A Romantic Get Away

We have just returned from a weekend on the south coast. We stayed in Galle that was a significant port in the past. A Moroccan traveler visited the port in 1344. The first Portuguese arrived in 1505. The Portuguese defeated the Sinhala kings 82 years later. The Dutch laid siege in 1640 and the Brits took over in 1796. The fort there was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988. It encloses about 200 houses and we spent part of Saturday walking around the fort and long the ramparts overlooking the ocean and part of Sunday shopping there and driving around, as it was quite hot.

On the way to Galle on Saturday we stopped for lunch at a restaurant in Hikaduwa where I had dined months before. However this time we are presented with a menu whose prices ran from $12-$34 dollars (tourist menu). I knew something was amiss and asked for the other menu. The wait staff pretended to not know what I was talking about. When Ron said ‘let’s go somewhere else’, the alternate (menu for locals) menu appeared. The prices ranged from $1.90 to $6.00. I don’t mind paying more for food, but this place did not warrant those prices. We had a vary disapointing meal, our last at this place. We also stopped at the Brief Gardens and home of Bevis Bawa, brother of the famous Sri Lankan architect, Geoffrey Bawa. Bevis spent from 1929 until 1989 developing these most magnificent gardens. He was 6’7” tall and Geoffrey was 6’4”. Then name comes from legal brief, as his father used the money from a brief to purchase the land. We toured the gardens and home before heading on out to Galle. The gardens were about 30 minutes off the main road and a real treat. The family has a heritage of Sri Lankan, French and Dutch ancestors. Photos will be posted soon, probably when we return next weekend from Nuwara Eliya.

Our hotel was foremerly a colonial mansion built in 1858 on a promontory overlooking Galle Bay. Each room has a magnificent view of the bay. The colonial character has been well preserved there. That evening we went out for fine dining at the Lighthouse Hotel, designed by Geoffrey Bawa. The staircase was the most artistic I have ever seen. The railing was a series of warriors, Sri Lankan and Portuguese fighting a battle. It was spectacular. The dining room entrance has a lovely reflection pool that I do believe is a hallmark of Bawa’s work. If you wish to see the staircase and pool etc, Google Lighthouse Hotel Galle and then Photos for a feast for your eyes. We were the only ones in the dining room and had a lovely meal, quite romantic as the place was filled with atmosphere with low lighting etc. We spent $36.00, I think the most we have spent since arriving in SL and considered to be a huge amount of money here. The staircase alone was worth the price as far as I was concerned.

Sunday morning we started out driving further south to see more of the coast and the Martin Wickramasinghe Folk museum that was filled with all sorts of everyday objects used in traditional SL life. We thoroughly enjoyed this. We also toured his humble home where he was born. He is a famous SL writer. After this we passed by the famous Taprobane Island. This island home was built in the 1920’s by a French count and it has played host to kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers and the like. Today you can rent the 2 ½ acre island and home for a mere $1400 a night except at Christmas when the price goes to $1760. To view this beauty go to www.taprobaneisland.com. Now we know where the rich and famous hang out in SL!

On Sunday we dined at the Amangalle Hotel built 400 years ago. We dined on the veranda and had a grand time people watching. This is a high-end hotel where the low end starts at $450 and goes to $1,200 a night. No, we won’t be staying overnight here.

That night we went to The Sun House, a boutique hotel that was voted one of the Top 50 New Hotels in 1989 by Conde Nast Traveler. They described the Cinnamon suite as the most beautiful room in the world. I have already decided that we will come back here for our anniversary if we are still in SL. This place oozed atmosphere. Each room was unique and oh so special. Again photos can be seen at www.thesunhouse.com if you care to see this place. We dined outside under a covered porch with an overhead fan. We were the only guests and it couldn’t have been any more romantic. The meal was indescribable. Oh my god, such wonderful food. It started with a salad of lentils, green beans and beets. Then we had the best fish I have had in SL with a ginger orange sauce, greens and rice. For dessert I ordered a flourless orange cake with ice cream while Mr. B had lychee- ginger sorbet. YUM! In between courses, we walked around the gardens, were shown three of the seven bedrooms and looked at the decorative items in the living room and foyer.

So we got home a bit ago and head out tomorrow for Nuwara Eliya and Hatton and will return Thursday night late as Ron has a meeting in Colombo on Friday. Normally we don’t travel at night so late but it can’t be helped this time. So I am doing laundry so we can repack tonight and head out tomorrow.

Today is May Day and a rally was cancelled due to the recent killings on Colombo. No need to create a target for terrorists. We are feeling safe but all activity on the east coast for Ron’s program has been put on hold for the time being. We had planned to travel there next week but not anymore.

That’s it from Sri Lanka where the Bergmans are having more adventure than they ever imagined possible.