Day 19 Galle 14 August

As we approach the end of our holiday, we tire and sleep in today. Have breaky, then off to the train station. The cacophony of sounds, crowds and general chaos that surrounds a major road, a busy bus station and a railway station is extraordinary.

Jump on train to hikkaduwa on route to the small town of Tellawatta. 

Here we are looking for the Tsunami education centre and photo museums. The photo museum is in what was once the host’s house; quite sobering.

Further south is a small memorial where the lady said was dedicated to the 1200 who lost their lives on the train when caught in the second wave.

People sought protection in the train after the first smaller wave, I guess figuring that the threat was over.

Along a little further is Tsunami Honganji Vihara, a standing budda facing the waves with hands in the “ abhaya mudra” pose, this is Buddha’s pose conveying fearlessness and protection. Stuart in particular feels for them having been very involved in the tsunami relief in Banda Arche, Indonesia.

As the buses pass us on the road , we bravely decide to attempt this route home, successfully as it turns out. We end up at the bus station as planned! Back to Cargills shop for a/c, sorry I mean beers and crackers. After this we retreat to our room to regroup and cool off.

Later, after a couple of sundowners on the open patio in our accommodation we wander into the center of town.

It is interesting that in the very heart of this old town, it is near impossible to find a curry for dinner.

Pizza and burgers easy to find but not a curry. We are trying to stay fairly pure with our Sri Lankan cuisine but that’s not to say we aren’t thinking how nice those things might be.

Found a roti bar and that will do for tonight.