The old town of Galle....

Day 8: 6th Mar, 2015

The mornings at Unawatuna started with a dip in the sea! The clean blue waters always looked inviting to have some family time by the beach. After some time at the beach, we had a wholesome breakfast which was included in the tariff. After breakfast, it was time to explore the old town of Galle at Galle fort.

The Galle Dutch fort is around 5kms from Unawatuna. The Galle fort, in the bay of Galle on the southwest coast of Sri Lanka, was built by the Portuguese and then fortified by the Dutch. Many Dutch people still own properties in the fort. It has also been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. It also withstood the Boxing Day tsunami which had destroyed the coastal areas of Sri Lanka. The fort has some churches, museums, restaurants and a lighthouse.

On entering the fort, you can see the Dutch Reformed church. It was built in 1640 and was then remodelled in 1752 and 1755. The church is paved from gravestones from the Dutch cemetery. There is also an old vintage Organ in the church. Then you get to see a museum and next to it is the New Orient hotel which was originally built for the Dutch governor and his staff and then converted into a hotel and now taken over by Aman Resorts and named as Amangalla.

Dutch Reformed Church

From there we proceeded towards the famous lighthouse. The driver dropped us near the clock tower. You need to walk a while on the fort ramparts to reach the lighthouse from the clock tower. The clock tower was very old, built in 1883. The views from this place are just amazing. From there we proceeded towards the lighthouse. On the way, you can also see the Galle cricket stadium. We just kept wondering that it would be a treat to watch an international match here, with the cricket going on one side and the beautiful sea on the other! My brother, who is truly, madly and deeply in love with cricket, wanted to spend the entire day watching a local match which was going on in the stadium!

Clock tower

Galle cricket stadium

Galle fort ramparts

We saw lot of kingfisher birds on the way, some common Kingfishers and some white-throated Kingfishers. And it was a pleasure to introduce them to our parents as well! The walk becomes a bit tiring if you go there during the late mornings. Be prepared to carry an umbrella or a hat and water as you feel a bit tired walking in the sun. We spotted a small refreshment shop to have some soft drinks. The owner of the place was an interesting person who told us that the fort was designed in such a way that you could find all the basic necessities within 5 kms of the fort walls!

white-throated Kingfisher

A short break and we were on the way to the lighthouse. It was around 11 am by the time we reached the lighthouse. We took some pics and were back in the car. It was almost the last day of the trip since the next day would be spent in packing things and travelling back to Colombo to catch the flight back to India. And hence we decided to stop for one last time at Laksala, the government owned souvenir shop. I had read about getting very good gems at Sri Lanka. And what better place than Laksala! We brought some key chains, stickers and some things for our relatives back in India. I got a set consisting of a pendent and earrings with a gem fitted in sterling silver for LKR 3500 approx.

The lighthouse

Done with the shopping, we headed towards Rumassala hill which was one of the reason for choosing to stay at Unawatuna. Rumassala is a hill oddly out of the place in the landscape outside the Galle harbor. Legend states that during the Ramayana, Rama's brother Lakshmana was injured and Hanuman was sent to fetch medicinal herbs from Himalayas. Hanuman forgot the name of the herbs and hence he carried a large chunk of the peak containing many herbs. However, a part of the mountain slipped and broke into five pieces of which one fell at Rumassala.

A large statue of Hanuman, Ram, Sita, Lakshman and Ravana can be seen at Rumassala. There is also a large pagoda on the hill.

Hanuman's statue at Rumassala

Ravana's statue at Rumassala

Sita devi's statue at Rumassala

The pagoda at Rumassala

It was noon and time for lunch. We headed back to the resort for lunch and some rest. This being the last day at Unawatuna, we headed to the beach. The weather turned from sunny to cloudy in just few moments and before we knew, it started raining! It was fun to be in the waters while it was raining. Few hours later, we were back at the room to freshen up and the last day at Unawatuna was over.

On the way to the Cultural Capital of Sri Lanka....

Day 4: 2nd Mar, 2015

After a heavy breakfast at Paradise Inn, we left for Kandy. Kandy is just 100 kms from Sigiriya. Kandy was the last capital of the King's era. Kandy also comes in the cultural triangle consisting of Sigiriya and Anuradhapura as well. The route is scenic with forest cover and spice gardens. En route our driver stopped at a spice garden where you are taken on a spice garden tour by walk. A guide takes you all around the plantation showing you various herbs and spices and their uses. There is no entrance ticket here. At the end you are taken to a shop where you can buy products made from the spices and herbs. We felt the rates of the products were a bit on the higher end. But do remember to tip the guide who takes you on a walk as that is what everyone does. we again stopped at a temple on the way - Muthumariamman temple. It looked like a Tamilian temple with the main temple belonging to a goddess and various other small temples of different deities. After this we continued with our journey to Kandy.

Muthumariamman temple

It was almost 12:30 PM when we reached Kandy and we had booked Hotel Hilltop. The hotel is located on a small hillock with some rooms having a Kandy Railway station & the city view and some others having the pool view. We had our rooms facing the pool. The rooms were spacious and artfully done. The hotel details can be found in my last post.

Room at Hotel Hilltop

We relaxed for a while and then went for Kandy sightseeing. The driver took us to a view point from where you could see the whole city. Then we went to a Batik workshop. The Batik process was explained in detail and we were shown the various baths in which the cloth is dipped to get the different colors and designs. Then we were taken to a shop where we could buy Batik work fabrics. The Sri Lankan way of draping the Indian Saree is entirely different. I wanted to try one and I was discussing the same with my mother when one of the employee of the store, offered to drape the saree so that I could take a snap. It was a really sweet gesture and I was more than more than happy to do so..!! The lady draped the saree and I was happy posing for a snap..!! The people in Sri Lanka are really sweet and do their best to help you enjoy your stay in Sri Lanka. After lunch we were back at the hotel.

View point from where the whole city is visible

In the evening we were off for a walk around the Kandy lake. Kandy has a beautiful lake situated in the heart of the city. You can go for a walk around the lake. It is situated next to the Sri Dalada Maligawa temple. You can also spot some ducks and birds like Cormorant, Kingfisher etc.

Kandy Lake

Then we visited the famous Tooth Relic Temple (Sri Dalada Maligawa) which has Lord Buddha's tooth. This beautiful temple is the most sacred place for Buddhists worldwide. It is also believed that whoever holds the relic, holds the governance of the country. There are beautiful golden carvings inside the temple. Also, the upper floor door is made of ivory. The temple provides you with a CD containing interesting videos on the temple and Kandy.

Tooth Relic Temple

Inside the Tooth Relic Temple

Kandy being the cultural capital, Kandyan dance is very famous and do visit the cultural centre near the temple to watch this dance form. Also Kandyan drumming is well known.We walked past the government souvenir shop, Laksala and I couldn't resist the temptation of shopping! We shopped for some masks which are very famous in Sri Lanka and they are really artistic. We also got a painting of Lord Buddha and some key chains. Laksala is a good place to shop for with an assurance that the products will be genuine and worth the price. It has a vast variety of souvenirs ranging form key chains to leather chairs as well. Time just flew around the beautiful Kandy lake and it was the end of another day in Sri Lanka.