The beach stretched for kilometers on both sides. I can hardly see where its southern end stops but its northern counterpart seemed achievable to walk to. We headed that way. The whole stretch is deserted, every granule of its golden sand and every double waves from the Bay of Bengal that slam its shore were all ours. Well, except for a few stray dogs, lazily lounging around the soft dunes and huge crows perched on a lone fishing boat. We walked, a seemingly endless walk, enjoying the eastern breeze of Kalkudah Beach, pausing every now and then to jump into the mini sandy gorges formed by the waves throughout the beach.

A WILD ELEPHANT ROAD ENCOUNTER IN SIGIRIYA

We departed from Sigiriya early that morning after exhausting ourselves across the Sri Lanka cultural triangle. We passed by a rampant elephant on the road before we bade our farewell to our car and driver from JNW Lanka Tours. Getting from one place to another by car in Sri Lanka was indeed convenient, but everything comes to an end. We were now on our own and at the mercy of Sri Lanka’s antiquated public transportation system.

TAKING THE TRAIN FROM HABARANA TO BATTICALOA

The train ride to Batticacaloa District where Kalkudah Beach and its more famous brethren, Passekudah Beach, was uneventful. On an almost empty non-airconditioned box car, we were on the constant look-out for more elephants along the rail, knowing full well that the area is replete with these wild giants, but no such luck. We instead enjoyed ourselves to the passing scenery and playing peek-a-boo with our cameras with the local kids putting their heads out the window.

SRI LANKAN KIDS PLAYING HIDE AND SEEK WITH US ON THE TRAIN

The weather was extremely dry and arid as we alighted several hours later at the Kalkudah train station. There was no one on the streets, being high noon, and we really had no choice but to walk all the way to our lodging—the wrong way, it turned out—until we met a lone trishaw that finally took us to Kalkudah Beach.

GRAZING FIELD FOR COWS JUST RIGHT BESIDE KALKUDAH BEACH

Our accommodation, Nirma Shadow Inn [CHECK RATES & AVAILABILITY], is one of the very few resorts fronting the fourteen-kilometer stretch of Kalkudah Beach. I later learned that this area was once very popular with tourists and were teeming with resorts until the civil war and the 2004 tsunami washed away most of it. What’s left now is an utterly deserted beach with absolutely no tourists, except us.

THE UNENDING KALKUDAH BEACH

Imagine. Kilometers after kilometers of golden beach without any person in sight. We quickly dropped everything down on the sand and jumped into the water, the beaches’ peculiar double waves, mightily slamming us back to the shore. We frolicked on until we were dead tired of fighting the water, lounging on the soft sand in exhaustion. It was perfect. The only thing missing were bottles of Lion Beer.

A LONE FISHING BOAT AT KALKUDAH

And that was the next thing on our itinerary. There are no stores around Kalkudah, so we had to take a jaunt to the nearby town of Passekudah to get our supplies; beer and food, in that order. Good thing the next town is reachable by walking along the beach. And that we did. Leisurely.

FISHERFOLKS MEETING A NEWLY DOCKED BOAT

COLORFUL CATCH OF THE DAY

After an hour or so, we finally shook off the sand from our sandals and traversed the concrete streets of Passekudah, following numerous signs pointing to resorts and finally finding a restaurant which almost suited our budget. We were taken aback at how expensive the food was here, relative to our measly budget. For the next few days, this small restaurant serving very spicy Sri Lankan omelet, white rice (which we dashed with soy sauce for added flavor), and with side dishes of crispy papadum and crunchy peppers became our dinner place. We became good friends with the owner’s wife and son, language barrier notwithstanding, and they even helped us in going to the nearby market for our supply run.

OUR DINNER, SPICY SRI LANKAN OMELET. LOOKS SIMPLE, BUT IS ACTUALLY QUITE GOOD.

That same afternoon, we dropped by Passekudah Beach. A sign warns of crocodiles in the area, but with the number of locals wading and swimming along its shallow waters (this beach, in fact, has one of the longest shallow coastlines in the world), you’d think that sign was a mere joke.

 

Beach number 18, Passikudah Beach. Beware of crocodiles (a sign says). #BeachHopAsia2016

A photo posted by Christian L. Sangoyo (@lakadpilipinas) on May 19, 2016 at 6:18am PDT

 

We really weren’t compelled to have a dip at Passekudah, the place was a mad bedlam of tourists and the water nor even the sand—which was gray—wasn’t really that inviting. We took a few photos and never did we return back.

SUNSET AT KALKUHDAH BEACH

We were quite happy with our secluded Kalkudah Beach. The waves maybe gargantuan, but it was so peaceful and almost otherworldly in its desertedness. I could sit here and stare at the ocean all day. Well, if only I can find a shade to rest on to during the hotter parts of the day.

 

 

Nirma Shadow Inn
Address: Beach Lane, Kumpurumulai Road,
              Kalkudah, Sri Lanka
Contact Number: +94-652054545
Email: nirmakalkudah@gmail.com
GPS Coordinates Map: 7.904676, 81.562691

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