Gall Fortress and then...paradise

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Tuesday 16th

Hers…

As I was a total write-off yesterday, today was a day for exploring. We caught a local bus to Galle - an old town about 20 kms from Hikkaduwa. There is a fort surrounding the old city and is pretty to look at and walk around. Jarrod’s kind smile is a signal to all “come in spinner”. Their line is “Where you from?” “Ahh Australia, ricky ponting?…” and then the dupe goes from there.
I was suffering from travel sickness and lagged behind whilst Jarrod’s newest friend took us on a “short cut” to the government shopping centre. This was, of course a rip off. Turned out to be a gem, lace and whatever other local wares that they could possibly sell. We have much to learn about the local touts still. We kindly thanked them and bid our farewells.

Off to see the fort - the old town is mainly to cater to Westerners. We struggled to find a local curry house (local food is the most affordable options and we have found it great to experience traditional culinary delights) so we settled for a dutch café instead!

As we walked along the top of the fort wall there were many scams (or just interesting ways for the locals to make much needed money to feed their families) in place. We were offered old authentic coins, asked for change for a 1000 rupee note, and there are cliff jumpers. Local dudes who jump off rocks into the ocean and charge you $10 to watch them. I declined, reminding Jarrod that I had seen my dad & brother jump off many water falls much higher so not really worth it.

Then the customary afternoon rain pour interrupted our explorations and we decided to high tail it to Unawatuna. We were pleasantly surprised with this “off the beaten track” village. A winding side road lead our 3 wheeler to the beach area. Filled with loads of beach side cafes/rest all with wooden banana loungers out the front, free for the taking. The rain cleared and we pulled up in the sun and dived into the water. Sadly the beach is only about 4 metres from the hotel line to the waters edge (apparently the sand has eroded since the tsunami and the local traders ignored warnings not to build so close to the water again). Regardless this place was beautiful. It has a really nice feel to it, less beggers, less older german folk, and just a wee bit prettier than our previous Hikkaduwa. After another down pour we ducked inside for a cold beer or two. Jazza had a few more than 2 and went for a sixer down some tiled stairs…a broken watch, grazed arm and bruised bum was evidence of a good night.

TIP OF THE DAY: learn how to say NO… and mean it (in all languages).

Watch out for “traditional dance shows”. We took one of these in at $7AUD each it was pretty steep for entertainment but we wanted to take in the culture. The show that we saw was aimed at tourists and we walked away feeling no more enlightened that when we started.

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Photos

Galle Fort
This isnt actually our photo if you didnt realise.

More Unawatuna Beach
See how close the water's edge is to the guesthouse bars and restaurants.

Incoming storm at Unawatuna
This is the storm that lead to wet steps that lead to Jarrod going A over T and busting himself up.