sasri2016 - Nilaweli

Travelled from Sigiriya to Nilaweli (one of the three place near Trincomalee and it's beach) by car and driver.

Car was Tata Nano and quite funny car. It had 0,95 L engine and consumption was really low. It has only 8 litre tank. ;) Air conditioning was working well. Driver said he had bought it second hand that it had costed him about 800 000 rupies (5 479 euros). A new one would cost something like 8 000 - 11 000 euros. Driver Chlminda was from Sigiriya and I met him when he took me with tuk-tuk to Sigiriya rock.
I paid 7000 rupies for the trip from Sigiriya to Nilaweli. I don't say that it's the right price, but bigger car drivers didn't go below 8000 rupies (first offer was 9000 rupies), because (from what I think I understood from driver's talk with other drivers, he was like saying that he would profit only 2000 rupies if he goes below that for that trip, which would mean his expenses would be 5000 rupies, but this might be totally wrong interpretation).

Unbelievable! When I had checked into this Sea Zone Hotel in Nilaweli, I saw family from Colorado, that have had rooms in two other hotels at same time with me. Strange to wonder around this island and see the same family having a room in three different hotels, same time with you. We must have same taste for hotels. ;) Their nice grandmother had already left back to Colorado.


Yesterday when I talked to hotel manager, I asked where I could get those Kottu blades, because I saw that their restaurant (which is not directly in hotel, but can be seen from the hotel) has Kottu in their list. He started to arrange me a pair of blades, but couldn't find them easily. When I was ready to go to have a dinner, he throw me on his scooter to see another restaurant where they had Kottu blades. They were a bit different than I expected. They were also somewhat worn out (no sharp blades anymore). But it was interesting to see and take photos of them. I also get to see on what kind of metal plate they were doing the Kottu dishes. This was really nice and after this we went to hotel's restaurant, where lady was already making my Kottu. I did get a really nice introduction to making of Kottu, but I couldn't get a clear picture of all the things and spices.


This hotel has best wifi and internet connection, that I have had on this island. Strange, because this hotel doesn't remind any kind of "technically advanced" place. Room isn't that special, but it has warm water in shower (it's one temperature only, non-adjustable heat) and fan is working. Night wasn't too great though. It was really hot. My mobile phone said (through accuweather) that night temp was 30C... and I didn't have air conditioning. You can imagine the rest. The family rooms in this hotel do have AC, but I had already reserved the cheapest room option with fan only.
    Hotel manager told that he doesn't remember when it would have been this hot in here. Actually when we talked about heat crisis in India, he told me that he wouldn't remember any other time, that Sri Lankans had been warned about high temperature and that one Sri Lankan had died due to heat in Jaffna. In India temperatures have been like 50C, but in Jaffna "only" like 40C.

Beach in Nilaweli is quite nice. At least now, there isn't big waves (like there was in Mirissa). Some stray dogs were begging there. Took a morning swim, before there came much of the hassle and loved it totally!

Now I am just enjoying my vacation and sitting at the hotel's terrace, without shirt of course, because it's so hot in here. Last time I checked, phone was reporting 29C and it would get to 33C during the day. Highest temperature could still be 35C and night could be something like 28C, but I have transferred to Uppuweli by then and in Amaranthe Bay hotel I will have AC to enjoy.