The south coast...
is where our last two stops in Sri Lanka are. First up we're getting another bus, this time to Mirissa, where we're spending three nights at Boho Hostel. First impression is that it's one of the nicest/cutest hostels we've stayed at - the decor is cosy, rooms are comfy, owner friendly, and dog fluffy:
The weather continued on into the next afternoon, leaving us at a bit of a loss for things to do. The three Dutch girls again were lagging a day behind, but joined us just as the weather was getting a little better. There's a beach party on every night in Mirissa, at a different bar each evening - we decided why not see what it's like! So after a couple of cocktails at the hostel...
This was all a bit rushed, though, as we knew we had to get the bus to Colombo at midday. There was supposed to be a direct bus to Negombo (airport), but apparently that only leaves once per day in the morning, so we had to take a couple of buses, which ended up delayed. We had also hoped to stop in our first hostel, as Dani had left her pair of glasses there, but no luck, as we had to make the call of leaving them there - as we noticed at Colombo bus station we had to rush to the airport ASAP. We made it to the airport an hour before our flight, and were greeted by the largest queue we've seen at an airport. Security thankfully ushered us through quickly, and we finally made it on to the plane 15 minutes before our departure time (it was thankfully delayed, as other people queuing in airport had to catch the flight).
An unfortunately stressful end to our time in Sri Lanka, however it doesn't tarnish our experience of the country whatsoever - we can see why so many people recommended it to us, and we would echo those recommendations 100%. It is an absolutely amazing place to visit, with lovely, helpful people, and a nice chilled out vibe in comparison to some of the more hectic places we've visited in India. We would've loved to have spent longer, but even in the time we did have we got a lot done, and pretty much loved every minute of it.
Having just about made it onto the plane, we're both headed back to India - to Chennai. It'll be our last stop together for a while, as Dani will be jetting off to Goa then to start her yoga teacher training course. We'll let you know what we make of it!
Big love, Dani & Stu.
Currently Listening to:
We settled in quickly, though the weather wasn't great for our first day, so we went to nearby Chinese restaurant Little Red House for something a bit different, and afterwards sheltered back at the hostel from the rain.
The weather continued on into the next afternoon, leaving us at a bit of a loss for things to do. The three Dutch girls again were lagging a day behind, but joined us just as the weather was getting a little better. There's a beach party on every night in Mirissa, at a different bar each evening - we decided why not see what it's like! So after a couple of cocktails at the hostel...
...we decided to set off to check it out. We don't have any photos of it, but to be fair, the less said about it the better. Dodgy music, dodgier crowd - we spent the night mainly playing card games, while also trying to help out a girl who had one too many, and was dangerously close to the sea. Not great.
The next day, however, was thankfully a massive uptick in fortunes. We had all decided to go to nearby town Weligama, which has a quieter beach that is famous as a surf destination. A top-notch 1.5 hour lesson and board rental for €10, we all joined up to take on the waves. Everyone was standing on the board at one point, so a successful day all round. The beach wasn't too shabby either:
The next day, however, was thankfully a massive uptick in fortunes. We had all decided to go to nearby town Weligama, which has a quieter beach that is famous as a surf destination. A top-notch 1.5 hour lesson and board rental for €10, we all joined up to take on the waves. Everyone was standing on the board at one point, so a successful day all round. The beach wasn't too shabby either:
That evening on Mirissa beach proved to be a slightly better evening than the night previous, as despite some stormy weather setting in again, we were able to take shelter from the rain at a nearby beach shack - and we were joined by this little dude:
Can't even
We loved the surfing/beach so much, that we decided to just jump on the local bus again the next morning, for a second day in a row in Weligama. There were a few tired (and very bruised) bodies, so apart from Karlijn being the brave one of the bunch, we all decided to take it a little easier and go bodyboarding for day two, which again proved to be a roaring success. We stayed on the beach all day, and took in our last Sri Lankan sunset, as this was our last night in Sri Lanka - we were due to be back at Colombo airport the next evening.
Given that we weren't quite ready to say goodbye to the girls, we decided to delay our arrival to our final destination, Galle. Rather than get there earlier on that day, we decided to stay and have dinner in Mirissa, before a later arrival time at our hostel (the bus only takes 1 hour). We went for something a little more classy, Zephyr, which was a little more expensive than the norm, but well worth it. Dani got the most unreal fish:
And it was a fitting place to have one of our nicest meals of the trip, with some of the nicest people we've met while travelling. Thanks so much to Karlijn, Marlot, and Shannon for making our trip to Sri Lanka so enjoyable, it was an absolute blast. Hopefully we'll be crossing paths again on this year, and if not, the Netherlands or Ireland for a reunion will be on the cards!
Also not forgetting Clive (pictured above), who we bumped into many times along the way, too. Our teary-eyed goodbyes were had at the table, and once again at the hostel as the two of us grabbed our bags, and set off to Galle that night. We were staying just the one night, as time was constrained. Our flight back to India wasn't until the next evening, so a morning spent in Galle was planned for, with us getting back to Colombo airport by bus (hopefully in time). Our arrival in Galle could've gone better, as with our midnight arrival, the hostel was hard to find in the poor visibility. There were also three stray dogs that seemed to be keeping guard of the door, and given neither of us want rabies, actually getting to the door once it was found was another problem in itself.
We finally made it, and we're glad we did, as Galle is a lovely little town. There's a Dutch fort just on the coast, and definitely a feel of some European influence throughout the town - the paved, narrow roads are something we haven't seen yet on our travels.
Dani even managed to fit in buying some clothes in a little boutique store, before we stopped off at Isle of Gelato, to get some of the best ice-cream we've ever had:
An unfortunately stressful end to our time in Sri Lanka, however it doesn't tarnish our experience of the country whatsoever - we can see why so many people recommended it to us, and we would echo those recommendations 100%. It is an absolutely amazing place to visit, with lovely, helpful people, and a nice chilled out vibe in comparison to some of the more hectic places we've visited in India. We would've loved to have spent longer, but even in the time we did have we got a lot done, and pretty much loved every minute of it.
Having just about made it onto the plane, we're both headed back to India - to Chennai. It'll be our last stop together for a while, as Dani will be jetting off to Goa then to start her yoga teacher training course. We'll let you know what we make of it!
Big love, Dani & Stu.
Currently Listening to:
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