Villa Kusum Hikkaduwa

Hier soir avons mange au Hard Rock restaurant, rien a voir avec la fameuse chaine... Ai pris des noddles au poulet, excellents. Puis sommes alles dans un bar ou on est allonges sur des coussins a ecouter du reggae et boire des mojitos, mes premiers au Sri Lanka!
Rentre vers 23h30, lecture et dodo.
Reveil ce matin vers 9h, sous le soleil, prends direct un bus local a 9 roupies ( 6centimes) pour aller a Galle tirer de l'argent, acheter des timbres et poster mes cartes ...

... and Sri Lanka. Because this guy was deaf it was more funny than annoying. He followed us everywhere! Clapping was how he got our attention followed by a theatrical pantamine explanation. We had no idea what he was on about but it like traveling with our very own clown! The rest of my time in Hikkadwa, I wondered around some temples, met some cool monks, and ate kotu rotti (like dough salad) until it came out my ears!

... something to pass down to him, and he will carry on the tradition. Perhaps some years hence, I will return to this same guesthouse and find an bright young man taking care of the family business. I hope so. Work Ethic. Our sometimes-present security man/rickshaw driver hauled sand in the hot sun all day the other day helping out a funny German old man whom I like to call der Kommisar. (don't turn around, uh-oh. . .etc). Another man drank from the morning on, occasionally turning up ...

... An idea formed in our heads. . .What if we just bought a bunch of veggies and fish and did a nice meal for the ten or so guests at the hotel? Seemed good. . So, running it by the others, it turns out Daniel (the only one of us who can actually surf a wave) is a proper chef who spent time in Israel working in a 5 star restaurant. He agreed to do the cooking, and the date was set for saturday. Off to market 4 of us went, pricing and selecting eggplant ...

Wow this place is perfect! Never have i seen such long stretches of white beaches, they are beautiful and have the odd palm tree dotted along them- postcard perfect and most of the time we are the only people on the beach! Hikkaduwa is supposed to be the most popular 'travelers/ surfer' beach in Sri Lanka but it's now alomst out of season and the threat of terrorism have kept people away - perfect for us but not for the locals! It's brilliant to relax ...

Where did January go?? Time is just flying by! In the past few weeks I managed to complete my Open Water Diver certification! I've done the four dives required for the certification. The last one, sea turtles were surfacing a few meters from the boat. The other divers saw them up close under water. I wasn't so fortunate, but to see them from the boat was really cool. From the ...

... trip to Galle but it has been a bit of a disaster. We went to find a restuarant i liked which does the most amazing rotties but we either missed it or it was closed. We then went to another place miles away that was terrible and not cheap. (The food in Sri Lanka is very pricey and not that good (apart from their rotties!))Then we tried to get a train that wasnt going for another 2 hours so we jumped on a bus and it took an hour and a half to travel 20km du to road ...

... watched a Sri Lankan soup on the telly, they were all really into it and I didn't know what was going on (Uma did try to explain it though), so I just came up to my room. The room is nice and it has an attached bathroom, the ceiling fan is closer than in the Summer House so hopefully it will keep my cool during the night. They also have a mosquito net over the bed, I've never used one before and am wondering how effective it will actually be. Only one way to find out I suppose, goodnight!

... sea. So the sea is right beneath you and the place offers a breathtaking unhindered view of the horizon.. As usual, when watching natural beauty in its entire splendor, I always end up feeling very humbled. Gorgeous sunset. We come back for Dinner to Sun n Sea, which unfortunately was not a great experience. Absolutely the worst glass of Red wine imbibed without doubt and dinner was also no great shakes. But the place and the setting was simply beautiful so all was not lost.

... we arrived in Anadhapura, the most northern point of 'safe' Sri Lanka, we would ask the local bus drivers, which had been to Jaffna if it was safe. "What happened last time the peace negotiations broke down?" I asked Affan as we planned the route in my lonely planet guide map over a cold lager. "It was a misfire, a short circuit, you know?" he tried to explain. "So what happens if there is a 'short circuit' when we are there?" I asked, now beginning to get concerned. "Then ...