{"id":2919,"date":"2018-05-02T10:02:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-02T02:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/?p=2919"},"modified":"2019-05-16T02:03:11","modified_gmt":"2019-05-15T18:03:11","slug":"20170723tocolombo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/2018\/05\/02\/20170723tocolombo\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 13 of Sri Lanka Trip, to Colombo on July 23, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

Towards the end of our tour of Sri Lanka as we planned to take an another train ride back to Colombo. But before that, since we had time, we decided to take another visit to Galle Fort first.<\/p>\n

\"Unawatuna<\/a>

<\/br>Unawatuna Beach<\/br>The beach here is much wider, and offered more water activities than Mirissa.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Breakfast\"<\/a>

<\/br>Breakfast<\/br>We had this breakfast in a restaurant by Unawatuna Beach. Since the latter half of our journey, there\u2019s little distinction food-wise between our breakfast and other two meals of day.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Just after breakfast, two of my more adventurous friends scouted a surfing club where introductory surfing classes were provided. (Beach-wise Unawatuna was much better than Mirissa.) But for me, bathing in seawater (and occasionally battered by waves) was as much as I’d like to take.<\/p>\n

So at about noon, we left the town of Unawatuna and headed for Galle, paid its Fort a final visit.<\/p>\n

Galle Fort<\/span><\/h3>\n

During the day with sun shining bright and heat permeating the air, the streets of Galle Fort weren’t as populated as in the dusk.<\/p>\n

\"Main<\/a>

<\/br>Main Gate into Galle Fort<\/br>With Coat of Arms and inscription “1668” as year of construction. The gate was widen in the late 19-Century under British rule to allow easy flow of traffic.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Detail<\/a>

<\/br>Detail of Main Gate<\/br>Inscribed with “ANNO MDCL XIX” (1669), depiction of Dutch Coat of Arms with the ubiquitous emblem of cock and an inset “VOC” (Verenigde Osstindische Compagnie, Dutch East India Company in English) in the center.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Amangalla<\/a>

<\/br>Amangalla Hotel<\/br>This building was originally constructed in 1683 (see the inscription in the photo) as Dutch Government House.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Clan<\/a>

<\/br>Clan House<\/br>A British mercantile firm called John Black and Company established themselves in Galle Fort in 1847 and built this building. The building was currently under conversion into a hotel.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Flowers<\/a>

<\/br>Flowers and Cafe<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Streets<\/a>

 \"Streets<\/a><\/br>Streets of Galle Fort<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Meeran<\/a>

<\/br>Meeran Jumma Masjid<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Galle<\/a>

<\/br>Galle Light House Entrance<\/br>This is Sri Lanka’s oldest light station dating back to 1848, but the original 24.5-meter-high lighthouse built by the British was located about 100 meters from the current site and destroyed by fire in 1934. The existing 26.5-meter-high lighthouse was erected in 1939.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"People<\/a>

<\/br>People at Galle Beach<\/br>Japanese Peace Pagoda built in 2005 can be seen in the distance.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Flowers\"<\/a>

<\/br>Flowers<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Old<\/a>

<\/br>Old Dutch Hospital Grounds<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Old<\/a>

<\/br>Old Dutch Hospital Arcade<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Galle<\/a>

<\/br>Galle District Court<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Magister<\/a>

<\/br>Magister Square<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

After that, we left Galle and headed North along the coastal country road. Although we could take the train directly from Galle to Colombo, the (in)famous unpunctuality of Sri Lanka trains (that we encountered later) and the fact that from Galle all the way up till Aluthgama (which is half the journey), the railway was actually farther from sea than country road.
\nAnd in this way our driver could take us to some restaurant for lunch, which he knew for sure provided free driver food.<\/del><\/p>\n

\"Galle<\/a>

<\/br>Galle Lighthouse among Bastions<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Ceremony<\/a>

<\/br>Ceremony Planned on Samanala Play Ground<\/br>Our driver pointed it to us specifically, that this pagoda was built for some ceremony. It\u2019s either wedding or funeral, but I didn\u2019t recall exactly.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Country<\/a>

<\/br>Country Road<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Indian<\/a>

 \"Indian<\/a><\/br>Indian Ocean<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Resort<\/a>

<\/br>Resort by Indian Ocean<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Catching Train<\/span><\/h3>\n

We had lunch in a restaurant in the town of Hikkaduwa. The restaurant manager told our driver there’s a 3:10-ish train at Hikkaduwa to Colombo, which we intended to take, and which we missed by a minute probably because we spent longer than expected checking out the bathrooms after lunch. <\/p>\n

Given there’s only a handful of trains per day, sounds disastrous? Not actually, as we came to the ingenious solution of asking our driver to take us to the next train station in the city of Ambalangoda.<\/p>\n

So there’s this exciting van vs train race separated by a narrow field, which, since Sri Lanka’s railway infrastructure wasn’t so developed, our van quickly pulled ahead as we cheered our driver up.<\/p>\n

\"Telwatta<\/a>

<\/br>Telwatta Railway Station<\/p><\/div>\n

We stopped at this smaller Telwatta Railway Station for a short while. After learning the express train to Colombo wouldn’t stop here, we made our way farther north to Ambalangoda.<\/p>\n

\"Palm<\/a>

<\/br>Palm Trees<\/br>This narrow field separated the coastal road that we were riding on from the rail tracks.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Costal<\/a>

<\/br>Costal Road<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

It took our driver 20 minutes to get Ambalangoda from Hikkaduwa, the “express” train 60 minutes by schedule, and 80 minutes in reality. Didn’t know what happened to the train along the way, but judging by how calm local people were waiting on the platform, I guess this wasn’t uncommon in Sri Lanka.
\nHowever, to be fair, it should be a universal truth that single-track railway is susceptible to delay.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ambalangoda<\/a>

<\/br>Ambalangoda Railway Station<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Ambalangoda<\/a>

<\/br>Ambalangoda Railway Station Interior<\/br>The table on the right displayed the few trains that stopped at this station.<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

\"Tracks<\/a>

 \"Tracks<\/a><\/br>Tracks at Ambalangoda Railway Station<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Locomotive<\/a>

<\/br>Locomotive Arriving<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Train to Colombo<\/span><\/h3>\n

Compared with the previous highland train to Ella, this coastal train to Colombo was much less crowded, with quite a handful of seats available when we boarded. Expectedly, none were better than its doors.<\/p>\n

\"Traffic<\/a>

<\/br>Traffic on Bentota Bridge<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Approaching<\/a>

<\/br>Approaching Aluthgama Railway Station<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Aluthgama<\/a>

<\/br>Aluthgama Railway Station<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Scenes<\/a>

 \"Scenes<\/a><\/br>Scenes along Railway Track<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Indian<\/a>

 \"Indian<\/a><\/br>Indian Ocean and Coastal Road<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Maggona<\/a>

<\/br>Maggona Jumma Mosque<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Indian<\/a>

<\/br>Indian Ocean<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Scenes<\/a>

<\/br>Scenes along Railway Track<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"New<\/a>

 \"New<\/a><\/br>New Tracks Being Laid<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Indian<\/a>

<\/br>Indian Ocean<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Boats<\/a>

<\/br>\"Boats<\/a><\/br>Boats by Ocean<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Track<\/a>

 \"Track<\/a><\/br>\"Track<\/a> \"Track<\/a><\/br>Track and Palm Trees by the Ocean<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Palm<\/a>

<\/br>Palm Trees by the Ocean<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Indian<\/a>

<\/br>Indian Ocean<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Signal<\/a>

<\/br>Signal Lights<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Train<\/a>

<\/br>Train Carriage<\/br>Nameplate says this carriage was constructed back in 1990, which was older than me. This train wasn\u2019t as crowded as the Ella one, as it\u2019s not too hard to find an available seat, nor was it as tourist-packed. Of course, I stuck with the best seat, the doors.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Kalu<\/a>

<\/br>\"Kalu<\/a><\/br>Kalu River<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Sunshine<\/a>

<\/br>Sunshine over Kalu River<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Another<\/a>

<\/br>Another Train at Kalutara South Railway Station<\/br>A passing loop on this predominantly single track railway.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Scenes<\/a>

<\/br>Scenes along Railway Track<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Fields<\/a>

<\/br>Fields by Indian Ocean<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trail<\/a>

 \"Trail<\/a><\/br>\"Trail<\/a> \"Trail<\/a><\/br>Trail along Railway Track<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Wadduwa<\/a>

 \"Wadduwa<\/a><\/br>Wadduwa Railway Station<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"People<\/a>

<\/br>People Waiting at Signal Light<\/br>Railway track cut through the main entrance of Jie Jie Beach by Jetwing Hotel. So, people both on and off the train were taking photos.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Scenes<\/a>

<\/br>Scenes along Railway Track<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"People<\/a>

<\/br>People Waiting at Signal Light<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Scenes<\/a>

 \"Scenes<\/a><\/br>\"Scenes<\/a><\/br>Scenes along Railway Track<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Village<\/a>

<\/br>Village by Bolgoda River<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Sunshine<\/a>

<\/br>Sunshine over Bolgoda River<\/br>Could you believe that those buildings on peninsula belonged to Lanka Academy of Technological Studies, which I assume, the only technology was fishing?<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Fishboat<\/a>

<\/br>Fishboat on Bolgoda River<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trees<\/a>

<\/br>Trees by the Ocean<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Coastal<\/a>

 \"Coastal<\/a><\/br>\"Coastal<\/a> \"Coastal<\/a><\/br>Coastal Railway<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Scenes<\/a>

 \"Scenes<\/a><\/br>Scenes along Railway Track<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Moratuwa<\/a>

<\/br>Moratuwa Railway Station<\/br>One of the few multi-platform station on the line.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Coastal<\/a>

<\/br>\"Coastal<\/a><\/br>Coastal Railway<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Scenes<\/a>

 \"Scenes<\/a><\/br>Scenes along Railway Track<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Younglings<\/a>

<\/br>Younglings Playing on Beach<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Party\"<\/a>

<\/br>Party<\/br>The friendly Sri Lankan people were waving at us.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Villages<\/a>

 \"Villages<\/a><\/br>\"Villages<\/a> \"Villages<\/a><\/br>Villages by Railway Track<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Trains<\/a>

<\/br>Trains Passing Each Other<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Right after Mount Lavinia Railway Station there was a short tunnel. A gentleman informed me that after the tunnel there would be a short segment of track which makes the perfect picture. Yes, for the first time in our journey around Sri Lanka, we saw a proper skyline of Colombo in the distance.<\/p>\n

\"Mount<\/a>

<\/br>\"Mount<\/a><\/br>\"Mount<\/a><\/br>Mount Lavinia Beach<\/br>Colombo skyline in the distance.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Villages<\/a>

 \"Villages<\/a><\/br>Villages by Railway Track<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Coastal<\/a>

 \"Coastal<\/a><\/br>Coastal Railway<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Sunset<\/a>

 \"Sunset<\/a><\/br>\"Sunset<\/a><\/br>\"Sunset<\/a> \"Sunset<\/a><\/br>Sunset over Indian Ocean<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Quite ironically, thanks to the delay, we were able to watch this spectacular sunset over the Indian ocean.
\nHere’s a note to camera lovers, this last segment of coastal railway was directly next to ocean, so my camera lens ended up covered in tiny water drops and I do believe their performance was quite significantly impacted. Though after the experience in Moroccan desert, I never bothered to take too much care towards my now-disposable<\/del> camera.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"People<\/a>

<\/br>People on Beach Watching Sunset<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Coastal<\/a>

 \"Coastal<\/a><\/br>\"Coastal<\/a><\/br>\"Coastal<\/a><\/br>Coastal Railway near Colombo<\/br>It’s close enough to downtown, so there were people taking photos at us.<\/span><\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Coastal<\/a>

 \"Coastal<\/a><\/br>\"Coastal<\/a> \"Coastal<\/a><\/br>Coastal Railway near Colombo<\/p><\/div>
\n

\"Colombo<\/a>

<\/br>Colombo Fort Railway Station Interior<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

It took the train more than two hours to cover 84 kilometers of track. But quite to our surprise, we almost arrived at the same time as our driver, who blamed it on the traffic jam near Colombo.<\/p>\n

So after that we asked our driver to take us to our Airbnb apartment, thanked him for two weeks of extraordinary service, and ended the day.<\/p>\n

\"Cinnamon<\/a>

<\/br>Cinnamon Grand Colombo Hotel<\/br>Our Airbnb apartment is just next to it.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

END<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Towards the end of our tour of Sri Lanka as we planned to take an another train ride back to Colombo. But before that, since we had time, we decided to take another visit to Galle Fort first.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[209,2],"tags":[351],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2919"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2919"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2919\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3221,"href":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2919\/revisions\/3221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}