On July 26th evening, we took the Srilankan flight from Doha to Colombo. The flight merely took 5 hours and we landed at local time 5.40am. The driver Aruna was there to welcome us back and it felt great to be back even though it is our third trip this year alone.
The highway from Colombo to the Galle highway has not been opened but there are promises of its inauguration Feb 2013. For now, it will take 1.5 hours to get to the freeway because of the small roads and bumper to bumper city traffic at most times of the day.
Once we passed the tolls, roads were clear right down to the coastal town of Galle. The car ride lulled us to sleep, as on the plane, we hadn't slept a wink. After an hour or so, the highway ended and we were back on the coastal path. Hungry, we popped into ERA hotel in Thalpe for breakfast. It has a great spot, right on the beach and Z was running giggling on the lawn and getting sprayed on by sprinklers while we tucked into eggs and bacon.
By now, it was 10am and we had another 70km to go before the house. So we piled back into minivan and carried on. Z was wide awake now and pointing out excitedly at cars, tuk tuks and the sea.
Finally, we get on to the land, and I see our gate for the first time. Simply wrought iron bars with concrete beams opened up by smiley Mr Siripela, our gardener.
The house looks different since March as there's more grass and a row of bamboo has been planted along the perimeter. The guys were putting more grass on the roof as we unloaded from the van.
The sofa and the dining table has been delivered and so were the bed frames but things were lying everywhere. I spent the next few days arranging the bits and pieces in preparation for our guests who were arriving in a few days time. So here are the pics, there is still a lot to be done, like the mirrors in the bathrooms have not been fitted and the TV room needs plastering but we should be back there within the next 6 months so more photos to follow. But for now, here's The Walatta House.
It looks great but we had some water issues because SL is suffering a drought. The water board shut water supply down and we had to buy water from a guy who basically went to a well and pumped it into his bowser.
After tolling for 3 days around the house, we drove up to Colombo for a night, to do some shopping and meet the first guest flying in from Doha.
For a special treat, we checked into Tintagel, a uber chic hotel by Paradise Road.
The rooms are all done in black and brown stripes across the decor and walls. Ceilings are high and floors of hardwood. The beds and couches are oversized and plush. They even have shops where you can buy the decor and I love it all.
Paradise Road. Aptly named.
D, when you come next June, I'll take you shopping there.
The highway from Colombo to the Galle highway has not been opened but there are promises of its inauguration Feb 2013. For now, it will take 1.5 hours to get to the freeway because of the small roads and bumper to bumper city traffic at most times of the day.
Once we passed the tolls, roads were clear right down to the coastal town of Galle. The car ride lulled us to sleep, as on the plane, we hadn't slept a wink. After an hour or so, the highway ended and we were back on the coastal path. Hungry, we popped into ERA hotel in Thalpe for breakfast. It has a great spot, right on the beach and Z was running giggling on the lawn and getting sprayed on by sprinklers while we tucked into eggs and bacon.
By now, it was 10am and we had another 70km to go before the house. So we piled back into minivan and carried on. Z was wide awake now and pointing out excitedly at cars, tuk tuks and the sea.
Finally, we get on to the land, and I see our gate for the first time. Simply wrought iron bars with concrete beams opened up by smiley Mr Siripela, our gardener.
The house looks different since March as there's more grass and a row of bamboo has been planted along the perimeter. The guys were putting more grass on the roof as we unloaded from the van.
The sofa and the dining table has been delivered and so were the bed frames but things were lying everywhere. I spent the next few days arranging the bits and pieces in preparation for our guests who were arriving in a few days time. So here are the pics, there is still a lot to be done, like the mirrors in the bathrooms have not been fitted and the TV room needs plastering but we should be back there within the next 6 months so more photos to follow. But for now, here's The Walatta House.
It looks great but we had some water issues because SL is suffering a drought. The water board shut water supply down and we had to buy water from a guy who basically went to a well and pumped it into his bowser.
After tolling for 3 days around the house, we drove up to Colombo for a night, to do some shopping and meet the first guest flying in from Doha.
For a special treat, we checked into Tintagel, a uber chic hotel by Paradise Road.
The rooms are all done in black and brown stripes across the decor and walls. Ceilings are high and floors of hardwood. The beds and couches are oversized and plush. They even have shops where you can buy the decor and I love it all.
Paradise Road. Aptly named.
D, when you come next June, I'll take you shopping there.
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