Old-world charm of Galle

Who: Simon Cameron, 40, founder and managing director of Lightfoot Travel. The Briton and Singapore permanent resident is married with two children.

Favourite destination: The fort town of Galle in south-west Sri Lanka

Why: I spent some time growing up in Sri Lanka. My family lived there for three years in the early 1990s when my father was working in the British High Commission.

I love the diversity of the island and the friendliness and humour of the people. I visit at least once a year with my family.

Favourite hotel

I love Kahanda Kanda (Angulugaha, Galle, 8000, Sri Lanka; tel: +94-91-494-3700; www.kahandakanda.com), a boutique hotel in a tea plantation just outside Galle.

It is a very peaceful place with views of the jungle, excellent food and wonderful staff. Rooms start from US$365 (S$495) a night.

Favourite restaurant

The veranda of the Amangalla Hotel (10 Church Street, Fort, Galle, Sri Lanka; tel: +94-91-223-3388; www.amanresorts.com/amangalla/home.aspx) for lunch, dinner or afternoon tea.

It has great food and a passionate foodie manager.

It serves Sri Lankan and European food. When I am there, I usually order Amangalla's signature dish, a traditional Sri Lankan curry. A meal there costs about $60 a person, excluding alcohol.

Another nice spot is the Cafe Ceylon in Koggala (www.cafeceylon.lk/menu.html), about a 30-minute drive east of Galle. The restaurant, set in a lovely colonial building in a big garden, serves Western and Sri Lankan fusion food.

I recommend the prawn dumplings, steamed whole fish Cafe Ceylon-style and caramelised Hakuru bananas. This meal would cost about $40 a person, excluding alcohol.

Favourite tourist spots

Galle's Old Town and Fort is a Unesco World Heritage Site and being there is like walking in a museum. I recommend wandering around its narrow streets, past old traders' houses, peeking inside old churches and visiting the local mosques.

It's worth a stroll along the old Portuguese Fort wall, past the lighthouse, where you can watch the local kids jumping off the ramparts into the sea.

The slave pits in the fort are equal parts creepy and fascinating and are my favourite tourist site in Galle.

For galleries, I like the newly opened Koleman Creative (74 Mattara Road, Dewata Beach), which showcases amazing creative art and sculptures, most of which are the work of Galle-based artist Kristian Coleman.

I also like Stick No Bills (sticknobillsonline.com), a gallery which exhibits and sells rare advertising, travel and movie posters dating from the 1800s to the present day. They also design their own retro-style posters.

Best places for shopping

Galle Fort is full of little craft and cloth boutiques such as KK Collection (36 Church Street; tel: +94-91-721-2391; www.facebook.com/kkcfort), as well as tailors, gem shops and antique stores such as Olanda (30 Leyn Baan Street; tel: + 94-91-223-4398; olandafurniture.com).

Laksana (30 Hospital Street; tel: +94-91-438-1800) is great for jewellery and there are lovely little shops along Pedlar Street, such as craft and cloth boutique Barefoot (41 Pedlar Street, Matara; tel: +94-91-222-6299; barefootceylon.com/barefoot-in-galle), which stocks beautifully handwoven fabrics.

Wicks Family Shop (22 Talbot Town, Galle; tel: +94- 91-222-2536) is a good choice for men's clothes and I love Orchid House (28A Hospital Street; tel: +94-91-742-9090; www.orchid-house.net), which is a one-stop shop for everything.

When in Galle, buying vanilla pods from Orchid House is a must and semi-precious gems such as amethysts and citrines are inexpensive in Sri Lanka.

They can be set with white sapphires as an alternative to diamonds to create beautiful pieces at a fraction of the price you would pay in Singapore.

Best breakfast

The food in Sri Lanka is a fusion of Indian, Arabic, Malay, Portuguese, Dutch and English cuisine and you can get great versions of these dishes at local stalls.

My favourite breakfast food is the traditional Sri Lankan egg hopper, a crispy pancake made of fermented rice flour and coconut milk batter, with a fried egg in the middle and a spicy sambal.

If I'm feeling really local, I may have some fish or chicken curry mixed in. A hopper with coconut sambal (Pol Sambal) at a food stall costs no more than $2.

Offbeat find

Head out of Galle and drive 15 minutes east to Wijaya Beach (www.wijayabeach. com), a sheltered beach and resort known for great cocktails and wood-fired thin- crust pizzas.

It is also a great place to watch the sunset.

Necessary day trips in the region

Yala National Park (www.yalagaminisafari.com), the second largest national park in Sri Lanka and a famous place to see elephants and leopards. It is a four-hour drive from Galle, so it would be best to spend a night there as there is a lot to see.

Event to bookmark

The Galle Pola, also known as the Galle Fort Golden Flea Market (www.facebook.com/GallePolaGalleFort GoldenFleaMarket), is held on the first Sunday of every month from 10am to 6pm in the Law Court Square of the Fort, where you will find live music and many stalls selling crafts.

The Galle Literary Festival is another highlight that is typically held in January every year. Unfortunately, it has an uncertain future and there do not seem to be any plans to hold a festival this year.

The most recent updates can be found on its Facebook page (www.facebook.com/Gallelitfest).

Ideal length of stay A trip to Galle could be done over a long three-day weekend in Singapore, though with the four-hour flight from Singapore and the 11/2- hour drive from Colombo's airport to Galle, it is better to stay for at least five nights.

You can stay even longer as there are lots to do in the region, including whale watching near Koggala, surfing at Marissa Beach and mountain biking through rice fields.

There are also countless yoga retreats, Buddhist temples and beaches to tour and enjoy.

Advice for travellers

Bring a sense of humour and know that service can sometimes be in Sri Lankan time.

vlydia@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Feb 22, 2015.
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