Last weekend I went to Negombo with my wife, Helen. I did write my blog entry for last weekend on Monday but for some reason it wouldn't save and I somehow ended up losing the entry :(
We started our trip to Negombo on Saturday around noon by getting a Bajaj to the bus station. As we were unsure which bus station to get an A/C bus from we used one of my wife's regular Bajaj drivers who speaks pretty good English and knew there the bus station was. For a write up of our bus journey see Using Buses In Sri Lanka
Once the bus dropped us off we had a quick walk around Negombo, which is a reasonably large town by Sri Lankan standards. As it was the hottest part of the day we soon decided to make our way to the hotel strip, which is located north of the town center and probably stretches for 2-3 KM. We hailed a Bajaj and told the driver to head off to the hotel Royal Oceanic, which had a favorable write up in the Lonely Planet guide. However, on the way I spotted Lords, a night club that had opened earlier last year and which we had been meaning to visit but had not managed to locate when we stopped at Sunset Beach Hotel back in September and so we got the driver to drop us off at Lords, paying him 150 rupees for the ride.
Lords Nightclub And Restaurant
Lords is a nightclub and restaurant combined and when we arrived around 14:00 and wandered up to the doors the chap on the door said it was closed and would open in about 30 minutes. After inquiring where else we could get a drink he showed an excellent bit of enterprise and said he'd let us in now. We settled into the leather armchairs in the bar and ordered a couple of beers. The waiter was still clearing up and just told us to give him a shout if we needed anything! The inside of the bar was very impressive and the prices for the drinks were pretty reasonable. We just stayed for the one drink but will definitely be coming back again.
Goldi Sands Hotel
After we left Lords it became apparent that the Royal Oceanic hotel appears to have become The Beach hotel, which I know the CEO of the company I work for, Crystal Martin International (Ceylon) Limited, had stayed at the weekend before and paid around 8000 rupees for a night so it was out of our price range. However, next door was the Goldi Sands Hotel which looked more like our kind of hotel. We popped in and managed to get them down to 5300 rupees for a night so we had a look at the room, which was basic but clean. We rang our friends Sheila & Dylan Thomas, who were driving down from Kurunegala to stop over with us, and they seemed happy with the price so we booked in. The rooms had A/C and ceiling fans and en suite bathrooms. There was a reasonably large swimming pool and there was a seating under a wooden and dried palm leaf roofed area. Goldi Sands was adjacent to the sea and had its own private beach area, where there were small thatched shades where you could relax on loungers out of the sun.
The Hotel Strip
The hotel strip at Negombo stretches along either side of a road running parallel to the sea. The hotels on the sea ward side all tend to have private beached areas immediately adjacent to the hotel. These areas are roped off from the public beach, which is adjacent to the sea. The private beaches are useful because you do get hassled by hawkers on the public beach trying to sell you everything from shells to boat trips. These hawkers are not allowed in the private beach areas, although they will stand on the edge and try and attract your attention by waving and calling out Sir or Madam whilst holding up their wares for you to see. The road that runs parallel to the sea has a great many restaurants, bars, hotels and shops on either side.
Our friends arrived around 16:30 and as they wanted a rest for an hour or so we decided to have a wander down the main road and have a look in some of the shops. We found the prices to be pretty reasonable and my wife bought a T-shirt for 350 rupees.
An Evening Out
We met up with our friends in the outdoor bar at the hotel and spent an hour or so chatting and deciding what to do for tea. The beers were a reasonable 150 rupees each. As there was a homecoming (a Sri Lanka tradition which is a get together of a bide and grooms friends and family after they return from their honeymoon) at the hotel we decided to eat out. We headed off down the main road and after checking half a dozen menus opted for a Swiss Restaurant (the name of which currently eludes me). We had an excellent meal there and then returned to the hotel where the home coming was still going strong. We ordered a couple of cocktails each that cost between 250 - 325 rupees. They did struggle to supply me with most of the cocktails on the menu but I eventually found they did have the ingredients to make a Bloody Mary and so I went with that.
Sunday Morning
On Sunday morning we managed to get to breakfast just before 09:00 but although breakfast times were advertised as 07:30 until 09:00 the staff seemed happy to serve breakfast until after 09:30. I have to say the breakfast was not particularly impressive. I had the curry and the meat was a bit tough. However, the tea was excellent, mainly because you got your own tea bag and could make it to your own strength. We also managed to get cold milk delivered to our table (Usually warm milk is supplied in Sri Lanka to accompany tea). As Dylan was going to test the pool out Helen and myself decided to have a stroll down the beach. We walked for an hour or so and got as far as The Icebear Hotel, where we stopped for a drink. They currently do not have an alcohol licence so we opted for lassi and coke. We were impressed with the prices and beautiful beach garden and asked to look around the rooms as if we come to Negombo again we would fancy staying here. The rooms were very nice and priced at 28 euros for the ensuite. As the time was now 11:45 and we had to check out by 12:00 we caught a Bajaj back to the hotel and quickly checked out and met our friends in the hotel bar.
Gemmas Dutch Coffee House
Before we set off back to Colombo Dylan and Sheila wanted to take us to Gemmas coffee house, which they had recently discovered. This is situated a short distance north of Goldi Sands, on the landward side of the main road. This turned out to be real find. It serves snacks and drinks and is open daily between 10:00 and 18:00 except for Mondays and Poya days. I had a pot of local coffee, which was the best coffee I have tasted so far in Sri Lanka and to accompany it I had some beef served in batter, the name of which I can't remember other than it began with a K. It served with a hot bread roll and was superb. Gemmas was a real find and was alone worth the trip up to Negombo! This is a must visit place whenever we come to Negombo from now on :)
One thing you should be aware of is that Negombo appeared to be completely unaffected by the tsunami and as far as we could tell all the hotels, restaurants and bars were open as normal.