It is low season in Trincomalee because of the monsoon period that has just started. However, we are lucky and the weather is beautiful. It only rains at night. During the day the sun shines bright. We sleep in a cute cabana (a kind of wooden cabin) near Uppuveli Beach, but we immediately decide to explore some other beaches in the neighbourhood. And so we rent a scooter and go to Nilaveli Beach, a beach 15 minutes’ drive from our hotel. https://www.lovesrilanka.org/journal/
It is a beautiful long and empty beach. The waves are high enough to play in and that is how Ries and I enjoy ourselves for a few hours. We sit at a cosy beach bar, named “Why Not”, where we drink coconuts and enjoy tanning.
The next day we ride the scooter to Fort Frederik, an old Dutch fort. It is still in full use by the army, so looking around freely is not possible, but that is not our intention either. We are here to visit the colourful temple of Thirukkoneswaram Kovil. This is on a cliff overlooking the sea, a beautiful sight! We walk around, take pictures of the temple, the cliffs and the deer that roam freely here.
Our next stop is a beautiful beach south of Trincomalee. With a name like Marble Beach, our expectations are high but indeed, the beach is beautiful. A bit strange that certain parts of the beach are military. Therefore, we are not allowed to walk in certain parts of the beach. But likewise, this beach is also completely deserted. A shame we have forgotten our goggles, you can snorkel very well here.
In the evening it starts to rain, but that doesn’t stop us from having a drink at beach bar Fernandos, the hot spot here in Trincomalee. Back in our cabana, it starts to rain even harder. It pours all night, but the next morning around ten o’clock the sky opens. First, we arrange our transport for the next day, then it’s time to spend some nice hours on the beach on our last days here.
We are on the bus to Sigiriya. There is loud music playing, lights are everywhere and people are standing in the aisle. However, this is not the only entertainment: there is a TV where Mister Bean and “prank videos” are broadcast alternately. Nothing special in itself, except that all pranks consist of veiled men and women who throw “fake bombs” at people. So a kind of terrorist attack jokes. Very unusual, imagine that these kinds of films would be broadcast on the bus back at home!
Two and a half hours later and we are at our destination: Sigiriya. A real advantage that all distances here in Sri Lanka are so short!
Unfortunately, it rains most of the afternoon, but at the end of the day it is done and we have just enough time to climb the Pidurangala Rock. This rock itself is not very special, but the view is the reason why we do climb it. From here we overlook Lion Rock, a large square rock that rises between the green palm trees. The rock itself can also be climbed, but the view of the rock from Pidurangala seems to be the most beautiful. And indeed it is beautiful! Slowly we see the sun go down and just before it is completely dark, we start the descent, which is a bit difficult at the beginning (the rock is steep).