Sunsets in Sri Lanka
Hikkaduwa - Galle - Mirissa - Colombo (Sri Lanka - January 5 to 9, 2019)
My husband, Niladri and I were contemplating a trip with his parents for the first time and Sri Lanka was on top of their wish-list. Until then, we had not considered visiting Sri Lanka, but the country had so much to offer. It was way beyond our expectations!
The Groundwork
Nowadays, to get the best deals, one need not plan the trip more than two months prior. We began ours in October.
The round-trip airfare from Bangalore (India) to Colombo for January in Sri Lankan airlines costed us a little less than 15,000 INR per person. The next important thing in our list was getting the visa. The process turned out to be extremely easy. All we had to do, was submit an online application form with our passport and arrival details; along with a fee of 20 USD per person. Within few minutes we received our e-visa via email, which only had to be printed. We were left with the most exciting part then — to plan our itinerary!
With suggestions from our friends and family who had visited the island earlier, we decided to do a five-day trip to the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka and Colombo. We booked a lodging through Airbnb in Hikkaduwa for the first three nights and the hotel ‘The Ocean Colombo’ for the last night in Colombo (Quick fact: Sri Lanka has 2 capital cities; the administrative capital Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte and the commercial capital Colombo, which is also the largest city).
Day 1: January 5th, 2019
We landed in Colombo at 5 AM after a short one-hour flight from Bangalore. The immigration process at the airport was smooth and quick. Our Airbnb host Radika had arranged a car for us to reach her place in Hikkaduwa. It was a beautiful drive along the Southern Expressway. After enjoying the sunrise on our way, we halted to take a sip of the famous Ceylon tea.
Our driver Siri was friendly and suggested us some interesting places around Hikkaduwa. In three hours, we reached Radika’s ‘Scenic Property on the Beach’. We had booked it after seeing some stunning photos of the place in a blog. It turned out to be exactly like those in the pictures. The property was very close to the Turtle beach (southern tip of Hikkaduwa beach). Our rooms were already ready for an early check-in. We sat outside our rooms with the ocean in the front; while enjoying the breakfast.
After spending some time by the sea, we went outside for lunch. While walking on the beach, we spotted a shack named ‘JLH Beach Restaurant’; which caught our eyes. We were tempted to try it out. We ordered some prawns and oysters along with the popular Lankan ginger beer there. The food was delicious!
Siri joined us on our trip to the nearby Mangrove lagoon for a guided boat tour. We went through the Mangrove caves and saw the Sri-Lankan land monitor and some beautiful birds. We also went to the Cinnamon island to watch how cinnamon is prepared from the tree and tasted some cinnamon tea. We drove back to the Hikkaduwa beach to enjoy the sunset in the gorgeous orange sky.
The evening was spent taking leisure strolls along the Galle Road. We had dinner later in the ‘Moon Light’ restaurant, which was bang opposite to our property. To mark my mother-in-law’s birthday, we had bought a brownie; post-midnight we had a small photo session and cake-cutting in our room.
Day 2: January 6th, 2019
The next morning, we explored the other side of the beach. While we were walking alongside the beach, we noticed a small group of people gathered at one point. When we went near, we found that they were feeding two giant turtles, which had come up to the shore. We were thrilled. We fed them too. More turtles came along. This unexpected adventure had made our day. We snorkelled and swam around them. It was so beautiful!
We went back for lunch again to the JLH Restaurant and tried lobsters this time. My mother-in law had never tasted lobster before and we thought, there couldn’t be anything better than treating her with this experience on her birthday. She absolutely loved it and devoured every inch of the lobster. After a sumptuous meal, we took an Uber to go to the Galle Fort. Our Uber driver dropped us at the most convenient spot, from where we could watch the sunset. We climbed a few steps on the fort and from there we could see the vast ocean. We soaked in the tranquility, till the Sun completely disappeared in the sea.
In the evening we visited the Dutch colony at Galle and explored the handicraft shops. The streets were beautiful with pretty cafes and shops all around. There was an incredible collection of crafts-work in those shops. Although it was bit expensive, am sure many people would like to buy it as a souvenir. After a long walk, with a cookie and coffee break at a cafe, we went back to our inn.
We had become so fond of the food at JLH by then, that we did not want to go to any other place for our meals. We celebrated the birthday dinner with the popular ‘Devilled Prawns’, fried Calamaris and some ginger ale.
Day 3: January 7th, 2019
We had a pre-arranged trip the next day so we woke up early. Siri greeted us at the hotel gate and we left for Mirissa harbour. Mirissa is renowned to be the best place in Asia to watch the largest mammals on Earth — blue whales. We had booked a whale watching trip with ‘Raja and the Whales’, after finding that they were one of the top operators, as per TripAdvisor. Siri drove us to their office; there we paid for the trip and joined the other tourists. We had a double-decker boat; and we took our seats on the top deck. We were served beverages and fruit platter immediately after we boarded.
The boat sailed at 6:30 AM and in one and a half hours we had gone far into the ocean. While breakfast was being served, the boat slowed down. Everyone waited for a glimpse of the whales. By that time many of us started feeling slightly unwell as the ship swayed with the motion of the waves. The crew informed us that we were lucky to be there, as the chances of spotting a whale was higher than usual on that day. And right then, we spotted the first whale; as it blew a white splash of water onto the surface. In the next one hour, many boats had gathered around ours. Each time, the crew would notify us exactly before the whale would come out of water, and within seconds, we would see a huge dark blue body appear onto the surface. The crew got it right, every single time — it was magical. We were indeed lucky to have spotted so many whales within a couple of hours. The last one we saw was very close to our boat and it almost sailed with us, slapping its tail in and out of the water. It was an experience of a lifetime for all of us.
We went back to the shore before noon and Siri drove us back to the Mirissa beach. We stopped at the beach to have coffee and enjoy the beautiful landscape. Afterwards we headed to Galle. Being ardent cricket fans, my husband and my father-in-law, both, had wanted to have a look inside the iconic Galle International Cricket Stadium. We went inside the stadium, clicked photos of the beautiful ground. On our way back to the hotel, we had lunch at JLH; again. After that, we took a quick afternoon nap in our rooms as we were exhausted after the long day.
In the evening, we went back to the streets of Hikkaduwa for some shopping. We bought few local handicrafts as souvenirs for our friends and family. We also explored the gemstone shops since we knew Sri Lanka is renowned for its precious gems. My mother-in-law bought a Moonstone earrings, while I bought one made of blue Topaz. We settled at the Tigri Beach Restaurant for dinner on our last night in Hikkaduwa.
Day 4: January 8th, 2019
After capturing the last few moments in Radika’s beautiful house, we checked out. Radika called us later to know about our stay, as she couldn’t personally meet us. We took an Uber to go to Colombo. The Uber took us to our hotel ‘The Ocean Colombo’ in around two hours. We went inside our family room; which had a beautiful sea-view through the panoramic glass window. The hotel was on the marine driveway, with the railway track running parallel to the road. It was a delight to watch the trains pass by, alongside the ocean.
We quickly freshened up and left for lunch. Our Uber driver had suggested, that we try out Upali’s traditional Sri Lankan food. We ordered their Seeni and Pol Sambols, Hathmaaluya (which is a 2000 year old recipe) and some rice and curries. The dishes were rich and flavourful. We later took a tour of the restaurant to see the plates signed by famous cricketers and celebrities, who had visited the restaurant; on display.
We then took a walk around the city. Colombo is very pretty and has a mix of colonial and modern architecture. We reached the Galle Face Green in just about time for the sunset. It is a big area along the coast where many locals and tourists gather to spend the evening. You also get amazing local street food there. It was calming to watch the glorious sunset. When in Sri Lanka, one shouldn’t miss any sunset!
We visited a few shops and bought some local spices on our way back to the hotel. We packed some String Hoppers from a takeaway restaurant for dinner and had it in our room. It was our only night in Colombo and also our last in Sri Lanka. Our return flight was scheduled for the next afternoon.
Day 5: January 9th, 2019
We had breakfast in our hotel and left for the National Museum. Although we aren’t much of Museum enthusiasts, we found the skeleton of a blue whale on display, pretty exciting. After taking a tour of the museum buildings, we walked around the lanes of Cinnamon Gardens. There is no better way to get to know a city than to walk around it. We saw artists who displayed their paintings along the sidewalk, some of them also sat there and were painting in front of an audience. We saw a group playing tennis on wheelchair at a nearby court. The people we met were all friendly and helpful.
With a happy end to our trip, we returned to the hotel. We ordered a traditional Sri Lankan lunch of rice, sambols, and non veg curries. It was a delicious farewell to our Lankan vacation.
Wrapping up
We traveled an hour by road to reach the Bandaranaike International airport near Negombo. We sat at the airport gate and revisited our memories. Although Sri Lanka has much to offer apart from just beaches, but for a short trip like ours, it was important that we did not travel across the country, so that we could save traveling time. Sri Lanka is known for its diversity. It has exotic beaches, where one can enjoy golden sunrise and sunsets; it also offers the tourists to choose from a variety of water sports including diving in the coral reef. On the other hand, the country also has mountains and wildlife, perfect for tourists who like adventures; they can enjoy a Jungle safari. One can also explore the Buddhist temples, churches, tea plantations, casinos, old towns and modern city life while in this island country. And needless to say, you must watch the whales too!
So if you have ever hesitated about it, pack your bags and go for it! There is something for everyone in this country, you just need to figure out which one you want to experience.
