Archiv der Kategorie: Sri Lanka

Beach time in Mirissa & surroundings

After snorkelling with the turtles, I took a bus towards Mirissa – though stopping in Galle first. Galle is a town with an old Dutch fort which is highly recommended to explore. Unfortunately I had decided to walk around with my backpack (which is only 30 liters in Sri Lanka – but still), and the sun was burning down. So it was nice to see but I probably would have enjoyed it more under different circumstances. I walked around a bit, had a look at the different churches and climbed up the ramparts at different points. It was definitely nice and worthwhile – but just come when it’s cooler and/or leave your bag somewhere in storage.

Afterwords, I hopped on another bus further on to Mirissa – supposedly to most beautiful beach of Sri Lanka. It certainly is pretty, but also very touristy and crowded! I spent the first afternoon chilling on the beach with Carla from Spain.

Next day, we decided to rent a scooter to drive down the coast stopping at lots of beautiful beaches along the way. Some were quite hidden and didn’t even have a name but were soooo pretty! I think overall the most beautiful (read: unspoiled, empty) beaches are around Tangalle. I especially liked Medaketiya beach – a beach that stretches over many kilometers and is empty for most parts. There are some cheap-ish restaurants and accommodation options at the beginning of it near Tangalle so I very much regretted not staying here instead of Mirissa! So – go to Tangalle, rent a scooter and find your personal dream beach!

From the airport to the beach

09.02.-10.02. 2018 Hikkaduwa

I landed in Sri Lanka, the second country of my second world trip, around 8.30 am. Visa process was rather quick and my dive luggage immediately arrived at the luggage band. Great start! I put my big dive bag into storage, which took a tiny bit longer and then got on the bus to Colombo center. The bus broke down shortly before reaching its destination, so I guess that was a typical Sri Lanka welcome to me! I then changed on another bus to Hikkaduwa where I had booked my hostel for the first night. From the airport straight to the beach! Well, it wasn’t that straight. The bus took about 3h and it was super super full, reminding me of the busses in Guatemala. It also stopped every couple of meters which didn’t make the journey quicker. In the end I was more than ready to arrive in Hikkaduwa at my hostel.

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Hikkaduwa is nothing to write home about, but it’s a nice enough beach for the first day or so. I went for a walk on the beach and some snorkelling, but was unlucky first with the turtles (which Hikkaduwa is famous for). Buuut…I did see them next day in the morning, super close. They were in really shallow water so you didn’t even have to snorkel to see them. I did hear that they feed them now and then and that’s why they come so close – and they certainly weren’t shy. Not something that I support, but when I was there, noone was feeding them – so that worked for me 😉