We decided to go to SL again as our previous trip back in 2020 was not completed because of Covid. We got quotes for flights and accommodation. The price of flights had almost doubled since 2020😳. The flights back in 2020 was R11 500 pp. It was now R19 000 pp.There were cheaper flights via Qatar but the waiting period was much too long. We decided to go with Emirates and booked our flights with Save Travel. We booked our accommodation with booking.com and Agoda. Our planned itinerary was 3 nights in Bentota then Galle for 2 nights, then Colombo for 4 nights (we were leaving at 3am therefore had to book a fourth night). Paying for a holiday always fills me with much trepidation, feeling anxious about things happening before the impending holiday (accident, illness, death). I am so paranoid that I will take out travel insurance immediately after I pay for the flights. I am also anxious about booking for holidays via booking.com and Agoda. I will also constantly contact the home stays or hotel to confirm the bookings.
The day of the holiday arrived. Once you are at KSIA the flights and connecting flights go by so quickly and before you know it you are at your final destination. It always still amazes me how one can get to another part of the world in just 2 days 🛩Note to self, seat 29 on Emirates should be avoided at all costs as passengers seated in this row will be served with their meals last😖.
We booked our driver in SL with Jeev who came highly recommended. He arranged our airport and hotel pick ups. The costing was R3 170 for 2 people. Our flight arrived at 18:20 in SL, the drive to Bentota took about 2 hours. Our homestay Aayus Guest was the best place we stayed in SL, just as how we had anticipated it would be. The total cost for 3 nights was about R2000 for 2 people. The breakfast was amazing and the bed was super comfy, the host Thillini was awesome. We enjoyed Bentota, a quiet beach town resort with a railway line running through it. We enjoyed the quiet laid back lifestyle, and walking back to the homestay in the dark after supper, which will not be possible for one living in SA. We ate at Bamboos Garden Restaurant. The food was good on our first visit and we got to know the waiter who was from Galle quite well. Our last supper here wasn't so good though. Thillini arranged for a tuk tuk (fare 3000 SLR) to take us to the Buddhist temple and the Geoffrey Bawa home and gardens (fare 10 USD each). We were most impressed with the interior of the home but not the gardens. When hubby got sick on the day of our departure Thillini suggested an Ayurvedic tea for him. On the morning of our departure we took a walk to Cargills to get the tea which helped him a bit.
Our next town was Galle, which was very touristy. Our homestay Albert Guest did not look very pleasant from the entrance to the stairs leading to our room. First of all the lounge didn't have an aircon, and we assumed that our room wouldn't have one either, but it did. The total cost for 2 nights was about R1 200 for 2 people.We really felt the heat in Galle as was typical for SL during the time we were here. We made sure to explore Galle in the blazing sun and retreat back to our room with the aircon in full blast. We walked to the Galle cricket stadium, and we found that the alcoves of the Galle fort area proved to be a favourite spot for young lovers. We ate at Indian Hut and food was similar to what you would have in India. The Royal Dutch Cafe proved to be a huge disappointment. First of all the staff didn't seem very interested in serving us. The food took a long time to arrive and was cold and the roti was dry. The owner mentioned that they do not use microwaves, maybe he should start doing that. After reading rave reviews about Dairy King we decided to have ice cream here, hubby's order was nice but I wasn't too impressed with mine. What stood out for me in Galle was the Historical Mansion Museum which was free. This place had an amazing array of antiques and we enjoyed looking at all the stuff on display. There was another warehouse full of antiques and beautiful pottery which we just found by chance. The other 2 museums (National Maritime Museum and National Museum Galle) that we paid for were a big disappointment.
Our final destination was Colombo. We stayed at Zest Metropole, which had the features of a posh hotel, but the bed was soft and uncomfortable, the wifi wasn't very good, the aircon worked some of the time, and the TV hardly ever worked. We paid about R5 220 for 2 people for 4 nights. On our first day (Sunday) we wanted to know where Cargills was, and a kind gentlemen walked us there, only to find that it was closed. We walked to One Galle Face Mall and found a pharmacy there. Hubby needed antobiotics and we contacted our GP who whatsapped the script. Wifi was only for 1 hour at the mall, luckily a young man at the information desk allowed us to use the hot spot on his mobile. We also visited the One Galle Face Green area and Pettah market. The walk from the hotel to these places was stiflingly hot and crossing the busy streets was another hurdle we had to overcome. Luckily we found cheap eateries and Cargills inside the World Trade Center, which was opposite the hotel, and which we frequented often.
I think we overspent our time in Colombo. Hubby was sick and I started getting sick on the day of our departure from SL. SL was a good experience. In hindsight I would say my favourite place was Bentota.
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