Colombo - Bentota – 80 km
Sri Lanka is relatively small, and there was no need to race around
the island. Thus, I had a relaxed start. Following breakfast, I loaded
the bike and headed south toward Galle. Biking in Sri Lanka was
nerve-racking, adrenalin-pumping, and sometimes pure madness.
My hands were permanently on the brakes, and I didn’t dare take my
eyes off the road while weaving through the horrendous traffic,
avoiding tuk-tuks, buses, cars, trucks, ox carts and, from time to
time, a holy cow. The coastal route ran past numerous temples and
fruit juice stands. It felt I never cleared the city limits, as the traffic
never ceased.
I reached Bentota shortly past midday. The village offered plenty of
accommodation, loads of food vendors, a lovely location along the
river/coast, and a beach stretching for miles. Add the beautiful
Galapata Vihara Temple with its maze of underground tunnels,
staying was an easy choice. After locating lodging and washing my
cycling clothes, a walk into town revealed plenty of food and an
adaptor to fit the strange plugs in Sri Lanka.
Back at my abode, rain came bucketing down as it can only do in the
tropics. I smiled, put my feet up, opened a beer and watched the rain
from the veranda.