Exploring Galle (Fashion Me Now)

From The Sun House we made the very long commute of five minutes down the road to the epicentre of the Unesco World Heritage town of Galle. Our next couple of nights were spent inside the old, thick city walls at Galle Fort Hotel once again found through i-escape.com. An enormous lofty, wood-panelled room in the historic, Dutch-style hotel was the perfect base for exploring Galle’s cobbled streets and colonial architecture…

In hindsight and as a little tip for anyone thinking of heading to Sri Lanka in the near future, one night in Galle would probably be enough to cover all bases. And if you’re staying nearby at somewhere like The Sun House or anywhere in Thalpe, Wijaya or Unawatuna you could probably just pop in for a day when it’s overcast. Galle is small but perfectly formed, encased by ancient walls with the lighthouse serving as its pinnacle, it’s streets are lined with gem shops, boutiques, shady cafes and shuttered houses. Inside the walls, the streets are quiet, sleepy almost, and a world away from the frenetic roads, fish markets and street life outside in the new part of Galle. With no sea breeze to speak off inside those big, stone walls and traditional courtyard-style houses, Galle is the hottest we had it in Sri Lanka, so much so you start to sweat pretty much as soon as you step out of the shade (hence the constant knotted hair!). You definitely want somewhere with a big, shady pool to dunk yourself in when it all gets a bit much so Galle’s Fort’s big expanse of blue served us well…And it rains on a near daily basis… You’ll wake up to intense, boiling hot sun and at 2 p.m the heavens will open to the point you could have a power shower just by standing under the sky.

It’s a little cluster of contrasts, where Mosques sit next to colonial Catholic churches and stray dogs sleep outside modern boutiques, and no trip to Sri Lanka’s South West coast is complete without a visit.

We spent two days taking our time round the town but I’ve condensed it all into what could be a day if you were to visit. If you see me wearing several outfits that’s why! We started our explorations from our base at Galle Fort Hotel, heading first for the Dutch Reformed Church just inside the walls.

Galle Fort’s impression courtyard and terraces….

From the church and museums, we headed for the boutiques and cafes. It makes it sound like we were running a marathon but the shops are really a stone’s throw from the churches. I said it was small….

Stick No Bills is a great little place for retro Sri Lankan tourism and movie posters and postcards. We bought lots, just need to stick to that ‘Frame More’ resolution….

My favourite place we found was MimiMango, a little Aladdin’s Cave selling lots of brightly coloured kaftans, dresses, beach cover-ups and beaded jewellery, with the most perfect cafe at the back called Poonie’s Kitchen. Sri Lankan food is delicious but after 10 days of curries, bread before every meal, spicy omelettes and general gluttony, I was craving something a little lighter and greener. Poonie’s kitchen stepped up with insane fresh juices and piles of wholesome veggies on the menu. We ended up going back twice to sample as much as we possibly could…

From the shops, we headed for the lighthouse and walked the walls of the town, before circling back down Galle’s mottled streets and enormous, banyan-tree lined squares.

You’re probably thinking ‘she’s changed?!’…. Yep, I told you it was hot. Too hot for anything remotely tight so I had to do a quick return to the hotel and put on a whole new set of breezier LNA basics!

Once we’d ambled sufficiently round the old part of Galle, we walked out into the new part of town for a wander round the fruit stalls, spice markets and general hustle. We unintentionally picked up a ‘guide’ on our way who took us to the Spice Shack where we bought dahl and masala spice mixes and dried vanilla pods. We wouldn’t have found it without the guy who took us there and we didn’t mind handing over the small tip when we left him but if you’re keen to not encounter any grey areas, be firm but polite when people approach you and offer you directions. As in Morocco, a monetary token is often expected at the end of the expedition whether or not you 100% signed up for it!

After a hot day on our feet we went back to Galle Fort, put our feet up for a while, changed out of our tourist garb and headed for Amangalla for dinner. Part of the same Aman hotel chain as Amanwella, this is the ‘it’ hotel of Galle. Lofty, majestic and glittering in candles, we sat down to scallops, steak and champagne (ok proseco) and felt like it should be one of our birthdays. It was probably the most indulgent meal we had while in Sri Lanka and worth every penny.

Ph. by myself and James Wright, using a Leica MP, Sony RX100 and Lomo LC-A
Thanks to Galle Fort and i-escape.com for hosting us.

Lucy Williams

Exploring Galle