We went back to Thameemy’s to get some food, found a local barber and even got haircuts and shaves. Batticaloa town is colourful. It looks a lot like you’re walking through an old south Indian movie.

Back in Batti

In Batticaloa, it feels very much like you’re in a different world. It’s a bustling city with colourful buildings and equally colourful locals. A gentleman invited us in to have a chat with him over some delicious samosas (Batti samosas are a local specialty). Wandering around the city, we had lunch at Hotel Thameemy again. Most of the East Coast seems to have great food. The paratas are warm and fresh, and the curries are seasoned to drag you in off the street by your nose.

We then proceeded to a local Barber shop/saloon to get a shave and haircut. The barber was quite talkative and friendly, with other people occasionally dropping in for this and that. After a refreshing shave, we found the bus stop to take us to Pasikudah. The bus stop was on Trinco Road. The Vaalachchenai bus was our chariot for this leg of the trip, taking just over one and a half hours to get to the Vaalachchenai depot. From there, a three wheeler took us to the Kudahs.

Pasikudah & Kalkudah

The Kudahs are two famous bays that are located side by side In the small Kalkudah town. ‘Kudah’ is a Tamil word that describes a small bay. Kalkudah is a coastal town which used to be quite the tourist destination before the war. Now it is a quiet town occupied mostly by people who used to work at the local hotels, before they were destroyed one way or another by the war and the tsunami.

At Vaalachchanai, get off the bus and find a three wheeler to take you to your chosen place of dwelling in the Kalkudah area. We chose the New Land Guest House, cheap and comfortable. A room for three cost around Rs. 1000 and a great cutllefish rice and curry dinner was served at about Rs 150 per person.

The walk down to the beach from the the Guest House is just about ten minutes and takes you past Mr. Loganathan’s shop, where we found quite possibly the best kottu any of us had ever eaten. And we aren’t just saying that to make you envious. If you go there, try it, and remember us to Logi.

The Pasikudah beach is calm and quite nice to wallow around in. Nothing to write home about, though. The tsunami in 2004 had changed its face quite noticeably and most of the powdery beach had been stripped. A bunch of army personnel were setting up a large concert and carnival near the beach.. Light rain prevented us from taking our cameras.

Kalkudah Beach

Kalkudah beach is a few hundred yards North from Logi’s shop. direct entrance is barred by a Navy base, but it is possible to get there by taking a slight detour. The beach is magnificent and makes up well for the mediocrity of Pasi.

There are odds and ends like an almost completely destroyed pier and hotel that gives this endless expanse of beach quite a mysterious aura. The magic of the place gave us such a carefree attitude that we frolicked around like little boys. At least, that’s our excuse.

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After a while we decided to explore the ruined hotel, at which point we were warned by some passing army personnel that there may still be mines in the brush, and to be careful. We wondered if they were simply jealous of our youthful exuberance, but decided to watch out anyway, just in case.

Getting out of Kalkudah

The easiest way to get to most major cities from Kalkudah is to grab a bus from the Vaalachchanai junction. Our next destination was Polonnaruwa, the city of historic ruins. We proceeded to the junction at a leisurely walk and got into a bus after an unsatisfying lunch at a shop opposite the bus halt. If you are there in the season, try the mangoes.

Tsunami alerts and warnings are seemingly commonplace in this part of town with the locals barely taking notice of the blaring loudspeaker. We, however, hastened to quicken our step. But not because we were slightly nervous about the tsunami warning. Oh no, that definitely wasn’t it.

Day 2 saw us still at Arugam Bay and wondering what to do next. Consulting the trusty Lonely Planet Guide it was found that there is a rock monastery built in the middle of the jungle many centuries ago. The place is called Kudumbigala and further searching on the internet provided us with more information on it. Lonely Planet had never been there due to the area being closed in times of war. Naturally, we jumped at the chance.

Getting to the Monastery

The monastery is located roughly 30Kms down the road south of Arugam Bay. The road heads from Arugam Bay to Panama, which is about 16 kms away. We didnt stay to check out the sights at Panama because we were on bikes and had to hurry to have sufficient time to cover the distance.

From Panama, we took the Okanda road to Kudumbigala. This road was closed until recently due to the war so the land beyond is virtually deserted. The turn off to the Monastery is exactly 12 kms down this road. The terrain is rough and dry. And at the time, the lands were blasted by months of relentless hot sun. Ensure you take sunglasses, plenty of water and sunblock. If you are taking a jeep you can go cross country across the fields. We tried it on push bikes, but the land is a bit too rough for Lumala’s.

The road winds alternately through brackish forests and vast open plains. It is mostly level and flat. Perfect for biking. We took lumala ‘cruisers’ with a laid back riding positions. The total distance from Arugam bay to Kudumbigala and back is roughly 60 km. You can hope to hitch rides on Lorries in between Panama and Arugam Bay. But best be confident that your body is upto the task of riding the whole way.

As you go further South, you begin to notice a change in scenery. You will start seeing massive rocks and thicker forests in the horizon. The huge clitoris shaped rock is where the monastery is located. At this point, you will have reached the sounthern-most edge of the East Coast. You are now venturing into the immediate vicinity of East Yala.

At the 12km mark on the road, you will see a road leading off into the forest on your right. It is a dirt track and a signboard carries the monastery’s name on it. Follow this road to the end.

The Kudumbigala Rock Complex Monastery

The monastery itself is a sprawling complext of caves and buldings of beautiful and ancient looking architecture. Unlike other polupar locations of archialogical interest, Kudumbigala looks virtually untouched and rather wild. We spent a happy few hours exploring this vast complex. You can even come and stay here if the necessary police permission is obtained from Pottuvil or Panama. Bring your own food and other necessities.  The lone monk we found near the top of the complex told us that free lodging (or meditation cells) can be provided to all comers.

There is an STF (Special Task Force) outpost at the foot of the rock complex upon which the Monastery is located. The soldiers are extremely friendly and are up for a chat. Fresh up by dousing yourself with some unbelieveably cool water from the well nearby. Beware of monkeys. The critters are everywhere and will snatch your unattended belongings if half a chance is presented.

Walk about and even meditate and spend some time in the rock complex. The atmoshpehere is extremely soothing and calm. The view from the top of its rocky peaks are awe inducing.

You can see right up to the coast in one direction and an endless expanse of rocky outcroppings and green canopy in another. Beware of wildlife. The area is said to be alive with bears, snakes and elephants.

Traveling at night exposed is probably not advisable.

Chilling at A’Bay

There really isn’t much to do at A’Bay itself off-season other than chill on the beach or take a leisurely walk down to the fields surrounding the town. Food can be gotten at many establishments along the main street. Food is nothing exceptional, except for a few guesthouses that serve some nice rice and curry dishes. If you’re on a shoestring, you can go over to Alira’s place on the sea side of the road. He has decent food for cheap prices.

At the time we vistited, nearly a year had gone by without and rain. Most of the local farmers have dry land which, at the time of year we were passing through, should have been covered with water. They were being employed by the government to rebuild/renovate the local roads. The only people we passed on the highways were the occasional groups of men and women laboring away in the heat.

Getting out of A’Bay

Getting yourself out of Arugam Bay on time might be a problem if you depend on public transport. The last bus that leaves from Pottuvil, the closest town (3km north), is at about 4:30pm. Due to this you might want to take the first bus out in the morning, which gets there around 5:20 and leaves at 5:30am.

Traveling by bus in the blistering heat isn’t something you want to willingly experience. The 5:30 bus, which we took on the third day, will get to Batti around 10:30am. You will pass many checkpoints on the way there. Something to note is that unlike in Colombo, not everyone gets off the bus when it gets to a checkpoint. Only those who are standing usually get out of the bus and stand in line to show their ID. If you do leave your seat to stretch your legs, be warned that some other dude is bound to steal your seat. We found this to be strange considering Sri Lankans’ famed hospitality. But we put it down to post-war territory resolution problems.

To Batticaloa

We took the 7.15 train to Batticaloa from Colombo Fort, which seems to be the place from where most of our travels begin. It is also possible to get to Arugam Bay via Ampara but spending  11 hours in a bus wasn’t exactly our idea of fun.

The train ride is long. We only got to Batti at 5 am. It stopped at various places for no apparent reason. Traveling on a Sunday night in second class will get you double seats for yourself. But, unless you are a midget, you’d be hard pressed to get some comfortable sleep. Tickets are Rs. 500. Its a longass train ride that takes you through Habarana and Polonnaruwa seemingly just to avoid the hill country.

At Batti, following the guidance of Lonely Planet we visited a very mediocre looking dutch fort. The general architecture of Batti is reminiscent of South India. There aren’t many trees but the ones there are have been colonized by pigeons, with very bad bathroom habits.

We ate at a restaurant called Hotel Thameemy at the end of main street. We had Parata and pol rotti with potato curry, pol sambol and beef. The food was excellent.

To Arugam Bay

The ride to Arugam Bay was in three stages. Batti to Kalmunai, Kalmunai to Akkaraipattu and Akkaraipattu to Pottuvil. The landscape is dry and arid. Its got a strange beauty about it.

The first two stages were in hot buses. We had interesting chats with the driver on the second stretch. The roads are being developed at a rate and this provides a lot of employment to area residents. On the stretch from Akkaraipattu to A’bay we took a tuk tuk. This cost us around Rs. 1300. We recommend you take the bus.

Eating and Sleeping in A’Bay

We stayed at Sooriyas, the only place in Sri Lanka (pending verification) where accommodation can be gotten for 200 bucks per person. The room comes complete with bathroom, fan and fresh linen. The host, Asraff, is friendly and a good cook. Food is billed for separately though and if you’re looking for ultra cheap meals then Alira’s, a few meters north on the beach side, is a good option.

Peanut farm

We rented 3 push bikes and biked over to Peanut Farm. Bikes can be gotten from Hakeem’s for 300 rupees a day. Peanut farm is a surfing point that is roughly 8kms south of Arugam Bay. Its got beautiful deserted beaches and some interesting looking rocks on to the right side with some caves in them.

The road heads through fields flanked by thick dry zone forest. Elephants are said to haunt the roadsides after dark and we had a close encounter with one on the way back. It gave us the stink eye. We assume there is rap music involved somewhere.

This post might be a bit delayed because we are currently using internet that apparently uses smoke signals and monkeys overdosing on Acid for transmission provided by the dude over at indi.ca via dialog. Phone reception is particularly good with most areas covered by that operator.