The search for a good beer was not as difficult as Thailand or Malaysia. There seem to be only three brands; Lion, Three Coins and Carlsberg. The locally brewed Lion larger seems to come in two strengths Larger at 4.8% alcohol and Lion Strong at 8.8% alcohol. After a few of the Strong lager one would defiantly feel the affects of gravity. Alcohol appears to be sold in only a few outlets and also appears to be controlled. The price of a can of 4.8% lager is 120 rupees – less than a dollar.
I visited the old Dutch Fort. Galle was originally colonised by the Portuguese, then the Dutch and finally the British. The Fort itself (World Heritage listed) is a mishmash of inherited architecture from all three former colonial empires.
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| Dutch Reform Church |
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| Light House |
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| Galle Town |
I walked around the bustling, chaotic centre of Galle. For predominantly a Buddhist culture there are fair few scams and touts around. It does not take much for someone to come up and ingratiate themselves and give unneeded advice and then asking for a present or money. This was a common theme throughout my travels in Sri Lanka and did get a bit wearing.
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| Unawatuna |
I visited Unawatuna briefly with many small tourist resorts and many people from all parts of the world. The beach there is allegedly the fourteenth best beach in the world, so I was told by the three wheel tuk tuk driver Gorin who knows everything about anything.
I was suffering cabin fever being on the boat and rocking around in the swells in the harbour. I attempted some maintenance jobs on Sadiqi – still trying to stop the leaks coming through the deck and coach house. The heat here is another story it is hot and humid and it's only spring.
I had asked one of the Tuk Tuk drivers for a quote for a tour to the town of Kandy for just two days. The Mojombos had done a similar tour for 6 days. The quote for just me, mini bus, driver, accommodation, and breakfast was US$410.00. I decided to go it alone.
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| Sadiqi along side Mojombo in calmer waters in the harbour |
It was time to try and get lost in Sri Lanka. With Gary and Vicki on "Mojombo" keeping a close eye on Sadiqi it felt safe to travel. Trying to get lost is becoming increasingly more difficult with fancy android mobile phones. And no, I don't have an iPhone.
On 20/3/12 at 6.30 I left boat. Bus to Colombo cost $2.00 with mad, kamikaze drivers playing chicken with big buses, trucks and Tuk Tuks. The 120 Km drive took 3 hours.
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| Colombo to Kandy Train |
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| Old Signals |
Then the train to Kandy, 2nd class $2, nice way to travel open window. Tourists travel first class, travellers like me don't.
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| Bamboo Village looking over Kandy |
200Rup Tuk Tuk ride to Travellers Rest guest house. 2,500 Rup or $20/night with hot water. I walked around a green lake Kandy, into the bustling city, then searched for a pub. I met Erica who has been backpacking around Sri Lanka about 5 times and came this time specifically to watch the English verses Sri Lanka cricket test match in Galle.
We had dinner at the Bamboo Village restaurant. Erica has a masters in astrophysics. There was mention of quarks, bosons, string theory, stuff which I know absolutely nothing about. We both skipped the topic of dark matter. It was a very entertaining evening.
On 21/3/12 not being that impressed with Kandy it was time to move on. The train was full so I sat in door way for part of the trip. We Arrived at Noyn oya and got a lift to Nuwara Eliya and stayed at the King Fern owned by Rastafarian Nishantha. This was recommended by the Lonely Planet Guide. It was a great place to chill out it being pretty cold at night. I had to go and buy some tracksuit pants it was so cold. It was great sitting by the fire in the evenings and a little odd being so close to the equator. I could have stayed there a week - great hot shower, very comfortable bed, best sleep I'd had in months. I wondered around the pretty town avoiding tourist buses and the places frequented by them. There are several lovely golf courses, tea estates, vegetable and fruit farms, huge gum tree and pine plantations. Total cost 2 nights Rp8500 or $65 with meals. Another nice place to stay apparently is The Trevene. It was the proprietor of the Threvene who picked me up at the station and recommended the accommodation in Ella. All the people I had asked information were very helpful.
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| Produce |
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| Golf Course |
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| Tea Plantation |
The next town to visit was Ella. 3rd class train ticket cost almost 50 cents
The train travel experience was put into perspective. The train was 2 hours late, a freight train with 5 gasoline tankers and 2 third class passenger wagons - standing room only. It was an hour before the train left the station. The thought of another 4 hours standing did not really appeal to my already fragile sense of humour. It was with relief I managed to get a seat after an hour or so. I met Philip and Franca from Switzerland also backpacking around Sri Lanka. There were stunning views from the train. The smell of petrol vapour and fumes was not so good - no idea why people sniff the stuff, gave me a lousy headache. I stayed at the Ella Holiday Inn – 2,500 Rups at night.
Ella was beautiful and small. I phoned Mojombo to see if it was ok to stay another day. All was fine on little Sadiqi.
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| Ella Station |
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| Tea Plantation - Ella |
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| Nine Arches Railway Bridge |
I walked to The View looking south toward the coast between Ella Rock and Little Adams Peak. The next day I walked up Little Adams Peak then in the afternoon walked the train tracks to the Nine Arches rail bridge. Kept thinking of the Steven King movie Stand By Me with some of the songs from the great sound tracks from the 50s and 60s going through my head.
After 5 days it was time to get back to the boat in Galle. At 700am I squeezed onto the bus heading to Matara – standing room only. Standing for 4 hours was character building. Again it was with considerable relief that I managed to get a seat about an hour before our destination. The bus ride along the coast to Galle was spectacular – beautiful beaches. Sadiqi had been well looked after by Zeke on Mojombo.
Sri Lanka verses England Cricket in Galle.
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| Cricket in Galle |
A few days after arriving back on the boat we received a notice from the Port Captain that we had to move back to the breakwater as there was a large passenger ship coming into the harbour. This didn't go down well and was the fifth time I'd moved in this damn harbour. I anchored far enough away from the pontoons to use the dingy to get to and from the boat. I was really looking forward to leaving Galle Harbour.
