Amanwella
From the Seychelles Inlands it is a 4-hour direct flight to Sri Lanka. We were picked up by Aman Hotels and driven to Amanwella on the South Coast of the Island. It was a 3-hour drive. It took us an hour to drive the first 15 kilometers through narrow streets filled with bikes, Tuk Tuks, pedestrians, cars and dogs. After we reached the Southern Express Toll Road our driver was able to drive over 100 kilometers per hour.
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| Typical pastoral scene |
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| Fishing in the rice paddies |
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| Scott doesn’t quite fit in a tuk tuk |
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| Lots of Buddhist temples along the way. Sri Lanka is 70% Buddhist |
AmanWella is on deserted beach at the end of a narrow village road near the larger village of Tangalle.
Our room is typical Aman modern minimalist. The views from our large balcony are stunning. The 2004 Tsunami hit the south side of Sri Lanka causing terrible loss. AmanWella was newly built but not occupied in 2004. It also has a bay with a reef that protects the shoreline so the Tsunami caused no loss of life in this limited area.
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| Entrance |
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| Our patio |
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| Beautiful beach but the water looks a little mean |
We took a car and hotel guide to visit the Mulgirigala Rock Temple. This is a Buddhist Monastery built in caves that are located in this 700-foot high rock that rises almost vertically and towers over the forests. The cave interiors have reclining Buddha and images of Buddha that were painted in the 3rdCentury AD.
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| The paintings are all done on rock and the colors are vibrant |
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| There are three levels, each with a small temple. They all have reclining Buddha’s |
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| Ceiling |
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| There were almost 600 steps to the top |
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| These children were with their mother preparing offerings for the temples |
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| Scott getting a blessing. It was for a long healthy life. |
The view from the top of the rock was over the forest canopy below.
We were then taken to rice paddies to have a sundown picnic.
The next morning we took a walk with our guide through the village that was close to our lodge. The people we met along the way were quick to smile and wave.
We stayed two nights at Amanwella and are now being taken by car to Amangalla. Along the way we saw an area where the huge bats like to hang out and stopped at a small batik factory.
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| Bats! |
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| Women painting with hot wax with copper wire wound around a stick. This keeps the color from that area. Then the cloth is boiled and the wax is removed. |
Amangalla
Galle was visited by the Moors from Tangiers, Morocco in the 14th Century. In 1505 the Portuguese set sail for the Maldives and were blown off course and sailed into Galle. In 1640 the Dutch captured Galle in a battle the claimed 3000 lives and built Fort Ramparts, churches and homes over the next 150 years. In 1798 the Dutch handed over Galle to the English without a fight. In 1867 the first tea plants were introduced into Ceylon. Ceylon changed its name to Sri Lanka in 1972.
We are staying inside the walled fort of Galle at Amangalla. The hotel was a Dutch military building and has since been made into a hotel.
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| Entrance |
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| They gave us a beautiful corner room |
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| Out of our window |
We went on a two-hour walking tour of the Galle Fort area. There are only 4 main streets, with little alleyways here and there. There is a lighthouse and along the ramparts and there are cannon remnants.
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| Main street inside the fort |
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| A smaller alley |
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| Everything looks fresh |
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| The lighthouse |
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| Along the ramparts |
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| Of course there are snake charmers |
It was nice to see families out walking the ramparts for a Sunday morning activity.
The 2004 Tsunami did not reach over the ramparts of the Galle Fort but destroyed big parts of the nearby city. All of the UNESCO Heritage buildings in the Fort were saved from the Tsunami by the Ramparts completely surrounding the Fort. The Tsunami wave was only 17 feet high in this area. In other areas of the Indian Ocean the wave was close to 100 feet tall caused by the 9.0 Richter scale earthquake on December 26, 2004.
We also visited a small Tea Plantation and a Rock Buddhist Temple near Galle. They sell fresh fish every day along the highway.
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| In the tea factory, this machine was made by the Davidson Company who built the Titanic. (It’s pretty old.) |
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| Another Buddhist Temple inside rock caves |
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| It was 6:00 pm and the monks were chanting and the people praying |
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| The young novice monks are chanting in the microphone |
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| The people seem very happy |
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| A stupa at the temple |
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| Monk inside the cave |
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| Selling fish |
We had a curry and rice dinner brought to our room for dinner. It is a typical Sri Lankan meal. It was WAY too spicy for us!
Clingendael
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| The airport was at an air force base. The plane landed on water, then came up on land to fuel. We took off on land. |
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| Caravan Cessna |
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| We are landing on that river ahead to pick up 2 passengers in Colombo. |
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| Taking off on the river |
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| Flying over Colombo |
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| Co-pilot letting other passengers on |
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| We flew up to Kandy (our destination) but couldn’t land in the clouds, had to turn around and go back to Colombo. We had to circle there too trying to dodge a storm. A little bit iffy of a flight. Now we have to drive 4 1/2 hours on windy roads instead of a 30 minute flight. It is only about 80 Kilometers, but it takes that long!!!!! |
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| Clingendael Boutique Hotel. Up in the mountains near a lake. You would never know that a beautiful place was here by the way you had to get to it. |
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| Our breakfast table |
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| Dining and reception |
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| Our suite |
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| Bedroom |
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| Pool area |
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| They made an awesome dog with sunglasses out of towels |
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| They made us a curry and rice dinner |
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| Breakfast |
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| Selfie |
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| Selfie going to play golf at Victoria Golf Club |
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| Can you say Go Cart? |
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| Barb golfing |
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| Caddies carried our bags and the ball boy watched our balls |
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| Man with a sickle cutting grass and putting it in a bag to feed his cows |
Habitual Travelers 