We set off early Friday morning to Unawatuna Beach on the South Coast of Sri Lanka…the journey took a good 6 hours so when we first spotted the sea, we all got very excited indeed! The sand was so white and all the palm trees made the whole scenery so idyllic.We still had a good hour drive along the coast where we were first truly able to appreciate the devastation that the Tsunami caused back in 2004. There were a lot of run down abandoned buildings with big parts of them being broken and unlivable. We also saw a lot of grave yards surrounding the areas between the villages along the coast edge. It brought it all back to us and made us realize again how many lives were lost in the massive disaster. There were even a few shipwrecked boats just positioned by the side of the road that had obviously not been moved in the last 6 years. It showed us how different life over here is – in a place like home, such reminders would be removed but over here local people continue to be reminded of that horrible day every day of their lives, even years later. So although we were excited to experience the sea and the beautiful scenery that didnt include mountains – it was also a very emotional journey.

When we finally arrived in Unawatuna, we got off the bus and decided to walk along the town looking for some accommodation. The place we were dropped off at startled us slightly as it was completely run down and our images of relaxing by the sea for a few days didnt seem likely given the area. We headed down a road laden with our through a big market selling typical Sri Lankan cuisine and utensils. We discovered that the festival was a Muslim celebration and it lasted for 48hours. It consisted of people parading through the town listening to a man singing constantly throughout the day from 5am to 1am as a few men had fish hooks clawing through their skin. It was pretty horrible to watch but also interesting as well. We managed to find some accommodation called Full Moon Resort, which was really nice and had big beds with fresh cotton sheets (it felt so amazing). The rooms we stayed in were 5 steps from the waters edgewe couldnt ask for more! We paid R2000 for 3 nights (equivalent of 12pounds). It was so cheap. The manager of the accommodation had been famous back in 2004 during the Tsunami and featured on the BBC so he spoke to us and told us some stories that he remembered. We spent the few days relaxing by the sea and eating some western food which was very nice! We got pestered by locals trying to sell us things and we gave in to some and helped them but we couldnt help everybody there were far too many! 

We even made a trip to the local town of Galle, which was a 10minute tuk-tuk journey away here we were able to get a close look at the cricket ground as well as the famous fort! The boys took up this opportunity to find Sri Lankan cricket gear!

After a good few relaxing days soaking up the sun, we were all ready to return back to the University to get on with some more work!