Sri Lanka: Christmas Week Sri Lankan Style

Sri Lanka is the land of Chatty Cathy's. The local people we have met in the southern part of the island always greet you with a handshake, are very friendly, inquisitive, and often have the same questions. "Where are you from, Is this your first time in Sri Lanka, How long do you stay, What are you going, and What did you do today". Everyone knows Obama and is very happy he is going to be our new president. It's a good time for Americans to be traveling abroad.

The weather has been mostly fine (hot and humid), with occasional thunderstorms, lighting, and monsoon-type rain. No worries, we are finally at the beach. It's not as hectic here as it was in the other parts of the country, and there is definitely a laid back scene going on. Both locals and tourists are hanging at the beach, making it more authentic. And there were a few great local frisbee players jamming close to the waters edge. In Sri Lanka, "room boys" are their version of maids, and at our current hotel, the Unawatuna Beach Resort, our room boy does an amazing job of decorating our bed everyday with beautiful flowers, which has been picture worthy.

Our first beach stop was at the "party" town of Hikkaduwa, which has a long wide beach with ride-able waves, surfing, beachside restaurants, chill bars, and lounge chairs with palapa's overhead for shade. We made friends quickly with a local named Lasanta and he and his brothers and sisters took good care of us at their family restaurant. We had great meals of curried food, BBQ fish feasts, Lion beers and fruit lassies. We made some traveler friends with a family from Jersey, UK, and Uncle Stevo became surfing coach to 7-year old Jacob. For days we sat and watched the waves and the locals fish with their traditional methods.










We moved further south to Unawatuna, a crescent shaped bay with coconut palms, warm water, restaurant on the beach with colorful lights, and a mellower scene. We've been here for almost a week, and it's been hard to move far from our lounge chairs, although our hotel does have a pool and table tennis. We did find a small shack restaurant down a sand alley, with a local man selling amazing roti's and special lassies. We've done a little snorkeling in front of our hotel and to the "Jungle" Beach which is a short distance away. For the first time in our travels, we hear Grateful Dead music at a beach bar and quickly stopped in for a refreshing happy hour beer.





















We were able to get up and out for a couple of days trips. We found the beautiful beach of Marissa about 30 miles south with few people, a very wide beach, and a very tropical setting. We also ventured to the nearby town of Galle, where there is an old Dutch fort with an "old city" within, filled with churches, shops, hotels, and restaurants. In the "new city" there is a colorful fish and produce market as well a local bazaar.

Christmas Eve is a big party celebration at the beach, with decorations, xmas trees, and even Santa arriving at night via boat. There was a huge feast at our hotel's restaurant, fireworks, music, and happy hour that lasted until dawn. Us old folks barely made it to midnight.





Today is the 4-year anniversary of the Tsunami that devastated most of the coast of Sri Lanka. We hear tales from all of the locals that we meet about family members they have lost. They are resilient people and have built back some of what was lost, but there are reminders all over of the damage. Tonight there were small candles all over the small town of Unawatuna and we participated in the lighting of the candles in remembrance. It was an emotional moment for us that brought perspective on all of the things we are grateful for. With that, we hope you had a wonderful holiday and we'll be thinking about you on the New Year!