In January 2008 my usual surf trip with mates was altered after a failure to
agree on dates through work and money commitments. I knew I had to take my
holiday in January and as it was starting to look like no-one else was going to
be available then. I only had myself to please! I could have gone to Fuerte or Morocco but I
had already traveled both and fancied somewhere a bit more challenging. I am
not the best surfer and get under confident when I go out on my own so didn’t
want to be stuck somewhere that I was scared to paddle out and I also wanted
somewhere with a bit of local interest, just in case the waves were flat. So
one night after clocking up a load of overtime at work I bought a ticket to Sri Lanka.
The flights were expensive at £600 but the service was great and boards go
free. You can also be reassured that once in Sri Lanka you could happily live
there for two weeks on £200. Columbo is a crazy town but I didn’t stay long as
I decided to get a taxi from the airport to Hikkaduwa, 4 hour drive (only 120km
but bad roads) and £20/40 dollars
There is still a lot of destruction from the Tsunami and statues and temples
for Buddha all over. The funniest thing is they drive like maniacs and yet stop
every 40km to give offerings to Buddha to keep them safe on the roads! It’s a
poor country and there is a crazy mix of people, some who would do anything for you
and a lot of people who are trying everything to rip you off. I didn’t like the
cities or towns, because I got stared at and propositioned by men, or hassled
for cash all the time. Its hard to learn to ignore everyone especially when I
was so interested in the people but you have to.
I covered up and wore engagement ring but it made little difference- one day
I had a 12 year old follow me with his two mates along the beach asking me for
sex, he actually got his cock out to show off his wares. I was quite frightened
at the time, but this made me so angry I screamed a load of abuse at them.
Luckily they ran off. I found out later that they get money from tourists for
sex. Yeuk. Earlier that same day a tuk tuk driver had offered me a lift but
when I said I wanted to walk and anyway I had no money he actually offered me
money for sex! I wasn’t having a good day! Nothing feels really dangerous but
it left me feeling a bit 'dirty'. As a white woman you are seen as a sex object
no matter what you do, say or behave.
However Sri Lanka
is amazing for other reasons...
Food. I LOVE chili and fish/seafood and pineapple. All in plentiful supply
and very cheap (although one place I stayed at tried to rip me off by asking if
I wanted lobster- he had bought two tiny ones that morning- but wanted $20
for one! More than I would pay for in the UK! I think he was trying his luck but
it pissed me off) You could buy lunch packets for about one dollar which was a
curry in a cardboard box basically and was GORGEOUS!! The places you bought
them from looked grubby but I never got any stomach upsets. The food was all so
fresh. The locals warned me they were very hot but they were not too bad at
all. In fact I had to ask at a few restaurants to add chili as they tend to
make food much less spicy for white people. There was a juice shop at the place
I ended up spending most of my time (Welligama bay fishing village) and even
the most expensive juice was about a dollar. They had pages and pages of
different juice (including peanut and date juice- I gave them a miss!) My
breakfasts were sri lankan ginger tea, fresh fruit, toast and poached eggs,
very tasty!
And of course the Surf. Hikkaduwa
was busy- the surf was small the week I arrived so only the reefs were working.
The first day surfing I paddled out and got a few waves (short and fast) first
thing but by 10am there were about 40 people sat on a tiny take off zone. It
was all a bit too stressful for me. The fish were great there- huge blue and
yellow things weaving around the reef but not enough to keep me there. I took a
tuk tuk south and made him stop at all the breaks I had read about and finally
surfed at welligama. It was listed as a longboard and beginnners wave but it
was actually really consistent and worked well up to about head high waves. It
was surrounded by other reef breaks and point breaks and I found a lovely beach
front hotel for 14 dollars a night bed and breakfast so I decided to move there
after a couple of days at the busier and more expensive Hikkaduwa. I planned to
move on the another bay, Marissa but I ended up having so many lovely days
surfing and meeting so many nice people there that I stayed there for the
rest of the holiday. As usual in hot climates the surf was better at dawn and
in the evening because of the onshore winds that built in the day. It was so
warm that some days at lunchtime I would have to just sit still to cool off in
the water. I surfed in a bikini one day but got a rash from the wax so most
days I stuck to shorts and rash vest and my sun hat that I stitched a neck
strap onto just to stop me getting headaches/sunstroke! I surfed a wave called
lazy left (big point break but as the name suggests...very slow! Even I was
doing turns and little cutbacks and it ran for ages. Unfortunately as the name
also suggests it was a left. I desperately wanted some good long rights
but marissa was the best and it was quite a shallow reef full of sea urchins
and locals- I got too nervous to surf there by myself! Most days I surfed 7am
til 9, then 11 until lunchtime then 4 until 6.30 (dark...) Heaven. Local
surfers were really friendly and were less likely to be just hassling for
sex/money than boys on land. And the other surfers I met from all over- Australia, New Zealand,
Cornwall, Wales,
Italy, France, Germany,
UK, Japan- were all really nice. I saw
turtles on my first and last days surfing and one day at lazy left there was a
crocodile in the water.
Wildlife was amazing, I visited a snake farm where they made antidotes from
the venom which was fascinating, I went to the Pinnawala elephant orphanage
which although it was nice to see elephants up close, I hated because it was
'touristy' and hassly and over priced. I wanted to go on safari but the parks
nearest were closed because of the Tamil bombings. You didn’t hear much about
the Tamils except that everyone said it was unusually quite with not many
tourists. I saw a huge 4ft lizard, the 'water monitor' crossing the road, geckos
were everywhere (one lovely, kind, but poor coconut seller offered me a
shower in her house after a surf- I accepted but was a bit cautious in her
dark bathroom that was COVERED with huge spiders and lizards and a tiny cold
tap with a rotting plastic shower hose. It was only my 2nd day and I wasn’t
used to sharing my space with so many other creatures! Later on I welcomed them
as it meant no mosquitoes!) The birds were beautiful and in the jungles the
noise was amazing- but I never spotted any in the jungle except a kingfisher!
And its all so beautiful. People smile lots and its so warm, the sea is
clear blue and the trees and plants are so colourful
I would definitely go again but probably take mates or my boyfriend, so
as to (selfishly) get a little less attention and hassel. I didnt travel
on trains or buses (which I desperately wanted to, especially as they are so
cheap) as I knew I would get hassel and I would have no real escape
If you get the chance I would recommend it!