The journey began with a quick pickup—my wife had just finished her lectures at Gateway Graduate School, and we were officially Galle-bound. Before hitting the road, we finally stopped at a place we’d driven past countless times: Seven Waves Food Lounge, right by the Makumbura Multimodal Center. The “Seven Waves” represent their diverse counters—from Sri Lankan and Italian to a dedicated Juice Bar—but we opted for a classic Chicken Set Menu from the Chinese counter to fuel up.

The drive down the Southern Expressway included the mandatory pitstop at the Welipenna Service Area before we arrived at our home for the weekend: The Dutch Boutique Hotel on Church Street. But before we could settle in, there was business to attend to: bib collection at the Galle Football Ground.

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