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Sri Lanka Travelogue
February 2014
#3/6

From GALLE, we drove about 100 kilometers along the south coast of Ceylon to our destination today, Yala National Park.

Continue along the southern coast of Ceylon.

Adjacent to the outside of the old fort of Galle, there was a beach where fishermen and small fishing boats gathered. The low-lying areas along the coastline were devastated by the earthquake off the coast of Sumatra on December 26, 2004, 10 years ago (as at Feb 2014). It has now been rebuilt, and no remnants of it can be seen.

Photo by author, 2014

If you continue along the road on the south coast, you will be able to get a panoramic view of the Indian Ocean from the top of a hill.

Photo by author, 2014

I parked the car and went down to the beach. The sea breeze felt good.

Photo by author, 2014

We discover a small resort hotel on a cliff along the coast.

We head east on the two-lane national highway towards Yala National Park. There are no large towns along the way, there are few traffic lights, and there are few cars. Along the way, I found a sign sign for the hotel and decided to turn right and take a look. The photo below is the introduction to the resort hotel. It uses locally produced, hand-crafted stone blocks.

Photo by author, 2014

Following the directions of the hotel staff, we entered the resort and found ourselves in a private and tranquil little world.

Photo by author, 2014

Photo by author, 2014

There was a wide daybed overlooking the Indian Ocean.

Photo by author, 2014

We decided to have lunch at this small hotel, take a break, and have a look at the rooms.

Photo by author, 2014

In front of the room in the upper right corner, there is a large veranda, which serves as a shared lounge for guests. The color tone is white with black accents. With this kind of atmosphere, it seems like you’d quickly become friends with the guests in the neighbouring rooms

Photo by author, 2014

A continuum of miniature pots connected to a single line hangs by the window. What exactly is this and what does it do?　The answer is a mechanism to guide rainwater from the gutter to replace the pipes when it flows down the gutter. I often see chain-like strings to guide rainwater in traditional Japanese architecture, such as temples and gazebos. I was happy to discover such a stylish rainwater guide device here in Sri Lanka.

Photo by author, 2014

An alternative to pipes that direct rainwater from roofs to the ground. How cool!

Photo by author, 2014

Photo by author, 2014

Photo by author, 2014

After leaving the mini-hotel, we continued eastward along the coastline, and the terrain changed a little, and we saw islands along the coast.

Photo by author, 2014

A Buddhist temple on a small island. A suspension bridge connects it to the temple. It felt a bit like a miniature version of Mont Saint-Michel in France.

Photo by author, 2014

Photo by author, 2014

Sri Lankan Railways Southern Line

From the car, I could see the railroad being laid along the lowlands of the southern coast. In the Great Sumatra Earthquake that occurred on December 26, 2004, a tsunami struck Sri Lanka, about 1,600 kilometers from the epicenter, and I remembered seeing on TV at the time that a passenger car was overturned and overturned, resulting in the loss of many lives.

Photo by author, 2014

The Southern Line is an essential means of transportation for residents living along the southern coast. On the day of the disaster, 1,700 passengers and crew were in the car. The tsunami derailed all eight coaches, and the 80-ton locomotive was swept away 30 meters. More than 1,500 passengers and crew were killed. I walked close to the railroad tracks. Nearby were several buildings that had been destroyed and were not repaired.

Photo by author, 2014

Yala National Park Safari

Yala National Park is about 300 km away from Colombo.
The total area is 979 km2, which is larger than the total area of Singapore Island of 728 km². It is also larger than the 23 wards of Tokyo.

At the safari park, we changed to a hand-made safari-style vehicle like the one in the photo below, and it was our first safari tour. A thick padding had been added to the ceiling.

Photo by author, 2014

Yala National Park is a complex ecosystem that combines freshwater and marine wetlands with moist monsoon forests. The bay of the park is home to 215 species of birds, six of which are endemic to Sri Lanka. There are 44 species of mammals, and this area is said to be one of the largest leopard habitats in the world.