Negombo

The Internet here is frustratingly slow - especially as I'm used to broadband at home, but I'll persevere. Again please don't be offended if I don't reply to your e-mails - I just don't want to spend all of my time sitting in front of some computer waiting for the page to load.

Am feeling a bit more with it today and this morning went for a walk around Negombo to take some photos. The most interesting part of the town are the along the beach where fish are laid out to dry and all the brightly coloured boats moored in the lagoon. Fishing seems to be the major industry here and there were a huge variety of fish for sale in the market. It's very hot and humid and by 11 it was time to head back to the guesthouse for a siesta. Being close to the beach there's a cooling breeze all day where I'm staying. Yesterday afternoon I went for a walk along the beach and came across the part of the beach where all the local people hang out in the evening. Much more interesting than the rest of the beach which is lined with huge hotels for package tourists from Europe - not my idea of a holiday, but hey. Was feeling tired by the time I got back to the guesthouse and since there's not a lot of options in terms of places to eat - Sri Lankas, unlike in India, don't seem to eat out much - I decided to have dinner at my guesthouse. I was actually pleasantly surprised as I wasn't expecting much, and although it was simple - rice, three curries and an egg curry - it was delicious and filling.

Tomorrow I'm off to Anuradhapura, which is was once the capital of the Sinhalese kingdom over 1000 years ago. Am looking forward to doing some exploring. I'm planning to spend about 10 days touring the area and after that will head to Kandy for the Esala Perahera festival, apparently the most famous festival in Sri Lanka.