Day Two 20/10: Shop until you drop.....
Whilst the time difference is only five and a half hours that's enough to ensure that we all woke up at various odd times during the night so were less than sprightly.
Jan and I headed off for our daily walk in an attempt to get us into the time zone. After wandering (quickly!) past the US Embassy under the guard of some serious armed security guys we ended up walking alongside a train line which only has a few rocks between it and the sea.
After swims we enjoyed the fabulous breakfast. This time I opted for another hopper - a crisp bowl-shaped rice pancake - filled with some potato and fish curry and dahl alongside a very delightful green citrus chutney/sambal and tomato chutney/sambal. A far cry from my usual breakfast.....Delicious.
Our first shopping focus was Paradise Road which was fortunately just up the road from the Hotel. It's a beautiful homewares shop which makes you sigh with delight as you enter it. Stunning statues, contemporary crockery and cutlery, fabulous manchester, clothes, knick knacks and some great furniture - a little too large for transporting back to Melbourne.
The next destination was Barefoot which involved a tuk tuk journey. As there are five of us we need two tuk tuks, and trying to fit three westerners of our size into one is a challenge as I think they are probably designed for a maximum of two! I ended up perched on my side with one leg hanging out on one trip. This time one tuk tuk went directly there and ours went the most circuitous route possible with a couple of stops for the driver to check out the Google Maps on my phone.
Not to miss an opportunity for more shopping we headed to Odel, one of our favourite department stores. We wandered from the Galle Face Hotel past Galle Face Green which is a very significant place for many Sri Lankans. It's a large open grassed area with some food stalls right on the (sandless) beach. During the Civil War many protests and riots occurred in this area. Today there were lots of families and their kites enjoying the breeze straight off the sea. It is Divali, an important Hindu celebration, so many had come there to celebrate, enjoy the view of the sea and eat snacks and ice cream.
Having reached the limit of our shopping capacity we walked to the Hotel and the swimming pool to cool off. And now we are relaxing in one of the many colonial sitting areas in the Hotel drinking our first duty free G&T. Next adventure is dinner here and an early night as we need to be out of the hotel at 5.00am in the morning so that will be interesting!
Jan and I headed off for our daily walk in an attempt to get us into the time zone. After wandering (quickly!) past the US Embassy under the guard of some serious armed security guys we ended up walking alongside a train line which only has a few rocks between it and the sea.
It was all very rusty and the trains were very basic but well-used by the locals. Yet again we were approached by a helpful man: this one showed us his card which seemed to demonstrate that he really did work for the Tourism Board. Again he was full of advice about the sights we should see and determined to load us into a tuk tuk . We thanked him warmly and escaped up the road.
After swims we enjoyed the fabulous breakfast. This time I opted for another hopper - a crisp bowl-shaped rice pancake - filled with some potato and fish curry and dahl alongside a very delightful green citrus chutney/sambal and tomato chutney/sambal. A far cry from my usual breakfast.....Delicious.
Our first shopping focus was Paradise Road which was fortunately just up the road from the Hotel. It's a beautiful homewares shop which makes you sigh with delight as you enter it. Stunning statues, contemporary crockery and cutlery, fabulous manchester, clothes, knick knacks and some great furniture - a little too large for transporting back to Melbourne.
Of course, I really wanted some of the sleek modern statues of women, but after I tried to lift one up and could barely move it I decided it may be a little difficult to transport home.
The next destination was Barefoot which involved a tuk tuk journey. As there are five of us we need two tuk tuks, and trying to fit three westerners of our size into one is a challenge as I think they are probably designed for a maximum of two! I ended up perched on my side with one leg hanging out on one trip. This time one tuk tuk went directly there and ours went the most circuitous route possible with a couple of stops for the driver to check out the Google Maps on my phone.
Finally we arrived, to the relief of the the occupants of the other tuk tuk! They thought we were lost .....and we were!
Sri Lanka produces beautiful textiles and Barefoot is a wonderful example of the brightest stunning textiles around. The colours are so bright you almost need your sunglasses on. It make me feel cheerful every time I go through the door!
Before doing some serious perusing we needed a coffee in their garden cafe. Fortified we headed into the large shop to make our purchases. I fell in love with a beautiful glass bowl which I would never have been able to fit into my luggage. However I consoled myself with five new vibrant cushion covers!
We returned to the cafe for lunch and headed back to our Hotel to pack our cases for our next adventure. We packed overnight bags and gave our cases to Udaya. He's driving to Jaffna whilst we are catching the 5.45am train in the morning.
Not to miss an opportunity for more shopping we headed to Odel, one of our favourite department stores. We wandered from the Galle Face Hotel past Galle Face Green which is a very significant place for many Sri Lankans. It's a large open grassed area with some food stalls right on the (sandless) beach. During the Civil War many protests and riots occurred in this area. Today there were lots of families and their kites enjoying the breeze straight off the sea. It is Divali, an important Hindu celebration, so many had come there to celebrate, enjoy the view of the sea and eat snacks and ice cream.
Odel was a small version of the larger central store but still had some of the handicrafts and Sri Lankan designs that we like.
Having reached the limit of our shopping capacity we walked to the Hotel and the swimming pool to cool off. And now we are relaxing in one of the many colonial sitting areas in the Hotel drinking our first duty free G&T. Next adventure is dinner here and an early night as we need to be out of the hotel at 5.00am in the morning so that will be interesting!
your shopped-out but satisfied correspondent
Dianne
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