Polonnaruwa —-> Kalkudah – August 7
Delicious breakfast at Ariyasinhala Hotel (60 LKR a pancake with coconut). Withdrawal of the bicycle (250 LKR), I go to buy an entry ticket at the archaeological museum (3250 LKR) and pedal to the site. Warning: they do not sell tickets at the ruins entrance. You must buy it at the museum. Today is a beautiful day, but I do not overly suffer the heat and fatigue. I have some water, fruit juices, bananas. The site is beautiful, much better, and more varied, than Sigiriya.
Lunch at Ariyasinhala Hotel (180 LKR a rice and curry), I go to the guesthouse to pick up my luggage and then leave to Passekudah. At first I reach Kuduruwala (13 LKR), then another bus takes me to what I consider to be Passekudah and instead is only Valachchennai Junction. Another bus, for 9 LKR, brings me to the bus terminal, in the centre of Valachchennai. In the deserted dirt square, I understand that my ride by public transport is really over, and the only alternative to tuk tuk is walking. A tuk tuk driver tells me that at Passekudah there are only expensive hotels (not true, but I will discover it only later), so I trust him and, with 250 LKR, I reach Kalkudah. The Rough Guide is not very exhaustive on this subject, and I did not find much on the web. I ask him to stop near Newland Guesthouse, on the Kalkudah/Valachchennai Road. This is fully booked, so I come across a new building where I bargain 1500 LKR for the night. The room is decent, but very warm, and after a while I can’t even keep the window open because it starts to rain. I feel a bit uncomfortable because I’m the only woman, and the other occupants seem to be local workers. They do not have bicycles to hire, I feel cut off from the world. After a dinner in a dreary dhaba, I decide that tomorrow I’ll try to reach Passekudah walking, I do not think it can be so far away.
In short: I do not recommend Kalkudah, is too far from the beach, you need to rent bikes (unless the guesthouse gives them for free), there are no buses and you will be at the mercy of the tuk tuk which will practice extortionate prices.
Avoid therefore Valaichchenai Road, and any address that contains the word Kalkudah. Passikudah is the place to choose!
This is perhaps the only web site where I found info: