#ahangama

Palm Hotel, Nakanda, Galkadanduwa, Ahangama, Sri Lanka,

Not an exceptionally thrilling post today, visually speaking, but I’ve had a great day. Woke up and it wasn’t bucketing down, which was a relief. Scooted up the road for a yoga class at a place called the nuga house, where their shala is partially open to the elements. This was particularly nice during savasana when the rain started up again.

After the sweatiest yoga I’ve ever done, I stayed for a coffee then headed back to dreamsea, my accommodation. Had some brekkie, wrote postcards home, went for a dip in the sea. Bummed around, had a nap. Eventually got my butt back out there and rode back down to Weligama as the sun had re-emerged. Had a cocktail and some salad on a beach lounge before going back to the same surf school I went to the other day.

Today was a fair bit calmer than Saturday, when I last attempted to surf, and it went really well. Stood up heaps, surfed all the way in to shore a couple times, and was catching waves by myself - rather than having the teacher push me off. I’m also crediting the whisky sour for limbering me up beforehand.

Drove back to Ahangama, dropped off the scooter, and walked the 10 minutes back to my hotel. Passed a fishmonger on the way; found out where all the local cats like to hang. Stopped by the supermarket and bought a fruit nectar juice that I absolutely inhaled - so parched.

Had a swim in the pool, changed, watched sunset. Went across the road to get kottu and a couple of hoppers for dinner. The server didn’t seem convinced when I said I wanted sambol, he knew it was hot. The food was tasty, but they didn’t give me any of the curry gravy or coconut sauce that usually comes with kottu, so it wasn’t quite as delicious as usual. No matter, still tasty. And I had to eat it with my hands… truly becoming a local.

So this is a pretty dull post on account of… the monsoon has begun. May 1, just like that, it got the memo. To be fair it was supposedly meant to begin mid-April so we’ve been living on borrowed time since then… but boy has it kicked in!

I woke up around 6.30am and looked out - gloomy, grey, windy. Decided today wasn’t the day for surfing and promptly fell back asleep before getting up a couple hours later. Had porridge for brekkie and booked more travel stuff - finally settled on a place in Milos and booked my ferry across - of course it’s €25 more dear now than when I first looked but that’s what I get for dilly dallying.

Killed the day otherwise doing life admin and watching more Netflix. Went to see if my laundry was ready and it wasn’t. It’s only rained a day and the main coastal road looks like it’s flooded in parts already… hate to think what it’ll look like next week.

Walked down to the fancy Harding Boutique Hotel, where I’d made a rooftop reservation for 5.30pm. Caught a massive downpour and ended up there totally drenched. Initially sat at the ground floor restaurant but decided to take a look upstairs. There was one spot under the roof that was sufficiently sheltered from the rain, so decided to relocate there. Had what is by far the most bougie/expensive dinner I’ve had in Sri Lanka so far - two cocktails, a Greek salad (with feta and olives this time!) and some spaghetti aglio e olio. Set me back $56AUD, which is still well below Sydney prices.

Yesterday I woke up early and went for a swim in the sea, because I could. I’m sure I mentioned earlier, the water is so warm. Not even a momentary chill on entry.

Had a shower, got ready, milled about. Probably updated this blog. Had breakfast at my accomodation around 8am, then set off to hire a scooter (sorry mum - but I’ve been fine!). Of note is the fact the lady hiring out the scooter had zero interest in checking my driver’s licence or asking if I’d ever driven a scooter before - which I have, and am legally entitled to do. This is of relevance for reasons I’ll mention later.

Scooted off to Weligama for a surfing lesson. The water was rough and choppy and there was a strong current making it difficult to get back out after attempting to (and occasionally getting) up. I had a few good goes where I got on and stayed on but for the most part it wasn’t great from me. But that’s okay - there’s good days and there’s bad!

After the surf I had a juice at a nearby cafe before scooting back and bumming around some more. Had a nap, then a late lunch, then eventually got ready for an end of year rooftop party at a place nearby the previous hotel I’d stayed at. End of year, as the season is closing. More on that later too!

Got there 5ish, more staff than patrons at that point. Only had a beer and chatted with my friends from the tour, Kris and Louise, then Iain and Karen (also from the tour) joined us. The DJs, to their credit, were actually pretty excellent, and the sunset was beautiful. As I’d scooted I only had the one beer and got a bite to eat there before taking myself home.

Here’s my wild, scooter-related travel story. On the way home I saw a couple of cops by the side of the road. The guy let the two riders in front of me go and motioned to me to pull over by flashing his little torch on the ground, so I did. He asked for my driver’s licence, which I produced. I pointed to the bit that says I can drive an automatic bike. He asked for my international driver’s licence and I told him it was back at the hotel. He asked if I had a photo of it and I said no. He asked where I was from and I said Australia, and he clicked his tongue and told me we had a problem. I said I could take him back to my hotel and show him my international driver’s licence, he said no and asked where I was staying. When he repeated there was a problem I said there was none, and that he was trying to bribe me, and I took my licence back. He signalled to his cop friend, and I held up the little travel pouch I take with me daily, pointing out that the international driver’s licence doesn’t fit in it - which it doesn’t - it’s bloody huge. Cop friend was not interested in pinning me whatsoever, just shook his head and motioned for me to go.

Not sure how I got so lucky and escaped but I zipped home as safely and speedily as I could, eyes peeled for anymore roadside torches flagging me down. First time I’ve encountered law enforcement in another country, pretty glad I didn’t take their shit and got away. Could’ve been very different if I got two dickheads instead of one, though. Also yes hi sorry mum I know you’re reading this but all’s well that ends well, isn’t it!

Once back I watched a little Netflix to pass the time. My room has atrocious wifi so I end up sitting by the door for signal.

On Friday the last of us met up for breakfast, and once again hung out by the pool, before heading to Mirissa for lunch. After we’d eaten (I had fried bananas and ice cream because it’s basically a health food, right?) we walked up to coconut tree hill, famous for Instagram influencers and wannabes alike. It was a hill, with coconut trees. Pretty. I offered to take photos of a couple of Sri Lankan ladies and instead got pulled in to photos with them, which was sweet of them, if bemusing to me.

Stopped for a quick iced coffee then tuk tuk’d back to our accommodation to collect my bags and head to my next hotel. Had a really nice driver with great English, so we chatted, mostly about how insanely expensive cooking gas and petrol has become. The queues we saw only a couple weeks ago at petrol stations have disappeared - not because it’s suddenly more accessible, but because most people can’t afford to fill up any more.

My new place is in Ahangama, a little beachside town (which isn’t actually that little). I’m in a twin room but no one has come to share it with me, which is awesome. I have a view to the sea from my bed and patio, and I’m only about 15m from the water. The place has a pool and a cafe/bar, and it’s only a couple minutes walk to the supermarket and a few good food options. It’s very sleepy, very laid back.