Day 9 was a sightseeing day. We planned to leave
Closenberg Hotel around 10 a.m. to go around Galle area to see the landmarks: Unawatuna, Dutch Fort, Light House View Inn, Galle Mosque, etc.
We had breakfast in their restaurant. All of us ordered American breakfast. Perhaps I should say they assumed that we would want the Amercian breakfast as they did not show us the menu. We only found out later that they did have the menu showing the option of a local breakfast. The Amercian breakfast was disappointing. The breakfast came with one thin slice of a small tomato; the bacon was not crispy. Also, they did not know how to fry the egg in "over and easy" way. The toast was not great as well, unlike the toast we had in Stardust Hotel. Other than the breakfast, this 20-room hotel is actually very nice.
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| Reception Counter |
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| Outside Closenberg Hotel |
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| View from corridor |
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| Restaurant |
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| Bedroom |
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| Lighthouse View Inn |
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| Galle Dutch Fort |
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| Galle Fort Mosque |
We stopped at Ambalangoda to see the Mask Museum and workshop before going to Singharaja Bakery and Restaurant in Aluthgama for lunch.
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| Singharaja Bakery Restaurant |
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| Masks on display |
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| Carving the mask out of kaduru wood |
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| Mask factory |
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| Painting the mask |
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| Completed mask |
We did more sightseeing in Colombo area and its neighbourhood before we went to John's family residence in Kotahena.
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| Church |
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| Saint Locia's Cathedral, Kotahena |
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| Nimal Road Mosque |
The dinner started at about 8:30 pm. John hosted the function. We had a wonderful entertainer - Mark the muscian and again plenty of drinks and food. The party ended after midnight.
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| Drinks before dinner |
While waiting for the guests to arrive, we went over to Vincent's family bungalow next door. The bungalow is more than 100 years old. It was built by their paternal grandfather. The interior design is very beautiful and unique. Vincent's wife is not only good at culinary skills, but also very creative in internal layout. The quaint antique furniture make it look like a typical Peranakan home in Singapore.
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| Portriats of John's paternal grandparents |
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| Hall |
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| Wall decoration |
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Hat-stand used by Pope John
Paul II during his pastrol
trip to Sri Lanka |
John had invited some guests to the dinner. We got to meet a friend Hetti whom I had not met for more than 20 years on our last night in Sri Lanka.
The gathering lasted until after midnight.
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| Waiting for guests to arrive |
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| Guests at Buffet |
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| Buffet dinner |
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| Happy moment |
