Original posting 20 Feb from Galle 20 Feb 2012
On the pleasant minibus ride to Galle the time flew by as we talked to Michel a German who had owned a apartment in Sri Lanka since 1982 in the Pearl river complex in Hikkaduwa 30 mins from Galle.
We got the Tuk-tuk driver to bring us to west end of Pedlar Street where there were several guest houses listed, he left us there outside the Pedlars Inn Cafe without the slightest trace of the hassle we were to encounter on the following day in the centre of town.
We ignored the invitation to come and view the rooms in 96 Pedlar Street, where we eventually moved to, found that Mrs Kali's house was being completely gutted for restoration from a five bedroom guest house into four rooms, two up two down. So we settled next door for the Weltevreden apparently one of the longest living in Galle. We were offered two rooms and chose the slightly more expensive one with tiled floor for 3000rp.
The other 8 rooms were occupied by a very friendly crowd, we ordered dinner of Sri Lankan vegetable curry and spent a pleasant evening with George, a Londoner who had been on a 2 week meditation, no TV or reading or conversation which he described as an interesting experience with is thoughts taken to placers they had never been before. The only talking was to listen to an individual daily teaching from the monk who lived in this place, which was originally just a single cave in a group of rocks. There was no charge but they offered gifts on leaving which could be money. He told of one such gift of £450,000 which they would not accept but suggested he could donate later having time to reconsider. In the event he did eventually donate the full £450,000, which gives some impression of the value that man found there. George also sang the praises of Arugam Bay on the east coast, though talked of the frequency of mosquitoes bites there with the comparative absence here. Every bed nevertheless had at least one sometimes two nets in spite of which I get around three bites a night.
We checked out the next day after a great breakfast 400rp of omelette, toast, coffee or tea plus a huge plate each of fruit, half a papaya, banana and a big slice of pineapple.
So it was with some regret we went a few doors along the street to number 96 where there was a much softer mattress and a mosquito net in a frame, maybe in some-way this was a mistake as the frequency of mosquito bites increased slightly and the fan was slightly less cooling. Though the large high rooms and elegant architecture warranted the doubling of price. It turned out this new place is also now owned by Mrs Khali but run by her son whilst the other is being rebuilt.
Yesterday we got up at 5pm to take a tuk-tuk drive to a whale watching boat at Marissa, the boat was only 500rp compared with the 800rp normal in Mirisssa itself. We had been talking yesterday to a Spanish couple Jorge and Alicia who were teachers taking advantage of the 2 months each year they could take off without pay. They did that every year and were clocking up the countries they had visited at 110, far more than us though such trophies are never in our minds we believe in travelling slowly. The whale trip was a great success and we also saw two diving, tails up of one I have a photographic record. Immense creatures and so close to the armada of four small boats pursuing them hither and thither . Recognised by the huge plumes of water coming as they 'blew'.
We now spend our time in the Fort area which is now a world heritage site with quite a lot of restoration including complete tile paving of the streets as per our drives.
The downside is the hassle we had on our first and only tentative visit to the bus station. 'Mosquitoes' they are deservedly called offering trips here and there, visits to craft centres, full of praise for generosity of Liverpool which apparently built each one of them a new one bedroom house with kitchen after their own was destroyed in the tsunami. The last sob story was of a child in hospital and they asked not for money but for just a carton of milk. We later learnt from locals the detail of this well-known scam, they would take you to a shop and expect you to buy an expensive pack of cartons of baby milk, a scam perpetuated no doubt with the help of the store keeper.
It is so unpleasant not to be able to look around without being accosted, such is the downside of touristy places. The obvious alternative is avoid touts by dealing directly with tuk-tuk drivers with a good command of English, but you have to know where you want to go rather than just explore on foot to find our bearings which is our preferred style. The saving grace in the fort is the excellent coffee and food in Pedlars Inn and good food also in the Indian Hut, both as recommended by Michel.
Cricket's the game but the enthusiasm is not so noticeable as in India. On return home we learn that the cost of attending this year has been increased from 500rp to 5000. A tragedy waiting to happen a bit like the BBC dropping test cricket.
Wi-fi is everywhere and in stark contrast to earlier years many travellers are s carrying miniature laptops and even the cheapest guest houses offer it. We will have to join this modern tendency, in truth I did consider buying a tablet computer before leaving, but we were worse prepared than ever, no doubt because of making no plans until Joan was cleared by the hospital.
Michel had shown us his minute Samsung mobile phone, he simply swapped his German SIM card for a local Dialog one, which he said was the best company here, and bought a couple of thousand rupees of credit. He said it was only around a dollar for say 8 minutes even when used to phone Europe because the Internet connections here were often too slow for Skype except in the middle of the night.
About our arrival in Galle we were amazed at the presence of lots of armed troops on every street including our own and even on the roof-tops and sign of a suspicious ship moored off shore. When we asked about them the owner of the New Old Dutch House whilst looking for alternate accommodation - his place was a/c and good - but we did not like his pushy manner and the way he seemed to regard guests as fodder for his interest in selling property to tourists. He would not believe there were armed soldiers on the streets saying the militarism had ended. Just the first case of some-one blinded into total denial by the government's propaganda.
Police on the street, alongside the troops, explained it was because a Minister, the brother of the President, was in town to visit aschool. It was not until several days after our arrival home that we realised the implication when we learned that the brother of the President is The Minister for Defence. Jon Snow had just made the second of two annual documentaries for Channel 4 on the armed struggle with the Tamil Tigers and made a convincing case that the President and his brother should be tried for War Crimes.
Asmil the friendly taxi driver who took us to the Whale Watch boat in Mirissa, a hours journey, awaits the arrival of the Barmy Army on 26 March for the first Test Match.
The young boy at hotel 96 has also been a good friend, judging by his small stature we thought he was school aged but he turned out to be 26. He has never been taught English but has picked up quite a bit from conversing with tourists. He cooked us a small portion of Sri Lankan red rice, boiled in coconut milk made by dissolving finely grated coconut in water he served it with small curry leaves from garden, cinnamon and caramelised onion spiced with dried chilli.
He planned a special trip home with friends to Nuwara Eliya leaving on the only direct bus of the day at 6am, but we were disappointed when we found he hadn't gone because although we told him not to bother he felt he had stay and cook our breakfast. We mentioned his intent to Mrs Khali's son and were delighted to find him missing next morning. The son made our breakfast himself that day.
Tomorrow 21 Feb we will leave by bus to Mirissa for a few nights of beach life, maybe I would like it better to go higher for it is too hot for us here. The climate is no different from southern India except that last year we acclimatised in generally higher and thus cooler altitudes from Bangalore to even higher coffee growing Coorg last year. I remember recommending the same approach in Bali. Will I never learn?
On the pleasant minibus ride to Galle the time flew by as we talked to Michel a German who had owned a apartment in Sri Lanka since 1982 in the Pearl river complex in Hikkaduwa 30 mins from Galle.
We got the Tuk-tuk driver to bring us to west end of Pedlar Street where there were several guest houses listed, he left us there outside the Pedlars Inn Cafe without the slightest trace of the hassle we were to encounter on the following day in the centre of town.
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| Pedlar Street |
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| Weltevreden Guest House (right), NB armed soldier |
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| Weltevreden courtyard |
We ignored the invitation to come and view the rooms in 96 Pedlar Street, where we eventually moved to, found that Mrs Kali's house was being completely gutted for restoration from a five bedroom guest house into four rooms, two up two down. So we settled next door for the Weltevreden apparently one of the longest living in Galle. We were offered two rooms and chose the slightly more expensive one with tiled floor for 3000rp.
The other 8 rooms were occupied by a very friendly crowd, we ordered dinner of Sri Lankan vegetable curry and spent a pleasant evening with George, a Londoner who had been on a 2 week meditation, no TV or reading or conversation which he described as an interesting experience with is thoughts taken to placers they had never been before. The only talking was to listen to an individual daily teaching from the monk who lived in this place, which was originally just a single cave in a group of rocks. There was no charge but they offered gifts on leaving which could be money. He told of one such gift of £450,000 which they would not accept but suggested he could donate later having time to reconsider. In the event he did eventually donate the full £450,000, which gives some impression of the value that man found there. George also sang the praises of Arugam Bay on the east coast, though talked of the frequency of mosquitoes bites there with the comparative absence here. Every bed nevertheless had at least one sometimes two nets in spite of which I get around three bites a night.
We checked out the next day after a great breakfast 400rp of omelette, toast, coffee or tea plus a huge plate each of fruit, half a papaya, banana and a big slice of pineapple.
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| King Coconut in garden at 96 Pedlar Street |
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| Galle Fishing Harbour |
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| Locals Swimming |
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| Leaving school |
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| Mirissa's big Fishing Harbour |
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| There she blows, a sister ship of four |
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| She dives and disappears |
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| What no stick fisherman! - you arrange photo opportunities like that |
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| Scraping bark on 'Cinnamon Island' |
We now spend our time in the Fort area which is now a world heritage site with quite a lot of restoration including complete tile paving of the streets as per our drives.
The downside is the hassle we had on our first and only tentative visit to the bus station. 'Mosquitoes' they are deservedly called offering trips here and there, visits to craft centres, full of praise for generosity of Liverpool which apparently built each one of them a new one bedroom house with kitchen after their own was destroyed in the tsunami. The last sob story was of a child in hospital and they asked not for money but for just a carton of milk. We later learnt from locals the detail of this well-known scam, they would take you to a shop and expect you to buy an expensive pack of cartons of baby milk, a scam perpetuated no doubt with the help of the store keeper.
 | ||
| Pedlar's Inn Restaurant |
 |
| Hand stamping the card that never arrived |
 | ||
| Preparing for England v Sri Lanka Test, Galle 26 March 2012 |
Wi-fi is everywhere and in stark contrast to earlier years many travellers are s carrying miniature laptops and even the cheapest guest houses offer it. We will have to join this modern tendency, in truth I did consider buying a tablet computer before leaving, but we were worse prepared than ever, no doubt because of making no plans until Joan was cleared by the hospital.
Michel had shown us his minute Samsung mobile phone, he simply swapped his German SIM card for a local Dialog one, which he said was the best company here, and bought a couple of thousand rupees of credit. He said it was only around a dollar for say 8 minutes even when used to phone Europe because the Internet connections here were often too slow for Skype except in the middle of the night.
About our arrival in Galle we were amazed at the presence of lots of armed troops on every street including our own and even on the roof-tops and sign of a suspicious ship moored off shore. When we asked about them the owner of the New Old Dutch House whilst looking for alternate accommodation - his place was a/c and good - but we did not like his pushy manner and the way he seemed to regard guests as fodder for his interest in selling property to tourists. He would not believe there were armed soldiers on the streets saying the militarism had ended. Just the first case of some-one blinded into total denial by the government's propaganda.
Police on the street, alongside the troops, explained it was because a Minister, the brother of the President, was in town to visit aschool. It was not until several days after our arrival home that we realised the implication when we learned that the brother of the President is The Minister for Defence. Jon Snow had just made the second of two annual documentaries for Channel 4 on the armed struggle with the Tamil Tigers and made a convincing case that the President and his brother should be tried for War Crimes.
Asmil the friendly taxi driver who took us to the Whale Watch boat in Mirissa, a hours journey, awaits the arrival of the Barmy Army on 26 March for the first Test Match.
The young boy at hotel 96 has also been a good friend, judging by his small stature we thought he was school aged but he turned out to be 26. He has never been taught English but has picked up quite a bit from conversing with tourists. He cooked us a small portion of Sri Lankan red rice, boiled in coconut milk made by dissolving finely grated coconut in water he served it with small curry leaves from garden, cinnamon and caramelised onion spiced with dried chilli.
He planned a special trip home with friends to Nuwara Eliya leaving on the only direct bus of the day at 6am, but we were disappointed when we found he hadn't gone because although we told him not to bother he felt he had stay and cook our breakfast. We mentioned his intent to Mrs Khali's son and were delighted to find him missing next morning. The son made our breakfast himself that day.
Tomorrow 21 Feb we will leave by bus to Mirissa for a few nights of beach life, maybe I would like it better to go higher for it is too hot for us here. The climate is no different from southern India except that last year we acclimatised in generally higher and thus cooler altitudes from Bangalore to even higher coffee growing Coorg last year. I remember recommending the same approach in Bali. Will I never learn?
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