Colombo, Galle & EllaOur honeymoon
Zoya and Faris
After the walima, ten nights with the sea on one side and nothing on the other.
February 202710 nights
Our story
Two hearts. One island.
Faris had never seen the sea from a train. Zoya had never seen it at five in the morning. We went to find out what the other one had been going on about, and came home with sand in every bag and a whole new way of arguing about sunsets. These are the shores that held us first.
Zoya & Faris
The itinerary
Twelve shores. One unforgettable sea.
- 1Galle FaceColombo, by the sea wallDay 1
- 2BentotaThe west coastDays 2–3
- 3Galle FortThe south coastDay 4
- 4UnawatunaThe bay round the corner from GalleDay 4
- 5AhangamaThe stilt fishermenDay 5
- 6MirissaThe bay, and the whalesDays 5–6
- 7Coconut Tree HillThe headland at MirissaDay 6
- 8EllaThe hill countryDays 7–8
- 9Nine Arch BridgeDemodara, above EllaDay 9
- 10Ella RockThe walk along the tracksDay 9
- 11Little Adam's PeakThe Ella GapDay 10
- 12Back to ColomboOne last evening by the seaDay 10
The shores
From the coast up into the tea
01 / 12
Galle Face
Day 1Colombo, by the sea wall
The first evening, with the whole city
We landed at noon and by six we were on the sea wall at Galle Face with half of Colombo, eating isso wade out of newspaper while the sun went down into the water. It was the first time either of us had seen it do that. We decided the honeymoon could start now.
Zoya cried. Zoya says it was the chilli.
02 / 12
Bentota
Days 2–3The west coast
Two days of doing nothing at all
A room with the sea for a wall. We did nothing, and then more nothing, and then a boat went up the river among the mangroves and a monitor lizard watched us go by with no opinion at all. In the evening the sea turned gold and we stood in it until it was dark.
03 / 12
Galle Fort
Day 4The south coast
Walking the walls at sunset
A whole town inside old Dutch walls, every lane ending in the sea. We walked the ramparts right round, from the lighthouse to the clock tower, and watched the boys dive off the bastion into the water while the sky went pink behind them.
Faris bought a hat. The sea took it.
04 / 12
Unawatuna
Day 4The bay round the corner from Galle
A bay the shape of a smile
Back down to the coast for one more swim. Unawatuna is a bay the shape of a smile, with a little temple on the point and water so calm Faris finally agreed to go in past his knees. We ate rice and curry with our feet in the sand.
He went in. There are witnesses.
05 / 12
Ahangama
Day 5The stilt fishermen
Men sitting on sticks in the sea
At dawn the fishermen were already up on their poles in the surf, perfectly still, as if they had grown there. We sat on the sand and watched for an hour and did not take a single good photo of it, so here is a better one than ours.
06 / 12
Mirissa
Days 5–6The bay, and the whales
The morning the sea breathed
Out before sunrise in a boat that smelt of diesel and hope, two hours of nothing, and then the sea breathed beside us and a blue whale went under the boat like a slow grey building. That evening the bay turned violet and we could not say anything sensible at all.
We saw a whale. We saw a WHALE.
07 / 12
Coconut Tree Hill
Day 6The headland at Mirissa
Every palm leaning the same way
A short walk round the headland to a little hill of coconut palms all leaning out over the sea, as if they were looking for something. We waited for the sunset with everyone else and their phones, and then stayed on after they had gone.
Faris found our palm. He talks to it.
08 / 12
Ella
Days 7–8The hill country
The slow train up into the tea
We left the sea behind on the slowest train in the world, leaning out of the door with the whole carriage as it climbed through the tea and the mist. At Ella we stood on the Nine Arch Bridge while the blue train came through, and the sea felt very far away and very close.
09 / 12
Nine Arch Bridge
Day 9Demodara, above Ella
Waiting for the train with everyone else
We walked down through the tea to the bridge and sat on the stones with a hundred other people until the train came through. It was late, as it always is, and nobody minded, as they never do. When it finally came everyone cheered.
10 / 12
Ella Rock
Day 9The walk along the tracks
The morning we walked up a mountain
Up before dawn, along the railway line and then straight up through the tea to the top of Ella Rock. Zoya said she would never do it again at every bend. At the top the whole hill country was laid out under us, and she said she would do it again.
She would not do it again.
11 / 12
Little Adam's Peak
Day 10The Ella Gap
The easy one, with the best view
An easy walk up through the tea for our last morning in the hills, and the Ella Gap falling away under us in blue folds all the way to the plains. We sat up there a long time, not quite ready to come down.
12 / 12
Back to Colombo
Day 10One last evening by the sea
The same sea wall, a different two people
The night train brought us back down to the coast, and we went straight to the sea wall at Galle Face where we had started, for one more sunset and one more paper of isso wade. Same sea, same wall. Not quite the same two people.
Zoya cried again. It was not the chilli.
In numbers
Ten nights of us
- 10nights, just the two of us
- 12shores that held us
- 23king coconuts
- 1whale, which we will mention forever
Photo gallery
A few of our favourite moments
The 9.30 to Ella
Round the ramparts
Five in the morning
Unawatuna
Leaning out
Our bench