from Dublin to........Mirissa, Sri Lanka: September 2013

The surfing mecca of Sri Lanka with a possible 400 metre ride when conditions are perfect. The breaks aren't the most consistent in the country but if you go sometime between May - Oct, you will find something to surf. What I didn't realise beforehand was that there are quite a few different beaches to surf at. You will spend a small fortune on tuk tuks visiting them all (and I will get to why later) but even if they aren't working, the secluded beach is still worth the trip.

Immediately upon arriving in Arugam, I had an uneasy feeling about the place. Something wasn't quite right. I'd learn some reasons why over the coming days. Arugam is 2-3 km from the main transport hub of Pottuvil, a ramshackle town that has little to offer other than an ATM that works and cheaper coconuts (buy a dozen and take them back to your guesthouse and try not to lose a finger whilst opening them).

The first problem in Arugam are the tuk tuks. I swear there is a local maffia controlling them and fixing prices for tourists. This isn't necessarily a surprise, but in general you will pay at least double/triple what you would on the metre in Colombo. When arriving in Pottuvil, get any bus heading to Panama in the south - it will go through Arugam Bay. Ignore anything the tuk tuk drivers may tell you.

Arugam beach is a very long, wide, crescent shaped bay with a relatively steep decent into the water. This creates some large waves that dump close to the shore with occasional strong undertows. The southern end of the beach is where all the accommodation is located and at the very southern point (Baby Point break) the beach becomes more protected and flat affording a gentle wave off the point that is good for beginners. The fishing boats enter the water near here. It is a crowded wave and nigh-on impossible to avoid muppets with unlicensed fibre-glass weapons. The surf "instructors" from Mambo's are equally to blame - pushing students onto waves already taken. Idiots. They aren't instructors at all. Simply barmen masquerading as qualified instructors.

Around the corner from Baby Point is Main Point where the better surfers come to play. It is a much more consistent break that can get sizable at times and if all the stars align, it is not unheard of to be able to ride it all the way across the point and into the main bay, 300-400 metres. That would be impressive to see.

There are dozens and dozens of accommodation options across all budgets, most more expensive than you will pay elsewhere in Sri Lanka due to the shorter season. Shop around as quality and price varies a lot. The bay is geared almost exclusively towards tourism and although it isn't necessarily in your face all the time (no beach hawkers), it does mean that some local food options are lacking. But don't fear, with a little effort you can still hunt down a decent curry, roti and if you ask in advance, string hoppers. Many Western alternatives exist as well.

One great thing about Arugam, that despite being a bit of a tourist trap, you can drive 5 minutes south in the late afternoon and have a damn good chance of seeing wild elephants grazing around Crocodile Rock, as well as monkeys and peacocks. We saw four elephants and a troop of monkeys. You could probably rent motorbikes and ride down there, or just get a tuk tuk.

And this brings me to another noticeable issue with Arugam and perhaps something that is quite deliberate. In most surf towns around the world it is common to see bicycles and motorbikes with board racks whizzing around everywhere, especially where surf breaks are spread out over many kilometres. I barely recall seeing any other than those of a few resident foreigners. And why would this be the case?.....because it would deny the tuk tuk drivers considerable income which would mean that the local maffia isn't lining their pocket.

And whilst we're on the happy topic of corruption, most people know that the police in Sri Lanka abuse their power and accept brides, and sometimes demand them. It's an Asian thing. This is taken to a new level in Arugam for foreign-owned businesses. Frequent raids, accusations of unlawful behaviour and threats of deportation are constant and expensive occurrences to the point where foreigners are packing up shop and calling it quits. Sound like a few places in Thailand? Sad. And such a shame.

The last issue that is worth knowing (not necessarily for travelers) is the local unrest between religious groups, the haves and have not's and the jealousy between the locals and the more successful foreigners. The key problem for many local business owners is that they don't know how to run a business well, especially one that serves Westerners. So many businesses that I have seen in Sri Lanka can be improved immeasurably with only a small amount of thought (and money) yet you don't see the local owners doing anything about it. This is an issue that will resolve itself one way or another.

More importantly.....with that off my chest.....the surf breaks. There are many but it wasn't obvious which ones were more likely to be working given the prevailing conditions, which can make it an expensive exercise tuk tuking to the best break each day. Ask around and see if you can gain a better feel for how it works.

* Main Point and Baby Point - Within walking distance of each other on the main beach. As the names suggest, the pros go to Main (barrels often) and the beginners to Baby. Both are quiet early morning but Baby becomes a zoo later afternoon. Main can get large....so much so that guys were snapping boards just trying to get out last weekend.

* Whiskey Point - Probably my favourite place to go, not so much for the surf but for the beach and location. It is an ok break off the rocky point. Heaps of uninhabited beach. Very scenic. And there is a bar with free sun-lounges and day beds on the sand. Get there early to snag a day bed with shade and see how slow the day disappeaaaarrrrsssss.

* Peanut Farm - Aptly named as it is important to leave no later than 5:45/6:00pm due to the risk of confronting an elephant passing through the narrow, rough, jungle path to the beach. This may sound cool, but there would be no escape if the elephant took your presence personally or didn't see you as it was running through the jungle. Accidents have happened. We were only here a short while as the waves were really small and messy. Another lovely secluded series of beaches with actually two spots to surf. Yesterday I heard that the waves here were 3 metres. Massive! 15 minutes south of Arugam.

There are quite a few other surfing locations, Elephant Rock, a super quiet place near the entrance to Yala East National Park and another further north of Whiskey Point.

* Yala NP - Arugam is a popular jumping point for tours to Yala NP. Be warned, 95% of tours don't actually go to Yala NP, they enter the smaller Yala East NP (Kumana NP). Legend goes that Yala, the bigger by far, has been protected from poachers for considerably longer and therefore has many more animals in it. It definitely has a larger population of elephants from reports. With this reputation and its proximity to the southern beaches, Yala is also much more popular. That being said, you constantly hear conflicting reports as to which one is better. I honestly don't know.

Our guide, for the most part, was good. We requested to go in the afternoon as this is when most animals visit the watering holes. In the morning, animals are more scattered or in hiding. Also, spend your allotted 2-3 hours in the park right up until closing time at 6pm - you'll again have a better chance of seeing more wildlife.

It is around 1:45 - 2 hours to get inside the park. Tour fees (c. Rp 10,000 per vehicle) don't include the park entrance fee of c. Rp 1,750 for foreigners. On the way you will see countless buffaloes in watering holes, herons, peacocks, kingfishers, crazy bus drivers and Panama! On the inside we were really lucky to see a good variety of creatures.....deer, crocodiles peacocks, four happy elephants, buffalo, a snake, monkeys, storks, eagles and even a leopard up close for a split second (until the driver jammed on the brakes, hastily reversed and drove noisily directly at the beast in order to get close - I think his objective was 3 inches). Unsurprisingly it fled into the bushes never to be seen again. Top work champ. A successful outing? People have seen much less.

Choose the National Park you want to visit carefully. Think about what you actually want to see. Many others are better for seeing elephants in the wild. Or birds. Consider an afternoon at Crocodile Rock as a cheap alternative. The tour operators wont tell you about that!

Despite its problems, I still enjoyed my five days here. Hopefully some things change here as Sri Lanka tourism continues to blossom. I may be back one day but I'd do some things a little differently.