"Lighthouse at the end of the old fort, which I sketched in-between the showers.
 
Though my arrival in Galle in the late afternoon was met by a heavy downpour, forcing me to shelter in a cafe for nearly an hour, when it did stop I soon found a small hotel, and was then able to spend what was left of the day having a walk round this interesting old town.
 
Until the harbour was built at Colombo in 1800, Galle had been Sri Lanka's major port, but since that period the town has largely stood still, hence its 'old world charm' attraction. The Dutch fort area was built in 1663. The town now has a population  of around 70,000, with gem stones being the main industry.
 
I had two nights in Galle, with much of the day spent sitting on the balcony of the guest house, chatting with an interesting Belgium couple. Though this made for a pleasant rest day, it wasn’t really the way I had planned to be spending my time while in the town. With this in mind, it was with some regret that I left for Kataragama on the early train the following morning, sorry I had not been able to make better use of the previous day and at least paint one picture of this picturesque old town. I took the train as far as Matara, the town at the end of the line, and though it rained for much of the way, it was a pleasant if uneventful ride through a scenery of paddy fields, scrub land and an occasional view of the coast. Icompleted the last leg of the journey on to Kataragama by bus, arriving at 4 pm. I had no trouble getting a room at the Government Guest House, but as the site was such a sacred one, there was nowhere to buy a meal, and I finished up having to make do with some food I fortunately had with me. At least it had stopped raining and I was able to visit the temples." - MH