14 Oct - 25 Oct 2010 Galle

Socialist Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka
Galle
Dutch Fort
Light House View Inn +94912232056 irifiyaanwer@sltnet.lk
Spacious holiday apartment with private balcony and a great view for only LKR 1,430.- or US$ 12.75 per night.


Click below for an interactive road map of the Light House View Inn in Galle, which we would recommend, and for directions:










Climbing up the 28-m (above sea level) high tower of the 1938 CE on-shore Galle Lighthouse aka Pointe de Galle Light, bribing the lighthouse keeper with a donation of LKR 500.- or US$ 4.50 for the illegal entry and enjoying stunning aerial views down onto the 1663 CE Dutch Fort of Galle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, bursting with the scent of spices and salty winds, and yet also, with its wonderful collection of slowly decaying Dutch-colonial buildings, vaguely familiar, like a whimsical medieval European town unexpectedly deposited in the tropics.

"I'm a lonely lighthouse, not a ship out in the night. I'm watching the sea.
She's come halfway round the world to see the light and to stay away from me.
There is a shipwreck lying at my feet, some weary refugee from the rolling deep.
Ah, could you lose it all and fall for me?"



Exploring the Dutch Fort's atmospheric old streets with many Christian churches, Buddhist temples and Islamic mosques, counting the historical private, commercial and government buildings inside the fort’s ramparts and bastions, and visiting the renovated National Maritime Museum (admission: LKR 300.- or US$ 2.70 per adult) and its display of dramatic aerial photos from the 2004 CE Indian Ocean Tsunami.



Sipping socially responsibly an undisclosed number of stiff G&Ts (Sri Lankan Ascot Dry Gin for LKR 930.- or US$ 8.30 per large bottle, diluted with Sri Lankan Lion Club Tonic for LKR 40.- or US$ 0.35 per small bottle) on our private balcony, enjoying day and night mind-boggling views of (i) the Galle Lighthouse, c. 20 m away, (ii) the old port of Galle, c. 0.5 nm away, and (iii) the busy shipping lanes between Singapore and Port Said, c. 8 nm away, and reminiscing about the good old times when we scanned from our ketch SY "Kamu II" the distant horizon for the two white flashes Fl.(2)W12s of the Galle Light during a 23-day looooong sea passage through the Bay of Bengal [1], [2], [3] from Chagos/BIOT via Gan/Maldives to Phuket/Thailand, only two years ago. 



Spending many hours in Galle’s busy fishing harbours and chatting with young local fishermen about the particularities of their job: traditional large-mesh driftnet fishing, up to 10 nm off the coast but always within the range of Dialog’s or Mobitel’s GSM network coverage, crews of up to eight hands on each of the 12m-long fibre-reinforced plastic canoes with single outriggers aka oruwas which cost c. LKR 800,000.- or US$ 7,000.- per boat, including the reliable and economical 15-hp Yamaha outboarder (...the preferred engine of the fishermen-turned-pirates who operate off the Somali coast).



Meeting up with our good old Rhodesian/Seffrican friend and fellow cruiser Maurice from SY “Cobble”, listening to the yarn about his previous maritime adventures in the Red Sea and in the Arabian Sea and learning that his ship rests in a cradle on the quayside in Galle's old port after her anchor had dragged and she was swept ashore during the treacherous southwest monsoon, aish.



Taking one of the government-owned local S.L.T.B. (Sri Lanka Transport Board +942581120) buses from Galle to nearby Unawatuna (c. 6 km, 1/4 hour, LKR 15.- or US$ 0.15 per person), a place which carries two faces: (i) a banana-shaped bend of clean, boiling golden sand massaged by a gentle sea of moonstone blue and framed by swaying coconut palms, and (ii) a tense showcase for the negative social impact of tourism with gangs of rude touts, impertinent waiters, cheating túk-túk drivers, umpteen overpriced gem shops and an unbudging two-tier price system.



Click below for more blog entries about lighthouses

Click below for a summary of this year’s travels
2010 Map Konni & Matt

Visit the Konni & Matt online albums and order high res travel photos


Recommended books – click below for your Amazon order from the United Kingdom: 

For Amazon schnaeppchens from Germany, please click here
For Amazon bargains from the United States, please click here
For Amazon bargains from Canada, please click here

04 Oct - 14 Oct 2010 Negombo

Socialist Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka
Spacious double room with private balcony and a great sea view for only LKR 1,250.- or US$ 11.30 per night. Very friendly staff.


Click below for an interactive road map of the Dephani Beach Hotel in Negombo, which we would highly recommend, and for directions:









Getting our Sri Lankan feet whilst exploring both Negombo Town with its busy fishing harbour and our new neighbourhood at Negombo Beach and noticing (i) their Portuguese legacy whilst reading surnames like Fernando, Perera and Gomez on the tombstones of the (Eurasian) burghers’ graves in the village’s Catholic cemetery, (ii) their Dutch legacy whilst admiring the orderly, straight-as-an-arrow canals that run along this entire length of the coast, and (iii) their British legacy whilst giving way to the hectic traffic on the left-hand side of the road.



Feeding on Sri Lankan staple food, vegetarian and pescetarian varieties of the ubiquitous "lunch packets", filling meals of steamed rice, fried fish and sambalised vegetables for LKR 80.- to LKR 120.- per box, savouring in-between delicious local snacks at rickety street side huts (called kadé by the Sinhalese and unavakam by Tamils) such as (i) vegetarian samoosas for LKR 15.- or US$ 0.15 each, (ii) distinctively Sri Lankan kotthu rotti (chopped roti fried with spicy fillings ranging from chilli and onion to veggies and eggs) and (iii) various vadai (deep-fried short eats made from lentil flour and spices). 

Quenching our thirst with (i) locally brewed ice-cold Lion Lager beer (625-ml bottles for LKR 160.- or US$ 1.45 per bottle from the hotel bar), (ii) the local variety of G&T (one glass of the assembled weapon of mass destruction, including reasonably clean ice cubes and thick slices of lime, for LKR 150.- or US$ 1.35 from the hotel bar), and (iii) a few shots of local arrack (fermented and refined toddy made from the sap of palm trees) filled into tender thambili (yellow king coconuts from the beach) and mixed (shaken, not stirred) with the sweet coconut water inside; cheers aka jayawewa!



Taking local bus no. 905 from the unmarked bus stop near our hotel to Negombo’s Bus Station (c. 3 km, 1/4 hour, LKR 12.- or c. US$ 0.10 per person), thereafter bus no. 240 from Negombo to Colombo’s Central Bus Station in The Pettah (c. 35 km, 1 1/2 hours, LKR 41.- or US$ -.36 per person) and lastly local bus no. 103 from the Pettah to Borella (c. 2 km, 1/2 hour, LKR 9.- or c. US$ 0.08 per person), visiting Sri Lanka's Orwellian Department of Immigration and Emigration in Colombo and purchasing from the byzantine but efficient enough hierarchy of well-dressed, smart and friendly government clerks (“Receiver”, “Cashier”, “Assistant Controller”, “Deputy Controller”, “Controller”; their non-ironic framed motto: “The secret of success is hard work; that’s why it’s still a secret!”) two 6-month "double-extensions" for our visit visas (requirements: one passport photo each, extension fee of LKR 5,896.- or c. US$ 53.- in cash per person, tax of LKR 10,000.- or c. US$ 90.- in cash per person), no fuss and within 90 minutes.



Touring central Colombo (circumnavigating Slave Island and driving through Col. 1 aka Fort, Col. 3 aka Kollupititiya, Col 7. aka Cinnamon Gardens, Col. 10 aka Maradana and Col. 11 aka The Pettah) by means of Sunil’s red three-wheeler (one hour of driving and talking for LKR 500.- or US$ 4.50) and touching various places of interest: (i) the Hindu temple Sri Shiva Subramaniam Swami Kovil, (ii) the eclectic Buddhist Gangaramaya Temple, (iii) the pretty Seema Malakaya Centre, designed by Geoffrey Bawa (the most famous of Sri Lanka’s architects), (iv) the white-domed Old Town Hall (another White House) and (v) the striking National Museum.



Getting used to the sight of many tarted up old bags aka alte Schachteln from Germany who dovetail their desperate fantasies ("...being loved and coveted..."; "...becoming young and attractive..."; "...entering a new life through love, meditation and rebirth...") with the dreams of their young and handsome, hard-working Sri Lankan lovers/guides/sex-workers ("...entering the European fortress..."; "...making money in Germany..."; "...providing for the family at home in Sri Lanka...") and wondering if this is a serious international joint venture to rescue the ailing world economy or just a funny folie à deux under the hot tropical sun.





Laundering our dirty linen for LKR 50.- or US$ 0.45 per kg, washed and dried, at a local neighbourhood laundry in Perera Place.

Taking Ravi’s pre-booked and overpriced three-wheeler from our hotel to Negombo’s Bus Station (LKR 150.- or US$ 1.35 for the ride), thereafter bus no. 240 from Negombo to Colombo’s Central Bus Station in The Pettah (c. 35 km, 1 1/2 hours, LKR 41.- or US$ 0.36 per person), thereafter the government-owned S.L.T.B. (Sri Lanka Transport Board) rust bucket no. 2 from The Pettah to Galle (110 km along the coast, 3 1/2 hours, LKR 107.- or US$ 0.95 per person), passing Bentota, the glorious sun-and-fun, all-inclusive playground for mostly overweight blue-collar plebs and petty-minded office sitters from East Elbia, and learning that a Sri Lankan bus journey is a stop-start affair: stomach-tightening bursts of speed alternated with periods of creeping slowness, all played out to an accompaniment of constantly parping horns, blaring Sinhala pop music and the awful noises of mechanical protest as the long-suffering bus careered yet another corner with every panel rattling - before the inevitable slamming-on of brakes sent everyone lurching forward in their seats.
"You can't get there by bus, only by hard work and risk and by not quite knowing what you're doing. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover will be yourself."


Click below for a summary of this year's travels

Visit the Konni & Matt Online Albums and order high-res photos


Recommended books - click below for your Amazon order from the United Kingdom:
 
For Amazon schnaeppchens from Germany, please click here 
For Amazon bargains from the United States, please click here 
For Amazon bargains from Canada, please click here

03 Oct - 04 Oct 2010 Kuala Lumpur

KLIA-LCCT Airport Sepang
Adequate, clean and convenient double room for MYR 54.- or US$ 16.- per night.


Click below for an interactive road map of the Tune Hotel at KLIA's LCCT, which we would recommend, and for directions:










Spending the night in the airport's convenient low-budget Tune Hotel, flying the next morning uneventfully with Malaysia’s Air Asia X (“Now Everyone Can Fly Xtra Long”) in a brand-new Airbus A 320-200 from Kuala Lumpur’s KLIA-LCCT to Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport near Katunayake for the steal of only MYR 40.- or US$ 12.- per person, one way and all inclusive, crossing again the unpredictable Gulf of Bengal which we had crossed for the first time two years ago on our sailing ship SY "Kamu II", being issued with a 30-day visit permit for Sri Lanka on arrival, free of charge, taking thereafter the complimentary shuttle bus from the airport's arrival terminal to Katunayake's Bus Station, then the local bus from Katunayake to Negombo's Bus Station (c. 10 km, 1/2 hour, LKR 20.- or US$ 0.18 per person) and lastly one of the ubiquitous three-wheelers, aka túk-túks from the noise of their engines, right to the beach of the Indian Ocean (c. 3 km, 1/4 hour, LKR 200.- or US$ 1.80 for the short ride to the recommended Dephani Beach Hotel +94312234359) where the fresh southwest monsoon with its steady strength of 25 knots is blowing the mosquitoes away.
"Climate change is real. Climate change is being substantially increased by humans and the carbon we put into the atmosphere. And it appears to be speeding up. If science has made any mistakes, science has been underestimating it."


Click below for more blog posts about cheap long-distance flights with Air Asia X

Click below for a summary of this year’s travels

Visit the Konni & Matt Online Albums and order high-res travel photos


Recommended books - click below for your Amazon order from Germany:

For Amazon bargains from the United States, please click here
For Amazon bargains from Canada, please click here
For Amazon bargains from the United Kingdom, please click here