Monthly Archive for November, 2009

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Human/Bicycle Conflict @ AbaY

Published on 09/11/2009 in Blogs, Traveler's Reports, front page and people. 2 Comments

Recently Whacko, Indi and I went on a walkabout of the East Coast. Excited by stories of untouched beaches, exotic seafood and original gangsta’s, we took the night train to Batticaloa. From there we headed down to Arugam Bay, famed surfing location and muse for naming of hip slipper brand.

The beach was good. That’s a blue whale of a compliment since we were sick of beaches by the end of the trip. There was this other bit of beach where surfers gathered called Peanut Farm, which we decided to cycle to. We rented push cycles for the day and set out. Continue reading ‘Human/Bicycle Conflict @ AbaY’

Day 1 – Arugam Bay

Published on 08/11/2009 in Blogs, Ideas, Security & Safety, Traveler's Reports, front page and people. 1 Comment

To Batticaloa

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We took the 7.15 train to Batticaloa from Colombo Fort, which seems to be the place from where most of our travels begin. It is also possible to get to Arugam Bay via Ampara but spending  11 hours in a bus wasn’t exactly our idea of fun.

The train ride is long. We only got to Batti at 5 am. It stopped at various places for no apparent reason. Traveling on a Sunday night in second class will get you double seats for yourself. But, unless you are a midget, you’d be hard pressed to get some comfortable sleep. Tickets are Rs. 500. Its a longass train ride that takes you through Habarana and Polonnaruwa seemingly just to avoid the hill country.

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At Batti, following the guidance of Lonely Planet we visited a very mediocre looking dutch fort. The general architecture of Batti is reminiscent of South India. There aren’t many trees but the ones there are have been colonized by pigeons, with very bad bathroom habits.

We ate at a restaurant called Hotel Thameemy at the end of main street. We had Parata and pol rotti with potato curry, pol sambol and beef. The food was excellent.

To Arugam Bay

The ride to Arugam Bay was in three stages. Batti to Kalmunai, Kalmunai to Akkaraipattu and Akkaraipattu to Pottuvil. The landscape is dry and arid. Its got a strange beauty about it.

The first two stages were in hot buses. We had interesting chats with the driver on the second stretch. The roads are being developed at a rate and this provides a lot of employment to area residents. On the stretch from Akkaraipattu to A’bay we took a tuk tuk. This cost us around Rs. 1300. We recommend you take the bus.

Eating and Sleeping in A’Bay

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We stayed at Sooriyas, the only place in Sri Lanka (pending verification) where accommodation can be gotten for 200 bucks per person. The room comes complete with bathroom, fan and fresh linen. The host, Asraff, is friendly and a good cook. Food is billed for separately though and if you’re looking for ultra cheap meals then Alira’s, a few meters north on the beach side, is a good option.

Peanut farm

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We rented 3 push bikes and biked over to Peanut Farm. Bikes can be gotten from Hakeem’s for 300 rupees a day. Peanut farm is a surfing point that is roughly 8kms south of Arugam Bay. Its got beautiful deserted beaches and some interesting looking rocks on to the right side with some caves in them.

The road heads through fields flanked by thick dry zone forest. Elephants are said to haunt the roadsides after dark and we had a close encounter with one on the way back. It gave us the stink eye. We assume there is rap music involved somewhere.

This post might be a bit delayed because we are currently using internet that apparently uses smoke signals and monkeys overdosing on Acid for transmission provided by the dude over at indi.ca via dialog. Phone reception is particularly good with most areas covered by that operator.

source:


http://sinhalayatravels.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/day-1-arugam-bay/

UK Tuk-Tuk Tours

Published on 07/11/2009 in Money Matters, front page, services, taxis and tuk tuk. 0 Comments

Rattle and roll on the Lanka Challenge tuk-tuk race

What do you get when you put 70 foreigners in charge of 25 tuk-tuks? Charles Starmer-Smith finds out as he leads Team Telegraph on a wild and wonderful 10-day ride across a devastated land that’s slowly regaining its tourism feet – and its winning smile.

Night had well and truly set in by the time we reached the village of Dambana, 150 miles east of the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo. With just a single flickering beam from our tuk-tuk – a motorised rickshaw – to guide us, we could barely make out the potholed road ahead. But for a few gaslights hanging from the corrugated shacks clustered along the forest edge, the village was cloaked in darkness. People appeared to lurch forward out of the gloom, their faces momentarily illuminated but their shouts drowned by the whine of the engine. My two team-mates had fallen silent in the back as my grip tightened on the wheel. We were lost. Continue reading ‘UK Tuk-Tuk Tours’

Ven Kataragama Siri Ratana, the lone guardian of the historic Moodu Maha Vihara at Pottuvil

Published on 07/11/2009 in Blogs, Historical sites, Security & Safety and front page. 2 Comments

Arugambay/ PottuVille News

Kataragama

Ven Kataragama Siri Ratana stood in the sands, a lonely figure, holding in his hands the offerings we had made to him. Alone and vulnerable he has dug himself into this hostile territory in a small ‘sanghavasa’ (abode of bhikkus) to protect and preserve an ancient temple on the beaches in Pottuvil in Eastern Sri Lanka. It is a one man battle against heavy odds. Continue reading ‘Ven Kataragama Siri Ratana, the lone guardian of the historic Moodu Maha Vihara at Pottuvil’