Bentota

Of Beaches and Backwaters

The next day, we set off to Bentota, a coastal town near Colombo. The drive took us about five hours, the route had the best sceneries we ever had in Ceylon. We stopped at Kitulgala for lunch. The Plantation Hotel served a sumptuous buffet lunch and is a popular river rafting destination. The staffs were unfriendly with a don't-care attitude which was a big mood-spoiler. 

From the restaurant, the river looked peaceful and not at all intimidating with foaming white froth like it appears in rafting photos. The river looked like a long one though.There was also a car museum for car fanatics.

The five-hour drive didn't go well with our toddler. He was disturbed and quite fidgety throughout, so we were not in any mood to sightsee. 

Bentota was sunny and bustling with activity when we reached. There was a melange of shops, restaurants and resorts lining the road. Our resort, Bentota Beach Hotel was busy--the entire reception was filled with people of different nationalities. The hotel had a huge water body with a Frangipani tree in the centre. The white and pink flowers floated in the water and the place had an ethereal feel...that was until we went to our room. 

Our rooms were in the basement. It was dark and musty, and was more like a hostel. The only upside was that the room opened into a lawn and the little one enjoyed roaming with squirrels and birds. Added to the agony was that it was a twin bedded one converted into a double. The reception was very rude to our change of room request. Red dot tours intervened and got us a proper double room for the next day. 

The resort was pretty good otherwise with manicured lush lawns, clear pool and is advantageously sandwiched between the backwaters and the sea. 

This was our little one's first beach experience...and he didn't like getting muddy and wet. But he had fun after getting used to a bit.

Bentota Turtle Hatchery

The next morning, after a heavy breakfast from the luxe buffet of Bentota Beach Hotel, we   visited the Turtle Hatchery. The trip was informative and my husband handled some of the baby turtles. The villagers taking care of the turtles were very friendly and informative. It was educational for me but my little one was unimpressed.

We met a blind turtle, a deformed one, one missing a leg and an albino one, ironically named as Michael Jackson.

Backwater Boat Ride

Our driver suggested the boat ride along the backwaters. Glad that we took it as we saw some interesting animals and islands along the ride. The boatman was friendly with a pleasant smile and took real good care of my son. 

We saw bee eaters and some egrets on the way. Giant roots emerged from the water supporting lush mangroves where bees and butterflies danced. The river meandered slowly as our boat tottered on its silvery waters. 

The boatman took his time stopping the boat at anything interesting. We stopped at two small islands--one where we saw an old man making cinnamon sticks and another where we received blessings from a Buddhist monk. The first island is so small that there is only one family living on that. The little girl in the family has to commute everyday to school through boat. Some of her drawings were wonderful.

The next island had a monastery where we met a kind monk. He showed us an old palm script with Pali inscription. I was super excited to see one of the world's oldest language.

The trip was so exhausting due to the heat. When we were at the end of the ride, we saw a monitor lizard napping in a shade, so close to human settlements. 

The boat ride was pleasant and we kept thinking about another boat trip we had years ago in Pichavaram.

The rest of the day was spent lazing in the pool and enjoying the glorious food at the hotel.