Day 1 - I've been here before.
17. januar, England ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C
11:00
Literally. Gatwick North terminal in the depths of Winter, waiting for an Emirates flight via Dubai to Colombo, and some Sri Lankan sunshine. There are several things that are going to be different this time around though:
1) Vicki! I loved Sri Lanka SO much when I visited in 2024, that I said on my return to the UK that we just had to go together. The South of Sri Lanka gave me such vibes of Goa about 20 years ago, and we had some incredible trips to that part of India back then. Sri Lanka felt like all of that, and then some.
2) Friends! We’re travelling with our dear friends, Simon and Shenda. We’ve travelled pretty extensively together in the past, and we know we make good trip-mates. They’ve both had a really tough year in 2025, and I’m beyond delighted that we had this trip planned to give them a much deserved and massively needed break.
3) Employment! Long time readers of this travelog will know that most of my manic scribblings are from a 2 year sabbatical I took from work. Well, I’ve been back at work very nearly a year, and I think this is the first trip I’ve taken in nearly 4 years that I really felt I’d earned. I’m really enjoying my job, but the last couple of weeks particularly have been super busy, at times frustrating, and at others - completely chaotic. There’s a difference frisson of excitement that comes with a trip that follows an extended period of focused and hard work. Don’t get me wrong - I still got super excited about all the trips I took during my sabbatical, but there’s something that little bit special when you’re patting yourself on the back for a job well done.
I write this at 11:00, with a view over the runway, with a glass of wine in hand. Well, not literally while I’m typing, but… *HOLD PLEASE* …. briefly in hand when I need it to be.
We’re going to be revisiting some of my favourite stops from 2024, and finding some new favourites along the way. We had planned to stay in Ella for a couple of days, then take the stunning mountain railway up to Kandy. Sadly, the devastating cyclone that hit Sri Lanka in early December 2025 has laid waste to large sections of the track. Tragically, it sounds like the Sri Lankan government may not bother repairing and rebuilding it. If that proves to be the case, I’m just delighted I got to experience that magical journey before it was too late. As a result of the line closure, we’re firmly sticking to the South coast of Sri Lanka, with planned stops at Unawatuna, Mirissa and Tangalle.
We’ve not got tons planned outside of much needed R+R, and will see where the days take us…
18:00 / 22:00 - depending on your perspective…
We’re approaching the Turkish coast. The benefit of a 13:35 departure is that I’m not massively down on sleep. For this particular journey though, it does mean I may struggle to get much sleep, if any. We land at 20:40 GMT, which is 00:40 in Dubai, and depart a couple of hours later for Colombo. The upshot is that none of us are feeling super sleepy on our first, longer flight, and will probably be ready for sleep on the short, 4 hour hop into Colombo, when there isn’t really time for any. Ho hum.
Still - it gives us plenty of time for chats, movies, wine. It’s a very easy 7 hour flight.Læs mere
Day 2 - Tired as a very tired dog.
18. januar, Sri Lanka ⋅ 🌙 28 °C
09:30
The transfer in Dubai was a piece of piss. It’s a huge airport, and it can take a good while to get from one side to the other. Today though, we have just a 3 minute walk from the security check to get to our gate. We grab a beer, and cackle contentedly for a while.
We grab some duty free. An abiding memory of mine from my 2024 trip is that the accommodations I stayed in rarely had a bar on site, and we all (minus Vicki, obvs) felt like a bottle of gin and a bottle of spiced rum would be good additions to our trip.
There’s a minor snafu at the gate when it transpires Simon has lost his boarding pass. No great shakes, as we have digital ones, but it’s the boarding pass that has the luggage tags on it. We’ll just have to hope nothing goes awry on that front.
The second flight is a little less enjoyable than the first. The Emirates 777-300ER on which we’re flying has recently been refurbished, and I don’t think Emirates have done the best job with it. Any plane is gonna feel small compared to the A380, but I’d always found Emirates’ 777 comfortable enough. It now feels properly cramped, dark, and just not the most pleasant place to spend time. The new Premium Economy and Business cabins look great, but the cattle class product is a disappointment. I manage maybe 2 hours of scratchy sleep, and that will just have to do.
We land into Colombo on time, despite a slightly late departure from Dubai. Deplaning, passport control, luggage reclaim all done in the blink of an eye. Maybe 30 minutes after landing, we’re climbing into our minivan for the 2 hour ride down to Unawatuna.
The drive down is largely uneventful. Vicki sleeps most of the way, as does Simon. Shenda and I rest, but don’t manage to zizz. We have a couple of hairy moments on the road, but our driver manages to navigate these fairly successfully.
We pull up next to Winsi VIlla around 11:30, and are quickly into our rooms. We’re all knackered, but agree to head out for a very small wander, mainly to find water for our rooms. We pitch up at a beach bar, the name of which I couldn’t begin to tell you. We’re all a bit discombobulated, and my Lion beer does nothing to assist me. We can see the beach from where we’re sat, but we’ll come back and check it out properly later.
Vicki and I decide we need a minimum of 3 hours of sleep. When we arrive back to our room, the A/C has done its work, and it’s blissfully cool. We climb into bed, and are both quickly out for the count.
22:30
I have 3 hours of DEEP sleep. Vicki, maybe closer to 4. Simon managed similar, but Shenda once against rested rather than dozed. We head out around 18:00, mainly in search of sustenance. About 1km down the beach is a seafood restaurant called Black and White, and we head off in the direction. The beach itself is very pretty, though the view to the South is a little diminished by a pretty ugly and blocky building, which we later discover is a big holiday hotel.
At Black and White, we choose our fish. Shenda is pescatarian, and has been full on veggie at times. She doesn’t love the idea of fish heads and tails, so we chat with the dude at the fish counter. He recommends a butterfish, a species Vicki and I have eaten before in South Africa, but which I’ve never seen on the sub-continent. We add some tiger prawns as well, because - why not? Chef fillets the fish, to accommodate Shenda’s request, and serves both fish and prawns in a slightly hot, slightly smoky garlic and butter sauce - served with a simple salad and some rice. It’s staggeringly good. And amazing value. With (several) drinks, the bill for 4 of us comes to £60.
It’s about 20:30, and we’re not quite ready to call it a night. I don’t think we’ll be up late, but asleep by 21:00 is asking for trouble. We walk back to the centre of town, initially via the road, and subsequently through someone’s back garden. The vague back streets of Unawatuna are not necessarily where we’d planned to spend our evening. Happily enough, we find our way back to civilisation after definitely more than one wrong turns. We part up at a beach bar, next door to which is a restaurant with a local band covering the likes of Culture Club, Miley Ray Cyrus, Taylor Swift. There’s also a DJ, but my mother taught me that if you don’t have anything nice to say….
We bravely make it to 22:00, before declaring bed. We have the sum total of fuck all plans tomorrow, and I can’t wait.Læs mere
Day 3 - An awful lot of not very much.
19. januar, Sri Lanka ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
08:45
I feel like I’m an experienced enough traveller to know how jet lag is going to effect my sleep. Flying to the sub-continent means I’ll be awake for a couple of hours during the night, but ultimately, I’ll sleep ok. Last night was no different. I could barely keep my eyes open when we went to bed around 23:00. I tried reading to let Vicki drift off before me, but as my eyes scanned down each page, it became increasingly difficult to lift them to start reading the subsequent page. I fell asleep almost instantly.
Around 02:30, I woke and was awake for a good 90 minutes. Still tired - but just incapable of sleep. I listened to an audiobook for a while, and finally drifted off again sometime after 04:00. I woke again around 08:00, feeling fairly chipper and well rested.
Now, I have a Garmin fitness tracker that gives me a nightly sleep score. It’s programmed with an algorithm (because everything is) that looks at various factors like the amount of light, deep and REM sleep I’ve had, how stressed I was when I went to sleep etc etc. My watch thinks that the couple of hour stretch of being awake is sign of disrupted sleep, and has given me a low score. I know it’s because of jetlag, and that I actually *feel* pretty good. But my low sleep score is stuck in my brain now, and I shall have to have an afternoon nap as I’ll feel tired.
Moral of the story is that technology is great, until it isn’t.
18:30
We have managed to do an awful lot of absolutely nothing today - and I believe we deserve praise for doing so. We head out for some breakfast around 10:00. We make it all of 20m from our apartment. The upstairs deck at Funky Café has a lovely breeze, some tasty sounding food options, and a sense of wellness. I have my first hoppers of the trip - those pancake type things that usually have poached eggs in the bottom. They’re delicious, and accompanied by an amazing onion sambol, and my absolute favourite - a Sri Lankan breakfast dhal. Banging. Vicki and Shenda have more than decent omelettes, and Simon has a full English that is missing most of the components of a full English. Coffee’s good though.
Back at our room, Vicki and decide a nap is in order. She ‘only’ had nine hours last night, and it turns out my watch might’ve been right to call out my broken sleep.
3. Count them. 3 HOURS later, we awake, and feel decidedly better for doing so. Si and Shenda have wandered down the beach, and we make a vague plan to meet with them.
Vicki and I have data plans while we’re here, but Si and Shenda don’t. As a result, we send a last message before heading out, in the hope that we’ll collide along the way. Vicks and I make about 40m from our rooms, and settle down with a beer. Well, for me - obvs. There’s a power cut just now, and the blender that would have delivered Vicki her preferred iced coffee is not working. She settles for a coke and some water. It’s perhaps the first time on this trip that we both properly zone out. It’s incredibly peaceful.
We sort of try and keep in touch with Si and Shenda, but without data, it’s a tricky challenge. Vicki heads up the beach in search of a work out, and some additional steps, and bumps into them = WINNING.
They join us at Sands Beach with our new friend Ashok. We make some vague plans for dinner, and repair for some showering.
23:40
We have some balcony drinks. Spiced rum with mango juice. Very tropical. Reminds me of rum punches in the Caribbean. We head out for dinner to a place Si and Shenda saw earlier called One Love. Rubbish name, amazing food. It’s rice and curry night. Sri Lankan rice and curry has more than a little shared DNA with an Indian thali - multiple curry dishes, served with rice, chutney, sambol. One Love’s is amazing. Hot. Properly hot. And huge! In hindsight, we could probably have managed one between two. I have the prawn curry, Vicki and Shenda the fish curry, and Simon the chicken curry. All are sensational. But hot. I think the spiciest thing on my tray is one of the veggie curries. SO tasty… With some drinks, we’re in and out for about £15 per head. Awesome value.
Si and Shend head back to our accommodation, but Vicki and I decide to have a wander. We end up in a rooftop bar with some cool tunes, and I have a throughly decent gin and tonic.
We stumble (me) back to our room, and cue up the latest episode of The Night Manager. If you haven’t watched this series, do it - it’s awesome.
Our day has been incredibly successful. We deserve much sleep.Læs mere
Day 4 - Whoa there, slow down!
20. januar, Sri Lanka ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
20:40
I don’t have the very best sleep. Long enough, but restless. Yesterday was a pretty boozy day, so will take things a touch easier today.
Shenda and I head over to our local, Sands Beach, for a coffee while Vicki and Si slumber on. We spend a wonderful hour putting the world to rights, and drinking perhaps one more cup of coffee than is absolutely necessary. Our coffee was served in a massive pot, and uses local coffee grounds. It’s really tasty. Some light floral and fruit notes.
Vicki and Simon are alive by 10:30, and we head out for a late breakfast. I have my first kottu roti of the trip, and it’s a banger. This dish is a smasher - chopped roti bread, mixed with vegetables, sometimes with the addition of meat or cheese, and fried hard on a flat-top plancha. The flavour profile is along the lines of a Chinese style fried rice. V v tasty. It’s also sizeable. That, combined with a big bottle of Lion sends me back to bed for some extra zizz. Vicki claims she’s not tired, and is going to read on the balcony, so I’m a little surprised when I wake from my nap to find her snoozing next to me.
We get ourselves up, and head out for a walk, all the way down to the West end of the beach. It’s a little busier down here on the beach, and quite a lot of the shore has eroded away. We grab a drink at a beautiful little courtyard bar called The Social. I have a cucumber, pineapple and mint cooler, which is super-refreshing.
We organise ourselves with S+S to head out for dinner, and decide to hit up a very well reviewed Mexican place. It’s super busy when we arrive, but the team kindly sort us out a table. It’s Taco Tuesday, and their tacos are on a cheap deal. It also explains why it’s quite so busy. The tacos are excellent. Vicki and I both have 1 x birria beef, 1 x pork pibil, and 1 x Baja fish. The beef is probably the standout, but all are excellent. Shenda’s particularly excited that they have a good selection of veggie options.
After dinner, we have a little wander around the streets of Unawatuna. This is largely in aid of Vicki’s step count, but it allows us to mooch around a few new bars and restaurants along the way. We eventually loop our way back towards our accommodation. There’s a ‘techno’ party at Sands Beach this evening, which we thought we’d go and check out. Unhappily, I start to experience some gallbladder discomfort. I don’t *think* it’s gonna turn into a full on episode, but I can’t be sure. I err on the side of caution, and head back to our room to rest up. Honestly, I’ll be glad when the little fucker’s removed in March…
23:00
This just in from our intrepid field reporter, Vicki:
1) The ‘techno’ party was not a techno party. Music largely consisted of house music covers of pop songs
2) Cheeky buggers had raised the drinks prices quite substantially for the party
3) There were about 5 people in attendance. Not a heaps big rave.Læs mere
Day 5 - The Galle of it all...
21. januar, Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
17:30
Curses. I once again sleep poorly. Just awake a fair bit. Maybe it’s a touch of jet lag. I think a couple of times during the night I wake up feeling like my gallbladder is pulsing a little - which is WAY less cool than it sounds.
Vicki’s awake in decent time (:shocked face) and she, Shenda and I head out for what is rapidly qualifying as our customary morning coffee.
We head to a small rooftop restaurant next door to our hotel for a brunchy type affair around 11:00. I have my second kottu of the trip, and it’s even better than the first. The others all have a cheese stuffed roti as an appetiser. Shenda follows up with dhal, which is brilliant. So much more fragrant with cinnamon, clove and nutmeg than the Indian dhal to which I’m more used. Simon and Vicki have very tasty dishes of grilled swordfish (I think?).
Fuelled, we ready ourselves for an afternoon jaunt to Galle. It’s one of those cities that has a long track record of colony - initially the Portuguese in the 16th century, then by the Dutch in the 18th century, and finally the British in the early 19th century. There’s an old colonial fort, built initially by the Portuguese invaders, and grown significantly by the Dutch, inside which is a maze of cobbled streets, views of the ocean, and cool places to grab a beer.
We wander around the ramparts in the sunshine. It feels a little hotter today, though that might just be humidity. We’re all a little sweltering, and collapse into a tap house, which is called, well - Tap House. I have my first non Lion Lager of the trip. Still made by Lion, but a Belgian style witbier. Vicki has a virgin colada. Simon and Shenda end up with several litres of a white sangria. It doesn’t taste uber strong, but apparently has a combo of white wine, rum and vodka in it. Ahoy!
Galle is very pretty. We amble (stumble?) down Pedlar Street, which is the boutique capital of the city. We somehow manage to buy nothing, and end up walking to the other side of the fort, and up around the ramparts of the fort.
Back in Unawatuna, Vicki and I head for a sharpener at our local, and are greeted like long lost friends. I shall miss them when we move on tomorrow. Vicki and I briefly talk world politics, and the absolute fucking shitshow state the world is in right now, accompanied by a couple of glasses of white wine (for me). I find myself reflecting on Unawatuna. I wasn’t sure I was going to love it, but I’ve developed an unexpected attachment to the place. The beach is pretty, the bars serve super cold beer and are staffed by uber-friendly folks, the food has been amazing. What’s not to love? It’s maybe not the most chilled out of places we’ll visit, but we’ve a couple more stops along the way that’ll provide that kind of laid-backness. Ultimately, the best barometer is whether I’d return to a place, and I’d come back to Unawatuna in a flash.
We have plans this evening for a rice and curry at a place that gets banging reviews - so can’t dawdle too long. There’s food to be had.
21:30
Dinner was a treat. Mettha’s is basically a Sri Lankan family’s front room. They can feed a max of 8 people at a time, and have a super limited menu. We popped our head around the door a few days ago to ask if they were serving their famous rice and curry, and were told Wednesday was our first chance. So, here we are, Wednesday, and raring to go. The rice is served with 4 vegetable curries - green beans, a dhal, potato and spinach and perhaps my favourite, a pineapple curry. The 3 meat eaters amongst us also get a small dish of curried chicken, which is delicious. There’s no booze offered, as they don’t have a licence. It’s the simplest possible way to eat great food, and encounter great people. I give Mettha a hug as we leave, as I’ve been quite overtaken by the whole experience. I live for travelling moments such as this.
We stop in at Sands Beach for a post dinner prandial. As we’re readying to leave, a guy asks if we’re English, and when we say that we are, asks to join us. If we weren’t just paying our bill etc etc. He’s been here a week, and is feeling quite isolated, surrounded as he is by what feels like many thousands of Russians. Unawatuna has been largely taken over by Russian tourists in recent years, but not in such a way that we’ve necessarily felt it. There’s no animos, no tension. Very dissimilar to my time in northern Goa a year ago. Be interested to see if the balance of tourist population stays the same for our next couple of stops.Læs mere
Day 6 - Mirissa on my Mind...
22. januar, Sri Lanka ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
17:30
Moving day. Once again, I’ve struggled to sleep, and it’s starting to irritate. We pop out for a quick coffee, and to say goodbye to our new friends at Sands Beach. Our taxi is due at 11:30, so we get ourselves packed up in half decent time, and luxuriate in the coolness of our super air-conditioned room. At the appointed time, we head down to the main drag in Unawatuna. There’s a road leading up to Winsi Villa, but it’s not big/wide enough for a van, so we felt like this was the decent thing to do. We then proceed to wait for 35 minutes, stood like lemons at the side of the road, in the baking sunshine. I have no problem with delays to arrangements, but what tends to catch in my craw is when communication about the delay breaks down. I ping the guy that sent me the booking confirmation, and ask where the driver is. I’m told 5 minutes. After 15 minutes have passed, I ping him again, and… Nothing. As he doesn’t have an answer that he thinks I’ll like, he chooses to ignore me. When the dude finally turns up nearly 40 minutes late, we ask why he’s running so behind schedule. He shrugs, points at an empty road, and says, “Traffic.”
The journey over to Mirissa is around 45 minutes. The van is comfy, and super cool, I spend the ride gazing contentedly out of the window as the coastline passes us by. We pass through some quiet villages, past an apparently working air force base whose runway features sizeable pot holes, and countless surf breaks with highly mixed standards of surfing. Cruising along, I can feel the frustration of the taxi delay ebbing out of my body. It reminds me of times I’ve visited Palolem in the past, and the energising effect my proximity to that beach had on me at the time.
We arrive around 13:00, and there’s a snafu. We have two rooms booked - one of which is air-conditioned, and one of which is not. This is entirely on me. I could give you a long and dull explanation by way of mitigation, but it’s my fuck up, and that’s the end of it. Lalanika explains to us in our her very stilted English (which is far better than my Sinhalese) that they do have a family room available with A/C, but it’s slightly more expensive. That’ll work for us. What follows is perhaps 20 minutes of Lalanika trying to explain that we need to cancel one of the rooms from our booking.com reservation, and me explaining that I can’t cancel one, I can only cancel both. We dance this dance until I can dance no more. I cancel the whole thing, she gets notification that I’ve done so, and we move on from there. We pop out for a beer and some food while Vicki and my room is made up.
We stop in at A++, which I believe was named before search engine optimisation was a thing. I remember it fondly for two reasons:
1) It has the best view of the Mirissa surf break, and
2) They used to have 3 white wines on their menu, all of which were Sauvignon Blanc.
We quickly settle in. Beers arrive, food is ordered, one surfer nearly decapitates another with her surfboard. Of such things will our days be made. Food is delicious. A Nasi Goreng for me, and a fish burger for Vicki. Both hit the spot.
Sated, we head off for a walk down the beach. I think Mirissa is a prettier beach than Unawatuna. Certainly more photogenic. It’s much wider and flatter as well, which makes walking on it that much easier.
Si and Shenda decide to grab a sunbed for some rays, whilst Vicki and i head to the main Mirissa road for cash and supplies - both of which we find in abundance…
23:30
We head out around 19:00 for some dinner. There are a bunch (technical term) of seafood places along Mirissa Beach, but I’ve got my eyes on one I visited in 2024, W&D. I had probably the best prawn I’ve ever eaten, alongside some amazing bass. It’s a lovely temperature as we walk down the beach. I managed to stub my toe on a massive rock sticking out of the sand, but happily don’t come too much of a cropper.
The fish display at W&D is amazing. There’s quite the kerfuffle while the guys working there seat us. The restaurant is basically full, so the only place to put additional tables is right down by the water’s edge. The tide is pretty much at its zenith. The two do not mix brilliantly well. We eventually get seated a few metres further back, up the beach, and spend most of the next 45 minutes cackling at folks who are finding themselves being pulled away by the tide. The prices in Mirissa generally and at W&D specifically are noticeably higher than just 20 miles up the coast in Unawatuna. We reason that we’ve been incredibly good with spends so far, so a treat dinner is in order. I pick out a bass for Simon and Shenda to share, and a massive red grouper for Vicki and me, which will be cooked whole. There’s clearly been a big catch of it today, as there are arrays of this beautifully coloured fish on display at most of the restaurants we walked past.
When our food arrives, it’s stunning. The grouper is delicious. A slightly softer and creamier texture than I’d perhaps expected, but perfectly cooked and ultra juicy. Vicki and I are pretty good at scavenging for some of the best parts. The cheeks and throats on fish this size are always a treat. The slightly chewy and crispy bits around the shoulder are fought over. At one point, one of the waiters moves to take away the fish head, and I emit something approaching a feral snarl, telling him I’m not done with it yet. It’s served with a super hot chilli sauce on the side which is as hot as advertised, and brilliantly tasty. I everso slightly overdo it at one point, and give myself the chilli hiccups. Sami, the manager, tells me it’s very simple to make - puréed green chilli with fish sauce, minced garlic, a squeeze of lime, and quite a bit of ground green peppercorn. I’d worried the flavour would dominate the fish, but it complements it wonderfully. I’m deffo having a pop at making it back in the UK.
It’s a late dinner by this trip’s standards. Si and Shenda are ready to head back, and they leave us at Surf Bar, one of the (many) beach bars I frequented on my last trip here. There’s some banging house kicking out, which is right up my and Vicki’s street. In the hour or so that we’re there, Vicki Shazams 11 tracks. I have a couple of Arrack attacks - local Arrack spirit with lime and ginger - kind of a Sri Lankan take on a Dark and Stormy. We could probably quite happily settle in here for a few hours, but figure it’s time for some shut-eye.Læs mere
Day 7 - Hotter than Hades
23. januar, Sri Lanka ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
17:00
I’m gonna stop telling you about my sleep until things improve markedly.
Our accommodation includes a Sri Lankan breakfast. I’ve got form with these - they can be more than sizeable things. I’ve pre-warned the others. I should point out - our accommodation is a lovely little homestay. The family house is on the same plot of land, and there are three very well apportioned rooms in a separate building to the rear of the property. Anyways, just before 10:00, the food starts to arrive. It takes about 10 minutes for it all to be delivered. We have (deep breath) an omelette, some toast, jam, sliced papaya, sliced pineapple, a widdy little banana, a yoghurt, and a coconut pancake. Oh, and some lovely Sri Lankan coffee. I manage most of mine, but forego the yoghurt. The banana is one of the sweetest I’ve ever tasted. Sensational. The coconut pancake is very tasty. It’s got what I think is some palm sugar in it, which gives it a slightly fudgy taste. Lovely.
Post breakfast, Vicki and I catch up on The Traitors, and I have a super deluxe late morning / early afternoon nap.
We head out around 14:00 to catch up with S+S, and stop in at A++ for some top up food. Some snacks later, we womble down the beach, and pitch up at a cool looking bar called Salt. Sitting here, watching the world go by, with an ice cold Lion to keep me company is one of my (and I’m sure many others’) happy places.
Vicki heads further down the beach for some more exercise, but I head back to our room for a little lie down. My right knee is jipsome to say the least, and walking on sand is not my best friend right now.
22:30
We head out with Si and Shenda around 19:00, and head for Ceylon Curry House. I’ve not eaten there before, but they get rave reviews for their traditional Sri Lankan curries. The Black Pork Curry I have is:
1) Delicious, and
2) One of the hottest things I’ve ever eaten. Definitely up there on the famous Irvine 3 meatball scale.
It starts out friendly enough, but the chillies and chilli powder seem to have sunk to the bottom of the coconut shell in which it’s served. As I scrape around at the bottom with some leftover bread, my mouth explodes. I have the chilli hiccups instantly. I perspire. I want dairy products instantly. And I am more than embarrassed as my tray is taken away, when our server tells me that my bowl was only ‘medium’ spicy.
None of this is to detract from the flavour, which is incredible. Hot with chilli powder and black pepper; fragrant with cardamom, cinnamon and clove; super juicy and tender pork shoulder… I’m definitely grabbing a recipe for this while I’m here.
Post-prandial, we’re not quite ready for chill time and bed, so head to Surf Bar, where Vicki and I discovered some v cool music last night. Tonight is much the same style. I dive into some more Arrack Attacks, and take Simon and Shenda into the fray with me. We find the dude who’s music is playing. It transpires to be a Dubai based DJ called Muse, who just happens to play a lot of the same music that I still DJ today. Sadly, they turn the music off, as there’s a more formal ‘party’ happening next door, and they don’t wanna get in the way. Fair dos, but it’s awesome to know we can drop in to hear some cool sounds whenever we want to while we’re in Mirissa…Læs mere
Day 8 - THAT'S what I'm talking about...
24. januar, Sri Lanka ⋅ 🌙 26 °C
16:30
My abiding memories of Mirissa are of it being the most amazing place to switch off, to recharge, and to relax. After a couple of days, I’m not 100% convinced we’ve unlocked this upgrade. Today has changed that conviction.
We do the usual breakfast pantomime, and the food is lovely (and overly generous). Vicki and I watch the finale of The Traitors, because spoilers. We head out to the beach around 13:00, and find Simon and Shenda chilling on a sunbed, just out of the sun’s reach. We’re at Surf Bar, rapidly qualifying (again) as my favourite Mirissa beach bar. There’s some slightly louder than necessary chill-out music playing. Honestly, it’s a bit of a mind-fuck. We settle down for some drinks. Bean bags, chilledness, childlessness - if it comes to that. What an incredibly cool way to spend the day. We talk about important stuff, we talk about incredibly unimportant stuff. There’s some food, some natter-chatter - all the good stuff. We gaze out across the bay to the surfers, who are struggling with some more challenging surf conditions today. At several points, I find I’m asking myself if it would be possible to feel more relaxed. Each time, the answer is no - yet I’m proved wrong. I’m awarding today a 10/10 score.
21:30
We’ve got an EARLY start tomorrow, so head out in good time for dinner. We head to Mila - somewhere I’ve eaten before, and which I think S+S+V will enjoy. I remember their crab curry being sensationally good.
Mila is right on the main road, but we sit towards the back of the restaurant, so that we can hear what’s going on, without being interrupted by it. The food is amazing. I have the crab curry (again) and it’s as good as I remember it. I make a prawn curry at home with a very similar tasting sauce, but the crab lifts it several levels above my version. It’s served in a bowl with a bunch of sections of whole crab in it. I revel in the opportunity to use my crab pick to make sure I get every little last piece. Wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s very much mine. It’s not hot - there’s barely any chilli in it, but by the power of Grayskull, the flavour is intense.
Vicki has a chargrilled fish - something that looks like a Dourade, and tastes similar. SO tasty. Shenda has a prawn curry which looks amazing, but which I don’t taste. Simon has a burger which is tantalising to look at. Our meal feels like great value - well under £20 a head. We meet an ultra cute kitten, who is skinny beyond belief, super friendly, and really just hanging out with us to encourage food…
We’re back at our rooms by 20:00. There are 3 rooms at our accommodation, and the third one has become occupied. We are initially suspicious, but they turn out to be a very lovely Italian couple. One is definitely called Jacamo, and his boyfriend we *think* is called Fabio or Flavio? As we arrive back, they ask for some food recommendations, which we happily provide. They’ve recently arrived from Tangalle - our next stop. They describe it as, “A tourist town without tourists,” which really appeals to me. It’s definitely going to be the quietest stop of our trip, which we agree is no bad thing from a sequencing point of view. I remember having very fond memories of how wild the coast was in Tangalle, and am excited to get back there.
The 05:00 alarm call is looming. Time for snoozes.Læs mere
Day 9 - Raja and the Whales
25. januar, Sri Lanka ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
13:00
The 05:00 alarm is brutal, but in a good cause. We drag ourselves out of bed, squinky and squinting. It’s pitch black outside. We’re ultra close to the equator here, meaning sun up and sun down are pretty close to 06:00 and 18:00 each day. A tuk-tuk collects us at 05:45 for the short drive to Raja and the Whales’ office. Short doesn’t really do it justice. We could have walked it in 5 minutes. We’re checked in and boarded onto our boat by 06:15, and see a beautiful sunrise emerge to the East of us. By 06:30, we’re underway. We’ve been given travel sickness tablets in case of sea-sickness. The boat is gently rolling in the waves, but no worse.
Almost immediately, we spot a small pod of dolphins. I took this same trip with the same company two years ago, and we saw hundreds of the things. So beautifully graceful through the water. We didn’t, however, see whales - and I’m hopeful our luck will change today. We head South/South-East for an hour, towards a 2000m deep channel that various species of baleen whale use for feeding. When I’m on these kinds of wildlife adventures, I always like to learn the spotting skills used. For whales - there are 3 primary signs to look out for, broadly in order of from how far away you’re likely to spot them:
1) Seagulls over the water - indicating that fish are being driven to the surface by a feeding whale.
2) Fish jumping out of the water to avoid the whale’s giant mouth.
3) The whale’s blowhole waterspout.
We see plenty of gulls and jumping fish, but no whales initially. The boat crew suddenly explodes with excitement - a blowhole spout is off to the left of us. The boat’s engine increases in power as we hare off towards the spotting. In the distance, we see the dorsal fin of a whale gracefully emerge from the water, and then disappear back beneath the waves. There are perhaps 15 other similarly sized boats around us, and I can’t help but wonder if the whale is doing its best to avoid human contact. On a few occasions, boats come worryingly close to hitting each other. There are strict guidelines for how the boats should approach a whale in the wild, but I think most of that goes out of the window as soon as a whale is spotted.
We spot another Bryde’s whale, again a little ways away from us. After perhaps 90 minutes, most of the boats disappear back towards the shore, and just 2-3 are left with us. I find this relaxes me. In the next 90 minutes, we spot a further 3 whales, including a Sei whale. We catch a great view of a Bryde’s whale from the rear, which really emphasises how giant this creature is. Females can grow to 15m in length, and weigh as much as 20 tons.
Highly satisfied with our whale watching experience, the crew head us back towards Mirissa. Along the way, they receive a radio call from some local fishermen who are surrounded by a big pod of spinner dolphins, and we stop by to take a look. They’re much smaller than their bottlenosed cousins we saw earlier, and we spend a joyful few minutes watching them play around the boat.
Back at port, we decide we’re not that fussed about eating. There’s a great little restaurant by the harbour that serves the best prawn curry I had on my last visit, but we’ll come back when our appetites will do it justice. Back at our room, the 05:00 alarm call catches up with me, and I fall into a deep sleep.
22:30
We’ve had a low powered afternoon. After nearly 2 hours sleeping, I join the others at Surf Bar. A beer is accompanied by some simple fried rice. It’s also accompanied by a less than brilliant pair of live musicians. He’s playing acoustic guitar, but not that well. She’s got a slightly querulous voice, and is doing a disservice to most of the songs she’s attempting.
We decamp to A++, where Bobby Bobster steals first Simon’s sandal, and then my flip-flop. She’s a mischievous little scamp. We manage a drink each and a snack, before turning in for the night. Vicki and I are both hopeful of deep, restorative sleeps. HOLD TIGHT FOR FEEDBACK.Læs mere
Day 10 - The Off Switch
26. januar, Sri Lanka ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
15:00
Excellent sleeps are had. Vick’s strategy of a slightly drowsy decongestant + soothing music through her headphones has worked well. Shenda has had over 10 hours. I get my first sleep score of the trip that’s in the 80s. We will do well today.
We have very little planned today, and I can’t wait. After breakfast, Vicki and I mooch for a little while, before heading to the beach to meet Si and Shenda, and to video call with our darling friend Maz,who’s currently in Koh Lanta (Thailand) as part of a 3 month trip around SE Asia and Australasia. It’s great to see her and catch up on her trip so far.
We’re peckish, so head over to the brilliantly named No 1 Dewmini Roti shop, a favourite of mine from my previous visit. The Stuffed rotis are delicious. Mine has prawn, egg and cheese, and is served with a mild (but very tasty) dhal, and a spiky hot chilli sauce. Banging.
Back on the beach, the breeze has stiffened. There are actual dark clouds in the sky, suggesting there might be some rain this afternoon. I conclude that a nap is in my best interests, and repair to bed.
23:30
My nap is sensational. Deep, relaxing - and concluded by being abruptly woken with a start by my beloved wife. We have very little in the way of plans this evening as well. We amble over to Nautica, a restaurant on the Mirissa harbour where we boarded our whale watching trip. I had a stellar prawn curry here in 2024, and have been wanting to return. The food is good, but doesn’t quite hit the heights that my memory tells me it should be doing. Shenda reckons the prawn curry she had at Mila on Saturday was probably a bit better, and if my crab curry there is anything to go by, then I suspect she’s right. Nautica’s is still super tasty though, and very good value.
We’re not quite ready for bed, so we head to A++ for a cocktail, and to say goodbye to Bobby Bobster. I have an Arrack Attack which is properly punching with fresh ginger. Delish. There’s a guy doing some acoustic things with a guitar. Such a difference to yesterday’s less than successful version at Surfbar. He can actually, you know - play guitar, and sing. We have a few singalong moments, and Bob tries to steal my flip-flop.
Reflecting on Mirissa, I’m mindful that it’s been the perfect way to locate the off switch. The pace of life is glacial, in all the good ways. I suspected it would be our favourite stop of the trip, and I’m sticking with that prediction. I’d happily come back to Mirissa in future for an extended stay. Our accommodation has been super comfy and offered great value. There are some amazing places to eat that we’ve not had time to explore. Our whale watching trip aside, we’ve barely moved from the beach. There’s more stuff we could have done, but honestly - when the relaxing is this good, it’d be a shame to disrupt it with actual activity…Læs mere
Day 11 - Some highs, some not so highs.
27. januar, Sri Lanka ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C
16:00
And so, it’s time for the last leg of our trip. After this, we shall, indeed, be legless.
Vicki and I have both slept adequately, and are up in decent time to get packed. Lalanika has subtly been shifting forwards by a few minutes the time she brings our breakfast each day, and is setting up by 09:15. We have some omelettes, fruit, toast and yoghurt.
We have a short wait for our van to Tangalle, but nothing like as frustrating or hot as the one that brought us here to Mirissa. I’m so pleased V, S and S have all loved Mirissa as much as I thought they would. I had a feeling it would probably be their favourite stop along the way, and I suspect even after our stay in Tangalle, that will prove to be the case.
The drive over to Tangalle is fairly uneventful. We’re on a highway for most of it. The landscape passing us by is incredibly verdant - much of it made up of rice paddies and cattle grazing land. It reminds me very much of Kerala, that beautiful and lush state to the South of Goa.
We arrive into Tangalle around 12:30, and our rooms aren’t quite ready yet. There’s a bit of a communications snafu, which we ultimately resolve through the use of an English to Sinhalese translation app. We have a cold drink while the rooms are made up, dump our stuff, and head out pretty quickly in search of sustenance.
We make it maybe 200m down the beach before finding Simon (who’d wandered off to make a couple of work calls) and dropping into a beach bar called Brother’s (their apostrophe, not mine…) We have a tasty late lunch of kottu, grilled calamari, battered tuna - that sorta thing. It’s super hot and super humid today. There’s the threat/promise of some rain, which I think would largely help us out. I pad back to our room for some chill time, while the others head further along the beach for an explore…
22:30
I’ve felt a little par-boiled today. I don’t think there’s any one thing getting at me, but a combo of things have combined to leave me feeling physically and mentally sub-par.
I feel better for a short rest, and get freshened up to head out around 19:00. We wander down the road that runs parallel to the beach, and we walk past countless beach bars and restaurants. After a late lunch, we’re not particularly hungry. We’ll maybe grab some snacks if the mood takes us. Many of the beach bars offer a happy hour though, so we find one that looks/sounds attractive and pile in. Sampa Beach Bar offers buy one get one free on cocktails until 20:00 = WINNING. Vicki manages to swing a decent virgin colada, whilst Si, Shenda and I lap up our mango daiquiris.
We ordered some simple snacks - some roti and a chicken sandwich. An hour later, we ask where our food is, and are told it will be another five minutes. We ask again after five minutes, and are told they've run out of gas, and the chef has had to go and restock. We wait another five minutes, and ask for the bill - but we’re told the food will arrive any moment. One of the service team stops by our table, and tells us that he is working alone in the kitchen this evening, so the pace of service is slow. We’re unsure if it’s the gas, or the chef working alone - but we all smell bullshit.
Shenda goes to the toilet, and pops her head around the kitchen door while she’s there. When she returns, she says the kitchen does NOT look good. We decide to leave.
We calculate the exact amount owed for our drinks, and leave this in cash as we walk out. One of the workers behind the bar starts to say something aggressively in Sinhalese to Vicki and Shenda, until I turn around and stare him down. He apologises.
We walk perhaps 400m down the road, until we find we are being chased by a tuk-tuk. When it slows down, Shenda initially thinks he’s asking if we want a lift, so waves them away. It turns out to be two different members of staff from the beach bar, demanding more money from us.
They try and tell us that the happy hour deal is buy TWO to get one free, which is not at all what we were told when we ordered. We hold our ground, and the discussion gets increasingly heated. I can feel my hackles exponentially rising. Eventually, we’re being shouted at, and when I respond in kind, I get asked to keep the noise down by the manager/owner dude.
I can deal with slow service - if you TELL me that something’s going to take a while. I cannot deal with lies from the service team, and aggressive behaviour from the manager/owner.
Fuck you Sampa Bar. Fuck you.
Frustratingly, I’d tagged a few bars and restaurants literally no more than 50m from where we’d been sitting as worth a visit during our Tangalle stay. We stupidly got sucked in by a seemingly good happy hour deal. Curses.Læs mere
Day 12 - Breakfast of Champions
28. januar, Sri Lanka ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
13:00
I wake feeling far less stressed. It probably sounds ridiculous to speak of stress when I’m in one of the most laid back and relaxing places imaginable, but that’s definitely what I was feeling yesterday. I’m up well before Vicki’s planned 09:00 alarm, so I pad to the bar for some coffee and journalling. The sun’s still rising, and is creeping under the bar’s roof. Even this early, it feels prickly hot. We’re in for a scorcher.
My various colleagues emerge at different stages. Vicki is last, waking at 09:30. We’ve read amazing things about a small beachside restaurant not far from us, so ready ourselves and head out for breakfast. Chandi Gaya is a proper family affair. Husband runs front of house and logistics, wife runs the kitchen. We’re perhaps a touch late for breakfast, as it’s 11:00 by the time we sit down, but we ask for breakfast nonetheless. The head of logistics needs to pop out for some ingredients, but does so willingly.
The food that arrives - holy fuckballs, the food that arrives. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, and yet is entirely extraordinary. The hoppers have a wonderful cakey feel, but are also crispy. The eggs have a deep, glossy texture, and feel like they’re almost baked into the hoppers. The sambol, we’re proudly told, is made from fresh coconuts from their own garden. Likewise, the dhal is made using this morning’s first pressing of coconut milk.
The dhal - by the power of Grayskull! I think it’s the best dhal I’ve ever had. Definitely the best Sri Lankan breakfast dhal, but it’s up there in the very highest echelons of lentil dishes. Shenda and I hatch a cunning plan to ingratiate ourselves with the owners, and to ask for the dhal recipe on our last visit to eat with them. Will familiarity breed contempt? I hope not. I can see me eating this regularly all year round. I may even try and master the art of the hopper…
22:00
Sizeable and weighty late breakfast = NAP. I have a delightful hour or so, out of the hottest part of the day. Si and Shenda have been beaching, and Vicki has been doing very important stuff that is of little or no consequence.
Vicks and I head out to Tangalle town in search of supplies. It’s walkable - maybe 45-50 minutes, but that scorcher I mentioned earlier is definitely with us today, and we err on the side of caution, jumping in a tuk-tuk. We grab some supplies, stock up with cash, and head back to the beach. We’ve only been out an hour, but it’s been quite a draining and hot experience. It’s starting to cool now, and the deck seating of Shehani’s bar is now in the shade. I settle in with a glass of wine to watch the world go by. It’s just about the coolest fucking place I can imagine being right now. In front of me is an expanse of ocean, with literally nothing but water between me and Antarctica, some 6,000 miles due South of us. One glass accidentally becomes two - and I feel like I could quite happily settle in here for the duration.
We saw a restaurant earlier advertising BBQ fish and live music, so we head that way. Happy Lab is a cool little joint. Their BBQ food is good, but not outstanding. My butterfish is a touch overcooked, but still very tasty. Vicki and Shenda have Mahi-Mahi steaks which are perfectly cooked, but which could do with a little seasoning.
The live music is, let's be frank, not good. The band spend a good 30 minutes in sound check, constantly tweaking settings without actually changing how anything is sounding. The drummer and bassist are decent enough, but the guitarist/lead singer just doesn’t have a very good voice. Simon offers to step in on lead vocals. Apparently, his repertoire extends to some Neil Diamond and some Robbie Williams.
We’re all pretty tuckered after a hectic day of doing very little. Vicki and I manage a drink at Shehani before collapsing into bed.Læs mere
Day 13 - The sea! Let's eat Let's Sea.
29. januar, Sri Lanka ⋅ 🌙 27 °C
15:00
I’m awake by 08:00, with the onset of nervous anticipation. It is only a couple of hours until I can feast upon Mrs Chandi’s amazing hoppers. They are, once again, sensational. An abrupt Israeli couple make a complaint nearby us, which clearly upsets Mrs Chandi. I’m tempted to follow them and set them straight. It seems to stem from slow delivery of their food. Given Mrs Chandi is working in a small kitchen on her own, and cooking everything fresh, this seems a particularly unkind position. I could eat this dhal every day. I could bathe in it. I can’t necessarily prove this, but I suspect it could cure cancer.
Back at Shehani Beach, it takes only the merest hint of wine to send me back to bed for a nap. DELUXE.
18:30
I’ve been wanting and meaning to get in the sea while we’ve been here. I should really have prioritised this at one of our earlier stays, as the water was calmer. Up here in Tangalle, there are dedicated wave breaks along the beach, designed to make swimming a touch easier and safer. Away from these wave breaks, the waves are much bigger and rougher, and there are countless rocks to watch out for.
Vicks and Shend head off to do some ultra important shopping, so Simon and I spend 30 minutes getting swept off our feet by the surf. We’re wave break adjacent. The waves are powerful, and the currents they create enough to knock us over. Top fun.
On the beach, drying off we tuck into some gins and tonic. The sun is starting to set, but retains a a deep warmth. The girls find us, and we spend some time nattering away at Happy Lab. I don’t think it would be possible to feel more chilled out than I do right now.
22:30
We’ve only a couple of dinners left before we head home, and I’ve wanted to go back to Let’s Sea - a seafood place the other end of Tangalle beach that I ate at twice in 2024, so good was it. It’s a decent 20 minute walk in the evening heat, and we more than deserve our dinner by the time we arrive. It’s a properly family-run place. Lahiru runs the front of house with his sister (who’s name I should really have learnt by now). Their mum runs the kitchen, knocking out indecently good fish dishes at more than decent prices.
Their whole fish today is white snapper, which I immediately order. Shenda and Vicki opt for tuna steaks, and Simon orders prawns.
The snapper is so simple, but so good. Flavoured with ginger, curry leaf, black pepper, I think some soy is in there as well? And served with the plainest of steamed rice, and a fruity slaw. Banging. The fish is perfectly cooked. Super juicy, and flaking away from the bone. Vicki’s tuna is very tasty, but a little bonier than she’d anticipated. She’s had better tuna on this trip - but we’re picking from a very crowded top table.
The bill is under £40 for the 4 of us. It helps that they only serve Lion for the drinkers, but even so - Let’s Sea offers outrageous value for the quality of food on offer.Læs mere
Day 14 - What the buggering tits?
30. januar, Sri Lanka ⋅ 🌧 29 °C
16:00
I sleep terribly. Feel like I am awake much of the night, and at 05:00, I give up on the idea of more sleep, and get up, in the hope that I won’t disturb Vicki. There’s neither rhyme nor reason for it. I’m as relaxed as imaginably possible. I’ve thought in the past that I have some kind of genetic marker for insomnia, and that my body just sometimes behaves like a dickhead, and keeps me awake for no earthly reason.
Vicki sleeps till 09:00, because she’s a legend. She, Si and Shend head out for breakfast a little later, and I head back to bed. Despite the two strong cups of coffee I’ve had, I manage to get to sleep for 90 minutes, and wake feeling much better…
Simon’s off out on a moped today. I’d planned to join him, but am taking it easy instead. Shenda tracks him on ‘Find my Friends’ and we’re a little alarmed when it appears he’s hurtling down the highway a few miles from here.
Shenda and Vicki report back on another wonderful breakfast at Chandi Gaya, and that Mrs Chandi was asking after me, concerned by my absence.
Around 13:00, I ease into a couple of glasses of wine and some fried rice, and it’s enough to send me back to bed for a further 90 minutes of delicious sleep.
22:30
My day has been as nothing - and yet, it has been remarkable. We’ve had spots of rain all afternoon, and before heading out for dinner, I sit out on the deck with a glass of wine, being gently rained on. It’s a wonderful sensation.
We’ve been keen to try Mrs Chandi’s non-breakfast food, so pad back down to our regular haunt. I’ve a feeling her rice and curry is going to be a thing of great, great beauty. Simon, Shenda and I all order the rice and curry - mine with the addition of a fish curry for the princely sum of 50p. Vicki is after a wodge of protein, so orders the grilled fish.
The food is sensational. Enough to feed a small army, but sensational. There are 4 veg curries - a dhal, a potato based concoction, a squash curry, and something that we initially think is green beans, but which I *think* might be some kind of gourd or eggplant. They’re all tremendous. I tell Mrs Chandi that I’d dearly love to write down her dhal recipe, and she asks if I will pay for it. I’m not 100% sure whether she’s joking. We somewhat unnecessarily order a kottu as a side dish. It’s delicious. Vicki’s fish is banging. Seer fish I think, as it’s very meaty, but too pale for tuna. Susie (our new cat) benefits from some fish based action. We don’t quite manage to master the mountain of food, but we get pretty damn close. Our bill for this feast? Less than £5 per head. Just incredible value. Mrs Chandi is a hero - she cooks amazing food, fresh to order, and in a tiny kitchen. LEGEND.
Back at Shehani Beach, the bar has been restocked with tonic, so S, S and I have a last G+T to pass the time.Læs mere
