamp collecting, but he was so kind and sweet I couldn't resist buying a sheet from him. After that every time he saw me he gave me a huge smile and a wave. I was glad I could so easily make him happy.

After lunch I took a tuk-tuk to a nearby suburb to visit a shop I had read about called Lanka Hands. It was a fix priced craft shop and I bought a couple of nice batiks. After more running around and sending a few emails, I took a tuk-tuk to the Galle Face hotel where I watched the sunset from the bar. Then I called it a day.

Tuesday, February 25, 2003
Bangkok, Thailand
I got up at 3:30 and left the hotel at 4:30 for my plane back to Bangkok. I was sad I didn't have longer in Sri Lanka, but poor planning necessitated a two-day layover in Thailand. While that wasn't at all bad, I really would have liked to see more of Sri Lanka. Colombo, in particular, would have merited a few more days.

Anyway, I had a delightful stay. Sri Lanka is very easy to get around, the people are helpful and friendly, the sights amazing and the climate wonderful. It's hard to image a more delightful place.

Ann Arbor, Michigan
April 2003

Part One: Anuradhapura, Sigiriya & Polonnaruwa
Part Two: Kandy
Part Three: Unawatuna

Read more of my travelogues

Send your comments to: