Girl And The World

A Sri Lankan friend of mine once told me “the best thing the British did here was build the railways.” I was doubtful about this. My experiences on the Sri Lankan trains haven’t exactly been great. Like most of the transport available in Sri Lanka, the trains tend to be slow, crowded, and stressful. But over the last few years I started to hear tourists rave about the trains in the hill country, and on my recent trip to Ella, a small village in Sri Lanka’s highlands, I decided to give the trains a second chance and find out what all the fuss was about. The little train station in Ella seemed promising. It was full of the old English charm that I find quaintly pleasing. Flower beds lined the rails, and train conductors waved green flags as the trains came in. I had chosen to take the ‘observation carriage’ … read more

It happened at 2pm yesterday. I was working on my laptop in my room by the beach in Hikkaduwa when I heard a knock on my door. I opened the door to find my French friend waiting outside looking worried. “Did you feel that earthquake?” he asked me. I shook my head. “No,” I replied, “It came from Indonesia,” he told me “I think there could be a problem, and my friend is swimming in the ocean right now but I can’t find him. Do you know where he might have gone?” At first I didn’t realise quite what he was suggesting. I didn’t put the two things together. Why would an earthquake affect the ocean? I apologised and told him that I hadn’t seen his friend, and was about to close my door when my Sri Lankan friend Gayan showed up. “There’s been an earthquake,” Gayan said. “Yes, yes … read more

Hikkaduwa is one of my favourite places in Sri Lanka, although few people seem to agree with me on this. Many people pass through for just a few days at at time, get annoyed by the main road running through the tourist strip, and leave again. But Hikkaduwa has plenty of natural beauty if you are willing to look for it. So here are my favourite things to do in Hikkaduwa: Take a catamaran boat out on Hikkaduwa’s beautiful lagoon for a real sense of nature The lagoon river safari is so beautiful at sunset. It’s so quiet and peaceful out there, all you can hear is the gentle, rhythmic dip of the oar into the water.   Make the most of Hikkaduwa’s protected coral reef by going scuba diving or snorkling The reef at the far end of Hikkaduwa beach is perfect for snorkling, There’s tons of tropical fish … read more

I’ve been living in Hikkaduwa on Sri Lanka’s South coast now for almost a month, and whilst I like to think that I am being productive, in all honesty I never really stray far from the beach. So in a bid to do something different, I decided to take on a few courses this week so that I could learn something new instead of just topping up my tan. Hikkaduwa is famous for its surf, so it made perfect sense for me to start surfing lessons here. Luckily for me, one of my Sri Lankan friends is a surf instructor, so I saved myself the $10 charge for a teacher and board rent and got my lesson for free. Even though I have tried surfing before, I’ve never had a proper lesson, and my last attempt had been an absolute disaster, so I was pretty nervous as I headed off … read more

So I’m back in Sri Lanka for the fourth time, picking up a little writing work here and there and visiting old friends. I first visited Sri Lanka in 2006, and I’ve been hooked ever since. This time I plan to explore a little further afield up into the North, so keep an eye out for updates. However, for the time being I am simply back in my old town of Hikkaduwa where I once lived, visiting friends. Here’s a quick update in photos: I spent my first few nights staying with an old friend, Praveen, in his parent’s home in Colombo. His mum makes the best rice and curry! I headed out with some of Praveen’s friends to check the nightlife in Colombo and ended up in a bar dancing to traditional Sri Lankan drum music where everyone picks up an instrument and joins in – so much fun! … read more