Sorry for the delay in posting… sometime it is a chore to keep current events, well current!

On Monday we left Ella and made our way south to Galle. I was particularly excited about our hotel here because I splurged so we could stay inside Galle Fort. The fort has a long history – Portuguese, Dutch, and the British all had their time in Galle. The fort is impressive and is actually a UNESCO world heritage site.

Our drive took longer than anticipated – the roads are busy even in country areas. Plus, I think this was our only driver who followed posted speeds and wouldn’t pass unless he was in a passing zone. (Unlike most Sri Lankans).

Disclaimer – we are about to have some real – and really funny talk. If bodily functions make you queasy, get out – and get out now!

I think we’ve all been there right. You eat something wrong and it doesn’t agree with you? But usually you’re near a bathroom. Whether at home, or a friend’s, public restroom, etc. Well… when you are in the midst of a five hour road trip I couldn’t have picked a worse time.

I want to start off by saying I think that all of our food was safe. I think that I am a sucker for fresh fruit – and that I ate too much of it. (The jury is still out).

I’m starting to feel queasy and hoping that the moment passes. But there I am – sitting in the backseat praying to God – Buddha- whoever will listen. Pleaseeeeee let me make it to Galle! And when it became more apparent that my upset stomach may end up spewing out from both ends – I quickly started praying for just a roadside cafe that would take a poor, sick, refugee like myself in.

Well, that is where Asia is different than most US freeways with their fast food restaurants and rest areas. There was NOTHING. I mean nothing in sight. We asked our driver to stop – and he kept saying, “Not good.” Meaning the restaurant, snack stand, etc. didn’t have a bathroom.

He was truly to help. He finally pulled over at a shack and the guy says I can come in. (At this point I’m sweating – and not sure which end things are going to come out).

He points to an even smaller shack behind the snack one.

Good Lord. It’s a squatting toilet. And there isn’t a lock on the door. And it’s his family’s squat toilet.

(Pulled this off of Wikipedia to give you a visual – mine was much more rustic).

And Mother Nature took her course – and I’ll leave that up to your imagination! It isn’t a simple flush when you are done – I had to track down a bucket to “flush” the evidence down. I was praising our sweet tour guide from Thailand, Yui from afar. She had taught us how to use these toilets from our last Asia adventure.

As if this isn’t bad enough – I walk out. And an older man walks out of the house – doesn’t speak any English and sees this white woman coming out of his bathroom. I don’t know what he tried to say to me – but I’ll let his son do the explaining!

I took some Imodium – and by the time we got to the hotel I was feeling a lot better. I scolded myself for eating too much fruit – again – pretty sure this happened in Costa Rica too. I just need to learn how to say no!

We ended up getting to our hotel around 3 PM.

At this point we hadn’t late and we had a decision to make – early dinner? Light snack? So much of this trip centered around food so we opted for the early dinner.

We found a place right along side the water. When we had checked in we had asked where the closest swimming beach was – the best beaches were about 15-20 minutes away in Unawatuna. However, there was a swimming beach by the lighthouse.

(You can see the Fort’s walls from Lighthouse beach).

We walked around the fort’s ramparts and eventually found the beach. It was very small – but it was nice to dip our legs in the water. As we were walking back we found a great little restaurant to watch the sunset.

We did a little bit of souvenir shopping and then turned back in to the hotel.

Overall, it was a long day of driving but a relaxing day once we got checked in to our hotel.

Up Next:

• Fort walking tour
• Surf lessons
• Drive to Hikkaduwa for NYE with Sabrina and friends