Volunteering in Sri Lanka - Weekend and 3rd Week

English Readers:

Sri Lanka (3rd Weekend)

Saturday (1st of August)

- We went to the Beach Party at Hikkaduwa, supposedly a big Summer event where thousands of people gather on the beach and dance. We caught the bus at about 11h00, just in time to get to Hikkaduwa (some twenty kilometers away from Galle) and have lunch. Then we checked in at the "El Dorado", a Guest House we found listed on the Rough Guide.

It was located about four hundred meters away from the main road and the beach, in a calm place, away from the noise of the cars and the sound of the bars' loudspeakers. Inside it was very simple. The air conditioning in our room was broken, so we had to get on with the ceiling fan. There were no sheets on the bed, no towels, and when we asked for toilet paper, they said it was available for a price. We paid 1650 rupees for the room, which is about 10 euros. This may sound cheap, but in Sri Lanka you can get a nice guest house for the same price, with toilet paper, bed sheets, towels, air conditioning and hot water. Here we didn't have any of this.

- We strolled along the main road, looking at the shops, had a swim at the beach nearby, and looked around for signs of a party. There weren't as many people as we were expecting, although most of the bars were packed with big loudspeakers and preparing for the night. After a nice swim in the rough sea, playing with the waves, we walked back to the main road to do some gift shopping and watch some art crafting. We had dinner at the Francis Restaurant, a fancy place with live music, and then headed back to the beach for the party. The music here was deafening and too rave-like, but everything looked pretty calm at this time, apart from a few small groups dancing randomly in some kind of trance. It was definitely not our party, so we went to bed.

Volunteering in Sri Lanka - Weekend and 2nd Week

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English Readers:

Sri Lanka (2nd Weekend)

Saturday - 25th of July

The weekend arrived and, as planned, we went to visit Galle for the first time. Ann was going with us, which was nice.

Inside the Bus

We caught the bus at the main road, our first time on a bus in Sri Lanka. Lucky as we always are, the bus was crammed with people and getting into it turned out to be a Tetris Challenge. The bus is new by Sri Lankan standards, probably around twenty years old, but it feels like something from World War II. The ride is harsh, bumpy, noisy and totally unsafe. But if you pay five cents to go to Galle (about five kilometers away) what would you expect? It's like going on a roller coaster for free.

We arrive in Galle... alive!

Galle Bus Station

The bus station is packed with people. There are dozens and dozens of buses all over the place, mixed with three-wheelers, motorbikes, bikes, people and dogs. There are vendors in every corner, selling everything, from fruit to clothes and craftwork.

Galle is divided into two different zones, the New Town, and the Old Town.

The Old Town is located inside the Fort, a massive Dutch colonial structure from the 17th Century, built over the previous Portuguese Fort. The Town follows the same patterns, with a typical colonial style and strong Dutch influences.

Our time in town is spent visiting art shops, churches and museums. In one of the churches there is a visitor’s logbook, where I see people from all over the world, but mainly Europeans. From Portugal there is no one. We are the first!

There are also many gem shops, with jewelry for every taste.