When I added Sri Lanka on to our itinerary that already consisted of Nepal and India, I can honestly say I didn't really know a great deal. I remember being sad and seeing the pictures of how the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami had affected Sri Lanka, but it was hard to put into context as I wasn't familiar with the country much more beyond cricket.
I read many websites, books and brochures and there were many remarks about seeing the southern beaches of Sri Lanka. I decided that (mostly because of the cute name) we should see if we can get to Unawatuna. After a tip from a friends mum about a driver, I prearrange a pick up from our accommodation by a driver named Christie (male).
Christie picked us up at 8am and we travelled south through the crazy busy streets of Colombo and travelled through Kalutara, and just near Bentota we stopped off at the Kosgoda Turtle Conservation Centre and got to see some day-old hatchlings! They were adorable!
After leaving Kosgoda, we travelled further south until we reached the beautiful town of Hikkaduwa which is famous for it's blue coral reef. The drive south from Colombo is truly magnificent and far outweighs the scenery of the Fijian Coral Coast that I've now twice experienced. The beaches here are incredibly beautiful with clear and inviting turqouise waters. Our driver explained to us that many houses were destroyed along this coastline by the tsunami and showed us the foundations where many houses once stood, never to be rebuilt.
Along the way we saw a beautiful Buddha that was built in memory of the tsunami victims by the people of Japan. It was very touching and a sad reminder of how badly affected Sri Lanka was.
After a quick drive though Galle, to later return to see more, we continued on another 10 minutes or so until we reached Unawatuna. It was everything I'd read it to be, and more. The day was beautiful, hot and clear so the water was incredibly inviting. Christie took us to Miltons Beach Resort which boasted a private and sheltered beach and after we were given a room to get changed in, we ventured into the water. We were both expecting it to be quite warm, however it was just perfect.
After we enjoyed a refreshing 'sea bath', as it's called here. We sat down for lunch. Andrew ordered the yellowfin tuna and I ordered the traditional curry and rice, which can be eaten up to three times a day by Sri Lankans, we were told. Our lunch promptly arrived and I was shocked at how much food I had actually ordered! I received a large helping of rice followed by a number of different dishes of assorted curries of vegetables, some curried prawns and a spicy dhal. Wow. The food was absolutely incredible. I cannot put into words how delicious it was. All I can do is show you the photos and hope that it somehow does the taste justice.
I hope by now you are truly salivating. The meal was superb and I hope I can somehow find it again some day. We enjoyed a rest on the balcony overlooking the beach and Andrew and I also tried Arrack which is an alcoholic drink derived from the flower of a coconut palm. Whoa - was it strong! But it was really good too. I was glad we had tried this kind of stuff, because I hate nothing more than coming to a country and eating food we could just as easily have at home!
All in all we had a fantastic day and we both were pretty exhausted by the time we started the drive back to Colombo. If you are ever in Sri Lanka you really must find the time to visit Unawatuna, Galle and the surrounding areas!
Tomorrow is our last day in Sri Lanka and we have both said we will be very sad to leave, however we may consider coming back next year as Sri Lanka are apparently playing host to the 2012 ICC Twenty20 World Cup. Twenty20 is my favourite form of the game, so who knows, we may be back swimming in the blue waters of Unawatuna again soon!
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