Galle Fort

Galle Fort is a place for wandering and a place for people watching.  By night it is quiet, the passage of time noted by the call to prayer from the local mosque.  Mornings before the tours arrive and evenings after they depart is the time for strolls.  As the sun hammers the tourists on the ramparts, better to sit in the shade and people watch. 

Sweating for the wedding photos. 

One of the big businesses at the fort is wedding pictures.  There are entire wedding parties dressed to the nines and sweating bullets for that perfect sunset backdrop. 

When they aren't working for the perfect shot, the wedding folks aren't above mugging for the tourists.   

Wandering the streets yields small treasures.  At the cafes' a European espresso will cost you dearly.  All addictions have a price, no?   But with a little looking you can find a pot of Sri Lanka coffee for the price of one cappuccino.   As thick as Turkish coffee and earthier than any Sulawesi coffee, it may be an acquired taste, but it packs a wallop.  

We finished our day walking the seaside ramparts at sunset.  The cool breeze at the end of dusk washes away the heat of the day, but only temporarily.   The nights are sultry.  

Not everything at the fort is pristine.  Many buildings are vestiges of the past and remain so. 

Another sunset in Galle Fort.  

We remained inside the fort for dinner and will not do so again.  We paid three times what our normal curry houses charge for the scaled down heat of a curry-rice dinner aimed at travelers.  It wasn't a bad meal, but despite the Lonely Planet recommendation I would give it a pass.   As My Baby said "I like the dingy joints."