Lonely Planet describes Sri Lanka as South Asia’s favourite beach escape. And as some of the best sand and surf is reportedly in the south, we felt a slow beach hop back to Colombo after our Ayurvedic experience was in order. The big piece of advice for anyone travelling to Sri Lanka is to take the monsoon warnings with a grain of salt. Broadly speaking, the “Yala” monsoon season brings rain to the South and South West during May to August. The East and North Coast however is generally fine at this time – its turn to get wet is between October and January. Well its mid Yala season now in the south and if this is bad weather, then I am a fish. Sure we have had a few interludes of rain and I wouldn’t want to downplay the torrential downpour the day in late May when we were in Galle, sadly responsible for the deaths of a number Sri Lankans caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. But generally speaking, we have had settled sunny weather with a constant sea breeze which has made things mercifully cooler. Probably the biggest downside has been the sea – quite rough and not for the faint-hearted swimmer, which makes being in a place with a pool an advantage. But what we hadn’t realised before we made our booking was how relatively empty of tourists the southern coast is at this time of the year. At Talalla (more on this beautiful spot next) we virtually had the beach to ourselves. We had the pick of hotels (although many hotels and restaurants do close down during the slow season) and probably saved about a third on accommodation costs. Maybe we were lucky with the weather, but I would recommend anyone to come to Sri Lanka’s south coast at this time of the year. Our first beach was Talalla, just 20 minutes from Dickwella. We were attracted here partly because of the ayurvedic treatment hotel (where incidentally we had originally booked) right on the beach, and also because of a glowing online review by a lady called Natasha aka the “world wandering kiwi” which you can read here. Well I have to say I agree with Natasha’s assessment – its just stunning. A beautiful bay ringed by lush vegetation - its unspoilt and virtually undeveloped. We treated ourselves and stayed at Talalla Retreat on the western end of the beach – it is by far the best beach resort I have experienced anywhere. The grounds were spacious and park like and our second story room had no windows – completely open to nature aside from bamboo blinds. We woke and sat on our front deck watching the sea and wildlife (peacocks, squirrels, monkeys and many types of weird looking birds). The staff were unfailingly laid back and friendly. They quickly cottoned to the fact I loved my cricket, and so was bought regular scores of whatever match (ICC Champions Trophy in the UK) was playing during dinner. Boy, were they happy when Sri Lanka beat India! Yes I know – pretty spoilt and worthwhile reflecting on how fortunate we are. The average monthly salary here is around US$150 while the minimum monthly wage is $US65 (about $2.60 a day). Not that you would know that based on the character and kindness of the people here. Just makes you think . . . From Talalla we moved on to Mirissa (about 25km closer to Colombo) – more developed than Talalla but not overly so. Mirissa is where the younger ones come to party apparently, but again because of the low season we almost had the beach to ourselves. The one hot spot seemed to be a beach bar and restaurant about 5 minutes stroll down the beach from us. The bar boys (about 4 of them) were a delight – happy to see us (well happy to see anyone I think). Once our drinks were served they would retire back to their spot in the corner and relight their joint . . . From here our plans are a bit vague. There may be some twists and turns ahead - stay tuned . . .
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From the touristy streets of Galle Fort to the serenity of Peacock Ayurveda Gardens - a specialist ayurvedic treatment centre on Sri Lanka’s south coast. It’s a laid back little place - feels like some little country estate with gardens, a lovely pool, villas with verandas, large lawn etc. Just missing the cocktail bar and happy hour . . . Ayurveda is a 5,000 year old healing system coming out of India. It’s often referred to as the sister science of yoga – hence Jolanda’s interest over the years. The idea is that each person has a unique combination of elements (fire, air, water, earth etc) – in Ayurveda our personal combination is called our “dosha”. Like anything in life, things can get out of balance – ayurvedic medicine therefore is all about getting some balance back in our dosha. Ayurvedic specialists will be dismayed at my cursory explanation of their 5,000 year old art, but that’s probably enough background detail for me right now. Our days involved up to 7 treatments – full body massages, steam baths, steam inhalations and a range of other goodies. My favourite was Shirodhara, a treatment that involved warm oil slowly cascading onto your forehead. It’s just incredibly relaxing – good for stress and even apparently prevents premature greying of the hair. Well I’m not sure that’s worked on me yet - maybe it takes time . . . In between treatments there was time for swimming, relaxing and walking - all sorts of life on the quiet country street and kids everywhere riding bikes and playing. These ones gave us flowers . . . The whole process seems to be about detoxification of the body, overseen by the onsite ayurvedic doctor. Everyone here goes through one cleansing day, which basically involves taking some mild laxatives and being best mates with the toilet for half a day. Incidentally, having a cleansing day instantly makes you quite a topic of interest with the other guests, probably seeing as there isn’t much other entertainment on offer. One is expected to enter into the spirit of telling everyone how many times you have “been” – which sparked off a mini competition with one lady from Slovakia managing 17 (unverified I might add) which certainly dwarfed my paltry 12. The guests were probably the most diverse geographically I have ever come across. Surprisingly there were only 6 of us, possibly due to the current off-season at the moment in southern Sri Lanka. We had two Slovaks, one Swiss, one Siberian (who spoke almost no English) and us – Kiwi and Dutch. To cap that off the owner was from Lithuania with the rest of the staff mainly Sri Lankan, as far as I could tell. The Slovakian lady, Janne (she of the 17 bowel motions fame) was the class character – unbelievably at a strict Ayurvedic cleansing programme she somehow got away with nipping out to the front gate for regular ciggies, and maintaining a personal coffee stash. She was such a nice person and so liked by the staff that it was no problem finding someone, for example, to nip out in a tuk tuk on an emergency ciggy purchasing mission . . . We came together at mealtimes – all vegetarian as you can imagine. The food was simple, maybe a little on the boring side, but tasty. Our ayurvedic medicines were presented at the end of breakfast and dinner and comprised a number of small glasses of foul tasting gunk. Absolutely no idea what’s in it, but being the compliant chap I am they were suitably dispatched. So, was it all worth it? How do I feel now? Well to be honest, on a short-term perspective I probably feel little different – maybe a bit lighter of spirit and calmer. But by going through a good detox I do feel I have made a longer term gain, given that one of the reported benefits of Panchakarma is the elimination of many toxins in the body that contribute to chronic disease.
Cancer rates, for example, seem to have shot up over the last hundred years and there is enough evidence around to suggest that everyday chemicals in things like processed food, cosmetics or even the air we breathe may account for a good amount of that increase. The World Health Organisation and the International Agency for Research on Cancer estimate that 7% to 19% of cancers are due to exposure to toxic substances in the environment (reported by the Halifax Project, for those interested). The world is certainly full of claims and opinions and I guess all I can do is that which feels right to me. So now our detoxed bodies are next heading for some beach hopping in southern Sri Lanka. I just can't wait for that first beer toxin . . . ! Transiting from Bali to Sri Lanka was pretty easy with Air Asia – flight to KL and then a connection on to Colombo, a total of 6 hours flying. Colombo airport is about an hour north of the central city so $30 didn't seem too bad for the taxi ride in. We were met by our Airbnb host Surekha, a lovely lady who spoke with an immaculate English accent. The English were actually the last colonial masters here, from 1815 to 1948 when Sri Lanka gained independence. Before the English it was the Portuguese from 1505 and then the Dutch from 1638 – so I can imagine the poor old Sri Lankans quite like having the place to themselves now . . . Colombo has over 5 million inhabitants and is the capital and commercial centre. To be honest it’s like a lot of big cities – big, bustling and busy and not really our cup of tea (no pun intended). We did a bit or sightseeing of which one highlight was probably the old Dutch Hospital in the city centre. Built in the seventeenth century to look after staff serving in the Dutch East India Company it is now a little haven of shops and restaurants, insulated from the hectic bustle of the city. The interior is impressive – high ceilings with massive teak beams running along the roof – and as we sipped our juices we could imagine patients recuperating in the relative calm and coolness of the building. We travelled most places in Colombo by tuk tuk, which was quite a hair-raising experience. The road rules here must specifically require the use of the horn, and no one follows that rule quite as enthusiastically as tuk tuk drivers. The brake appears to be used as a last resort with the use of the horn preferred to warn other drivers and pedestrians of our passage. When there are three lanes jammed full of traffic and no apparent way through, tuk tuk drivers seem to spot a gap only they can see and hurtle towards it. And amazingly it always seems to come off ok. Our only real near miss was one lady on a pedestrian crossing who obviously didn’t understand the horn rule – this was one of those ten per cent times that the brake was used and Jo and I had to hold on tight to avoid getting deposited on the street. So the upshot of this story is, for those adrenaline junkies out there – forget the amusement park roller coasters and pay about 2 bucks for a tuk tuk ride in downtown Colombo . . . Our other highlight of Colombo was a visit to “Our Turtle Conservation Project” on Mount Lavinia Beach, about 20 minutes south of Colombo CBD. The centre exists to promote the conservation of sea turtles, which are fast becoming an endangered species – their shells, meat and even eggs are in demand and therefore can provide a source of income for local communities. The centre volunteers educate local fisherman and guard the hatching of turtle eggs, ten per cent of which they keep as hatchlings for a few weeks before release to the sea in order to improve their chances of survival. We met one of the volunteers and her very cute toddler Shakira – both of whom had lost their beachside hut in the latest monsoon. Made us realise how much we have to be grateful for . . .
Galle is a very cool spot. Quite different from Colombo – quieter, more laid back and only about 20% of the tuk tuk honking. We stayed in Galle Fort – a walled complex built mostly by the Dutch during the seventeenth century, encompassing around 50 acres of houses, restaurants and shops, every second of which seems to sell gems. Our second floor guesthouse balcony provided a magical spot to view street life – everything from the vegetable man doing his rounds to a photo shoot of some serious canoodling. Strolling round the ramparts was great to experience the sea views and breeze, not to mention another opportunity for people watching. There is such a big Dutch influence still in the town with many street and shop names in Dutch. We visited the 300 year old Dutch reformed church, which was a haven of peace and coolness on that very hot Sri Lankan day. I got a good old session of food poisoning during our stay in Galle and so I stayed in bed for a day and generally felt sorry for myself. Thank goodness for the pack we brought with us from the Travel Doctor in Wellington with a flow chart included to work out what antibiotic I needed. By the next day I was back in the land of the living (well just) and by the third day had my voracious appetite back again. Tomorrow we head to a place called Dickwella (I kid you not) for our 11 day Ayurveda detox session. I have to admit feeling a tad apprehensive – but this trip is all about saying “yes” to things, so here goes . . .
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Richard and JolandaJo and I have decided to give up our work, our house and our lives in Wellington NZ to see the world. Our big adventure started on April 6th 2017 . . . Archives
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