Part 8 - Pub-crawling around the World - Wijaya, Thalpe Beach, Sri Lanka

I stayed in Hikkaduwa for most of the time in Sri Lanka, Volunteering for Manacare, but I definitely had a few social nights out, with a great group of girls who took me under their wing for the duration. Although Wijaya wasn't my most unique Sri Lankan experience, it was definitely the bar in which I spent the most time, and it's suitably off the tourist beaten track enough to warrant comment and recommend that people go there.

Wijaya is a stone's throw from Galle, in Dalawella, Unawatuna - a very short drive from the cluster of busy beach bars in Unawatuna. It's on the main (Matara) road, or can be entered from the beachside. My first afternoon spent there was a Poya Day so I couldn't partake in any alcoholic beverages, I really enjoyed the virgin fruit cocktails (mango...mmmmm) and their wood-fired oven-baked pizza's were definitely tantalising after the steady diet of "rice and curry" I'd been living on.

I was lucky that I was in the expat scene, by virtue of my friends living there, and it's a very popular spot for people that live there to hang out, whether by day or night. It's proximity to the beach (most people actually have a swim and then a bite for lunch/dinner in Wijaya) makes the views simply spectacular, and it's not spoilt by pounding music or loads of holiday makers trashing the beach. In fact, the beach is clean and you'll see many local people swimming in the sea here. Depending on the time of year and the tide, you may be lucky enough to experience the little whirlpools that form in small reefs along the beach, leading to a jacuzzi-like experience! (My camera wasn't waterproof, unfortunately - but I can still remember the sensation).

If you just want to lie in the sunloungers/deck chairs make sure you get there early, particularly in season and at the weekend and you may just be lucky.

I visited a few times, and although you can definitely eat and drink in cheaper places (it's definitely not remotely expensive if you're holidaying from Europe/The Middle East/Oz or U.S.A) I don't think that you'll find anywhere as clean, with such great cocktails and food and it's definitely affordable on a backpacker budget. The pizzas are pretty renowned but I also ate prawn salad and some more Sri Lankan offerings and everything was fresh, delicious and with generous portions. The cocktails were yummy too, evidence of the amount of fresh fruit on offer.

Sarah, CJ and myself with yummy cocktails

Of course, as with any beach bar in Sri Lanka, if you're going any time past four pm, ensure you are sensibly lathered in citronella or deet as the mossies also like Wijaya, and I woke up with approximately 30 bites on my leg one morning! They must have smelt the sweet cocktails...

Although I didn't stay here, I believe Wijaya also has some boutique style guest rooms, which are romantic, clean and budget-friendly (also creepy-crawly free, according to people who have stayed there). If you need something more private and a little bigger - my friends have a beautiful place right across the road - with an open air shower and chipmunks playing in the trees. 

Ambience: 10/10 - I can't fault this place, from lounging and lunch, beach and beer or a cocktail night with friends, it's chilled but you can still party here.
Price: Rs. 400 alcoholic beverages start very reasonably but steadily rise.... cocktails are from Rs. 750 upwards. You can bring your own wine, corkage is approx. Rs. 1000 (which is quite reasonable). 

Food: The food here is a highlight, Pizza's around Rs. 1200, My prawn salad Rs. 850, and there were plenty of prawns. Yes, It's on the high side but the portions are healthy and the food is tasty and fresh.

Location: Matara Road (you can get a bus to stop outside! I used to get a Matara bus from Hikka or Galle), Dalawella, Unawatuna. From Unawatuna, expect to pay about Rs.400 upwards for a tuk.
Toilets: Very clean and there are outdoor showers to wash the sand from the beach off :D

Overall: I spent quite a few nights here, met so many expats, locals and holiday-makers. I really liked the place and I hope to visit again.

Their own website can be found here www.wijayabeach.com

Korcula - I thought I knew ya....

Finally I made breakfast! Sleepy headed Sarah was baffled when I clambered out of my bed at 8.30am and asked where I was headed but she decided to join me and Lucie at the breakfast table. It was a very continental breakfast - meats, cheese, yoghurts and bread. Not quite enough fruit for my liking but at least we got something into us. On Day 4/5 of the holiday, it felt like an achievement. The weather wasn't looking too great yet so we grabbed another hours nap before our daily jump into the sea to blow the mind and refresh the senses. I tried to jump onto a lilo and completely missed. Doug saw the whole thing and cracked up but luckily didn't catch me with his camera.

Then it was time for some editing on deck (Yes, I brought my first draft!) in the sunshine until we docked in Korcula. Even at first glance it was beautiful and resembled Dubrovnik. We all took off exploring the old town and churches, Lisa and I lighting candles and admiring the art within. Korcula was the home of Marco Polo but also seemed like a setting for Romeo and Juliet. I took more photo's here than anywhere else.

There was a cocktail bar recommended where you could get your cocktails by pulley which we really fancied, but it wasn't open so we stopped at the Fly-In near our port for drinks in the afternoon sunshine. After a few drinks and ice-creams Lisa, Pearse and myself took off to book a place for dinner which we all agreed on (Croatian tapas - sounds good to me!) and a look into some of the shops.  Tipsy shopping can go well or not - I ended up with new flip-flops, new sunnies and a hat! After another afternoon tipple some of us headed back to the boat but the boys continued enjoying their pints in the sunshine.

After the pre-requisite drinks on deck we strolled down one of the pretty alleyways to our restaurant for dinner. It was quite near the photo taken above and they set up our table out on the terrace (as they couldn't fit us inside!). Gary and I decided on a sharing platter to get in as much of the good stuff that we liked (Olives, cheese, meats, bread, anchovies...yum) after an eggplant starter. The wine was good, conversation was flowing and a guitarists melodies drifted over from a bar nearby. We didn't want to leave, however we had a street party to get to and some people were on a mission to score that night so we finally did, after sitting over dinner a few hours. Of course we started the street party with a Jaeger train and Lisa carrying men off down the street as well as a bit of pole dancing (I missed the pole until later when there was some greasy man on it!!). I got involved in shots with some others from our boat - Ashley, Josh etc and Lucie and Halvor joined in. We thought we had a few casualties and early sleepers but it turned out Gareth had broken his flip-flops and they had gotten delayed at another bar!

Pearce had stolen my hat and was being chatted up by men nearby. Katie dragged me over to give Elliot a talking to for misbehaving the previous night. It was all getting very messy by the time we reached the club. Jagers were going down like water, people were being pinned up against bars in suggestive dance moves, all of us were jumping on the couches dancing and singing our heads off. In restrospect it sounds messy. It was, but it was a lot of fun!

After getting involved in one too many love triangles and trying to play Mommy too much I decided to redeem the night and sought out Dave for a few drinks. Dave is always a solid man to have a good time with. He never moans, he'll listen to you have a moan but then he'll get you in the mood for a bit of craic anyway. Thus we ended up wandering the streets of Korcula looking for sustenance around 4.30am. He was missing his lovely wife Linda (who couldn't come with us on the cruise) and drunken texts seemed like a great idea at that moment. As it started to get bright I got tired and headed back to the boat. There was much running around as usual so I took to one of the decks with Katie and Andre to make innings into a bottle of vodka. This wasn't my brightest idea as the sun was coming up and eventually I ended up tearful and maudlin, sitting with Cahal, both of us wishing things were different.

It was a sad way to end Korcula, as it really is a spectacular place but I was sure after a few hours sleep the boat would look very different.

No worries in the North....

We chugged into Knaresborough train station over a viaduct and I was immediately taken with this picturesque town. Gareth's college buddy and best man, Kit came along to pick us up and we met Alison back at their gorgeous cottage out in Ferrensby. We relaxed over a drink in the garden, catching up on their lives - me just breathing it in and trying to avoid the bees in the blooming colourful orchard. The air was so fresh, dusk just settling in and I felt perfectly at peace. These were more new people for me - both had been at Gareth's wedding in Canada and very good friends with Beki; yet they couldn't have been more welcoming to me.
 Alison seemed quite at ease rustling up dinner for us - but I bet most people's kitchens don't boast aromas like these. The food was delightful, the company so warm and conversation just flowed. They were so open and it was great to feel like I wasn't outsider; I felt completely accepted and at home after only a couple of hours. We headed to bed early as they had work the next day and Gareth and I were still a little worn out from the night in Manchester. I loved the exposed wooden beams in our room, looking out over the garden - it was the perfect recipe to drift off to a blissful night's sleep.

 Next day we had a lazy morning and we got to take the TransAm out for the first time in our trip. Kit had kindly taken care of it (and it needs ALOT of care) and had it almost shiny and new for our road-trip (It is over 30 years old after all). As we drove through the town, we got lots of admiring glances and shout-outs but the best was whilst stopped at the traffic lights. A boy of about 3 and his gran were walking by and he just halted in his tracks and took in every inch of the car "WOWWWWW," He exclaimed and immediately launched into a story about his Dad's BMW and how it was so cool but NOT as good as the TransAm. Gareth engaged in banter with the little fella asking him if this was the car he'd get when he grew up (bad influence!) and when the Gran suggested that they move on the boy was adamant "No. I want to see it go!"....I was rather relieved we were in a line of traffic as I know if we hadn't Gareth would have torn off at speed to impress the little lad. Adorable though.
 We took a walk down by the riverside where Kit used to work as a student, hiring out punting boats. He still claims it was the best job he ever had.

Gareth then took me across to Old Mother Shipton's Cave - England's oldest tourist attraction. The park also has a petrifying well, where many items are hung and turn to stone - this can be explained by science, but is pretty cool for little ones. Mother Shipton's prophesies are famous - she predicted the Spanish Armada and even air travel - which would have been unheard in the 1500's. We also visited the wishing well - but I can't tell you what I wished for, as then it won't come true. It was a bit of fun - but a lovely way to spend an afternoon. Afterwards we visited the castle looking down on the town, did some gift-shopping, and had a proper pork pie (award-winning apparently) to ease the hunger pangs - we didn't want to spoil whatever Alison was cooking up for us that evening!
Back at the house both Alison and Kit were later than expected home, after a long week, and were both exhausted so Gareth and I coaxed them into eating out rather than slaving over a hot stove at home. Luckily just around the corner is The General Tartleton, a foodie's lucky find! I decided on "A Taste of Duck" with different duck dishes presented together in one dish - it was absolutely delectable. Paired off with some lovely wine and of course the great company once again we had a superb meal, a couple of aperitifs and headed home to sample some of Alison's home-made alcoholic specialities - She's quite the authority on mixing strange cocktails too! I declined to partake in the final one - I vaguely remember we christened a funny name - Answers on a postcard please! We debated about music tastes and covered all subjects and eventually called an end to a fun and fulfilling night. Next morning, a little light-headed we had to say goodbye to Kit, Alison and wonderful North Yorkshire; fantastic memories I'll savour as much as that first dinner in their kitchen.