Archive for the 'Traveler’s Reports' Category

This weekend’s last supper

Published on 15/01/2012 in From our own Correspondent, Traveler's Reports, front page, people, stop over Ideas and wild life. 0 Comments

Another beautiful, mild & sunny weekend comes to a close
At Arugam Bay
Below are a few impressions how some enjoyed their last supper.
The Eastern Coastal road still ends at  Arugam Bay & beyond,.
A real Dead End, at the the wide river at Kumana.
No modern catering  facilities there. So far.

A rare leopard at Kumana. He had his dinner ...

Waiting. For his second supper....

Arugam Bay by Duncan MacFarlane

Published on 09/01/2012 in Arugam Bay Surf Club, Arugam Surf Club, Arugambay Surf Club, Blogs, Facebook Fan Club: Arugam Surf, Surf competition, Traveler's Reports, front page and surf. 0 Comments

Arugam Bay. Main Point in front, P'Ville & Whiskey Point shown on top, up North

Arugam Bay by Duncan MacFarlane

Trips abroad are always a tasty side-dish to the long hours on the sand that are most surf photographer’s meat-and-potatoes, but when Duncan Macfarlane got the call from 18seconds Magazine earlier this year to jump on the next plane to Sri Lanka he knew he was in for a particularly spicy assignment. Several weeks later he was back, reeking of curry, with a hard-drive full if images, a beard full roti crumbs and head full of stories about mindless right-handers.

The chef’s special on Sri Lanka’s menu-board of uncrowded points is Arugam Bay.

SPOT CHECK – Arugam Bay

Arugam Point
Arugam Point is the main wave in the area and generally the most crowded. An average wave breaks for about 100 metres, but if you find a pearler you could ride for 300 metres or more. The wind is always best in the morning before the trades come up around 10-11am. The point can handle plenty of swell up to eight-foot.

Inside point
Some 300 metres in from the Point is Inside Point. It doesn’t connect with the outside section, so don’t get too exited. On an average day this wave is a fun, gentle break for beginners learning to surf, but it’s wedgy and out of the wind.

Potuvill Point
Several hundred metre right point on sand bottom. The wave is generally about half the size of Arugam Point and is more protected from the trade winds than other places. It’s only a few kilometres away and faces roughly the same direction. Continue reading ‘Arugam Bay by Duncan MacFarlane’

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The Basses. Just South of AbaY

Published on 14/12/2011 in Blogs, From our own Correspondent, Traveler's Reports, front page and people. 1 Comment

Sunken Treasure, Golden Pearl Island

Sri Lanka Holidays: Sunken Treasure, Golden Pearl Island and Ravana’s Swaymbhu lingum by bunpeiris

If a sheer single word could bring about the most divine joy, the word “treasure” would take the pole position to race against the most precious of all words: father, mother, son, daughter and lover. Of course, you may re-order the words, for your lover would hardly approve the sequence. Of course, you may hold the sequence at your peril but nobody would twitch a muscle nor bat an eye. Keep your eyes peeled and ears open for there’s more to swing low and final thrust of the argument is still ahead. If such is the magic of the single word, the ultimate magic could perhaps be encapsulated in a pair of words: sunken treasure.

The Great Basses Lighthouse off KirindaThe Great Basses Lighthouse off Kirinda

In the year1958, Mike Wilson discovered a hitherto unknown spectacular underwater territory that sparked interest in snorkling, scuba diving (skin diving), wreck diving and submarine photography (underwater photography) in the southern coast of Sri Lanka Holidays. The location was the Great Basses Reef, 6 miles away (as the crow flies) from Kirinda in the mainland (island of Sri Lanka). Great Basses Ridge and Little Basses Ridge run almost parallel to the southern coast of Sri Lanka. The wave-swept line of submerged rocks of Great Basses is home to Great Basses Light house while the Little Bases Ridge houses Little Basses Light house. Both light houses were then run by Imperial Light House Service of Great Britain. Close to the location of Little Basses light house is Daedalus Rock the site where Her Majesty’s ship Daedalus had been wrecked upon.

In the year 1959, Arthur C. Clarke and Rodney Johnklass joined Mike Wilson on an expedition. Arthur narrates: around the lighthouse was a fantastic submarine fairyland of caves, grottoes, coral-encrusted valleys-and fish in numbers such as I have never seen anywhere else in the world. Sometimes they crowded round us so closely that we could see nothing but a solid wall of scales and had literarily to push our way through. They were inquisitive and completely unafraid. During our visit we met eagle rays, turtles, angelfish, jacks, tuna (up to three hundred pounds!), groupers, and sharks, especially the latter. Arthur C. Clarke: The Indian Ocean Treasure (1972)

The Great Basses Reef and The Little Basses ReefThe Great Basses Reef and The Little Basses Reef

In the year 1961 Mike Wilson was once again at the Great Basses Reef. Arthur C, Clarke and Rodney Johnklass missed him. But then Mike managed pretty well without them, for he was accompanied by a couple of first class divers, members of the official U.S. community. They were young fellows. Arthur C. Clarke had no idea how his buddy Mike had managed to persuade the parents of Boby Kriegal and Mark Smith. They were only fourteen and thirteen years of age respectively.

Travel to Kirinda from Colombo (175 miles)

Quote Arthur C. Clarke: Mark Smith’s (14) diary, March 12, 1961 “Arrived.” That one word covers a 175-mile drive down the beautiful, palm-fringed, southwest coast of Ceylon-surely one of the loveliest in the world-past dozens of fishing villages with their picturesque outrigger boats drawn up on the beaches. The journey goes through the ancient port of Galle-which, say some historians, may be the Tarshish of the Bible–and beyond that into a lonely landscape of still lagoons and patches of jungle. You may meet wild elephants here, but they seldom bother motorists. Unquote

The tricky rope trip from boat to the LighthouseThe tricky rope trip from boat to the Lighthouse

The seaport of Galle is home to VOC Galle Dutch Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Galle is a conveniently located to make visits to Sri Lanka Holidays Wild life sanctuaries Udawalave, Ruhuna Yala as well as to Sri Lanka Holidaysancient cities of Kataragama andTissmaharama of Ruhuna, the cradle of the heroes of then Lanka and now Sri Lanka.

Boat ride from Kirinda to Light house of Imperial Light house Service at Great Basses Ridge (10 miles, as you sail)

Kirinda, a small fishing village is home to the boat house built by the imperial Light house Service of the colonial ruler, Great Britain. The boat “Pharos” leaves for the Light house Continue reading ‘The Basses. Just South of AbaY’

Arugam’s Sun “Set”

Published on 12/11/2011 in Traveler's Reports and the bay. 1 Comment

Sun "Set" at Arugam BayFound on WorldNormads.com.

Description:
” sunset in Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka; the Sun is setting while it is still giving a d…?”
Arugam Bay only sees the Sun Rise. Being located on the East Coast of Sri Lanka.
But is this actually AbaY in the first place?
source:
http://journals.worldnomads.com/traveladdict/photo/31471/824864/Cambodia/sunset-in-Arugam-Bay-Sri-Lanka;-the-Sun-is-setting-while-it-is-still-giving-a-d

Oz to AbaY overland: drivingoz2uk2.com

Published on 30/10/2011 in Blogs, From our own Correspondent, Traveler's Reports, accomodation, cabanas, front page, people and the bay. 0 Comments

….it’s been an exception here (at Arugam Bay) and we’ve been a bit more sociable and met loads of nice people from all over – Poland, Germany, Israel, UK et al Weirdly enough we…….

It was sad to leave Ella again but Andrew was chomping at the bit to get to Arugam Bay before the (surf) season was well and truly over. So after a last curd and honey we drove out past the Rawana Ella falls and eastwards towards the coast – the temperature climbing as we drove

After we hit Pottuvil a little Muslim town on the coast we drove on through the edge of the Lahugala National Park where we were really lucky to have our own ad hoc safari! First we saw a cobra -when we almost hit it when it reared up at us from the middle of the road, then we saw elephants in the wild – Continue reading ‘Oz to AbaY overland: drivingoz2uk2.com’

Arugam Bay should retain its charm and character

Published on 08/09/2011 in From our own Correspondent, Surf Federation News, Surf competition, Traveler's Reports, front page, people, press coverage and the bay. 0 Comments

By Harischandra Gunaratna
Michelle Mitchelle and Natalie Loos Moutou, two sisters of Sri Lankan origin living in Sydney,Australia were on holiday in Arugam Bay and they were mesmerised with its bounden beauty, the sandy beaches and calm waters.

Sri Lankan emmigrants returned to base

But they had a word of caution “Arugam Bay should retain its tranquility and rustic charm and the authorities should not allow unnecessary development such as high rise buildings and overcrowd the area. Such action would ruin the pristine beauty for which Arugam Bay is known internationally.”

Michelle and Natalie are the daughters of Claudette and Patrick Loos, a Sri Lanka couple who migrated Down Under in the 70s and made Sydney their home.

Michelle and Natalie (from Down Under)

Continue reading ‘Arugam Bay should retain its charm and character’

Arugam Bay. “The Health Resort”

Published on 08/09/2011 in Historical sites, Traveler's Reports, front page and stop over Ideas. 0 Comments

The Automobile Association Handbook (1935 !) advises:


AAC's Travelers guide to Ceylon. 76 Years ago.


“Arugam Bay: EP (=’Eastern Province’) . 68 miles from Batticaloa on the east coast road. This is a health resort for residents in the malarious inland areas, (such as the Moneragala planting district), with its fine sea front and facilities for sea-bathing; while there is good sport to be had in the vicinity.”

. I dedicate this article to the memory of my maternal grandfather Arumugam Thiyagarajah (1910-1982)

Rest Houses and Shooting Tips (circa 1935)

Continue reading ‘Arugam Bay. “The Health Resort”’

Arugam Airport News

Published on 17/08/2011 in Facebook Fan Club: Arugam Surf, From our own Correspondent, Share Transfer, Traveler's Reports, front page, taxis and the bay. 3 Comments

The first Commercial Flight took off from the Arugam Bay lagoon this lunchtime

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Arugam Bay and the Arugam Bay Surf Club

Published on 31/07/2011 in Arugam Bay Surf Club, Arugam Surf Club, Arugambay Surf Club, Blogs, Facebook Fan Club: Arugam Surf, Surf Federation News, Traveler's Reports, front page, guesthouse, people, restaurants and surf. 2 Comments

…..” Then he told me about a strange building above the bay called ‘the castle’:
‘It’s thirty years old – very old.
It was made by an English guy called Richard” …..

Arugam Bay and the surf point

Arugam Bay has been known as a top surfing area for many years now. During the season, from about May to November, it is easily the most popular destination for foreign visitors to the east coast. It’s a working fishing beach and there is quite a lot of rubbish on the sands, compared with the southern beaches, and is perhaps not the best place to come just for a beach holiday: most foreigners I met were there for the surfing. Many locals want to clean up the beach, however – see below – so this may change. For now it’s still very pretty, and quiet, if you want a place to gather your thoughts, and you can visit nearby mangroves on Pottuvil lagoon, or go to Kudimbigala Forest Hermitage to see Buddhist shrines. The Lahugala-Kitulana National Park is 16km inland from Pottuvil and large herds of elephants move there during the dry season (July and August).

Fishermen on Arugam Bay

The road from Arugam Bay is now completely open so you can travel south to Okanda and visit Yala East National Park. This park was Continue reading ‘Arugam Bay and the Arugam Bay Surf Club’

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Badulla-Arugam Bay

Published on 28/07/2011 in Blogs, Traveler's Reports, accomodation, front page and guesthouse. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

…..Finally we reached Arugam Bay, a beachfront collections of shacks and hotels, stretching around the bay……

….Apparently, after dusk the road to Arugam bay becomes chock-a-block with insomniac elephants who decide to wander the roads. Hence, travelling there is dangerous…..

"Watermusic" @ Arugam Bay

Part 1: They Mostly Come Out At Night, Mostly

We strode out of Badulla station, and I was still for pushing on right through to Arugam Bay.

There was a solitary minibus tout and he offered to drive us for $50. Each.

Llyw quickly shot this down, at which point the fella, who exuded dodginess from every pore, explained why a night time voyage was so expensive-

Nocturnal elephants.

Apparently, after dusk the road to Arugam bay becomes chock-a-block with insomniac elephants who decide to wander the roads. Hence, travelling there is dangerous. Continue reading ‘Badulla-Arugam Bay’

Living Dreams

Published on 08/07/2011 in Blogs, Traveler's Reports, accomodation, front page, guesthouse, hotels, people, restaurants and wild life. 0 Comments

….. Curiously Lahugala has no boundary fences or entrance fees allowing visitors to simply stroll into the park at will whilst elephants stroll right through the little hamlets and villages at its boarder and are often seen roaming around Arugam Bay at dusk…..

A Stay in the Bay

The ride to Arugam Bay is not without incident; a few minutes in to the journey we narrowly avoid colliding with a rather large lorry, sending our hearts racing and our stomachs reeling! As we descend down the winding road to the plains below the landscape changes from lush jungle to dry bush and the roads become heavily potholed; an hour in and there’s a large bang- a flat tyre- so we pull over and Polly replaces the wheel while driver and Sam lift the tuk-tuk. We’re soon driving through the ‘Elephant Corridor’, a long straight road that cuts through the wilderness of Lahugala National Park, and sure enough, to our amazement, we spot a herd of wild elephants Continue reading ‘Living Dreams’

Arugam Bay, that’s where to catch the wave

Published on 30/06/2011 in Arugam Bay Surf Club, Arugam Surf Club, Arugambay Surf Club, Blogs, Facebook Fan Club: Arugam Surf, From our own Correspondent, Traveler's Reports and front page. 0 Comments

The place just blows me away every time I visit.

If there was heaven on earth, Arugam Bay would be it.
It has everything that I love about Sri Lanka; wonderful weather, surfing, jungle beaches, history, nature and a lively culture complete with people from all over the globe!

Full text of this small image printed below.

The surf season begins in May and runs to October. The journey to Abay itself has seen tremendous changes with a ‘carpet’ road built right from Colombo to Arugam Bay. You will see the best of Sri Lanka while you travel,  rivers, lots of greenery, Elephants in Udawalawe National Park (No you don’t even need to go inside the park to see them!) and Lahugala, the Hill Country in the distance and historical monuments scatttered along the road.

Once you get to Abay you can chill at a number of restaurents and little shops dotted along the road. Being the avid explorer, I would venture to Pottuville Town and try the local Prawn and Crab Curry! You can get back into having some ‘normal’ food, pizza’s at Sun N Surf, Thai Food at Siam View followed by home made desserts at the Gecko.

My favourite breakfast is always at Hakeems, Banana Pancakes and Rottis at his little shop by the side of the street. Enough energy to get me on the board and last through the day! Continue reading ‘Arugam Bay, that’s where to catch the wave’

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Jaffna-Arugam-Kataragama

Published on 19/06/2011 in Blogs, Historical sites, Religious, Traveler's Reports, front page, people and press coverage. 0 Comments

The first pilgrims of the traditional, annual “Walk on Foot” (‘Pada Yatra’)  from Jaffna in the very North all the way to Kataragama in the deep South of our island have reached Arugam Bay today. As always, this colorful, happy, cheerful and peaceful event is mentioned on arugam.info.

2011 walk / photo by padayata.org

Here are a few impressions from  Arugam Bay:

Information taken from the web site of the organizers:
The traditional two month long Pada Yatra or foot pilgrimage from Jaffna to Kataragama annually in May-June-July is neither a peace march nor a political rally, but a traditional procession of village devotees who represent the rural voice of Sri Lanka.

The Pada Yatra tradition is an essential part of Lanka’s multi-cultural ethos. The Yatra begins with pilgrims moving from one sacred site to another, with their numbers growing as the Yatra progresses.

more details:

http://padayatra.org/

Visit AbaY by Train

Published on 07/06/2011 in Ideas, Share Transfer, Traveler's Reports, front page, services, stop over Ideas, taxis and tuk tuk. 0 Comments

It’s very easy.
It’s very convenient
It’s very safe
It’s very cheap, too!

Arriving fresh & rested in the East

Travel to Batticaloa courtesy of  Sri Lanka Railways.

And connect to Arugam Bay along  the beautiful East Coast
Below are time tables & prices:

Eastern Line to Batti & back

Intercity Express to Batti & back

http://www.railway.gov.lk/index.php

Batticaloa is just 100 km North of your favourite Bay.
The A4 coastal, main road is perfect these days.
Frequent buses connect Batti with PottuVille

On request, a private  AbaY shuttle bus or taxi will wait for you at the Main Station when you get off

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Ella to Arugam Bay

Published on 16/05/2011 in Traveler's Reports and front page. 0 Comments

The bus journey from Ella to Arugam Bay involves a change at Moneragala and takes 5-and-a-half hours, all for a mere 500 rupees or 2.75 pounds for the two of us.

Good value even if we do have to stand for the first 50 minutes of this two hour journey, but grindingly slow. The bus is heaving, not only with people but luggage as well and we only just manage to squeeze on with Andy half hanging out of the door! Luggage, stowed alongside the driver, is re-arranged to accommodate our rucksacks, but I feel sorry for the people who are sitting adjacent to the driver who spend most of the journey trying to prevent the mound of luggage toppling on top of them. The bus to Monaragala leaves Ella at 9am and arrives in plenty of time to spare before the 11.20am leaves for Arugum Bay, giving us time to use the non-too salubrious facilities (10 rupees) round the back of the station and purchase a much welcome ice cream and some snacks. Moneragala is Continue reading ‘Ella to Arugam Bay’

Protected: Surfing Mag (June2011) on Abay

Published on 06/05/2011 in Arugam Bay Surf Club, Arugam Surf Club, Arugambay Surf Club, Blogs, Facebook Fan Club: Arugam Surf, Money Matters, Security & Safety, Surf Federation News, Traveler's Reports, accomodation, bars, front page, hotels, press coverage, restaurants, services, shops, surf and the bay. Enter your password to view comments. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , .

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