And back to India....

Day 9: 7th Mar, 2015

All good things must come to end and so did the trip to Sri Lanka. The much awaited trip came to an end before we even realized it! Our flight to Chennai, India was at around 2 am on 8th Mar. We had booked the vehicle until 10 pm on 7th Mar and hence had to reach airport by then.

The day started with a quick dip in the blue waters with some fun filled family time for one last time at the Unawatuna beach. Then we were served an amazing breakfast. My family was longing for Indian food and it came as a surprise when we were served delicious dosas! We were told that the staff heard us talking about dosas the previous day at breakfast and the chef prepared the dosas specially for us since we were the only Indian guests! It was a really sweet gesture from the sweet people of Sri Lanka.

Done with all the packing, we had to bid adieu to Unawatuna with a heavy heart. We wanted to visit the very famous Bentota beach on the way to Colombo. Hence, the southern expressway was not taken and we traveled by the old route to Colombo from Galle. This route, for most part of it, is alongside the beautiful sea which is very scenic!

It was around 12:30 pm when we reached Bentota. Bentota is a coastal town located in the Galle district 65 kms south of Colombo. It's famous for the luxury hotels lined across the Bentota beach. It was very sunny by the time we reached and we just relaxed for a while at the beach after which we were back onto the journey.

Bentota beach

Bentota railway station

We reached Colombo by lunch time and had kottu for lunch. We had not seen Colombo and since there was ample time left, we decided to visit Gangaramaya Buddhist temple and Galle Face Green. There is an entrance fee to visit the temple but its a must visit if you have time and are in Colombo. The temple also has a museum which displays ancient idols, elephant teeth, precious gems in their natural forms, huge elephant tusks used in the olden days, statues intricately carved from the tusks, items which were in use by the kings, different currencies and what not!

There is also a place in the temple complex where there are lots of statues of Buddha arranged in a structure which looks beautiful. Also there was an old lift made of wood! There is also the sacred Bodhi tree where devotees take water in a vessel and pour it to the tree while encircling it reciting prayers. And last but not the least, the main temple. The temple was very huge with high ceiling huge statues and paintings on the wall. It looked marvelous!

Elephant teeth

Lots of Buddha statues arranged in a structure

The temple

The temple

Just a few meters down the temple complex, is another place related to the temple. There is a small lake in the middle of which are three temples interconnected to each other. These temples are extremely beautiful and you feel like meditating endlessly in the calmness offered by the temples. The place where you buy ticket for the main Gangaramaya temple should also give you a ticket for this other temple. The ticket cost at Gangaramaya temple includes the entrance charge to this place as well.

Buddha statues at the temple in the lake

Temple in the lake

Time was slipping by and we had to visit Galle Face Green. Galle Face Green reminds one of the beautiful necklace of Mumbai called as Marine Drive. Its an urban park that runs alongside the Indian ocean for half a km approx. One will find a lot of activity here especially on a weekend with lots of different food stalls, vendors and many other things. Out of the many eatables lined up, we found one thing very different and thought of trying it out - Picked Ceylon Olives. These are very popular street food in Sri Lanka. The olives look green in color and taste tangy and spicy. I loved them so much that just the thought of them while writing this post is making my mouth water! Do try them out when at Galle Face Green enjoying the cool breeze.

We also saw the flag lowering ceremony while at Galle Face Green. The flag is brought down before sunset with respect and everything comes to a standstill as this ceremony is done out of respect. It was really a treat to the eyes to watch the Navy officers in charge of the ceremony to lower the flag with great respect.

Sunset at Galle Face Green

Soon it was dinner time and the driver had to drop us back to the airport. On the way we stopped at a restaurant where we had hoppers and kottu for one last time before departing from Sri Lanka.

The trip came to an end with the flight getting us to Chennai on 8th March at 5 am. The trip was indeed a memorable one with lots of fun and hoping us to get back soon to cover some parts which couldn't be included in this trip.