Galle and Unawatuna

As you know, I am an experienced traveler and it has been my choice to see almost all the places in the world that I have wanted to visit.  For many reasons, one being a civil war that ended in 2009, I have not made it to Sri Lanka prior to this trip.  I think this is perhaps the place I have searched for all my life.  The weather is balmy, the ocean clean and bountiful, the natives very friendly, the natural herb easily available, the costs reasonable and those are just a few of the things I like.
I am now in the beach village of Unawatuna.  You might find Galle on the map and Una is only 6km away.  It is a bit touristy here but that means English is more common here than in some places, a worthwhile trade off.

The beach at Unawatuna

From the train between Colombo and Galle

The view from my hotel in Unawatuna

I left my hotel in Kandy early in the morning and hired a tuktuk to take me to the train station.  I had yet to take a Sri Lankan train, so this was to be my first experience.  Along the way the tuktuk driver convinced me to go by air con bus to Colombo so I followed his advice, arriving Colombo much earlier than I would have by train.  As usual my first move was to find a place to leave my bag while I explored the city.  I wanted to stay near the train station and all hotels I could find were pretty bad.  I took the least bad, and like I was about to swallow bad medicine, I prepared myself to be as accepting as I could of the situation.  I made it through the night and was happy to wake at 5:30 the following morning to take a train down to the port city of Galle.

I did more research on Galle and luckily found a very satisfactory hotel online.  Sometimes staying in a dump is what I need to make me appreciate the good ones.  Galle was a Dutch colony during the 1600's and then later was overcome by the Brits.  The old city is enclosed by a very thick wall and there are buildings dating back hundreds of years.  

From Galle I explored my way down the coast a few miles to  my present location, Unawatuna.  Here I am in a fine guesthouse with an ocean view and plenty of places to eat, drink, etc.  I rented a scooter and today I will go for a look at rental property.  It seems as if signs are pointing me to life in Sri Lanka.  As usual, I will play it by ear.

I am planning to return to Kandy on Friday.  I mentioned earlier that there is a festival there starting 11August.  For an idea of what I will be seeing look at Kandy Perahera on YouTube.  I don't want to leave my enchanted spot by the Indian Ocean, but I am excited to see the spectacle which awaits.