18th January 2015 was a hot and humid Sunday. I was home alone killing time watching movies and reruns of the past weeks TV series. It was around 11:30 am when I made a decision to get out of the house and just go somewhere, anywhere!!
Living in Maharagama, the first thing that came to mind was to take the highway bus to Galle. I’ve never taken the highway bus before, so I had a quick shower and a change of clothes, packed my camera and was on my way. The mid day sun was screaming down and I could feel my skin burn. Jumping on the Galle bound Air Conditioned bus was such a relief. It’s said that the time taken to travel from the Kottawa Highway Entrance to the Galle Exit is about 1 hour. And it takes about 10-20 minutes to get from Maharagama to Kottawa in light traffic. When the bus entered the high way and the ride became much smoother, I decided to pass the time by catching up on some reading. The bus finally stopped just passed the entrance to the Galle Fort and so began the adventure.
It was around 1:30 pm and the first order of business… lunch!! I had already decided on where I would have lunch, now it was just a matter of finding the place. Luckily the restaurant I was looking for was on the popular “Pedlar street”. I made my way to “The Original Rocket Burger ” ( http://www.theoriginalrocketburger.com/) with ease. The owner of this establishment was very friendly. He gave me a rundown of the entire menu, (which he does for all first time patrons to his place of business.) and he assured me that everything was home made, and that their produce and dairy are all delivered fresh every day. I placed my order and while having a chat with the owner I absorbed the funky artwork on the walls that gave the restaurant somewhat of a retro feel. He mentioned that the artwork is actually done by his wife, who happens to be a graphic designer. A short while later I was presented with my meal and I must say it smelled heavenly!! I took my first bite, as my mouth was filled with a burst of amazing flavors. The beef was tender and juicy, and it dripped along my fingers as I munched down this delicious burger, which was served with a healthy portion of smoking hot French fries. It was, without a doubt, the best beef burger I’ve had the pleasure of tasting.
The Original Rocket Burger
After a hearty meal, I made my way to the famous Light house at the Galle Fort. I just love the old Dutch architecture that still remains in almost all of the building in the fort. The roads have been recently re-laid with cobble stones, which makes you feel as if you have traveled back in time. Being a Sunday, there wasn’t much of a crowd at the Fort. And I suppose it fair to say, I saw more foreigners than locals.
After going around the whole fort, I decided it was time to get out of the hot sun and cool down a little. This was when I came across the “Galle Maritime Museum“. It had been a while since I was in a museum, and I must say I wasn’t disappointed. It wasn’t a large museum with a hefty collection of exhibits, but it was spacious, nicely lit and housed some interesting pieces. Something that really caught my attention was the indoor reconstruction of the sea bed from where some of the artifacts were discovered. They had a large and detailed scaled model of an old Dutch sailing ship with a cross-section beside it, which brought back memories of the time I visited the “Vasa Museum” in Stockholm, Sweden.
Scaled Model of Sailing Ship
Finally, after photographing the iconic Gall Fort Clock Tower, I made my way to a good vantage point to watch the sunset. Unfortunately the horizon was cloudy and the sunset was not worth mentioning. But all was not lost, while I waited for the sunset, I met Vera, a hot shot radio personality from Russia, and her travel buddy Anna.
Vera – The Russian RP
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