Jackamy - Relaxing in Galle, Sri Lanka

Relaxing in Galle, Sri Lanka

Jackamy

Paul & Derry Harper

Wed 12 Jan 2011 02:54

Wednesday 12th January

So far, we like Sri Lanka! Everyone is incredibly friendly and willing to do anything to please you, and the best part is that they don't ask anything in return, unlike some places we've been to recently. When we moved over onto the concrete, we managed to get a riding turn in the line as we were winching ourselves further along the wall. It was so tangled that the rope had to be cut, much to Paul's annoyance. However, Sassantu was on hand, a lovely man who'd been helping us all morning with our lines as we moved from place to place. He took the two pieces of line and 5 minutes later handed one back to us having spliced the two together, and he would have nothing in return, Amy had to practically force a can of beer into his hands. The nice thing is that he isn't a one off, everyone wants to help, out of the goodness of their hearts and not for something in return.

He was however quite insistent that we call his friend, Bannet, a tuk-tuk driver who would drive us around. Tuk-tuk drivers aren't allowed into the port, as they are considered to be of a lower caste than those that work here. So once at the port gate we found Bannet waiting with his shiny green tuk-tuk, and from then on he has been our driver.

All we've talked about for weeks is that we are looking forward to the Sri Lankan curry's, so even though we were shattered from our journey Paul asked one of the local lads where he eats and we went off with Bannet, Blue Magic and Sol Maria to find The Sea Line. We sat down at the table, opened the menu and discovered that it's a Chinese restaurant but we were all so tired that we stayed and made do. It was one for the memory book and I am sure that I will not be returning there.

The three boys with their man bags

The next day was Pete on Fai Tira's birthday, it was never going to go un-noticed and Mark kindly organised a party for the evening. During the day I organised a trip around Sri Lanka with Sheila whilst Paul and Amy carried on with maintenance jobs. We were yet to relax so the birthday party seemed like an ideal chance to let our hair down. The food was fantastic, our first glimpse at Sri Lankan food. The bean salad that we thought was spicy, turned out to be green chillies! A sign of things to come - the Sri Lankan's like their food hot!

Our designated tuk-tuk drivers took us to the venue and waited until we were finished, all for less than one pound! It's quite upsetting really as there is a lot of poverty here. Bannet is a lovely lovely guy with a wife who stays at home and looks after his elderly mother and father, and they all rely on his wage. How they get by I just don't know but it really is sad and shocking. Especially when they talk about family that they lost in the tsunami and how they lost their homes and businesses. Some areas look as if they have been hit by a bomb, where 6 years on they still haven't managed to repair the damage. Life is not easy for these people but they don't show it, they are always always smiling. You walk along the street and people stare but once you smile at them, a huge smile spreads across their faces and you're rewarded with a good morning or another appropriate greeting, along with a head wiggle. And it's infectious, you can't help but be happy!