Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka and Getting There!

Our journey began on Sunday 4th April first thing (about 6.30am) we said our goodbyes to the guesthouse manager Vincent, who we had grown fond of. With our backpacks packed and stuffed full to the point of bursting we headed to Dehiwala train station. We bought our tickets and jumped aboard, trawling up and down the rickety old, battered train there was no sign of a seat anywhere and very little chance of anyone making space for us. Instead we stood up awkwardly with our backpacks strapped tightly on our backs and stood up in between carriages, hanging on for dear life whilst the train (without warning) through us from side to side. Within a matter of time we soon got use to it and even, dare I say it, began to enjoy the feeling of the warm wind vigorously flow through our hair. We later arrived at Hikkaduwa two and a half hours later!

Hikkaduwa is fantastic! Beautiful and serene with idyllic picturesque view of beaches with palm trees and turquoise seas. There's a lot of "Surfer Types" here but being the back end of the season everything is really starting to quieten down.

We have spent our mornings walking up around 7.30am and going down for a morning swim in the Indian Ocean. The waves here are pretty big and the currents quite strong so we're careful not to swim far out...it does wonders for your thighs though! Our mid-mornings are then followed by walks down the beach and talking about all the things we have planned, re-arranging ideas and putting them into some kind of organized mess! Our afternoons are filled with some kind of walk or trip out of town. Today we went and saw two Buddhist Temples and The Largest Buddha in Sri Lanka and we met a really nice guy that showed us around everywhere and didn't even try and blag a few extra pennies!

Tonight we're heading to a local restaurant for some Traditional Roti, it's awesome and very cheap! Just perfect! Tomorrow we head to Unawatuna for some more Beach times and fit in a few cultural experiences along the way! I know this ending seems a bit rushed but whilst I am typing the power in the Cyber Cafe keeps on flicking on and off (luckily only the lighting) so it makes it particularly difficult to type!

I will write again soon... there's so much I have still to tell you all!...