Day 2 – 28MAR2014: Negombo/Colombo Int’l Airport -> Chilaw
Distance (km) : 86
Time on bike: 4h 26m
Avg. speed : 19.2 km/h
Total (km) : 86
Altitude: 2 m
Thanks to the lack of sleep on the airplane last night, I’m super tired on the bike all day, and several times I literally fall a sleep (for a few microseconds) while riding. But words cannot describe how wonderful and exciting it is to be spinning those wheels again. It’s a beautiful morning. Sleep must wait.
I spend a few hours cruising around Negombo, a bigger (128.000 inhab.) city some 16 km north of the airport. Negombo seems like a fairly genuine and unhurried affair, with lots of local life and colors. Can’t get my fists down!
The fishing industry is big in Negombo.
The Dutch Canal that cuts through the lagoon-infested coastline between the capital Colombo and Negombo. Made me think of Melaka, Malaysia.
Big tuna fish!
Mad Max meets Negombo.
Some kind of mobile lottery. Hugely popular all over Sri Lanka.
Told you. Fishing is big around here.
And it’s all charmingly low-key.
The Hindu Sri Sitthi Vinayagar Temple just outside of Negombo. They like colors.
Outrigger fishing canoes (called oruwa) in the Indian Ocean.
I’m bringing along my beloved Garmin Edge 800 GPS (with free download-map from this site) and immediately find myself cruising along lovely, nearly deserted backroads. Nevermind the road surface was a bit rough for the slick ‘Cinderella’ tyres (23+28mm) on my bike. Can’t have it all.
Selling this morning’s catch – always with a smile.
After a long winter in Denmark (4-5 months) this year it’s simply great to be back in the Tropics – and this no-name Sri Lankan west coast beach was too much of a temptation for me.
Mixed fruit w/ icecream (0.60 USD. Yes, ridiculously cheap) – an appropriate and refreshing welcome drink in the town of Chilaw.
My room for the night: the Chilaw Rest House, 1.650 Rupees (Rp) – 12.5 USD. With a bit of sea view behind the curtains. Flash.
The ubiquitous hoppers – evidently a popular Sri Lankan snack. I found these ones disappointingly tasteless. But at 0.75 USD/plate I made no fuss.
Night fishing (with handheld nets) in the Chilaw lagoon.
In the business section of the paper, it’s usually the NASDAQ, the Dow Jones or the Danish OMX C20 index that fill the pages. Not so here in Sri Lanka. Here it’s all about coconuts and coconut prices. Cute.
