Luxury in Galle

Clean, crisp, white sheets - ahh!
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So....it was my birthday :)  More pressies sent all the way from NZ made the perfect start to a couple of days that just got better and better.

We checked out of the Galle Face Hotel and as a special birthday treat Simon had arranged a private transfer down the coast to our next hotel 3 1/2 hours away in Galle Fort.  Air conditioned luxury was very nice, as was sitting in a seat and not carrying our packs.

We had reserved rooms at the very exclusive and boutique Galle Fort Hotel.  The hotel was incredible.  16 rooms housed in a restored Dutch merchant's house, beautifully furnished, incredible food, amazing service and cripplingly expensive but worth every penny.

Our beautiful hotel
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The birthday day was spent relaxing in the hotel, Simon buying me jewellery (no diamonds yet Mum), Simon booking me in for 2 hours of spa treatments at one of Sri Lanka's top hotels and spas, eating incredible food and drinking good wine, and to top it all off, a birthday cake (yes, arranged by Simon - what a lucky girl) and the entire restaurant singing happy birthday.  The cake surprise was simultaneously spoiled and made more special by our grinning waiter, who got a bit over-excited about the surprise and blurted 'BIRTHDAY CAKE!' out to me just before dessert.  Hilarious!

Us and the half-demolished birthday cake
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Galle Fort is a world heritage site, built in 1663 by the Dutch.  The fort sits on a promontory at the bottom of Galle town and is completely enclosed by huge thick walls.  These walls stood up to the Tsunami, meaning that the beautiul old Dutch buildings in the fort were saved.  The cricket ground immediately behind the fort wasn't so lucky - even now, there are only 2 stands and a whole heap of rubble where I imagine the old stands used to be.

Promenading along the walls at sunset is 'the thing to do' in Galle Fort, so we joined the locals wandering along the walls and enjoying the views.  Sri Lankan's dispprove of PDA ("public displays of affection" for all you non-kiwis), so many young couples were huddled under their umbrellas canoodling in semi-privacy.  Really sweet, and a sight we would see often on our travels around Sri Lanka.

Tracey on the walls of the fort
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Unfortunately, after 2 days we had to leave or risk blowing our budget in 2 weeks and heading home to NZ.  One of the owners of the Galle Fort Hotel sat us down with our Rough Guide and helped us to plan the rest of our journey including hotel recommendations in our price range.  It was about then that we decided to extend our stay in Sri Lanka from 16 days to 25 - so much to see! such little time!

He also said the beach we had chosen to go to next was a 'dump' - eeck!  We decided to go along anyway and make our minds up for ourselves.