Galle, A Little Gem in Sri Lanka

Growing up in Mumbai my perception of Sri Lanka or ‘Ceylon’ in the 1980’s and 90’s was about the LTTE. (The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam). By the age of 15, I was quite well versed with the political scenario of the subcontinent. My grandparents used to live in Burma which was earlier a part of India. From them, I heard innumerable stories on the India-Burma partition that happened 10 years earlier to 1947. This was followed by the partition of India and Pakistan. In fact, stories of the subcontinent and its future was discussed in most households back then.

Apart from being a businessman, my dad was also actively involved in politics. Political conversations at large were very frequent in my family. While I may only have a distinct memory about the assassination of our Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi in 1984 while we were touring Nepal, I do have a very clear memory of the assassination of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. I was 16 years old. This was the time when the LTTE in Sri Lanka was quite dominant and always in the news. As a family, it was a tradition in our household to watch the 9 pm news on Doordarshan together. In India, Doordarshan was the only national television channel for our source of entertainment.

If you’re interested to know more, the political scenario of Sri Lanka in the 1990’s and the LTTE has been beautifully captured and showcased in the movie Madras Cafe.

So, for a long time at the back of my mind Sri Lanka was considered unsafe to travel.

Well, that all changed rather quickly. I happened to go on a work trip to Colombo in 2011. That was an OMG! moment for me. Colombo is a beautifully laid out clean city on the Indian Ocean. We stayed at the Galle Face Hotel in Colombo. The hotel is stunning with huge colonial rooms. It is right on the sea front so the setting is beautiful. The Indian Ocean is known for its tall waves so one morning we were having breakfast outdoors in formal office attire only to get drenched as we were hit by a large wave!

The vibes in Colombo felt similar to laid back South Goa or Kerala so going to work felt like a huge task! We took half a day off and went shopping to Odele and to the famous crockery store Noritake. They really packed it well so bringing it back was not a problem. The people of Sri Lanka were very friendly and always smiling. This trip settled my mind and so I was quick to plan a family trip to colonial Galle.

The Portuguese and Dutch Colony, Galle

We took a flight from Mumbai to Colombo via Chennai and then hired a cab from Colombo airport to Galle which took about two and a half hours. The drive was very scenic and pleasant as the roads and drivers in Sri Lanka are very good and safe.

Galle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site was founded by Portuguese colonists in the 16th century. It is a city known for its Fort. Galle was later colonised by the Dutch and therefore it has a very European feel to it.

We booked a family room for 4 nights at Cocobay Unawatuna. It’s a boutique hotel with its own little private beach. It is around 20 minutes from the city centre. We found the tuk tuk in Galle quite expensive so you may want to look at a closer option. We prefer to stay away from the hustle bustle so we were very happy with our booking. The annoying part is that flights from India to Sri Lanka land early morning and the check-in time at all the hotels is at 2 pm. So do ask if your hotel allows an early check-in.

The city centre is a delight and can be easily explored on foot. The artistic Dutch Colonial buildings are a treat to the eyes. Strolling in the pretty lanes, you will find stylish cafes and beautiful boutiques with small Sri Lankan souvenirs to take back. Don’t miss out on the popular Ceylon tea. Sri Lanka has also been producing sapphires and gem stones for centuries. So if you are the kind who loves jewellery then its a great place to dig into your pockets.

Next morning we visited the Galle Fort. Built on a massive piece of land, it is an imposing structure. It is nice to walk around with great views of the Indian Ocean. We are very passionate about history so we visited the National Museum of Galle. The museum showcases artefacts, masks, relics, wooden carvings and lots of archaeological objects that take you deep into the history of Sri Lanka.

Climatically, Sri Lanka is very hot almost all round the year so by noon it gets very very hot so head for all the sightseeing in the morning. We had some delicious gelatos at the Pedlars Inn Gelateria that gave us temporary relief to beat the heat.

One evening we went to the Old Dutch Hospital which is the oldest building in the Galle Fort Area. There are quite a few restaurants and bars in that area. We parked ourselves in the courtyard of the hospital as there were tables laid out and a live band was playing wonderful music. The Bangladesh cricket team was touring Sri Lanka at that time so we happened to meet their head coach Courtney Walsh and some of the players.

Being sport freaks, next morning, we headed to one of the most picturesque cricket stadiums in the world. With the Indian Ocean in the the backdrop, the views from the stadium are breathtaking. We watched one day of the test match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh! The island nation is also a cricket loving mad country. The legendary Muttiah Muralitharan, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara are some of the greatest cricketers that Sri Lanka has produced.

We were very short of time on this trip so we have yet to visit a lot of beautiful parts of Sri Lanka like the hill station Kandy, the city of Nuwara Eliya, the stunning tea plantations and a train ride to explore the country side.

At the time of writing this blog it is sad to know that this beautiful island nation is in economic turmoil. I it recovers and tourism thrives as it is nothing short of a spectacular country with wonderful people and beautiful culture.