Rediscovering Negombo..

Departure Time:     1600 hours

Departure Venue:   Fort Bus Stop

Travel mode:          (No. 240) Bus

Adventurers:          Avanti & Anushan Selvarajah

One fine Saturday, bored as we were, we had decided to make a getaway to Negombo, to our home away from home, Dolce Vita. So, Anushan picked me up from church and boarded the bus to Negombo, waiting to get out of Colombo, and indulge in the treats of Negombo.

It was around 5pm as we neared Negombo. Hopping off the bus, we then hopped a trishaw and made our way to Sea Sands/Dolce Vita. Arriving there, we were enthusiastically greeted by the (now deceased) owner of Sea Sands and offered a room immediately… After we had made his payment for the night (getting that out of the way), we decided to run to Dolce Vita, and begin our vacation dining.

As we ordered coffee (for Anushan) and ice-cream (for me), we relaxed in the easy chairs, among many others who had escaped to the beach.After we had finished, we decided to go for a walk on the beach, camera in hand, and ready to jump at any photo opp! The sky was a dark orange, and although the sun had gone down (we missed it), the moon was up and bright, lighting up the beach so much that you could hardly believe that it was night-time… It was beautiful.

Anushan, as usual, went about snapping pictures of the moon, and I just strolled on the beach behind him, trailing the water and watching children (and adults) swim and play around.

As it got darker, we went back to our room, relaxed for abit and then decided to change and go out for dinner. As we went out, we decided to start the night with a small drink. So, we went to our favourite bar/hangout, Rodeo. And this time, we managed to take a picture of our old sign on the Rodeo wall… (see image)

We then walked the streets of Negombo, in search of a place to eat. As we passed many jewellery shops, and I was giddy, we stopped to examine the many rings on the shop windows. At one window, we got exceptionally giddy as we excitedly pointed out the ‘nicer ring’. The shopkeeper then came running out (thinking we were potential customers), and dragged Anushan inside TO CHOOSE A RING! I was rolling around outside laughing, watching Anushan inside the jewellery shop, discussing engagement rings with the shop-keeper. (A VERY rare photo opp I couldn’t let pass!)

Finally getting him away from the shop-keeper, we walked away laughing at the overly-priced ring, with no intention of ever purchasing it…

Even after we had finally eaten from Dolce Vita, we were still feeling hungry, and so we made our way to the beach again… We walked over to the mini carnival, and bought hands-full of isso-wadé and parippu wade etc… and ate them on our way back.

 In what was NOT my proudest moment, I then decided that tonight was the night to make “sand angels”… ahem! And so, lying on the beach, I began flapping my arms in an effort to make ‘sand angels’.

Up early the next day, we made our way to the beach, to catch the day break.

We weren’t the only ones on the beach, as a bunch of kids (ages ranging from 7 to around 15) were already amongst the morning joggers on the beach.

We walked along the beach until we reached a bank of rocks, and then climbed on this and watched the boats setting out for the morning. Walking along the rocks, we then walked onto the beach again and through the fishing boats that were still on the shore, only to stop to watch a fisherman weaving his net, preparing for the day’s catch. Anushan, of course, had to photograph him, and I stood at a distance, waiting for him to finish…

We then walked along the road, back to Sea Sands, only to stop for a drink to quench out thirst from the long walk back!

We then enjoyed breakfast from Dolce Vita, eggs, bacon, sausages and the works… It was scrumptious!

 

After breakfast, realising that we were low on cash, we decided to head to a town nearby to the Commercial Bank ATM. Speaking to a local tuk-tuk driver, we hopped in with him, and were taken to the bank. On the way, he gave us a tour of all the churches in Negombo (there were tons of them!) – from the pink church, to the biggest church and the most beautiful (right next to the beach)!

By the time we made our way back, it was lunch-time… We found a quaint restaurant close-by to Sea Sands, and tried it out. The food was quite good, but what captured us the most was all the people that walked by. It was indeed a peephole into Negombo.

From where we sat, we could see practically everyone that walked along the beach, and there were quite a few personalities!

We observed a group of boys that sat not too far from the restaurant’s beach entrance, seemingly smoking illegal substances and having a good day out…

We watched a wind-surfer get beaten down by the waves and the wind over and over again; so much so that we rarely saw him standing up right… (!)

We sneaked glances at the numerous couples that dotted the beach, under umbrellas and behind obstacles; indulging in obscenities…

We watched birds land on a nearby patch of green, hoping to swoop in on their next meal…

And a sight that was most extraordinary to us, were two veddhas that seemed to fall onto the beach from nowhere, completely out of place, yet blending in with the holiday-makers… (see image)

As we sat there, we also took a gad-zillion pictures, posing for each other, and just fooling around… After the satisfying lunch, we walked back to Dolce Vita, to enjoy homemade ice-cream, and spend the last few minutes of our holiday relaxing…

At around 6pm, we packed our bags and left Sea Sands and Dolce Vita, with definite promises of returning(!), and made our way back to Colombo, and on to the bus that took us back home…

Anushan’s engagement ring escapade, and my ‘sand angels’ nightmare will forever be stuck on our minds!