Tour of Sri Lanka 2025 | Day 1 | Pune – Colombo – Galle | 178.1 kms

Past 1 week was all about getting ready for the trip. The things that were supposed to be bought were bought. Things that needed repair were repaired and some items that required a closer look were checked for functionality. Especially, the electronic items. Jumping to the D-day, the flight to Colombo was early morning, next day and from Mumbai.

I left for Mumbai around 6:30 pm taking a shared cab. It costed me around 1600 rs with KK Travels. On the way, we stopped at food mall to have something quick for bite. We reached around 11:45 pm and I quickly got checked in. There was some delay with the Sri Lankan Airlines team at the counter and also, I had to re-shuffle my luggage to balance the weight limit between check-in and hand baggage.

After that, the security check went smooth but we had to wait an hour extra as our fight didn’t get landing signals. We boarded the flight around 4 am following which it landed in Colombo in a foggy weather around 6:30 am. I took the luggage and booked an Uber to the address of Royal Enfield showroom where I was supposed to pick up the bike and meet Amol who was running the show.

We had breakfast first, then I gave the stuff which I had brought from India to him. We chatted with his uncle for a while who brought this business to Sri Lanka from India. Then, I proceeded to ready my bike with all the luggage mounted properly. Amol gave me the cash in LKR which I had requested. I’d transferred money into his Indian account in INR. This was done to save on the forex charges. With all the things ready, I left for Galle around 1 pm. The weather was a bit hot and also I was fully covered in my riding gear from head to toe. This added to the misery. Further along, I stopped to have a fresh tender coconut along with sliced ripe mangoes with toppings of chili powder and salt. After relishing that, I continued my slow pace towards Galle.

The roads were good. People observed traffic discipline. I could see police stopping people at regular intervals to check on them asking for documents. I got lucky. Even the internal small roads were tip top and free of potholes. I was cruising around 40-50 kmph soaking into the surrounding and observing in detail. A little further, clouds saved me as there was some relief in terms of heat.

A gentle breeze from across the ocean had also started by now. I was mainly driving along the coast to my right and railway track to my left. I was stopping to take photos whenever I felt that the scene could make a nice one. I made a short detour from one location only to be awestruck by great views of the ocean. I spent quite sometime there clicking photos after which I rejoined my main riding route. Google maps was ON the whole time. The last 25 kms was in cool breeze but the whole journey which was going good till now turned upside down when it started to drizzle and then later on, turned into a heavy downpour. Everything was wet in an instant. I was taken by surprise and had to wait it out at the entrance door to protect myself from the downpour after which I went inside and checked in.

The whole surrounding with trees and rain hammering down, felt like I had come into a rainforest. There was no option but to wait it out for the rain to pass. I utilized that time to freshen up, sort all of my electronic stuff and change into dry clothes. I had coffee after that at the common recreation area where I sat for a quite a brief amount of time to write on my diary. After that, had an early dinner and went for sleep as I had not given proper rest to my body. The Tour of Sri Lanka had just begun.