Day Ten – Last Day In Galle & Sri Lanka

29 August 2019

This is our last day in Galle and Sri Lanka. Our flight to Singapore departs at 12:50am tomorrow morning. We hope to be at the airport around 10pm tonight. We have plenty of time to kill.

The hotel at Galle, Fort Printers, were kind enough to give us a late checkout. They have arranged another room for us down the road. We were allowed to stay for as long as we like. We moved to this room after breakfast. We had packed our bags the previous night.

Although the room that we moved to was smaller, we were just happy that we got a clean air conditioned room where we could clean up before we departed.

We decided to do bit more of a wander in Galle and some shopping. Our guide was coming from Colombo to pick us up at 3:30pm. We were going to his house for dinner and also to meet his family. I last met them in 2013. It is a 2 hour drive/ from Colombo

Old Dutch Reformed Church (1755)
Dutch gravestone from 1708. These gravestones within the church were brough from the fort area.
Another gravestone (1737) within church
Main stained glass window in church

We were picked up by our guide, Jagath punctually and were driven back to Colombo. At his place, we were given a tour of the house he was building nearby for the family. He lives currently in a rental apartment and never owned a home since he got married. The whole family is looking forward to their new home which will be completed in May next year. Just out of interest, mortgage rates (and general loan rates) are around 17% in Sri Lanka. Spare a thought for these people.

Jagath’s wife had cooked us a huge Sri Lankan meal. I thoroughly enjoyed the food. I last had a meal here with a friend of mine more than 6 years ago on my first trip to Sri Lanka. They are such warm and hospitable people.

Dianne with our guide Jagath, his wife and daughter
Dianne and myself with our guide's wife and daughter

Day Nine – Exploring Galle

28 August 2019

I got up early today to explore Galle in the morning. I left the room just before 6 am to catch the sunrise. Unfortunately, the sky was overcast and there was no proper sunrise. It looked like it was going to rain today.

Galle Fort is a UNESCO listed World Heritage Site. There are many old Dutch built buildings here. Many are older than modern Australia itself.

Ocean view from rampart in the morning

I walked within the fort and took some random pictures of buildings. It will give a good feeling of the the city within the fort.

Pedlar Street looking east
Pedlar Street looking West
House with Morris Minor in front on Pedlar Street
Dutch mansion on Leyn Baan Street
Another Dutch Mansion on Leyn Baan Street
Old Dutch Reformed Church (1755)
Dutch Belfry
Old Gate; one of two entries into fort
Old store converted into a Maritime Museum
British Queen's House (Dutch Governor's Residence - 1686)
District and High Court buildings across Law Courts Square
Magistrates Court
Street corner outside lawyers offices
Lawyers Offices
Old Dutch Mansion on Church Street