I lean against the wave and pretend that I am weightless

Dambulla and Trincomalee - 1^st to the 4^th June

I always tell people that if I were to choose an alternative lifestyle, I would choose to be a beach bum. There’s just something about the sea that calls to me. The second I see it [or even hear it] I am taken over by this overwhelming urge to run right in.

The second my cousin told me she was planning a trip down from England with her family in June, I knew that we had to go to Trincomalee for the long weekend. When the day finally came, the vehicle [stuffed with various relatives, inessential beach gear and food] set off a mere half an hour later than the planned time. Which is considered punctual, judging by Sri Lankan standards.

On the way we stopped at the Dambulla cave temple, which is the largest and best preserved cave temple in Sri Lanka. This World Heritage site holds statues and paintings on the walls of the cave depicting the life of Lord Buddha. The most fascinating feature however, is the gravity defying upward trickle of water along the roof of the cave which drips into a pot that never overflows.  The twins, my 9 year old niece and nephew however, didn’t give the dripping water a second glance. Instead, they were more captivated by the greedy monkeys who watched our every move. 

The facade of the cave temple

A statue from inside the cave temple

The twins and the monkeys

We arrived at Nilaveli Beach Hotel in the evening, much later than we had anticipated due to the road works and the wrong turns. Tired and sleepy, everyone had only one plan in mind: wash-eat-sleep…! I was the first one up at 6am the next morning; I jumped out of bed, threw on my swim suit and made a mad dash to the beach, which was just perfect. The sea was calm, cool and deserted so I ran right in. Half an hour later, there were the health conscious few that were taking a walk or jogging along the beach. It was about an hour later that I was joined by the rest of my group in the sea.

The deserted beach

 

For the next two days, all we did was hang out in the sea, swim in the pool, make sandcastles and sleep on hammocks in the shade when it was too hot to be under the sun. There are two things I especially love when I am in the sea. One is my ability to abandon everything when I’m afloat, until the whole world melts away with all my worries and all that’s left is me, the sea and the sky. The second is that light salty spray on my face when a wave breaks right in front of me…

Digging a mote to save the sandcastle from the waves

The perfect way to spend and afternoon

 After 3 days of rest, relaxation and getting extremely sunburnt, it was time to head back home. As sad as it was to leave, I was glad knowing that living in Sri Lanka means – well, that there are beaches everywhere, and I can go back whenever I want. In any case, I consider myself extremely lucky because I get to travel and call it work!

This is My Lankan Dream.

Make yours come true.         

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