Road. A stall with fruits and vegetables. Corn is being boiled over a fire right there.
Sri Lanka, 2018
Day 13: January 31
Tangalle - Balangoda
Sri Lanka, 2018
Itinerary
The morning was warm, but overcast. Tourists are arriving at our beach on tuk-tuks, and we say goodbye to the ocean and the birds. We head to the center of the island, to the mountains.
The road into the mountains is narrow and deserted. Along the way, we stop to drink coconut and eat corn.
They chose a huge coconut. Delicious!
We arrive in the town of Balangoda hoping to find a hotel here. We’re in luck—we spot a sign by the road, turn off, wind our way around for a long time, but eventually find the hotel. It’s a large, solid house, with a hall where a Japanese tea set sits in the cabinets. We’re given the best room, with a balcony and a view of the mountains. There’s no one else here besides us, and it seems there hasn’t been anyone for a long time.
Hotel lobby
It was around 4 p.m. and we were thinking of going into the city center to find some food. But the guy who checked us in said that today is a holiday in Sri Lanka and all the restaurants will open after 6 p.m. So for now we’re drinking tea on our balcony.
Drinking tea from a Japanese tea set
In the evening, we decided to go look for the restaurant recommended to us by the guy from the hotel. We found the restaurant on a dark, unremarkable little street, but to our surprise, it turned out to be a very beautiful place. And the prices were twice as low as near the sea.
We ordered French fries, shawarma, orange fresh juice, and tea. In our excitement, we even forgot to take photos of our food. The shawarma was very tasty!