The final leg of my travelling took me to possibly the best place of all, although that is a tough call to make! Galle, specifically Galle fort, is a beautiful, vibrant, eclectic and colourful place: the town lives within the old Dutch walls of a centuries-old fort, a pink stoned lighthouse stands sentinel, its beacon gazing out over the vast, blue Indian Ocean. The buildings within are a mixture of medieval European, Asian and western architecture and design, and churches, mosques and Buddhist shrines co-exist harmoniously next door to one another.
The people too are a melting pot of cultures, nationalities and backgrounds: from international photojournalist Juliet Coombe who has since married and settled in Galle, to the young, boardshort-wearing, dreadlocked young men, the 'fort jumpers', who make money by being paid by tourists to leap off the fort walls into the sea below.
The food in Galle is similarly stunning: dhal curries, betelgourd curries, spinach and potato and fresh, hot poppadoms every night have become the norm...
Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, and after a few days exploring Galle and a peaceful afternoon relaxing on Unawatuna beach, I made the trip back to Colombo, where I treated myself to a night at the Cinnamon Grand hotel before finally flying the long 11 hours home.
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