After a few restful days in Colombo, Claire and I headed down to the beaches in the south for a few (more) days of R&R.  We hired a driver to take us around for 3 days at $50 a day.  Although Nihal attested to speaking English, he didn't seem to understand the times we asked him to meet us but it was all good, because we were on a very loose schedule. 

Unawatuna Beach is crescent-shaped bay with resorts and hostels dotting the shoreline.  The whole area has a really chill vibe.  UBR is great, even though we are definitely the youngest people not under the age of 10.  Our location is right on the water.  There is also a pool to get wet since the shore break is ridiculous and downright scary.  Sunsets are gorgeous.  I got a $16/hour ayurvedic massage, which is really like having someone bodypaint you with lots of oil.  Our hotel room included free breakfast and dinner buffet, which were delicious, and adding to Claire's family connections, our rooms got comped!  Awesome!

Not a whole lot of partying to do but we did grab a couple beers at Riddim bar down the beach, where anyone under 45 goes for a drink.  Really chill...

the sun and sea hotel in unawatuna, in southern sri lanka has a breathtaking view of the indian ocean. the hotel was totally destroyed during the tsunami.. they've rebuilt it but you can still see some chilling remains of the earlier architecture.. the rooms are clean and reasonable ..