Today at moments I could have been in Lewes, bar of course the 40 degree heat.
I wandered out this morning along the church lined historic streets of Galle Fort, past the Methodist Church, the Catholic Church, hymns at every corning, and enjoyed breakfast at the YMBA-the Young Man’s Buddhist Association.
As you can see from the pic, I then found the ‘Golden Flea Market’ and sat with a delicious strawberry and guava tea, reading the Sunday times!
Despite browsing the second hand stalls run mainly by ex-pats living here, I didn’t buy anything, instead spending a few hours admiring the ‘museums’ in the ancient buildings in the ramparts…an eclectic collection leading to courtyards full of craftsman ready to sell their wares.
The old town, with its relatively traffic free streets - only tuck tucks should get through the arches into the old fort (although taxis seem to manage!) and cobbled streets, and the high walls looking down onto small coves with clear blue shallow water, even sights of dolphins in the waves, made a relaxing change to city, it was a delight to just walk quietly among the flower lined alleys, admire the craft shops, and sit under the banyan trees admiring the sight of temples, mosques and churches sitting harmoniously alongside each other in the sunlight.
I met up with the German mother/daughter and aunt from yesterday’s train trip, and agreed to share a tuk tuk to the harbour with them….a spur of the moment decision which proved great fun! The harbour, outside the fort and alongside the new town, was heaving with fishing boats, and the fishermen rushed to show us their catch of enormous tuna.
Their temple and prayer tree was a moving tribute to the fact that many die young, either at sea or in accidents aboard, (see pic of me standing underneath it). Everyone was delighted to see us, and insisted on taking us into the ice storage building (chilly!), though more bizarre was to see the massive blocks of ice coming down the chute and into a ‘chopper’ to be deposited into woven bags and taken as ice cubes with the catch to the restaurants.
This evening I had a final twilight stroll to watch the setting sun, eating spiced chickpeas, drinking ginger tea from my favourite stall and enjoying a ‘crocodile’, a massive sweet sugary bun, as well as deep fried lentil and veg biscuits and, for desert, a wonderful strawberry soya ice cream in a green cone, from the street vendors.
The street food here is fab, but comes wrapped not in newspaper, as per India, but in old school exercise books…my biscuits were wrapped in paper inscribed with Sri Lankan/English alphabet in a childlike pen…I may not have been ill in India, but I may be tempting fate in Sri Lanka!!
I wandered out this morning along the church lined historic streets of Galle Fort, past the Methodist Church, the Catholic Church, hymns at every corning, and enjoyed breakfast at the YMBA-the Young Man’s Buddhist Association.
The old town, with its relatively traffic free streets - only tuck tucks should get through the arches into the old fort (although taxis seem to manage!) and cobbled streets, and the high walls looking down onto small coves with clear blue shallow water, even sights of dolphins in the waves, made a relaxing change to city, it was a delight to just walk quietly among the flower lined alleys, admire the craft shops, and sit under the banyan trees admiring the sight of temples, mosques and churches sitting harmoniously alongside each other in the sunlight.
I met up with the German mother/daughter and aunt from yesterday’s train trip, and agreed to share a tuk tuk to the harbour with them….a spur of the moment decision which proved great fun! The harbour, outside the fort and alongside the new town, was heaving with fishing boats, and the fishermen rushed to show us their catch of enormous tuna.
Their temple and prayer tree was a moving tribute to the fact that many die young, either at sea or in accidents aboard, (see pic of me standing underneath it). Everyone was delighted to see us, and insisted on taking us into the ice storage building (chilly!), though more bizarre was to see the massive blocks of ice coming down the chute and into a ‘chopper’ to be deposited into woven bags and taken as ice cubes with the catch to the restaurants.
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| The Prayer Tree |
The street food here is fab, but comes wrapped not in newspaper, as per India, but in old school exercise books…my biscuits were wrapped in paper inscribed with Sri Lankan/English alphabet in a childlike pen…I may not have been ill in India, but I may be tempting fate in Sri Lanka!!
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