Lovely Galle

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Went to Galle today - a place I couldn't wait to go to. I was not disappointed, it is so beautiful. Galle Fort is a grid of streets consisting of beautiful old buildings. The Dutch, the Portuguese and the British were all here and the influence is very apparent. The huge walls around the town protected it when the tsunami hit. Lots of Art Deco buildings - most of which have faded and are almost derelict. I like it the way it is, but I doubt it will stay this way. I spent a happy afternoon here taking photos of the buildings and chatting to the people. One old lady insisted I took her photo and send it to her, then scuttled off without giving me her details. Another old guy seemed to be the local iman and wanted to talk a lot about England because he had lived there for a few years.

I found a sweet little museum down one street that is full of one man's junk. The man in there was happy to take me round and talk about stuff. There are also lots of expensive craft shops opened by ex pat Europeans. The whole place is very European but it does have a Sri Lankan feel to it.

I am staying at Fort Fifty down one of the little streets but if I had the means there are plenty of very smart hotels to stay at too. This is a great place to end a trip to Sri Lanka - totally recommend it.

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