Galle-Sri Lanka

A few months back friends invited us to join them on a four day trip to Sri Lanka to stay in their friends lovely villa just outside Galle, Apa Villa at Thalpe. It seemed too good an offer to refuse although the horrible flight times both going out and returning to Changi in the early hours of the morning were a bit of a struggle.

At Changi airport I was amused to see an enormous durian fruit topiary in the departure hall, one of 50 different icons that have been placed around the airport to celebrate SG50. 

We landed at Colombo airport just after midnight, were met by a driver and taken to our villa; a 2 hour journey south, we arrived at about 3am and flopped straight into bed for a few hours sleep. The following morning we woke to this wonderful view...

..we really were in an idyllic location and could hear the sound of the waves as we lazed on the hammocks or on our veranda 

 only a few feet from the villa was the beach, it was practically deserted

 After a late breakfast and rest we were ready for some exploring. We took a couple of tuk-tuks (that had very conveniently been waiting outside our villa and seemed to always be there whenever we needed a ride) to a nearby turtle turtle hatchery.

 I was a bit wary about visiting a hatchery having read that many have sprung up in response to tourists interest and do little actual conservation, supposedly the one we visited was reputable but we really had little way of verifying this., however it was a fascinating visit. Five species of sea turtle lay their eggs along the coast of Sri Lanka; Green, Olive Ridley, Leatherback, Hawksbill and Loggerhead. The guide explained that the eggs are collected from the beach and kept in a hatchery to increase the baby turtles survival odds, if left on the beach many get eaten by birds or the eggs taken by fishermen for restaurants

 As they hatch the babies are transferred to tanks for a few days and then released at night time into the nearby sea. They were incredibly cute.

 There also were some juvenile and adult turtles in different tanks, most were injured or sick and were being treated prior to release, one poor turtle had lost a flipper apparently the result of an unfortunate altercation with a motor boat's propellor.

 After our visit our waiting tuk-tuk drivers took us into Galle, I love travelling by tuk-tuk, it feels like you are going very fast, weaving in and out of the traffic, close to everything with the wind keeping you cool, it can also feel a little bit dangerous but we made it safely to The Lighthouse Hotel. This hotel designed by Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa has an amazing staircase, depicting the history of Galle and the arrival of the Portugese explorer, Lourenco de Almeida who conquered the city in 1505.

 After a delicious lunch Papa T and I went back to the city for a look around. We found the Dutch Market where fruit and vegetables are still sold under the 300 year old roof

 and nearby the spice stall that our friends had told us about. The Spice Shack (or Shake as the stall sign states) has become famous 'worldwide' since an article about it was printed in the Guardian

 It certainly had a huge range of spices and packets of different ready made curry mixes

 of course we bought a few spices to take home, but not these sticks, apparently when burned they add aroma to certain dishes, but not having an open fire in Singapore not much use for us.

 We returned to the Lighthouse and its lovely sea view bar just in time to watch the setting sun and enjoy a wonderful sunset 

 Papa T and I were awake early the next morning and sitting on our veranda spotted we had company

 this little chap jumped from the wall to a nearby palm tree continuously, not quite sure why but he seemed to be having fun before he disappeared off again

 Later we went back to Galle, of course by tuk-tuk, we were now on first name turns with our driver; Susil who patiently answered our questions about living in Sri Lanka, the health, education and political system and a bit about the tsunami, he had lost some of his family in the tragedy

 Back in Galle we spent the morning visiting inside the fort. First we passed through the Old Gate with it's carved British coat of arms on the outer side and

and on the inside the letters VOC, standing for Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie or Dutch East Indian Company

 Many of the buildings inside the fort date from the Dutch era

 as it was low season it was delightfully quiet with only a few other tourists

these local children were enjoying playing in someone's empty tuk-tuk

We found the highly recommended 'Mama's Galle Fort' restaurant. Malini Perera is the famed 'Mama' who cooks simple but very delicious rice and curries in a tiny kitchen helped by her husband and daughters. We were served numerous dishes and enjoyed them all.

We returned to the villa for a rest and swim before supper which was at a local restaurant to where were staying and whilst sitting on the terrace we could see some turtles swimming in the sea below, sadly no photos as the light was fading.

The next day KK, Papa T and I visited the sister villa to ours; the Illuketia Estate, a 200 year old plantation house sitting in 10 acres of tropical gardens and padi fields.   

I loved this garden 'art'-huge leaves threaded onto a metal spike and hung from trees-must make good homes for lots of insects

 The owners daughter told us to look out for the resident 'monster' monitor lizard and as we were leaving we spotted him in one of the lakes, he truly was a monster, the largest monitor lizard I have ever seen at 3 meters long.

We left the villa and travelled on through the lanes and little villages to the Hundungoda Tea Estate  where we joined a tour explaining how their tea is produced. They use 150 year old machines which still work smoothly.

 I hadn't realised how many steps the leaves go through before it is turned into tea, but this happens at  a quick rate as it only takes 2 days to go from bush to loose leaf tea we were told

 After the free tour, we were able to sample their extensive range of teas; Sapphire Oolong. Ceylon Souchong, Flowery Cammellia, Coffee blossom tea, Rainforest tea, Sepalika Tea, Mellow green tea. Cinnamon sensation and their flagship tea -Virgin White Tea so called as it is completely untouched by hand, following an ancient Chinese Ritual where the choicest of teas were offered as a tribute to the Emperor, it used to be picked only by virgins using golden scissors, not sure this happens nowadays!

Later we had a tour of the estate and saw the tea plantation

as lunch break was just over, the pickers were starting to return to their work

 The plantation also grow rubber trees and some spices

including pepper




                 and some lovely flowering plants-hibiscus                  
 

On the way back from the tea estate we passed through a village that had lots of white paper banners and flags, Susil told us this was because they were preparing for someone's funeral.

It was now near the end of our stay and we had ordered a special Peranaken meal for our last supper at the villa. Unfortunately I started to feel quite unwell just before dinner and went to bed so missed this special meal. It also wasn't very pleasant feeling increasingly sick during the 2 hour drive back to Colombo airport and then the 4 hour flight back to Singapore. But I survived and it certainly did not spoil the holiday which had been very relaxing and gave us a lovely taste of this interesting country.