Negombo

We had to leave our Hikkaduwa hotel in Saturday as they needed our rooms for another booking. It seemed like a good opportunity to try a different location and we chose to go to Negombo for the last 2 nights of our stay. The town is on the coast just north of Colombo and is also very handy to the airport. We decided we should ask Pradeep for advice on the best away to get there and also to recommend a place to stay. A few emails and SMS messages later we were all set with a driver booked and hotel found (thanks again to Pradeep!).

On Saturday we said fond farewells to the lovely hotel staff, in particular the manager who had made it possible for us to stay and who always had time for a chat and to check we were okay. Our favourite tuk tuk driver, Lionel was very touched by the gift of a kangaroo key ring and made us promise to come back and explore the north and east next time (which he would organise for us too!).

We were all ready to go and waiting for our driver when I heard screams of joy....'Pradeeeeeeeep!!!'. And so we were very surprised and happy to find a smiling Pradeep had arranged to collect us. The kids both threw themselves at him and it was hugs all round. We were also very pleased to meet his wife and son who were also along for the ride. It seemed Pradeep's next tour was delayed by a few days so he was able to set up the rental of the van and took time out for one last drive with us. He even came bearing gifts - a bag of freshly picked rambutan from his mother. Yummo!

The drive to Negombo took about 3 hours and we went via the expressway which took about 2 hours off the old the coastal route. We had a good catch up and even had a little song from his beautiful little boy. At the hotel we were settled in before waving goodbye again. I hope we are able to stay in touch with Pradeep and his family and meet them again some time.

The hotel had a great pool and was right on the beach again so after a quick lunch the kids were in the pool and we were able to plan the next couple of days. Negombo is really set up as a transit place for people coming and going from Sri Lanka. It's a good alternative to Colombo and there are plenty of places to stay and to eat. Also plenty of shopping options too of course with all the carved animals and cheap clothing.

 

On our first night we found a restaurant called Lords which is run by a British man. It has a fish pond at the front which included some terrapin turtles that really caught the kids interest (more turtles!!). The owner gave the kids food to give to the fish which kept them occupied for a few minutes. They also had an art gallery attached with some very good local art. The food was fabulous too with local dishes and even sausage in bread (much to the kids relief!!!).

We also found a gorgeous cafe called The English Hour, run by a lovely French lady. Again the food was delish and we had a lovely cup of tea with REAL milk. Heaven!! There is a shop in the cafe with some beautiful hand made local textile pieces. I enjoyed having a chat about life in Sri Lanka as a foreigner - it sounds challenging although I think Catherine will be pretty successful with such a lovely place.

 

 

We went for a walk on the beach which was sadly very dirty with a lot of rubbish. A real shame given so many hotels are fronting the water and it seems wasted opportunity. Apparently during the tourist season the beach is kept clean but I have to wonder why the locals aren't wanting to use it all year round!

 

 

We didn't do anything too touristy in Negombo, but did walk around a bit and had a few tuk tuk rides. Dan was getting quite specific about the type if tuk tuk we still needed to ride in (the rest of us hadn't realised there was much difference between them but apparently there are quite a few models!). After refusing quite a few offers he was finally satisfied after a ride in a 'Piaggio'.

We looked at all the fishing boats in the canals which were very colourful if a bit tatty, and again the waterways were full if rubbish. Negombo seems on the brink of being developed, as is a lot of the country in the more populated areas. We saw many hotels being renovated and new ones being built. Some of these will be 6 star and even 7 star (although I can't imagine what you get with that many stars).

On our way to and from dinner each night we passed a huge gathering of people at a local church. The area has a large Catholic population and the people congregate in the area outside the church. There were literally hundreds of people dressed mainly in white gathered for the service. No one talked or tooted and despite the number of people both in and around the area it was almost silent apart from the voices of the priests. Oddly there were men selling bright, helium filled balloons and with all the fairy lights in the trees it looked like a carnival, but with no noise. Fascinating to see and the huge turn out would make our Australian clergy green with envy.

So we had a fairly relaxing few days before a very late flight to KL for our last leg before going home. We waved goodbye to Sri Lanka having experienced a wonderful country and culture.

Dan

• The surprise from Pradeep
  
• The pool at the hotel
  
• Lords because the food is great
  
• The Australian tuk tuk
  
• The hotel
  

Sarah

• Seeing Pradeep again because we missed him
  
• The new hotel rooms because they were really welcoming
  
• The pool is a really good place to play
  
• The people because they are really nice
  
• The markets are really BIZZY!
  

Rich
Weren't really here for very long to make an assessment. I felt it had been rather over touristified and very much catered to the the English market - there is a Tesco metro here for god's sake! However the streets and shops were packed with shops and sales people trying to get you to make a sale of local crafts. It was a nice hotel, in a lovely place right on the beach where you could watch the local square sailed boats sweep by. Probably the best thing though was the restaurant called Lords which we ate at a couple of times. The food and presentation were excellent. Curry fantastic, western food for the kids great too. It also had fishponds and free fish food for the little ones to feed them - great place.

 

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