Breakfast at Isabella's
One of the weirder places on my mom's tour through Sri Lanka was a three day stop in Beruwala, on the west coast about 60km south of Colombo. It's a beach town, so stopping there makes sense in theory. However, we were there in June, which is the rainy season in the west and the south of the island, which meant it was low season. And it was really low season there: there was almost no one around, and I got questioned several times about why I was there at all, especially in low season.
Of course, the double edged sword of being somewhere in low season is that with not many other tourists around, prices are lower and there aren't hundreds of people trying to take selfies with Buddha everywhere. There were no hostels here, so I splurged for a nice guest house called Isabella's. The owners here were German but they weren't there in low season, so a few local ladies ran the place in their absence. The most notable thing about Isabella's was the breakfast, which was included in the price of the accommodation. Every morning, I sat at the family-sized kitchen table and was served enough plates to cover almost the entire table. This easily could have fed several people, but I was the only the one there, so it was all for me. I had fresh fruit (mango, pineapple, rambutan), eggs, toast, string hoppers with dhal and coconut sambol, local snacks (vegetable roti and wade), tea, and coffee. It was so much food that I never had to eat lunch.
This was the last stop on my mom's whirlwind two week tour of the country, so they were shacked up in a swanky all-inclusive resort with a big pool and beach access to unwind. I had been trying to get Mom and Linda out to see some local places with me, but had largely been unsuccessful thus far. The only place where we had gotten a chance to do this was near Sigiriya, when we walked through a tiny town near my mom's hotel and got some kottu for lunch. However, we were fortunate to be in Beruwala on a Monday, which was the day of the big local market in town, so Mom and I had planned to go. Her tour had organized other optional events for that day, and the guide made sure to warn them all that if they did any exploring on their own, they wouldn't be covered under insurance if anything happened. Some nice fear mongering. Our tuktuk driver, upon arriving to the market, then insisted on accompanying us as we walked through, because the hotel had instructed him to do so. This was fear mongering on another level, to the point where I wondered if the place actually might be a bit sketchy. Nothing I had read had mentioned anything to worry about regarding the market, though. Furthermore, the resorts in the area were advising people not to go to the beach and swim, even though local people were laughing and having a great time doing exactly that about 5 metres away. So I was pretty confident that it was bullshit, and I politely declined the driver's offer.
It turns out, other than having to evade an annoying dude who was following us for about 20 minutes trying to get us to go to his jewelry shop, we had a fun time walking around the market, and an even better time at a temple nearby. The temple boasted the largest sitting Buddha in the world (~50m tall), and it was definitely impressive. The inside of the temple was arguably even better: it was wall-to-wall vibrant images of Buddhist stories and symbols, and its different levels and staircases almost seemed inspired by Escher. Best of all, we had the entire temple to ourselves for most of our time there, which meant we could spend it poring over the images, pointing out repeating symbols and motifs to each other, hypothesizing what they might mean, and just generally taking our time and examining every nook and cranny. This was novel for me, as normally there are dozens or hundreds of people snapping pictures and walking around, so the privacy and feeling of isolation and solitude was a welcome change. It was novel for Mom as well, who had been quickly herded through most of the attractions with her tour group, so she relished the opportunity to take her time and explore with me.
Beruwala is definitely not on the typical backpacker trail in Sri Lanka, especially in the low season, so I was curious if there would be much to do beyond hanging out on the beach and at my mom's resort. However, it unexpectedly gave both Mom and I some of our most fun memories of our time there, and was a great way to cap off her two week tour and our time together.
Of course, the double edged sword of being somewhere in low season is that with not many other tourists around, prices are lower and there aren't hundreds of people trying to take selfies with Buddha everywhere. There were no hostels here, so I splurged for a nice guest house called Isabella's. The owners here were German but they weren't there in low season, so a few local ladies ran the place in their absence. The most notable thing about Isabella's was the breakfast, which was included in the price of the accommodation. Every morning, I sat at the family-sized kitchen table and was served enough plates to cover almost the entire table. This easily could have fed several people, but I was the only the one there, so it was all for me. I had fresh fruit (mango, pineapple, rambutan), eggs, toast, string hoppers with dhal and coconut sambol, local snacks (vegetable roti and wade), tea, and coffee. It was so much food that I never had to eat lunch.
This was the last stop on my mom's whirlwind two week tour of the country, so they were shacked up in a swanky all-inclusive resort with a big pool and beach access to unwind. I had been trying to get Mom and Linda out to see some local places with me, but had largely been unsuccessful thus far. The only place where we had gotten a chance to do this was near Sigiriya, when we walked through a tiny town near my mom's hotel and got some kottu for lunch. However, we were fortunate to be in Beruwala on a Monday, which was the day of the big local market in town, so Mom and I had planned to go. Her tour had organized other optional events for that day, and the guide made sure to warn them all that if they did any exploring on their own, they wouldn't be covered under insurance if anything happened. Some nice fear mongering. Our tuktuk driver, upon arriving to the market, then insisted on accompanying us as we walked through, because the hotel had instructed him to do so. This was fear mongering on another level, to the point where I wondered if the place actually might be a bit sketchy. Nothing I had read had mentioned anything to worry about regarding the market, though. Furthermore, the resorts in the area were advising people not to go to the beach and swim, even though local people were laughing and having a great time doing exactly that about 5 metres away. So I was pretty confident that it was bullshit, and I politely declined the driver's offer.
It turns out, other than having to evade an annoying dude who was following us for about 20 minutes trying to get us to go to his jewelry shop, we had a fun time walking around the market, and an even better time at a temple nearby. The temple boasted the largest sitting Buddha in the world (~50m tall), and it was definitely impressive. The inside of the temple was arguably even better: it was wall-to-wall vibrant images of Buddhist stories and symbols, and its different levels and staircases almost seemed inspired by Escher. Best of all, we had the entire temple to ourselves for most of our time there, which meant we could spend it poring over the images, pointing out repeating symbols and motifs to each other, hypothesizing what they might mean, and just generally taking our time and examining every nook and cranny. This was novel for me, as normally there are dozens or hundreds of people snapping pictures and walking around, so the privacy and feeling of isolation and solitude was a welcome change. It was novel for Mom as well, who had been quickly herded through most of the attractions with her tour group, so she relished the opportunity to take her time and explore with me.
Beruwala is definitely not on the typical backpacker trail in Sri Lanka, especially in the low season, so I was curious if there would be much to do beyond hanging out on the beach and at my mom's resort. However, it unexpectedly gave both Mom and I some of our most fun memories of our time there, and was a great way to cap off her two week tour and our time together.
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