View of the beach
We travel from Galle to Hikkaduwa by bus and immediately on our arrival bump into Joanna and Amelia on the Galle Road.
Our booking at the Why Not guest house turns out to be a mistake – the sheets are grubby and the place is shut up, giving the impression that it is closed. So we hire a tuk tuk and look around for something better having first viewed a couple of places on foot including the Blue Ocean Villas. It has a lovely double aspect room overlooking the sea, but its musty smell puts us off. But we find nothing remotely more appealing so we decide to book for one night.
Deserted beach
We spend the afternoon walking along the beach which stretches for several kilometres along the coast road and gets wider and the less developed the further south we go. Development has severely encroached on the beach and some buildings have fallen prey to erosion and collapsed onto the beach, perhaps hastened by the impact of the tsunami. There is an air of melancholy and neglect about this place, heightened by the almost total lack of tourists – all of whom returned home at the end of the high season in April – and all the places that are now closed and shut up. But the deserted beaches and pounding seas have their own attraction and absence of crowds and the inflated prices that accompany the high season are ample enough compensation.
Sunset