Our flight didn’t get into Columbo until quite late and we were a bit worried about a very late night after our busy few days, especially as we had bagged some super-cheap flights! We needn’t have worried though. Tiger Airways delivered! The flight was on time, we arrived in Colombo were picked up by our hotel pickup and were soon tucked up in bed in our gorgeous bed and breakfast Lake Lodge. One of my favourite things about being on holiday is getting up to be served a lazy breakfast and the Lake Lodge did not disappoint. We sat in their lovely little living room overlooking the sweet lotus pond. Hooray, we were on holiday!

EXPLORING THE WALLED CIY OF GALLE

We had great intentions of sticking to our backpacking ways and catching the train to Galle and then making our way to our accommodation in Tangalle. With time a little tight though and being so anxious to make the most of our few nights in luxury accommodation we soon decided to book a driver to take us down the coast. Our driver was a really friendly young Sri Lankan man with an amazing head of curly, thick black hair and after battling our way through the ridiculously busy Colombo traffic we were soon motoring along on the highway. It is a newly built road that cuts a substantial amount of travel time off the old coastal road but the toll of around $3.50 was just too much for the locals (and it seemed a lot of the tourists) to pay and was just about completely empty except for us and a few Police cars.

We had not planned to stop in Galle but it had a great write up in our guide book and everyone we talked to seemed to go there so we decided to make a stop off on the way to Tangalle. I hate the thought that I might be missing out on something good! It was a beautiful little town, built by the Dutch in 1663, it is full of gorgeous European buildings, narrow alleyways and pretty shopfronts all surrounded by perfect beaches, palm trees and sea breezes. We had a delicious (non-traditional!) lunch of crepes and pineapple and mint frappes after guiltily deciding not to join the masses of tourists at the restaurant our driver wanted to take us to. Bless him!

THE LAST HOUSE

Then we were on the road again anxious to get to The Last House. Most of our travel has been either backpacking, the occasional flashpacking or short trips on a limited budget with the odd indulgence thrown in. But you only celebrate your tenth wedding anniversary once, and Sri Lanka has the most incredibly beautiful and unique boutique accommodation that we couldn’t resist splurging for at least a few nights. We had spent many hours on many evenings trawling through websites, reading reviews on Tripadvisor and flicking through our Lonely Planet to find the perfect place to stay. I came to learn about Geoffrey Bawa, Sri Lanka’s most famous architect who lived from 1919 to 2003. He is famous for linking interior and exterior spaces with lovely courtyards and pathways and for allowing his buildings to become one with the surrounding nature. When I read about The Last House guesthouse, named because it was the last house that Geoffrey Bawa designed, I was sold. The Last House was in Tangalle a lovely stretch of coastline away from the main tourist area. Our driver seemed to be quite pedantic about instructions and even though we keep assuring him it was fine, just keen driving, he stopped every so often to ask yet another person for directions. As it so happens we missed the turnoff but soon found out where we had gone wrong and found our way onto the bumpy, deserted, narrow, dirt road thick on either side with tall trees and lush rainforest. Our driver was really not sure about this and stopped to ask even more people for directions. We kept driving deeper and deeper into the bush until we finally found our way to a little sign on a big green gate saying The Last House. After a few moments wait our hosts came running out to greet us, anxious to make a good impression taking our bags and leading us to our room. Ours was the ‘Peacock Room’ and was set at the front of the property on the ground floor with a view out to the rolling lawn which then fell out onto the beautiful sandy beach. We were given a cold glass of passionfruit juice as we relaxed and thought about how lucky we were. Ahhh paradise!

One of the best things about staying at The Last House was feeling like you were staying with a local family. The staff were all lovely, especially the Manager, whose name I wish I could remember. We loved chatting with him and learning about his life and life in Sri Lanka. As we were waiting for our tuk tuk to arrive on the last day he told us about the day the tsunami hit. He spoke of the guests escaping to the top floor, of the waters rising, of the locals and friends from other hotels who disappeared that day, about the damage done to The Last House and how they restored it to its former glory. I remember when the disaster happened feeling so sad and helpless that such devastation had reached so many people. I couldn’t bring myself to celebrate New Year’s Eve that year, it was a sombre time that I will never forget. Hearing a first hand account brought back all those feelings but made me have even more respect for the locals who were so intent on looking after their guests, and who were positive and resilient enough to pick up the pieces and keep going. A great lesson in humility and just how luck we are in the west.

We were so sad to leave the lovely Last House and although a sad turn of events for some other guests meant they had to rush back to England leaving a room free for us for another night if we wanted it we decided our budget would thank us if we continued on our way. Next stop was not far away, a cheap and cheerful beach hut on another stretch of coast at Tangalle, The Palm Paradise Cabanas. We jumped in a tuk tuk, loaded up our backpacks, gave Mischa one last pat and bid farewell to the gorgeous The Last House and the most lovely Last House staff.

HEADING TO PARADISE

The Palm Paradise Cabanas reminded me of a caravan park on the beach, which is no surprise really when I tell you that it was run by a super efficient and lovely German family (our time spent backpacking through Europe taught us that no matter how remote a camp ground, and how few other people there are in that camp ground, it is pretty much guaranteed that there will be at least one German person). The bungalows were super cute. Right out of Robinson Crusoe, and pretty basic but very well designed and with every detail thought of. There were water buckets and ladles at the foot of the stairs to wash sandy feet, drying racks for wet bathers and towels, bamboo mats for lolling on the grass and the beach, mosquito nets and coils, outdoor chairs and even a lovely shell wind chime for decoration. We had lunch in the open air pavilion and then made our way down to the gorgeous, white sand, palm-tree-lined picture-perfect beach. The waves were big but safe for swimming and there were some rustic bamboo huts lining the edge of the beach selling food, cold beer and fresh coconuts. Paradise!

As fate would have it one of Andy’s good friends from London and his wife had been travelling in Sri Lanka for a few months and were going to be in the same area as us at exactly the same time as us. We used the opportunity to catch up and although I have never met either of them before it was one of those serendipitous occasions where kindred spirits meet and the conversation doesn’t stop flowing for hours and hours. We started with sunset drinks on the beach and spent the rest of a beautiful evening swapping travel tales, observations on life and dreams for the future. One of the best parts of travelling is always the friends you meet along the way.

Next stop Leopard spotting in Yala National Park.