Alankuda Beach - Serene Simplicity

Departure Time:    Noon-time

Departure Venue:  Fort Bus Stop

Travel mode:         Bus

Adventurers:         Avanti & Anushan Selvarajah

A long-awaited trip to the elusive escape that was Alankuda. Located in Kalpitiya, the definition of Sri Lanka’s tourism motto ‘A Land Like No other’, Alankuda was every bit as exotic as we had hoped.

Thanks to eco-tourism maestro Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne, who quickly adopted us as his protégées, we were able to get a hasty reservation for a complementary stay at Alankuda, as long as we shared its story wit others, and were off early one morning to this ‘heavenly’ resort.

 Truth be told, we got much less than we expected from Alankuda, but granted that was due to us visiting in the low season.

Alankuda is securely hidden by coconut tree branches, and one would not be able to find it, unless you were actually looking for it! Turning into a small road, abit off  Palavi Junction in Kalpitiya, you had to travel around 200km (preferably via tuk-tuk) to reach the resort. Driving down this road, you had to keep a keen watch, and spot the resort, fully covered by dry coconut tree branches.

Walking down the narrow path that leads you down to the centre of the resort, we soon came across Suddah and Suddhi, the resort’s resident Labradors. After petting the dogs for awhile, we were led to the main pavilion, to rest our legs, and a refreshing drink, while the hotel readied our room.

Room, though we thought, was actually a small compound, all to ourselves, covered (once again!) by dry coconut tree branches… On one corner of the compound was an open bedroom/veranda, complete with low clay walls and a thatched roof… On another corner was the toilet/shower (privatised also by coconut tree branches); while the rest of the compound was garden space, with benches etc, thus making it ideal for families with smaller children as well.

 

After unpacking our things onto the clay shelves, we headed out to the resort’s infinity pool for a dip. Although its ‘infinity’ aspect could not be seen, due to the coconut tree branches that the resort had made into a fence to stop the choppy monsoon rains/sea water from spoiling their plant life, the pool was fabulous. A stretch of around 20 metres of warm water, which softly over-poured into a rock pool, was beautiful to see and also experience.

While we swam, lazed and snapped pictures, we adopted one of the ‘lounge huts’ as our standpoint. As we lazed the day away, hot plates of batter-fried prawns and drinks appeared at our fingertips without so much as our requesting it, spoiling us rotten! Drinks were available in the cooler, in the main pavilion, at any given time and day… and spoiled us for choice too!

Mealtimes were also an experience. The scrumptious ‘totally Sri Lankan’ buffet was laid out on an old ‘paruwa’ in the main pavilion, while guests could lounge on the cement (but cushioned!) seats around the pavilion. Although totally Sri Lankan, the meals were soft to the touch and melting in our mouths, and made us want more and more.

Night-time was also a sight to see, as the infinity pool was softly lit-up with mini fibre-optic lights, giving an impression of small fish in the pool. As dark clouds covered the sky (ruining a clear sunset AND sunrise) everything beyond the infinity pool was in darkness, making it seem like it didn’t exist…

A plate of battered boneless chicken appeared at our fingertips, and was devoured with much gusto!

Aside from us, the only other guests were four youngsters and a older gentleman… and so, at night, when everything lay still you could lie and listen to the different sounds of the animals all night long…

 

Although we did not get to go dolphin/whale watching, the trip was memorable… as we had longed to go to the hotel for awhile.

Before we left the next day, we were shown around the whole compound that was Alankuda. New plans for progression were in action, as they were building a ‘resort house’ on the same premises, in addition to larger compounds for group travellers etc…

 

Going home was the furthest from our minds, but grudgingly bid goodbye tot the resort, and the friends we had made there, and made our way home…