Before leaving for Sri Lanka, I met one of my close friends who told me that his brother and his family are currently based there. I only know his brother through him and I remembered that I went to University with his brother's wife, so I told him this was very welcome news because I would drop them a note before I came, counting of the famous Filipino hospitality, and ask them if we could go out.
Yes, I decided to be feeling close and quite makapal (thick faced), but then I did this based from the experience that as a Filipino living abroad, I'm always glad when a fellow Filipino is coming. Meeting up with fellow Filipinos always makes me feel less homesick and there is always a special bond you share with fellow OFWs. I am so glad that the friends I found in Sri Lanka, together with their close to two month old baby girl, were happy enough to take me around.
As I did not want to inconvenience them, I told them when I was free (my first day in Sri Lanka!) and I told them that I was okay to go anywhere they wanted to take me. Tala, my friend from University, finalized the itinerary and told me that we are going to Galle
(pronounced Gawl) to look around and have lunch at a nice place she heard about. Galle is one and a half hours away from Colombo using the new highway
(which she compared to the Star Tollway in South Luzon).
The only research on I did was a Google image search on Galle and this resulted in pictures of a beach that did not look impressive and a lighthouse. I think I also read about a Fort and I had visions of the Agra Fort, the Delhi Fort and the Lahore Fort. Different places, but they all sure look the same. Suffice it to say, I went to spend the day with friends, but aside from that I had very low expectations.
Just Saying.
But boy was I wrong!
My first surprise came when we were looking for Amangalla Resort. I was totally indifferent about where we were going until Tala told me that Amangalla is part of the Aman Resorts, famous in the Philippines for Amanpulo. Knowing Aman's high standards, I knew that if they put up a resort in Galle, then it must be a place worth visiting!
The Amangalla is the oldest hotel in Sri Lanka. It used to be the New Oriental Hotel until it was bought by the Aman Group in 2005.
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Understated elegance in a beautiful building with no name.
You'll only find it if you know what you're looking for. |
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| About the place |
This is the entrance to the place.
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entrance from the street
We had to ask if we had to ask if this was the correct place. |
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| Entrance to the inner receiving area |
The feel of the place was posh, but in a comfortable, low key and very relaxing way.
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| Sitting area on the veranda |
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| The inner receiving area also has sitting areas |
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| It leads to the indoor dining area |
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| Lounger and sitting area in front of the check-in counter |
It's a good thing my friend called to reserve. We were given a nice table on the veranda.
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| Thinking of what to order. |
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| Doting dad to the beautiful baby Luna |
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| Tala is happy with the nearby attractions information she got from the hotel |
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| Me, with the rest of the veranda behind me |
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| All the flowers on the table are real |
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| Salt and Pepper |
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| But this is what happens if you're not careful |
Lunch was really good. It was also very reasonably priced too, especially for a hotel, and an Aman one at that. I enjoyed the starters the best. We ordered two to share.
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| Prawn and Avocado Salad |
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| Grilled Calamari Salad |
This is what we ordered for our main.
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| I had the Amangalla burger with a side of greens |
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| Tala ordered the red snapper |
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| Pau had Fish and Chips |
The servings were quite big, we even had a some wrapped.
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| The doggy bag comes in a small reusable tote |
No meal is complete without dessert.
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| The Lime Tart with Raspberry Sorbet was good except for the marginal crust. |
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| Now this is what you call a cappuccino |
We did a quick tour of the resort before we explored the rest of Galle.
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| This old cabinet is actually fuctional |
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| This is where they kept the brochures of the other Aman Resorts |
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| Daddy Pau and Luna leading the way to the spa |
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| On the loungers at the Aman Spa called The Baths |
Some of the areas, like the library and the pool can only be accessed by the residents. We just need to come back and stay if we want to see it.
Amangalla
10 Church Street in the Galle Fort.
For reservations telephone: +94 91-2333388
For more information, visit their website
here
I will just post about the other places we visited in Galle separately. To write about everything in one rambling post will not do all the places justice.
and i'm sleepy na, hahaha. Just Saying.
Thanks Tala, Pau and Luna for the nice lunch and wonderful day trip :)
