Just before the (surf) season was drawing to an end at Sri Lanka’s south coast, two newly made surfer friends and I headed for Arugam Bay, Lanka’s surf ‘mecca’ at the east coast, where the season was just about to start.
A-Bay’s strange Mix
Arugam Bay, or A-Bay if you want to appear to be in the known, is a rather peculiar place and perhaps the most ‘disjointed’ tourist- travellers destination I have ever visited. As a tourist- travellers destination, it’s mainly a backpackers’ place, although more mature folk most certainly don’t look out of place. There are quite a few foreigners, who either own businesses in town, or spend the whole season in the Bay, mainly for work and a few for leisure. A-Bay is in the town of Ulla, which is predominately muslim and quite conservative. Muslim school girls all wear lilac uniforms that are something between a chador* and a khimar* with loose fitting trousers. Grown women you barely see and if you do, most will wear black niqabs*. Many of the young female tourists in contrast, wear next to nothing, not quite realising which part of the world they are and simply reasoning that if it’s okay to wear it at home, if the weather were good, why not in A-Bay; we are at the beach after all. The local Sinhalese and Tamil women, who are Buddhist and predominately Hindu respectively, don’t cover their hair, seldom wear clothing that doesn’t cover the shoulders and knees and when they have a dip in the sea, they do so fully dressed.
What’s in a Surf
Despite the surf being the main attraction, I wouldn’t call Arugam Bay a surfer town as such. There is one and a half surf spot in the town itself called Main point, which is a reef break and too grown up for me to surf at the moment. The other surf break in town is Baby Point, which wasn’t working yet. All other surf spots, about eight in total, of which at least four weren’t working at the time we were there, are a ride out of the town. The nearest break called Whiskey point, is about 10 minutes and the furthest about 40 minutes by tuk tuk. The tuk tuk mafia is sure to take their share of the surfing traveller, as it has been made illegal to take your board on your scooter and tuk tuk prices around Arugam Bay are considerably higher than on the south coast. Most of Arugam Bay’s breaks are also very crowded. With exception of Main point and a couple of other breaks, most waves will be filled with beginners’ classes and since it was only the beginning of the season, I don’t want the know what the surf looks like mid-summer. A-Bay is not known for its world class breaks, but for beginning and intermediate surfers it can be great fun if you know how to avoid the masses. The way to one of our favourite breaks, was like a safari, as we came across plenty of wildlife including peacocks, buffaloes and the occasional elephant.
Leaving the Coast
After three weeks in A-Bay, where surf sister Iris and I both had to stay out of the water due to an injury- hers more serious than mine- and after a week of rest(lessness), conditions were flat as a pancake, we left the east coast. Iris was going back to the south and I went to Ella to sample the Hill Country in attempt to see something else than the coast. I was rather underwhelmed by Ella. The surroundings are beautiful and great for hiking, but as it was pissing down off and on, I wasn’t too bothered to release my inner outdoor girl. The village itself is mainly a stretch of hotels, guesthouses and eateries along the main road, that look even less appealing in the rain. It didn’t help that the guesthouse, where I had booked two nights influenced by a top rating on booking.com, was a big disappointment. Instead of visiting other places in the Hill country, which was initially the plan, I returned to the south coast for one more surfing fix before I have to deal with the dry spell.
My second visit to Hiriketiya Bay on the south coast, was quite different compared to my first visit only a month before. It was quite clearly low season. A lot of accommodations were closed and the amount of the people in the surf could be counted on the fingers of one hand at any given time, if there was anyone at all. The surf itself was messy, but I did get my fix, el hamdulilah.
*In case you are not familiar with muslim headwear, check this link https://www.channel4.com/news/from-hijab-to-burqa-a-guide-to-muslim-headwear
top image: Brody, Arugam.info
Dark Fairy Adventures 
A-Bay is the best!