Beach time at Hikkaduwa

Four hours from Yala took us to our final destination in Sri Lanka: Hikkaduwa on the South-West coast. I had initially been put off of Hikkaduwa by the Rough Guide and tried to look for places in recommended to me like Unwatuna/Mirissa but I had spent so much time on TripAdvisor that I just lost the plot and thought I'd trust the tour company to know what we like and so settled with Hikkaduwa. Unfortunately it took us an extra hour to get there, because as we were just minutes away from the hotel there was some incident in the road so we had to turn around and go across country to get round it. It's at times like this that I realise how much I appreciate traffic officers and police in the UK creating diversions. It was fine for us to travel along the quiet single-track backroads, past pretty villages and so on, but traffic soon ground to a halt when buses and giant lorries also had the same idea coming from the opposite direction. Once everything came to a standstill everyone was too stubborn to make the first move so we sat there while there was much discussion. Finally someone reversed and eventually we got going and reached our hotel. Lavanga is not the kind of place we would usually stay (a bit posh!), but our tour company had recommended it and it has been such a treat to enjoy some luxury for our last few days.  

Our balcony

Sea View 

Turns out we love Hikkaduwa. The beach is absolutely huge, and so quiet. The sea is a bit rough at times with a strong undercurrent pulling at you but it's beautifully clear and warm. The next few days were spent sitting around, reading, swimming, eating and drinking: how every beach holiday should be.

Hikkaduwa Beach

Yesterday my friend Thanuri and her new husband Yojitha came to visit us for the day in Hikkaduwa which was great. We went to a very cool beach restaurant to chill out with drinks and food, and went in the sea there was was slightly more calm but I still managed to get totally wiped out by a wave when I attempted to bodyboard! It was so nice to see them again before we leave, and hopefully it won't be long until I see Thanuri again :)

So now we're at the end of the trip and I'm just trying to enjoy the last of the lovely weather until we have to pack up and head to the airport in a few hours. I am very sad to leave and I really hope I can come back soon.

Thanks for reading

Love,

Eleanor xxx