Beach Life in the South of Sri Lanka!

It was time for the beach. Despite it officially being the monsoon season in the south of Sri Lanka, we decided to give it a go anyways.  The downside was that it was often cloudy and it rained everyday, but usually only for an hour or so. The upside was that it was still very hot, and it was the low season for tourists, which meant the prices were really low and we could negotiate a lot!

The first place we went to was Tangalle. The water in the ocean is so rough and has such dangerous currents that you cant swim in the water. Waves come sideways and even backwards, the undercurrents are really powerful, and there are big rocks in the shallow part of the water. 

Fortunately for us, we were able to get accommodation with breakfast in a really nice resort for $23 a night (usually $65/night). We lounged on the beach, swam in the pool, canoed in the lagoons behind the resort and even played beach cricket with some local tourists.

I ended up getting a real crash course on the danger of the water. While playing cricket on the beach the ball went into the water. It had happened a couple of times and the locals would go into the water up to their knees and wait for the waves to bring the ball back so they could grab it. When I tried I went just a little deeper, but still below my waist. A wave knocked me off my balance and the undercurrent took out my legs, I was very lucky one of the guys I was playing with reached out his hand and dragged me back in. After that, there was no going close to the water anymore! 

Unfortunately for AJ, she was disturbed while sun tanning on the beach by some local farmers and their heard of water buffalo :)

After Tangalle, it was time for Mirissa. This extremely small village is right on the beach, but since it was low season, there was virtually no one here. The water was a lot safer and we could swim everywhere. Given the low season, we were able to get accommodation in a small basic room for only $8 a night, by far the lowest we’ve paid since we’ve been traveling. The only excitement in Mirissa was the Roti and Dhal for breakfast and the afternoon boogie boarding. We moved on pretty quickly from here.

While traveling to our next beach village, we caught a glimpse of these guys: Stilt Fisherman. They sit on their stilts all day, that have been handed down generation from generation and they fish from there.

Finally we arrived at Unawatuna. The knock on this place is that it was too developed. Well, in the low season this means you actually get to meet other people and have a bit of nightlife, this was perfect for us! The locals in town were so nice and we met some really cool travelers to spend out days and (late) nights with. As well, thanks to the low season we were able to get an amazing beach side hotel for cheap again!

The first couple of guys we met were Gavin and Ash. While having dinner and drinks we began chatting and asked them what brought them here. The answer surprised us a little to say the least. Turns out Sri Lanka is a huge cargo ship base; boats that travel long distances will stop over in Sri Lanka due to its strategic positioning between Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The guys were former military Special Forces and now work as armed security on the ships to protect them from pirates, particularly off the coast of Somalia. We called them “Pirate Hunters”, but in reality they try to avoid engaging the pirates at all costs. They tend to be on the boats for two to three months at a time and can go weeks without seeing any other ships the ocean. But they also do occasionally get an RPG aimed at them… The knocker for us was when they let slip, “the money is good; $40K a month”.  After our night with them, we began to notice that tons of the foreigners in Unawatuna were “Pirate Hunters”. Big, tattooed military guys everywhere, pretty nuts. Fortunately, they were all cool and were just looking to hang out and meet people (they had all been on ships for two to three months). This first night proved to be one of our best partying nights in months.

We were also fortunate enough to meet Quico, an amazing Spanish guy who is traveling across India and Sri Lanka by bicycle for six months (check out his shirt: Bike + Home = Bike Home). He was really fun to hang out with, funny, generous and really well traveled. 

Needless to say, with good company like this we had an amazing time and some really late nights! We even hit up our first club, I made sure to wear by best outfit for the occasion!

Our only cultural outings were a brief trip to Galle and a Sri Lankan cooking class. Galle is a small port town not far Unawatuna. The Portuguese, Dutch and English had all taken turns conquering and influencing Galle. It is really picturesque thanks to the huge ancient fort walls that surround the town. It was nice to see a historic city like this that was still functional and not in ruins like the others we had visited. 

The cooking class was amazing, we were very lucky to find such a nice chef who was able to show us his personal secrets!