A Very Bumpy Road

Our trip to Trincomalee (Trinco) took us 130 km to the East coast – there is a shorter road to Trinco but Ramesh our driver assured us that it was very bad.  It must have been very bad indeed because our journey took almost 4 hours and at times it felt like we were off-roading as we bounced across boulders and into potholes.

The first 90km or so were plain sailing but when we passed the Kantale Tank, a gigantic reservoir, the road simply disappeared – round a bend in the road and goodbye tarmac.  The last 27km were completed at a crawl as we bounced around in the minibus dodging potholes, stray dogs, cows and the on-coming traffic.  As if that wasn’t bad enough the number of check points increased and the ambitious plan to improve the road means that every 100 yards there is a bridge being built over culverts.  Rather than finish one and proceed to the next it seems as if every potential bridge has had the hole dug, the reinforcing put in but is not concreted yet – as a result we have the biggest set of chicanes as the road narrows at each spot and we play roulette with the oncoming traffic to see who will pull over.  Never play the game with oncoming buses or lorries as they don’t stop for anything.

Main road to Trinco - all the ingredients for traffic roulette (minus the oncoming bus)

The drive took us through the Kandulla National Park and our driver pulled up sharply when he spotted wild elephants grazing no more than 50 yards from the roadside.  We quietly watched and photographed three elephants and it was amazing how difficult it was to keep in sight such big animals as they blend perfectly into the background.

Where's jumbo?

It’s hotter up here and we pass through a collection of small villages and paddy fields where we watch the men and women toiling in the heat to plant and to harvest the rice.   Eventually we arrive in Trinco. This is a sprawling town of about 57,000 that was badly damaged by the Tsuname in 2004 and was one of the scenes of conflict between the Sri Lankan Government troops and the LTTE (The Tamil Tigers).  The conflict officially ended in 2009 but there is still a considerable military presence in and around the town with armed police, army, navy and air force personnel much in evidence.  It looks as if the Government is keen to make sure that no more insurrection takes place.

It's random I know - we passed the train on the way to Trinco 

Trinco is a bit rough round the edges but given its recent history this is to be excused.  It has one of the biggest natural harbours in the world and the views from the road are impressive.  The town is not used to tourists probably because getting here requires a bottom of steel to use either the road or the railway or a large wallet to fly from Colombo by seaplane. 

Our hotel is perched on a hill overlooking the inner harbour.  The view from our room overlooks a lawn and mature trees which teem with some amazing birds and beyond that, the bay and Trinco town.  Small islands (including Sober Island and Little Sober Island), fishing boats and nets make an interesting and changing scene. 

Nilaveli Beach - 12 km from Trinco

It looks like we have fallen on our feet – just as well as our bottoms are still numb from the journey!