Rocco’s Arugam Bay 03/02/2009
Rocco’s Arugam Bay 03/02/2009
Believe it or not a semblance of a new road is appearing along the main street of Arugam Bay?!
Having been away for a few months travelling India (www.lookinglost.com) I got home last night & I do mean Home!
Home also to a new style restaurant, some wag has called it Rocco’s Mk111, fact is, it is! First one was knocked down or drowned in Tsunami; 2nd we never found the money to fulfil the potential of a 2 storey bar & restaurant with observation deck, swimming pool, Jacuzzi, helicopter pad etc. So Mk 111 is a cooler place temperature wise & dude wise, clay tiled roof, traditional canoe planters, gardens around the building, all make for a relaxing spot. Gardens have flourished as well; all looking very good I must say.
Enjoyed India but Lanka is where I feel most ‘at home’ especially back here at Rocco’s. Drive time from the airport 8hrs, 1-2hrs shorter than my usual time, which means a local Lankan driver, will have you here nerves frazzled, in 6-7hrs! The reason that the travel times are dropping is the road conditions are improving. Flat wide sealed tarmac roads all the way from the international, Bandaranaike airport to Monaragala (250kms), the 80kms from Monaragala to Abay is the killer, however the evidence is clear that a new road will be arriving soon but not just yet, by the beginning of the season we hope 3-4 months. That will take another hour off the journey time; this puts Arugam Bay back on the map, the same distance time wise as other attractions in Sri Lanka.
If you travel from the airport to say Unawatuna, it will take you 4-5hrs to cover the 155km; first you have to travel through the Capital City, Colombo, then there is the coast road, one of the most manically busiest roads in Sri Lanka. If you come to Arugam Bay you will have missed Colombo & all that entails, you would have been over the ‘foothills’ through Uda Walawe National Park, Jungles & forest land, may even have spotted wild elephants en-route we often do. Splitting the journey is also an option, Kandy & the ‘Hill Country’ is a popular choice.
The fact still remains that if you take other destinations in Sri Lanka the same applies Arugam bay will be getting closer, Mirrisa is 7hrs from airport, Tangalle 6hrs: Arugam bay at 6-8hrs is closer than you think.
Safety here is, as I have stated in the past, safe no immediate dangers, check points are all over the country, no different here, police & military are evident all over the country, no different here in Arugam Bay. If you have made the decision to come to Sri Lanka, you will not be disappointed by going that ‘extra mile’ and slightly off the ‘beaten track’ that is rarely followed by tour groups.
Steve 03/03/09