Mom’s Friend 2 (2016)

outhern comforts in Tangalle, Sri Lanka It’s a minimum three-and-a-half-hour drive or a 40-­minute ride on a C-20 Amphibian Air Taxi from Colombo to the Tangalle area of south-­western Sri Lanka. I opt for the exotic-­sounding Cinnamon Air. What I don’t know until the moment of take-off is that there’s a trainee pilot in the hot seat, battling high winds and the controls as his instructor barks instructions and flips through a ring binder. After several nerve-jarring bumps in clouds, the flight settles, and we zip our way over green hills, fields, rivers and forests to our destination, Mawella Lagoon Airport. Landing smoothly on water, it’s one of the most scenic and relaxing “airports" I’ve ever seen. We alight at a small jetty for the short drive to our destination, the new ­Anantara Peace Haven Tangalle Resort, a big (in Sri Lanka, 152 rooms is big) new property built on a former coconut plantation round the corner from the ­Amanwella, a more exclusive hotel that opened in 2004, around the time of the devastating ­Boxing Day tsunami that hit this coast, killing 35,000 people and displacing half a million others. Having previously stayed at the Amanwella, I’m pleasantly surprised by the Anantara’s atmosphere and rugged location. Unlike the former, where villas are mostly on a hillside, here there are five blocks of rooms (and some separate villas) an easy stroll from the beach and restaurant areas. Sadly, the beautiful beach isn’t recommended for swimming – the sea is deep and wild. The next beach along, which features a few small lodges and bars, is less dangerous, but still rough. Yet that’s also partly the appeal. I love the rocky shores backed by coconut palms, and the Anantara’s high-end Italian restaurant, Il Mare, on top of a small cliff, is probably its best asset (you can also do yoga on the open-air platform beneath), along with the large spa, where a Thai massage restores energy to my body after an overnight trip (one hour is 15,000 Sri Lankan ­rupees [Dh379]). The next morning, after a breakfast of fresh coconut water, passion fruit and local buffalo curd, I go on a guided “Spice Spoons" tour of the local fishing town of Tangalle, about five minutes away by car. First stop is the fish market, where for a small fee, tourists are allowed to enter and take pictures. Yellowfin tuna, selling for 450 rupees (Dh11) per kilo, seems to be the main attraction, with some huge specimens requiring two men to carry them. Yet the fishermen here report the same issue seen all over the world – having to travel much further than before in their boats to find fish.