Currency:
Sri Lanka Rupee

Highlights:
"The Best Beach in the World", relaxing in the peaceful and beautiful beach town of Unawatuna

Our Adventure:

The road from India to Sri Lanka was a long and hard one and consisted of the following:

• A journey that took us through the following cities: Varkala - Trivandrum - Mumbai - Colombo.
• First up was a packed 45 minute train ride from Varkala to Trivandrum which was delayed by an hour and a half. There wasn't any space to sit so we had to stand next to the door (which is wide open even while the train is moving) and next to the toilet and we had to get up close and personal with all the locals. Niiiiiiiiice. Lucky it was only 45 minutes.
• Next up after a tuk tuk ride from the train station we got to Trivandrum airport and caught a 3 1/2 hour flight via Kochi to Mumbai.
• Once arriving in Mumbai we had a 3 hour wait at Mumbai airport before we could check in and finally at 00h40 we ventured into the craziness and chaos outside Mumbai airport and checked into our flight (which was only leaving at 03h40).
• We then said goodbye to Incredible India and hello to Colombo, Sri Lanka after another 3 hour flight.

You can see our photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=389811&id=713415257&l=4dfffa4bdc

Day 1:

Hello Sri Lanka!

Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, is in Southern Asia. It's an island country in the Indian Ocean, south of India.

For a quarter century, Sri Lanka seems to have been plagued by misfortune, including a brutal civil war between the Sinhalese-dominated government and a separatist Tamil group. But the conflict finally ended last May, ushering in a more peaceful era for this teardrop-shaped island off India's coast, rich in natural beauty and cultural splendors.

The island, with a population of just 20 million, feels like one big tropical zoo: elephants roam freely, water buffaloes idle in paddy fields and monkeys swing from trees. And then there's the pristine coastline. The miles of sugary white sand flanked by bamboo groves that were off-limits to most visitors until recently are a happy, if unattended by product of the war.

After touching down in Colombo, we grabbed our bags and set off on our first mission which was to get to the Australian Embassy, rock up without an appointment and get our permanent residency visas added to our passports. We had to do this because we decided to extend our trip by a week and head back to Perth to check it out, say hi to Craig and Sash and activate our visas which we needed to do before August 2010 anyway. Oh and on the way home stop passed Dubai so we could check that out too!

After doing some haggling at 06h15 we got a driver for the day who would take us to the Australian Embassy and then on to our final destination Unawatuna, Sri Lanka. Rocking up at the embassy without an appointment was a huge risk, especially since we are clearly neither Sri Lankan nor Australian, and for anyone who has ever had to deal with an embassy in a foreign country, you will know what I mean. Saying that, we rocked up at the embassy at 08h30, managed to talk our way in and got the visas stamped in our passports within 5 minutes (after minimal waiting). Woohoo - it's great when a system works!

Driving through the streets of Sri Lanka was certainly different from what we had become accustomed to in India. Yes, there was hooting and business but not nearly to the extent that we had seen and heard in India. Another thing that was immediately noticeable was that there was not litter strewn everywhere and the streets were clean! This made a very nice change. What didn't make a very nice change was the huge presence of the military everywhere - seemed like there were guys with guns on almost every corner - a vivid reminder of their war-torn past.

So we began the 150 km drive from Colombo to Unawatuna. The journey through busy Colombo roads took over 3 hours along the pristine coastline and on the way we stopped in at Honganji Vihari. Honganji Vihari is a Buddhist statue that is a symbol of hope for the mental and spiritual rehabilitation of the people in Sri Lanka and a fitting memorial for the victims of the tsunami that so badly affected Sri Lanka. We continued our journey through several little beach towns (including Hikkaduwa where we had been contemplating staying) and headed to the South West near the seaside village of Galle to Unawatuna.

Unawatuna is a crescent-shaped beach resort located on the southern coast of Sri Lanka, a few miles south of Galle. "Una-watuna" meaning "fell-down" refers to the myth of Hanuman who had to move a mountain as he could not locate the herbs he required and in the process a chunk of it "fell-down".

We checked into the Unawatuna Beach Resort and upon check in we got upgraded from a standard room to a pool-wing deluxe room with our own personal butler and jacuzzi bath! A great start.

After settling in, we checked out the pool and the other hotel facilities and wandered down to the white sandy beach with crystal clear waters that was right in front of the hotel.

We strolled down the beach to the next hotel, the Peacock Hotel for some lunch in the form of ice cold cokes and toasted sandwiches (which are known locally as "jaffles"). As we were both exhausted from the long journey we spent the rest of the afternoon lazing by the pool, taking a swim in the warm Indian Ocean and then a long nap.

We woke up well after the sun had set and stumbled to the restaurant where we enjoyed a buffet dinner and sampled some of the local brew, Lion Lager. The dinner entertainment consisted of a brilliant 3 man band which would come and sing acoustic songs of your choice at your table.

After a delicious meal we headed to bed and we were both keen to wake up bright and early to enjoy the paradise of Unawatuna.

You can view our photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=389817&id=713415257&l=fe246fb601

Day 2:

We woke up early the next morning and because our deal at the Unawatuna Beach Resort included a breakfast and dinner buffet, we headed for the breakfast buffet. After breakfast we assumed our position at the pool and spent the rest of the day people watching, reading, relaxing and lapping up the sunshine.

For people watching this rates as some of the best as there are none of your normal tourists here. Some Russian, some Dutch, some American… a little bit of everything actually and even some that we have not been able to identify.

Our favourite is a Czech couple who speak absolutely zero English and they constantly believe that their Sri Lankan hosts know exactly what they are saying. This leads to very humorous jumping around, hand signals, some token pieces of German vocabulary and basically anything to try and communicate. The funniest we have seen is when the pool boy had to explain to them that there were no more beach towels and they would need to use their room towels in the interim. Hilarious to watch and all I can say is the Sri Lankan pool boy would be an ace charades player although unfortunately the only people who did not understand what he was saying were the Czech couple! They have all been laughing non stop and formed a great friendship even though the only way they communicate is with their hand signals. The Czech couple also seem to spend most of the day looking for lizards to take photos of?? Superb.

Talking about the Sri Lankan people they are very similar to the Indian people in the sense that they are friendly and always smiling but they are very laid back compared to the Indians. I think it must be something to do with the big, beautiful island that they live on. Once again the Sri Lankans are cricket mad so cricket is always a great conversation starter.

At sunset we headed for a walk along the beach to the end point on the right. As we walked and watched the sun set over the ocean, we came across the local fishermen and absorbed everything that the paradise of Unawatuna had to offer us.

Walking along the idyllic beaches the one thing that you notice is that the beaches are lined with locally owned boutique hotels, guest houses and small rustic restaurants. No big chain restaurants or fast food outlets. No big hotels. No one hassling you to buy something. No one begging. Just pure local Sri Lankan peaceful paradise with the soundtrack being the waves crashing against the beach.

When we reached the point, we looked out over the rocks to the ocean and after the sun had set we watched the beach light up with the lanterns that run along the water. Absolutely beautiful.

We stopped in at a local restaurant for a sundowner and asked the owner of the restaurant about the places we had seen on our walk that looked like they had recently burnt down - the owner confirmed it had happened only 3 days previously and apparently that owner did not have a license and did not ask any of the locals if he could open the restaurant. The guy we were speaking to seemed to think that one of the locals had "accidently" set it on fire. Scandal. Perhaps this is why Unawatuna has remained one of the most relaxing places we have been in and set on one of the most beautiful beaches we have experienced on World Tour. Whatever the reason we hope it remains like this for many years to come!

We finished off the evening with our buffet dinner at the hotel and then retired to watch a movie before bed.

You can view our photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=389819&id=713415257&l=0c4c766ecf

Day 3:

We started the next day with our standard buffet breakfast and once again assumed our chill out positions on the sun loungers by the pool overlooking the ocean.

We did however manage to catch a glimpse of the news with the headlines being as follows:

Sri Lanka clashes erupt over former army chief's arrest
Government supporters and thousands of opposition activists have clashed in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8508494.stm

It was strange to think that 150 km up the road there were clashes over the former army chief's arrest and we were possibly in the most peaceful and beautiful place right there in Sri Lanka.

For lunch we branched out and ventured to the Tartaruga Beach Restaurant which was next door to our hotel and where you could sit at your table, have a great lunch with the sand between your toes and have the restaurant music be the waves crashing on the beach. While sitting at lunch we noticed the clouds coming in so we headed for some shelter for a couple of hours.

With the sky still a little overcast we headed out on our sunset walk down the other side of the beach and about 15 minutes into our walk the heavens opened up again and we found shelter at Biddim, where the slogan is: "Come in and chill out" and that is exactly what we did.

We grabbed some ice cold refreshments and watched the sun set over the Indian Ocean whilst watching the local fishermen heading out on their boats for the evening, the dogs chasing each other up and down the beach and in and out of the water and two active people who were having a sunset swim and paddle.

To wrap up another peaceful day in paradise we had dinner on the terrace of the resort listening to the sounds of the live musician playing the saxophone. Another perfect day in Unawatuna.

You can see our photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=389821&id=713415257&l=50f02de9a1

Day 4:

We woke up on our final day in Unawatuna and we were unfortunately greeted with some light rain and overcast skies. We spent the morning catching up on various pieces of admin and once we were done the sun had managed to burst through so we headed for some pizza on the beach and then the pool.

We finished our last day in Unawatuna with another sunset walk along the entire stretch of beach which is well sheltered by a sweep of palm-fringed land right behind it.

We could definitely see why Unawatuna is rated as one of the twelve best beaches in the world and why it was once named "The Best Beach in the World" by Discovery Television Channel - it is pure paradise. Sri Lanka has also just been voted the #1 place to visit by New York Times for 2010.

Apart from the beach, the scenery right behind the beach is unlike any other in the world, with the stupa (Buddhist temple) perched on the top of a green hill. We walked along the beach and then strolled up to the dagoba (stupa) on top of the hill and admired the Buddhist architecture.

We wandered around the top of the stupa and then sat on the rocks overlooking the Indian Ocean and listening to the waves crash on the rocks down below - such a beautiful and peaceful spot.

After that we walked back through the small concrete streets of Unawatuna which are lined with small shops selling everything from art, to wood carvings, to jewellery and local supplies and loads of rustic restaurants and bars. Unfortunately we had dinner waiting for us back at the resort so we headed home, jumped in a quick shower and headed out for our last supper in Unawatuna.

After dinner it was back to the room to pack as we would have to get up at 01h00 to jump on a private transfer back to the airport in Colombo as we were heading for our next destination: Maldives… the sunny side of life.

You can view our photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=389824&id=713415257&l=e40ae78b94

Ayubowan (A greeting meaning: "May you live longer") Sri Lanka,
Leise + Lara