Where is Rune?

I spent two days hanging around Unawatuna beach and surrounding village, staying at Village Inn, a modest place with well-worn rooms, but with an OK veranda at the second floor. I paid Rs 800 for the room. It’s a peaceful place set a bit back from the beach. From the veranda, I could see monkeys climbing the trees.

I must say I prefer Unawatuna beach to Hikkaduwa beach. Unawatuna is just nicer, and without the noisy highway running close.

House in Unawatuna village.

In Unawatuna, the waves can get big too.

Overlooking Unawatuna from the hilltop.

On Wednesday I catched a bus on the street just outside my guesthouse in Narigama/Hikkaduwa, to Galle, and the trip took only half an hour. I paid Rs 20.

Galle Fort (the fort walls and bastions and the old town inside) is a UNESCO world heritage site, and it is easy to see why. It is like wandering in a living museum, and it’s a very pleasant place to be. The old colonial buildings lining the narrow streets are still in normal use, and the traffic is very light. I am staying in Weltevreden hotel, which is a 250-year-old house converted to a small hotel, or more correctly, homestay, since the owners live here too. It’s a cozy and economical place (Rs 1000 per night).

There seems to be a sizeable muslim population here. For example, there is a big mosque, and there is an Arabic college (est. 1892), etc. I also met a friendly, apparently knowledgeable old muezzin (he said he was 82 years old), who bought me a tea while telling his stories, including a pilgrimage to Mecca. Among other things, he claimed to be able to recite all verses of the Koran, and to speak X number of languages. Afterwards he went home on his three-wheeled bicycle.

On the practical side, I noticed the other day that the locals in Galle drink the water straight from the tap, without boiling it first. This led me to do the same, of course. The tap water tastes surprisingly OK too.

After posting this, I will catch a Bajaj to Unawatuna beach, just east of here.

Below a selection of pictures (click to enlarge).

The old town inside Galle Fort.

School girls.

A mosque, a lighthouse, and the fort walls.

The old town inside Galle Fort.

Weltevreden hotel, where I stay.

The new town outside the fort.

Fishing boats.

Sunset with the walls in the foreground.

I rented a bicycle yesterday for Rs 100, and rode around in the countryside here, near Hikkaduwa. Not much traffic away from the main Galle Road. Many rice fields and small villages, just like in Java, Indonesia. My GPS showed 25 km in total for the trip.

The waves are a bit too big for swimming here.

I will soon catch a bus to Galle, a town 30 minutes south of here.

My rented bicycle.

Bajajs lining up in the street.

Hikkaduwa beach. This is the southernmost part and has less tourists.

My bicycle trail as per the GPS track log.

I took the train today from Colombo to Hikkaduwa, a ride of less than two hours in 2nd class (Rs 160). I checked out a few guest houses in Narigama before deciding upon one of them. I got a simple but OK room for Rs 900. Narigama is two kilometers south of Hikkaduwa town, and is full of European tourists. It looks like any beach holiday destination. Nothing special about it really, but why not?

And where I am updating these postings? Well, yesterday I used the free WIFI at Coffee Bean near my guest house, and today I’m using the free WIFI at a beach-side restaurant here in Narigama.

Below are some pictures I took at the railway station in Colombo, “Colombo Fort”.

Buying ticket.

Outside the railway station.

A train.

Colombo Fort railway station.

And here is a GPS track log, including positions of the places I stay:

Here is an example of a meal I have had several times while in Colombo. It’s a vegetarian meal, not that it matters for me though. Most importantly, it’s tasty. It’s cheap too, around a dollar. It’s called a “Chapatti Set” on the menus here.

A “Chapatti Set” meal.