This morning we packed our stuff again in a well practised manner to move to the Muhsin Villa, on Lighthouse Street. I picked up my tee shirt off a rack and there was a huge cockroach attached to it. Julie was showering, so I quietly bundled it in the shirt and took it outside. I saw a rat in the street yesterday, but I didn’t tell Julie at all, she would have freaked!
You don’t have to to stand on a cold street corner and hang around ages to hail a taxi in Sri Lanka. Tuk tuks are everywhere, like the wind blows and rivers flow. You just step out onto the street and within a minute a tuk tuk driver will be asking if you want a ride.This morning we took a very stylish tuk tuk with white leatherette upholstery and twisted chrome guard rails that separated us from the driver. He was a nice guy who chatted about cricket and how Galle gets invaded by thousands of English cricket fans when they play at the ground just outside the Fort. Both English and local fans like to gather on the walls of the Fort to watch the games.
He took us a few miles east to Unawatuna, a very popular beach resort. The name makes me think of Una Paloma Blanca, an old song from the seventies. It is similar to Mirissa, but bigger and busier, with more hotels and restaurants. Dear reader, you would like it here, the sky is blue, the sea is like a warm bath and cold beers can be brought to your table in the shade. The only minor fly in the ointment are the hawkers on the beach flogging bed spreads and wooden elephants. I settled in the shade and listened to a podcast of a Ted Talk by Dan Bricklin, the guy who wrote VisiCalc and invented the electronic spreadsheet. His invention gave me a good living, I spent ten years teaching people how to use Lotus 123 and then Excel. That paid my mortgage and shoes for my kids when they need a new pair every three months!
Back in Galle this evening I looked up the restaurants in Galle Fort on Tripadviser and found a place called Chambers. It is close by on Church Street, and serves Moroccan food. It was one of the best meals we have eaten on this holiday, lovely oily hummus with hot flatbread followed by the best chicken and prune tagine. A great end to the day.
timharnesstravels 