seaside hopping in Sri Lanka

This text was first written in 2017.

Sri Lanka is the subsequent massive vacation spot – it’s simpler than India, cheaper, and fewer busy. And it’s in Sri Lanka that Airbnb turns into very helpful in serving to uncover treasures.

A bus drives alongside the coast of Southern Sri Lanka.

A thump of thick, sizzling air settles over me on the arrivals space. I’m alone abroad that feels daunting regardless of being only a small droplet-shaped island within the Indian Ocean. Hugging my digicam nearer, I double-check that my passport continues to be in my pocket and scan a sea of faces for the one I‘d seen on the web site. I quickly spot Chamara de Silva, my first Airbnb host in Sri Lanka, and breathe out, letting my shoulders sag a bit, relieved to see a well-recognized face.

We be part of the outdated coastal highway that heads south from the airport and the nation’s capital, Colombo, and it jogs my memory of the terrifying driving in Mozambique – buses come tearing up the fallacious aspect of the highway (they drive on the left as we do in South Africa) and tuk-tuks toot their means in between the large machines with enchanting bravado. Lorries, canines, and bicycles fearlessly enter the fray. Chamara hums alongside to Sinhalese songs on the radio. ‘They prefer to sing romantic songs,’ he says. He then presses some buttons, and Shakira’s voice fills the air. It’s ‘Waka Waka’ from the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

Fishing boats within the harbour near Hikkaduwa.

Hikkaduwa is my first cease, and it’s busy, very developed, and the seaside isn’t the idyllic Instagram-worthy picture I’d hoped for. I’d imagined palm bushes and extra of a wild, unspoiled vacation spot, however a strip of inns and eating places is obstructing the ocean. Regardless of my preliminary dismay, I’m actually happy to be right here for my first night time in Sri Lanka, and I’m so impressed by Chamara, a gracious host and my unofficial information. I’m staying in a phenomenal residence referred to as The Residence Hikkaduwa subsequent to his dwelling; there’s ‘Welcome’ organized in petals on my mattress, and I’m gifted with a plate of Sri Lankan treats – some delectable ginger candy I’ve by no means tasted earlier than, however I’m quickly licking its scrumptious sticky residue off my fingers.

The Residence in Hikkaduwa is about in a beautiful, non-public backyard beside the proprietor’s dwelling. For breakfast, I had the normal yellow dhal, caramelised onions, and a coconut roti with Sri Lankan tea.

Chamara recommends issues to do – certainly one of them is the Tsunami Museum, and it’s a sobering go to. Sri Lanka was hit onerous, and the dimensions of injury is simply seen whenever you stroll the identical floor you’ve seen within the images. It’s overwhelming. The girl sitting on the museum door smiles and asks the place I’m from – this can be a frequent greeting, and individuals are genuinely within the reply – I say ‘South Africa’ and he or she asks if I do know Shakira.

The following morning, I awake refreshed and feeling pluckier than I did within the arrivals corridor; I’m easing into life in a brand new place, and my temper is matched by a sensational Sri Lankan breakfast of recent, crisp fruit, mildly spiced yellow dhal curry, and sticky coconut sambals with a squeeze of lime, all washed down with a cup of domestically picked tea that I end far too shortly.

From contained in the tuk-tuk heading to Dikwella

Chamara has organised a tuk-tuk at an affordable worth to take me to my subsequent cease, a dreamy-looking tree home in Dikwella that I’d booked on Airbnb. Initially, he and the motive force are uncertain the place Dikwella is, and that very same sinking feeling wells up in me once more with a way of foreboding ‘I’ve made a horrible mistake, and I’m travelling alone abroad’. However the truth that even locals don’t know Dikwella’s exact location is the blessing I’ve been ready for.

I lastly discover my postcard paradise – a secret bay referred to as Hiriketiya Seashore with a cluster of small fishing boats tucked across the toes of tall palm bushes and just one open restaurant on the seaside – leaving the remaining as nature meant. Surfers scuttle alongside the ‘tough’ sea (folks right here have clearly by no means seen our aspect of the Indian Ocean), and the tree home is every thing Airbnb promised. A freshly lower king coconut is ready for my arrival, and I sip its chilly, crisp juice – an prompt pick-me-up after my two-hour journey.

The postcard-perfect paradise seaside in Dikwella, the place a recent coconut was ready.

I’m struck by how related Sri Lanka is to South Africa – a hornbill sits within the tree, a squirrel dashes by within the backyard beneath, and I even come throughout an infinite monitor lizard sliding up the embankment close to the ocean. Later, I hear a putting kingfisher name that’s each acquainted and totally different concurrently and catch its ash of color earlier than it settles on an electrical energy pole. Its invoice is unmistakable, however I can’t discover one with its colouring in Newman’s fowl ebook. Right here the Gondwanaland concept – that every one the continents broke away from one giant supercontinent – actually involves life, and I attempt to visualise the place on the map Sri Lanka would’ve as soon as sat on the shore of Africa.

We see the empty stilts utilized by fisherman alongside the coastal highway.

There are two tree homes, and my neighbours, Nick and Anna, a beautiful Belgian couple, share invaluable recommendation: tuk-tuks ought to cost roughly R10/km; journey by bus isn’t as terrifying because it seems to be (and so they play good music, ‘higher than in Vietnam’); and waking up early to go to the tea factories will make sure you see the manufacturing in motion.

Bokkoms and the Indian Ocean are each near Dikwella.

We journey collectively to see native sights such because the harbour and distributors promoting dried fish, which look very like bokkoms. As we stroll, a stallholder asks the place I’m from. ‘South Africa, ’ I say, and he responds, ‘Pretoria?’ Genuinely astonished, I ask how he is aware of about Pretoria. It seems he can identify the capital of most nations and all of our star cricket gamers way back to Hansie Cronje.

A girl carried coconut fibres alongside the seaside in Dikwella.

Samitha Darshana Wanigabadu is my tree-house host. He opened his lodging very not too long ago and hopes the world doesn’t develop an excessive amount of, ‘in any other case, folks gained’t come right here’. I feel again to Hikkaduwa and have the identical hope. Samitha has organized dinner for me – a easy however actually spectacular buffet of calamari, potato curry, sambals, and coconut rotis. There may be buffalo curd with treacle for breakfast as a result of I discussed eager to strive it after recognizing some being offered on the roadside in the course of the journey right here. The curd is like yoghurt, creamy with a wilder style, virtually like goat’s cheese.

Buffalo curd for breakfast served with thick coconut syrup.

I wish to spend the remainder of my vacation absorbing the blissful island life in Dikwella, however there may be nonetheless a lot of Sri Lanka to see, and Galle Fort, a Unesco Heritage Web site (the island has eight – one other parallel to dwelling) is subsequent on my checklist – a well- preserved edifice constructed by the Portuguese in 1588.

Locals play cricket on the streets of Galle Fort.

The easiest way to discover a brand new place is to stroll it, and the fort’s historical streets succumb to my want for real encounters. A courting couple is sharing an umbrella to defend the solar, households are sitting on the fort partitions having fun with their Sunday, and round each nook, there’s an off-the-cuff cricket recreation being performed.

I see a person in a sarong (most males right here put on a collared shirt, a sarong, and sandals) promoting freshly squeezed lime juice from a desk that appears like a faculty desk. A conventional press is clamped to it, and he mixes the extract with bottled water. The tart juice is heavenly within the warmth and goes completely with my spiced inexperienced mango and a vetkoek-like savoury pastry referred to as ulundu that’s wrapped up in recycled paper pulled from a pocket book. It seems to be lots like maths homework, and I really like that it echoes the school-desk theme.

Delectable lime juice offered by distributors in Galle Fort.

My mattress for that night time is at The Magical Condominium, cocooned in a community of picturesque alleys throughout the outdated thick partitions that stood towards the tsunami. The house owners have an indoor terrarium, and the leafy greenery makes it really feel like an oasis. I dread to go away as a result of it’s every thing I’d hoped for and extra – genuine Sri Lanka and great hosts, Ranjit Goonewardena and his spouse Moninna, who share tea and biscuits with me of their kitchen downstairs.

An outdated basic name on the cobbled streets of Galle Fort and my Airbnb host Ranjit Goonewardena.

I head again north to Colombo and, right here too, I see households bonding within the metropolis on an unusual Tuesday night; locals swim within the sea beneath the pier on the Galle Face Inexperienced (a five-hectare oceanfront park), and there are too many kites to rely. It’s the windy season and excellent climate for this conventional sport. I see kids working alongside their dad and mom, flying their kites as excessive as doable, and consuming sizzling diced roti with spiced fish (my favorite meal of the journey) on the promenade because the solar goes down.

The busy promenade on the Galle Face Inexperienced is stuffed with distributors and locals.

The tuk-tuk driver who takes me to my remaining cease, the long-lasting Galle Face Lodge on the seafront – an actual magnificence with a wealthy historic previous – additionally asks about Shakira as he geese and dives between oncoming headlights. Most of the locals I met in Sri Lanka had by no means encountered a South African. But we had a lot in frequent – cricket, wildlife, the scale of waves within the Indian Ocean, and Shakira. I do know for a proven fact that they wish to meet extra.

Plan your journey to Sri Lanka

Have to know

• South African passport holders want an digital visa.
• Take {dollars} to trade with the Sri Lankan rupee.
• Lodging and water-based actions are your largest value.
• Meals, drinks, and transport value little.
• It’s finest to go to within the drier months from November to March (though it might nonetheless rain). I went in September – it didn’t rain, however the sea was pretty uneven.
• Use tuk-tuks for brief distances – they’re inexpensive and straightforward. Buses are much less snug, however cheaper. Personal taxis (sedans) might be organised by most lodging house owners, however they’re much pricier. Uber operates in Colombo.

Do that

A typical Sri Lanka tuk-tuk.

• Go to the Tsunami Museum in Hikkaduwa. It’s at AH43, Telwatta (ask your host for instructions). Free entry
• Take a tuk-tuk alongside the coastal highway from Galle Fort to Dikwella (about R385). In case your driver is sort like mine was, he’ll pull over so you possibly can take footage and seize a chew to eat. Your host can prepare a tuk-tuk to select you up
• Stroll the fort partitions in Galle Fort and discover the cobbled alleys with its boutique outlets and distributors alongside the best way.
• Be taught to surf at Hiriketiya Seashore in Dikwella. There are good waves year-round, and it’s a quiet, sheltered spot.  

Keep right here

Basic colonial-style interiors on the plush Galle Face Lodge.

Eat right here

Dinner at Nana’s and the view from the promenade of the Galle Face Inexperienced.

• Mamas Galle Fort Roof Café has a view of the fort and wonderful curries. Beer isn’t on the menu however ask for it.
• Nana’s on the Galle Face Inexperienced is right for watching native life and serves genuine, inexpensive meals.

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