'There' and back again

Aside from the title, this blog post doesn’t have much to do with the hobbits tale written by Bilbo Baggins! Instead, it’s about a very relaxing trip to a bungalow hidden away in Dehiowita. The bungalow named ‘There’ is about an hour and a half away from Colombo and about fifteen minutes from the town of Awissawella.

Pardon my references to The Lord of the Rings, but now as I think back… ‘There’ reminds me a little of Rivendell, the home of the elves that is surrounded by rivers, because of the river and the stream that surrounds it.

 

A painting of Rivendell (thanks to FineArt America)on the left and my attempt to draw a map that shows how the rivers flow around the bungalow on the right.

 

 

The road from Colombo to Dehiowita was good but it was the last bit from Dehiowita to the bungalow that gave us a hard time. It is a possibility for a van or a four wheel drive, but not even an option for a car. We did however manage to get a car up there albeit at a very slow pace by getting out of the vehicle to lighten the load at the difficult points. The bottom of the vehicle got slightly banged up a few times but the car soldiered on and made it to the bungalow in the end. When I was talking to David, the owner of this lovely property, about the road access… He said that he was looking to only fix the bigger potholes on the road instead of paving the entire stretch to deter any other traffic and vehicles that might come that way. He wanted to keep the area peaceful.

I noticed a change in the air the second I stepped out of the vehicle… It was cool, fresh and crisp and we were welcomed with some Kola Kenda, a warm and inviting herbal Sri Lankan porridge. The second thing I noticed was that there was no cell phone reception anywhere. I walked all around the house and the gardens in panic searching for at least one bar of reception but found nothing. After the initial shock of realising I would be offline for two whole days wore off… I started to enjoy the bungalow and its surroundings a lot more. The house is surrounded by lush greenery and the rivers and all you can hear are birds chirping and the peaceful sound of the river rushing past.

The front garden

 

A warm jug of Kola Kenda

 

The flowers that brighten up the garden

My cousin looking for cell phone reception!

Features of the bungalow's facade

The resident stray that paid us a visit!

 

The river

From the veranda

 

The master bedroom, although I would rather sleep out in the veranda!

By afternoon, I was actually happy about being offline and out of cell phone range. It was great to just switch off and take a dip in the stream [because the river was too rough] or play some games with my family. The gardens were full of flowers and big colourful butterflies [the kind you would never see in the city]. Another interesting feature about the bungalow is that the greens used to make the kola kenda, the fruits used to make the fresh juices and the vegetables they cooked for our meals were all grown in their garden. 

The very clear water in the stream

Best seat there was...!

Some mushrooms I found walking back up to the house

The steps from the stream up to the house

The collection of indoor games they had there...!

You find so many pretty things while walking around the gardens....

The fresh juice we were offered and the fruit it was made out of

 

The delicious lunch...

Enjoying the view...

This is an ideal place for someone who wants to just switch off from the city life and enjoy some fresh air. It is also the place the inspired me to create a concept holiday in Sri Lanka that is solely focussed on bathing spots. More on that later! Until then, Live. Love. Travel. 

Fort Food

An honest review of the food and the places to eat in the Galle Fort by someone who loves to eat!

Ask any Sri Lankan and they’d tell you that a Galle Bath Curry [rice and curry from Galle] is the best you could find in the country. Rice, a fish curry and jaadi [pickled fish] or karawala [dried maldive fish] are the essentials of a typical meal in the South Coast.

This post however isn’t about rice and curry, instead it is about the delicious food that I have stumbled upon while wandering around the Galle Fort. Let me first start with the smaller vendors…

You will always find raw mangoes available with a mouth-watering mixture of chillie powder, salt and pepper sprinkled on it to give that bitter-sweet spicy flavour that Sri Lankan’s love. Getting the perfect ratio of chilli powder, salt and pepper has come down to an art form mastered only by these vendors. The same mixture is sprinkled onto pineapple by the pineapple vendors at the Fort. There are also kadala karayas [vendors who sell boiled chickpeas mixed with pieces of coconut and dried chilli] and men that sell Bombai Muttai, which is something similar to candy floss.

Moving on to the bigger cafes and restaurants, Pedlar’s Inn Café is one of my favourites. It has a very historic  vibe inside with lots of wooden carvings and other old ornaments as well as art on the walls that are seen only with a black light… A refreshing twist to their vintage setting. Try their coffee milk shake which is absolutely energising, especially on a hot day.

The vintage interior

The historic look inside Pedlar's Inn

There’s also Indian hut, which is famous for its tandoori chicken and [surprisingly] its Chinese food (!), Wok on the Wild Side which ironically serves rice and curry instead of Chinese(!), Anura’s where everyone goes for the best pizza in Galle and the Nescafe shop, which is famed for its Roti!! Clearly, when it comes to the food at the Galle Fort, you can expect the unexpected!

Indian Hut: Serves Indian as well as Chinese!

Good Advice!

 

My absolute must-eat-before-I-leave-the-fort food is some homemade Ice Cream. There’s a tiny pink and blue shop on Church Street that sells various interesting flavours of Ice Cream such as Magic Mango and Banana, as well as juices, milkshakes and coffees. Dairy King is a small but delightful place with the friendliest owner named Tariq, who’s sure to recommend something great depending on what you like.

The Facade of Dairy King

Tariq - The friendliest owner...!

Spending a day soaking in the sights, sounds and flavours of the fort is enough to leave anyone stuffed to the brim with food and culture. If you are planning to explore the Fort, you should definitely try as many of the places I’ve mentioned above as you can while you are there, and if you aren’t able to, then at least taste Tariq’s Ice Cream!