Asian Institute of Technology Bangkok brought us together when we did our Masters Degrees during 1986-87. Since then, we have been scattered across the world.
During Jan 2026 a group of 6 of us had a trip to a few places in Sri Lanka. Some of us were meeting after almost 40 years. So, it was a memorable meeting. We did a clockwise route starting in Colombo (but quickly transiting to Kalpitiya). We spent 3 nights in Kalpitiya and then proceeded to Wilpattu (close to the National Park). We spent a night at Wilpattu and then via Anuradhapura (where we had a delightful lunch) arrived at Dambulla (for 1 night stay). We climbed the Sigiriya Rock, and visited the Dambulla Caves.
After that we proceeded to Kandy where we stayed for 4 nights. The following is a brief of what our experience has been.
Drive from Colombo to Kalpitiya
Lunch at Negombo
Landing in Colombo, around 12 noon, we were met at the airport by Mr. Thushan (driver for our journey) whom we got to know quite well by the end of the trip. He welcomed us with a simple garland of shells and led us to the car.
The car had a high roof and was comfortable enough for the 6 of us plus luggage. We drove straight from the airport to Negombo (a suburb about 30 minutes North of Colombo. One of my friends had picked this restaurant called Koththamalli. The restaurant served vegan and vegetarian cuisine and had a very interesting selection of mocktails, with combinations of mango, lime, tamarind and coconut. Next door there was an Ayurveda Spa that offered soothing massages
After lunch, we proceeded to Kalpitiya. The duration for the drive on Google Maps showed 4+ hours. Stopping briefly on the way around halfway stage for tea (which was very milky and not that flavorful).
Being addicted to coffee I am used to a good strong coffee in the morning. And not knowing the coffee situation in different places, I travelled with a bottle of instant coffee, which came in very handy everywhere as most of the coffee and tea were too milky for me.
Kalpitiya – Blue Whale Resort
Blue Whale resort in Kalpitiya faces the Indian Ocean. The peninsula also has one of the largest lagoons in Asia. The waves on the Indian Ocean side are much stronger and Kalpitiya is one of the world’s best places for Kite Surfing.
The Blue Whale resort had direct access to the beach. The beach itself was not very clean, mostly seaweed and other things washed up from the sea and not many swimmers. There were a lot of small speedboats (fishermen trying to catch Tuna). There were also larger boats that took tourists for Dolphin watching (which we did on one of the days). The food and the room at Blue Whale resort was good and staff friendly.
Next to the resort there was a large coconut grove, and we could see contract laborers ripping the husk out of the coconuts, at an astonishing rate – almost 3 coconuts a minute. With a practiced arm, the man was piercing the coconut on an upright sharp pole and ripping the fibrous covering in 1 smooth action.
Kalpitiya has a lot to offer. One can go Dolphin watching, swimming on the beaches, kite surfing (there are kite surfing classes also on the lagoon which has winds of lower intensity) but need at least 8-15 days for taking such lessons. We did a lagoon tour by boat which was quite nice.
The boat trip took us to the very tip of the peninsula to a place called “Ucchi-muni” beach which literally means the “very tip”. It seemed to be a perfect location for Kite Surfing as we could see many serious kite-surfers setting up their Kites.
We went on a Dolphin watching trip. For the first 30 minutes the boat sped along into the Indian Ocean, and the waves kept slamming the speed boat “bang – bang – bang” and there was water all around us but no Dolphins in sight. Then in the middle of nowhere in the sea there was a solitary boat with a man standing in it. Our boatman asked him whether he sighted any dolphins and he pointed us in a certain direction. We sped along in that direction and we were simply taken aback on the number of dolphins there and furiously active they were. We were told that for Whale watching the best time is March onwards. We were with the dolphins, playing hide and seek for almost a full hour and after we had our fill we came back. The photos and the videos give you some idea but seeing it in real life is a great sight.
