Sri Lanka, Part 4 – Living the Dream

22nd to 29th January, 2026

Definitely time to update the blog, although nothing sensational to write about really. We have continued with our daily rounds of Ayurvedic treatments for Val, which we think may be having some good effects. To be honest, it is really difficult to tell if it is the massages or the fact that we are in a stress-free environment in a warm and sunny land with our every need taken care of. We have also used the wheelchair a bit more, which has taken some pressure off Val’s feet. And more opportunities to nap!

The Doctor (Ayurvedic) at the hotel (Sanduni) has been really helpful as the swelling on Val’s hand after the last fall has taken an age to go down. At last, possibly with the help of a paste that has been rubbed onto her hand and bound up, her hand no longer looks like one of those surgical gloves when you childishly blow them up. All in all, the holiday is having the desired effect.

Yours truly is in pretty good fettle too (what is a fettle – must look that up…). I am well into my swimming with the only downsides being that it makes me hungry and seems to bring on my restless legs. Still, I know it is doing me good, so hanging in there and trying to walk past the dessert table as often as possible.

We finally got our ride around the lagoon on the catamaran ably paddled by Darshana and Amila from the Animation Station and both ex Sri Lankan Navy. I think the photos will give the gist of the trip…

It was a nice trip, though not quite up to the standard of our last lagoon boat ride in Sri Lanka, where there was a lot more wildlife, a sunset and flying foxes heading home for the night – and tea and pancakes served on bone china!!

Val had a fairly early appointment with our lovely lady Ayurvedic doctor, Uyesha, who does the shirodhara treatment, so I availed myself of the opportunity to have a walk along the road by the beach armed with the camera. The area around the hotel basically consists of the main road from Colombo to Chilaw, passing through Negombo on its way north. If you keep going, you will arrive in Trincomalee and Jaffna. This road, as far as we have travelled it is one long ribbon development of virtually every business you can think of from tile and brick making in kilns to fashion outlets all sitting next to each other. Definitely not zoned! The action is decidedly bustling with everyone weaving in and out of the traffic on tuktuks, motorcycles, cars and, King of the Road, buses.

Where we are, there is a stretch of about 2.5kms from the beach to the main road, which is much more peaceful, consisting of many small plots of land with many coconut palms and a variety of some very large houses and some smaller bungalows. There is a thriving fishing community – well at least they look thriving if the amount of fish is anything to go by. I get the feeling it an area where you have your plot of land and, if you make a bit of money, start upgrading the house. Some photos to give you a flavour…

Ok, time to get this published, though I have yet to tell you about our visit to a local special needs school.

Suffice to say, we are both well. Did I mention that our room number is 102? It is very nice, as you can see from the statutory photo in the first post of this blog – other than the screams from the room next door, of course. (I will leave that with you to work out for yourselves, hahaha. Don’t feel embarrassed to ask if it eludes you).