Finally made it home to Munich this morning - and it is really hot!

Some pictures added to Picasa: https://picasaweb.google.com/111243362282378595282/SriLanka

Yesterday, we took a van from the Kalpitiya peninsula to the airport. As our flight was not until 20.25 in the evening, we had plenty of time. So we decided to go into Negombo. We had seen some nice leather bags on our first day in Sri Lanka in Negombo, so we wanted to take a closer look at these. We didn't really know how to deal with the logistics because we did not want to carry around all our luggage in the heat and there was no luggage depository service in the airport. Eventually, we worked out a solution: We booked a car, that was big enough to fit us all and our luggage, to take us around in Negombo for shopping. We had a good time trying to spend our last Rupees (in the end we didnt succeed and still had to exchange the last money!) and got two leather bags, loads of spices, tea, spicy snacks and other souvenirs.

The check-in and flight to Doha proceeded painlessly (God bless the good entertainment system that kept Michael happy...). As we arrived five hours later in Doha, however, we were all really tired. The airport was cramped with people (lots of noisy Chinese folks...). After two-three hours painful waiting we were finally called out for boarding, only to find out that we had to wait in a small hall and were then taken for a bus ride that seemed to go on for ever (especially, as I was carrying Michael who was having a minor crisis). Finally, we were let into the airplane ("Dreamliner") and the blessed entertainment system - and Michael was happy again. He watched "Iron Man 3" three times! We arrived in Munich in the early morning to a clear blue sky. Taking the train and the bus, we made it home around 9.30. We are all really tired but happy to be home again!

We had a wonderful time in Sri Lanka and are now getting ready for our holiday in Denmark - we are off tomorrow morning, so there is some packing to be done!

Yesterday, we went from our Dambulla hotel, Amaya Lake, to Palagama Beach on the Kalpitiya peninsula on the west coast of Sri Lanka. It is quite a funny experience as the hotel is a boutique hotel with the concept of putting a five star hotel room into a cabana...

Today, Hiroko and I went on a tuk-tuk ride, seeing a couple of old churches (from the Dutch and British era), the closest bigger town, the lagoon, and the beach. The lagoon looks really nice. We are going on a boat trip to some of the islands in the lagoon tomorrow.

The kids just splashed around in the "infinity pool" (looks rather finite in reality) the whole day.

Link

On Tuesday (23/7) we left A-bay and was driven by the brother-in-law of the cook from our place to our new up-scale place near Dambulla, called Amaya Lake. It is a different world here, we have two aircon deluxe rooms with hot water etc. The whole area around the hotel is like a big park - and you can easily get lost among the many "huts" on the ground.

Our new rooms are nice.

Spending time in the pool

 Easy living

On Wednesday (24/7), we went to Dambulla to see the cave temples dating back to 100 bc. We climbed up the mountain and was shown around by a guide. There are 5 cave temples from various periods.

Standing in front of the temple caves.

Giant Buddha lying in cave, cut out of granite (2100 years old!)

Walking down the mountain. A giant golden Buddha.

Today Thursday, we went to Sigiriya Rock, an old palace (or the ruins of it) built on and around a

200 m tall rock. It was expensive but well worth it. We also bought some "magic boxes" - a book-like thing cut out of hardwood (teak) which can only be opened if you know how. The kids got one each and loved them.

In front of Sigiriya Rock (yes we climbed all the way to the top to see the palace ruins).

A huge swimming pool (only one of several) in the Water Gardens at the foot of the rock, used for the 500 damsels of the King. The Water Gardens were strictly symmetrical, like Versaille (only 1000 years older), and even had fountains (powered by the water pressure from higher grounds).

The lion gate. Only the paws are left. There used to be an entire lion's head and you would enter by the mouth.

Jump of joy. We reached the top, where the winter palace once stood (only ruins left). There is a fantastic 360 degree view from up there. Unfortunately it started raining when we came up so the photos are not that great. Around the rock you see dense jungle, lakes, and mountains. 

https://sites.google.com/site/satorkoden/

Added new pictures on Picasa: https://picasaweb.google.com/111243362282378595282/SriLanka

Philip surfing in Arugam Bay

Today is our last day in Arugam Bay. We just wanted to relax and enjoy the beach life today so we went to Mambo's beach directly after breakfast. We immediately rented a board for Philip and he spent hours in the waves AND he got the hang of it - he caught many waves and was able to surf on them!

After the beach, we went to a primitive Rotti-shop and had some seriously cheap food - rotti (thin baked bread - like pancakes but more bread-like - with various fillings, chicken, tomatoes, onions etc), noodles, and pancakes with chocolate and coconut. For drinks we had freshly made mango lassie (like a smoothie made from mango and youghurt). The food was very good and we ate too much...

Hiroko in the Rotti shop

Tomorrow, we are off to Dambula (close to the cultural points of interest in the north) and our luxury resort there, for 4 days of pampering... We have booked a minibus for 9 in the morning to take us there. Supposedly, it only takes 5 hours, but I wonder...

In the evening we had another great meal with "lobster" (langoustine) and prawns, falafel, rotti, humus, tomato/avocado salsa etc.

Another great meal.

Yesterday at Mambo's beach I went around asking people for opportunities to go fishing with a boat. An old non-English speaking fisherman directed me to a little kiosk behind the fishing shack at the beach. A friendly old man promised to talk to somebody at his tea house (the kiosk). I noticed, that they prepared some very delicious looking rotti (thin soft bread from a pan - like pancakes) in front of the tea house.

After some hours at the beach we all decided to go to the tea house to see if things had developed with respect to the fishing trip. A younger man (son of the old man) who spoke good English was very helpful. He suggested to go with his brother who was a fisherman. We could meet at his sister's restaurant next door in the evening (they seemed to be one big clan around here). As the restaurant was very small we went immediately to order the food for the evening and agree on a time when we would come, so they had time to prepare.

In the evening we took a tuk-tuk to the sister's restaurant (called Samanti's Restaurant). There were only four groups of tables - the biggest reserved for us. She served up some really nice food and fresh fruit juice at very modest prices. During the dinner, I had the opportunity to talk to the fisherman and we negotiated a price for the boat trip. The rest of the family seemed like nice people but the fisherman looked like a criminal. Indeed, the nicer brother did not refrain from telling me how badly the life of the brother was going because he was drinking and fighting and had done some shady business to the point of loosing his own boat. He was now at the mercy of some boat master who was actually the one who owned the boat we were to do the fishing trip in. That guy therefore had the final word on the price of our expedition and was also present. After some negotiations we landed at my suggestion of 7000 Rp (42 Eur) for a three hour fishing trip with a 1000 Rp. bonus (6 Eur.) if we would actually catch tuna.

At 5 am - pitch black night - Philip and I sneaked out of the guest house gate and set off a chain reaction of barking dogs in the alley. The good brother came to pick us up in his tuk-tuk.
-Is your brother awake? was my first question.
-Yes, waking him up was the first thing I did when I got up. He is now drinking tea, laughed the good brother.
Arriving at the beach, we saw a lot of young people staggering home from Mambo´s after some serious partying. We waited politely on the bad brother to finish his morning tea, wondering what kind of mood he would appear in. After 5 minutes he came out and we went to the beach. I helped hauling the boat out in the sea and we set off, negotiating the big waves to get past the surf.

On the sea, the bad brother turned out to be rather friendly and very skilled in handling the boat and fishing lines at the same time. He had up to four hand lines out at the same time, and I used my rod. We saw fly fish coming out of the water like little bullets - meaning, that there were predator fish at work under the surface. However, we didn't catch anything. After some uneventful trawling back and forth, the fisherman saw some birds diving into the water very far away. (I couldn't see anything). He raced in that direction, making the prow of the boat jump high in the air and clash down hard into the next wave, sending me flying and seeking refuge in the stern of the boat together with Philip and the fisherman. We arrived while the party was still going on. We saw tuna jump out of the water in pursuit of small prey fish and birds diving to get the small fish, when surfacing. Cruising through the area, we quickly got two tunas on. Philip happily hand lined one of them into the boat.

Philip with the catch of the day together with the not-so-bad brother

The tunas prepared by our cook

As we got on land, Philip was celebrated by the brothers' very friendly parents and he was even photographed, fish in hands, by random people passing by. We arranged to have the fish for lunch along with rice and curry - it was a good meal and we couldn't finish all the tuna although we tried hard.

In the evening, Hiroko had arranged to follow the cooking for the barbecue in the kitchen as a cooking class. We have been so fond of the food here, that we were keen to learn how it was made. Hiroko found it very interesting. Among other things, she was impressed, that they used a wood-fired stove. The french fries, that Miki has been eating almost every day are made from scratch and so is the ketchup!

The chef at work at the wood-fired stove in the kitchen.

One of "our boys" with a fish being prepared for the grill.

Put some new pics on Picasa: https://picasaweb.google.com/111243362282378595282/SriLanka

We took it easy in the morning, then Hiroko and I went to Mambo's beach (small waves) with Michael. 

Breakfast in the chil-out corner

Miki with an iced tea.

Mai at Mambo's with her freshly made fruit juice - decorated with an exotic flower.

In the afternoon we went on a boat trip on the lagoon. It so happened, that we shared tuk-tuks to go to the lagoon with the other Danish family. 

 On the boat on the lagoon (eagle in background).

The lagoon turned out to be a vast stretch of shallow brackish water. The lagoon is home to a lot of small fish, birds (predator birds eating the fish), salt-water crocodiles, mangrove trees, and elephants that come to feed on mangrove trees. We constantly saw little fish flying over the water - it turned out that they jump to escape larger fish, sometimes as far as a couple of meters and with several jumps in a row. It was an interesting sight. The mangrove trees are full of a strange-looking green bean-like fruit, which the fishermen who paddled us called "beans" - they picked a few of them for us and it turned out that you can make a kind of whistle from the upper part of it.

Hiroko on the boat with the fishermen in the background

The lagoon with the mangrove trees

Yesterday we took it easy the whole morning, Mai and I still recovering from our illness. We were just hanging around the bar until the afternoon. Then we took two tuk-tuks to Mambo's - the beach where the waves are not so big and where they have sunbeds in the shade.

Hiroko and Mai went into the beach bar and got freshly made juice, beautifully decorated with flowers. Philip rented a surf board and after practicing for more than an hour he finally succeeded in riding the waves a couple of times. Well done!

We sat next to a Danish couple. They saved our biscuits from the crows when we were in the water and we got to talk a little. They were also amazed at how many Danes were in A-bay.

In the evening we had seared tuna for dinner (half raw tuna). It was delicious!

Today we have planned a boat trip on the lagoon in the afternoon. In the morning Hiroko and I will go to Pottuvil for some errands and Mai will take the boys to the beach. We plan to spend the morning at the beach.