A Sri Lankan Odyssey

What in the world might connect the 1968 film, 2001, A Space Odyssey, with Sarah’s and my relaxing vacation along the southwest coast of Sri Lanka?

Bonus points to those of you savvy enough to recall that Stanley Kubrick movie—considered to be one of the most influential of all time—and especially if you remember it was co-written by Arthur C. Clarke, the iconic British science fiction writer who, wait for it, moved to Sri Lanka (at that time, Ceylon) in 1956. As an impressionable high school and college student, I read many of his mind-bending stories and novels, including his archetypal Childhood’s End, with its Satan-looking saviors, as well as the enthralling Rendezvous with Rama, about a fleeting encounter with a hibernating alien space vessel, and being blown away by his ideas—and, oh yes, by those freaky monoliths in A Space Odyssey. Even more, though, I remember thinking how utterly cool this guy was to have ditched it all and moved to some tropical paradise I could barely find on a globe. Completely unfathomable for a small town Ohio boy. Far out, man!

Little did Sarah and I know that our fall break’s ultimate Sri Lankan destination, Unawatuna, had actually been Clarke’s initial home along its perfect crescent beach, ranked as the ninth most beautiful in the world. The locale has seen significant development since the tsunami in 2004 and the end of the civil war in 2009, with some of it not quite in keeping with a utopian vision of paradise. But we stayed at The Frangipani Tree, a secluded, nine-villa property south of the main beach, where we felt pampered and private as we were the only guests there during our two night stay so we could indulge our lazy book wanderings and a few exciting sea turtle spottings as they danced in the surf.

Oh, and did we mention each villa is unique in its layout but all have a similar design attribute: the roomy cement bathtub, rainwater shower, dual sinks, and the WC are all outdoors. Yes, as in outside. Surrounded by high walls on three sides (I could stand on my tiptoes and see the Indian Ocean) and with a lovely courtyard greened by a pair of frangipani trees, the space was far larger than any indoor facility and was quite gracious, so we both ended up throughly loving it. Something there is about the murmur of the surf . . . And even that monolith didn’t distract us too much . . .

But of course, Unawatuna was only the eventual destination for our five nights of fall break from AISC on the “luminous island” of Sri Lanka, and every Odyssey must start somewhere—no, we hadn’t just given up after a ten year war against the Trojans—so what better way than a quick flight of just over an hour from Chennai to Colombo, where we were still in our home time zone? Sri Lanka makes it easy for most foreign passport holders so we applied online for only $30 a person for visa’s on arrival which made the immigration line a breeze—along with well trained and outgoing, pleasant agents who seemed to recognize it was a benefit to their country and economy to be courteous to visitors. A pleasant relief from the Scylla and Charybdis of some countries’ immigration processes . . .

Once we met our driver and hopped in his van, an hour’s stop and go among the wandering rocks of the narrow, potholed city streets brought us to the beach at the heart of Colombo and the Galle Face Hotel. The reward of the lively promenade of Galle Face Green, flanked by many superstar hotels, including a new ITC, a Taj, and a Shangri-La, was well worth it. Built when Abraham Lincoln was President, the Galle Face Hotel is a classic with its creaking hardwood floors, high ceilings, antique memorabilia, and outdoor dining terraces that thoroughly charmed us.

But the star of our two stays at the hotel—the first and last nights of our trip—was our two dinners at the 25th ranked restaurant in Asia: the Ministry of Crab or MOC. Right, we did indeed eat there twice in five days’ time—although Sarah might offer her massage treatment at the hotel’s new L’Occitane Spa as her own personal fave—but, oh my, MOC delivered some of the richest tastes and textures we have ever experienced. The butter prawns followed by our crabs–Sarah loved the chilled butter crab only available by pre-order, while my curry crab had to be the very best thing I’ve eaten–and accompanied by morning glory greens with garlic, oh my! We met Dharshan, the founder and owner, and he delighted us with the news they will open a new MOC in Mumbai later this month. Chennai, we begged . . . ? At any rate, having eaten at Asia’s number 1 ranked restaurant, Gaggan, in Bangkok, last spring, we had wondered how a lowly number 25 might compare . . .

. . . yet the two experiences were entirely their own and Sarah and I both agreed that, while Gaggan was breathtakingly unique in its whimsical spin on traditional Indian dishes and utterly phenomenal in its mastery of culinary art, we probably wouldn’t want to dine there twice within five days. An embarrassment of riches, perhaps? (We DO plan to sample Gaggan’s emoji menu again this coming spring—and don’t forget he’s moving to Fukuoka in 2020!)

So, on our next morning in Colombo we explored the Gangaramaya Buddhist Temple just a few minutes from our hotel. Sri Lanka is primarily a Buddhist nation–while recognizing diversity and honoring the Hindu, Muslim, and Christian population–so one can find images and statues of the Buddha, along with stupas, called dagobas in Sri Lanka, and other figures like Avalokitaswara, who represents the compassion of the Buddha, on nearly every street.

The Gangaramaya Temple possessed a warmth and comfort that welcomed us, with so many devotees in quiet meditation at the Bodhi Tree (honoring the location where the Buddha gained Enlightenment) plus so many intriguing relics on display. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to visit the Seemamalakaya, a newer assembly hall for the monks, built on a nearby lake, and designed by renowned Sri Lankan architect Geoffry Bawa. Next time . . .

Then, off we went with Asanka, our driver, to Galle, a hundred km to the south along the coast, where we arrived in the historic and charming Fort area originally built by the Portuguese in the 16th century, only to find that, just like those original settlers, we would have no electricity. Well, until about 6pm, anyway. We found our boutique hotel, the Fortaleza, along one of the narrow lanes, and because of the outage, they offered us an alternative where a generator handled all of the power needs. Well . . . okay, we can take a look, we guessed.

It turned out that Landesi was a private residence, built only a few years ago, with a distinct flavor of the town’s Portuguese heritage. With open air living spaces on the ground floor and our master bedroom at the end of a long balcony on the first, we savored our privacy in the midst of the fort area that could no doubt become a bit raucous during high season with backpackers trekking the pavered lanes.

Speaking of good food, one evening we grabbed a fresh tuna steak at Elita Cafe, a brief stroll from our house—okay, our B&B—and then encountered the siren song of a perfect gelato. No, we didn’t even think of lashing ourselves to the mast, but rather we managed to chart our course to the shop three dips, er, times, during our stay in Galle and Unawatuna. What an irresistible melody that coffee gelato crooned to us!

We also managed to stumble onto another of Dharshan’s—the owner of MOC—restaurants, this one in Galle Fort and a newer creation, The Tuna & The Crab, where we indulged in sushi and Japanese pizza, and were gifted with a freshly denatured appetizer sashimi that charmed us both.

Finally, back to Colombo and our second dinner at MOC, and we agreed we had both been smitten with Sri Lanka: with its lush and rolling hills, its daily tropical rains, its sweet and succulent crab, and its fanciful cloud shows. Okay, and a creamy indulgence in gelato. So, relaxed and sated, we managed to find our way back to Chennai, our Sri Lankan Odyssey—well, our initial Odyssey—complete and already looking forward to our next visit. After all, when we mentioned to most folks we had just returned from Sri Lanka, they were shocked when we said we hadn’t visited Kandy, the heart of Buddhist culture and tea plantations and elephants in the hilly midsection of the country. But that’s got to be another story, right?

And yes, there is one of those iconic stilt fisherman in the header photo . . .