Blogs from Galle, Southern Province, Sri Lanka, Asia

We arrived in Colombo on Monday. As we had visited before we had booked the ship excursion to Galle. Having watched the cricket from there we had noticed the old fort next to the cricket ground. It was an all day trip. We started with a 2 hour bus trip through the Sri Lankan country side. Very green with white temples scattered around, it was an interesting trip. Once we arrived in Galle we drove to the fort. As we entered Galle we passed an picturesque beach where there were many small fishing boats, and fishermen selling their wares on the side of the road.Our guide said they do business there because it costs too much to have a stall in the fish market. Then we drove to the fort.This was a very busy place with ... read more

11 KASIM 2024 CUMARTESİ Sabah, denize girmeyi, gözümüz yemedi ve kahvaltıdan sonra program gereği, Galle ziyareti başladı… Galle,Colombo ya 120 km uzakta her zaman olduğu gibi çeşitli isimlerle adlandırılan önemli bir liman kenti… Tabi Dünya Miras listesinde yer alıyor… “Kimler geldi kimler geçti hayatımdan” diyen bir kent… Önce MÖ 1400 lerde Yahudi kıral Süleyman’ın ( Solomon ) Tarçın,fildişi ihtiyaçlarını karşılayan bir yermiş .. Hatta adını ibranice “baharat deposu” anlamına gelen Galle’den almış olduğu söyleniyor .. Arada, Ibn Batuta,Yunanlılar,Romalılar,İranlılar ,Çinliler,Araplar gelmiş geçmiş buralardan… Kaleyi ilk inşa edenlerin Portekizli olmasına rağmen ,Hollandalılar 1640 ta kaleyi alıyorlar ve bu günkü haline getiriyorlar .. Hollandalılara göre, buranın adı “Horoz” oluyor. Bugün dahi ... read more

Sunday 9 February, 2020 cont'd Phoned Mum & Dad at 5.30 pm advising everything ok. Went down to the bar at 7.00 pm. Pat had a shandy and I had a coke. Neither of us was particularly hungry, so just drinks. After a short stroll on the beach, we went back to the room and lights out at 10.00 pm. Monday 10 February, 2020 Today we move from Bentota to Galle. Our train is at 16.07 from Aluthgama. We have arranged a late check out at a small cost (USD 20), just need to book a Tuktuk. A good night's sleep, we stirred at 7.30 am and went down to breakfast at 8.20 am. Small amount of stuff laid out and we ordered omelette's from the kitchen. Went down to look at the sea. The waves ... read more

Breakfast at the Spice House is a typical fruit selection with a choice of eggs, omelette etc. However there was an added surprise on the pastry plate - one was definitely a doughnut, the other we assumed was similar with a cinnamon coating. Taking a large bite proved that it was in fact a spicy curry vegetable roll, very nice but not convinced it goes well after donought and jam on toast! Tuctuc to Galle was about 32km, longest journey by this type of transport we had attempted. Apart from the kamikaze bus drivers it was relatively trouble free and we followed the coast road all the way. As it was a full moon day it was another national holiday (they get 60 per year in Sri Lanka!) so the 'fishermen on stilts' were more interested ... read more

Awoke to torrential rain. The plan for today was to take a van to a beach east of Marissa that McVet had found and had pretty good reviews. Alas the rain and wind suggested it was not an ideal beach day so over breakfast we decided to repurpose the van and go to Galle. By way of background Galle is an historic trading city. The Portuguese oringanially built a small fort here in the 1500's which was then taken by the Dutch in the 1600's. The Dutch build the large fort,that still stands, and the city was the main port for Sri Lanka until the late 19th century. This fort area is now a attraction filled with various small stores, bars and cafes. Galle was very badly hit by the 2004 Tsunami with the bus station ... read more