Sri Lanka : Day 6 - Maadu River Boat Ride & Fort Galle

The Surf Bentota was beautiful. I loved the stretch of beach ...

The property

Lovely view

Long, long beach to walk on

Beautiful clouds!

The breakfast buffet was great, though I did not eat much. Our first stop that morning was ...

Induruwa Turtle Conservation Centre
The turtles we could see at the centre

My heart went out to this handicapped turtle
Its shell was malformed and it could not swim very well

A volunteer explaining to us about the projects they did at the centre
Behind her was our mini van driver

After that, we went to the Maadu River Boat Ride ... We were charged LAK3,000 per person. 

One of the tour boats on Maadu River

Going on the boat was fun!

It brought us into a shaded canopy .... so fun

Fish spa at one of the stops .... I found it ticklish and was screaming all the way. Lol.

A hut on the river ...

The next stop was Cinnamon Island ... 

A hut

The very eloquent young boy explaining to us about the process of harvesting cinnamon from the tree bark

The products sold here were cinnamon bark, powder and oil
The oil is said to be able to relieve bodily discomfort

A small shop on the river, selling drinks and snacks ...

On the way to Galle, we could see the effect of the force of the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004, where the Southern coast of Sri Lanka was badly affected. Indeed, so many years on, the damage could still be seen. 

Galle Fort was the next destination. This was another UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

It was very hot at midday ... but this historical place was worth a visit. Lunch was after that ... we loved the fried fish at this particular restaurant. 

Lion Lager

We walked around the small town briefly after lunch ... 

The street was so neat! 

Inside the Historical Mansion Museum

There was an old lady, 75 years old, making lace here! It looked very complicated but the lady perservered in preserving her skill

All Saints' Church 

Inside the church

We dropped by to see stilt-fishing on our way to Colombo ... 

Stilt fishermen

I was disappointed to find out that it was all an act. When the fishermen (or maybe actors) saw our bus coming, they put on their headcloth and climbed up the stilts. Hmn .... 

And then it was driving all the way back to Colombo. We stopped by the beautiful parliament house at Kotte, but couldn't see much in the dark. 

Dinner was at an Indian restaurant, called Indian Summer 

Chutney, raita and pickled onions

Indian Summer Special

We loved the soup so much and asked for a second bowl, and it was nice of the restaurant to oblige ...

Roti 

Naan

Vegetables 

A small bowl of dhal curry

My plate with different types of curry, including chicken, and paneer and vegetable curry

Ice-cream for dessert 

After dinner, we checked into Fairway Colombo, a new 1-year-old hotel. I loved the modern room.

A cinnamon leaf I plucked from the tree at the Cinnamon Island

This was our final night in Sri Lanka, we were to fly home the next day.