This is a low cost basic B&B, not a full fledged star hotel but still you feel they have done a really nice job with what they have.

After a loong drive from Yala we stopped at a road restaurant maintained by the Sri Lankan air force. The food is a bit basic and you'll have to be extra clear when ordering. I ordered a coke and fried egg rice. I got the fried rice but also two cokes, both with straws (i.e they didn't assume I'd take one to go, maybe they thought one was for Mihiri). Odd.

Isak was now being sick and warm and coughed, so we were starting to get worried. Even though he had no fever we force fed him (to wild protests) some liquid Alvedon which made him feel better for a while. It seems like everyone except me is now having a cold. Or maybe I do too, but I'm fairly used to it? Or maybe I'll get sick later.

Villa Birdlake

Back in the car and drive drive drive. After a long time we almost passed the sign to the Villa Birdlake. The sign pointed us in to a small road (which was not there at all in google maps) and there were further signs along this road to encourage us to go on. Finally we arrived.

The room here is basic but adequate. The things missing in this place from making it a hotel is probably just a pool and air condition in the rooms. The rooms are also a bit basic but nicely furnished, and even if it's dark now I can imagine the lake view from the balcony in the morning. I had a quick glance before the mosquitoes forced me back inside. The buildings, I were told, was about 35 years old but must have been refurbished lately to preserve an old style. I also thought I saw a wall outlet high above the floor intended for an AC so they have plans.

The staff has so far been very friendly, providing tea and club sandwiches for us in the room (we did not want to eat at the small cafe because Isak is sick). They also borrowed us some mosquito oil stuff.

After a not so good night (Mihiri and Isak were pretty sick) Mihiri and Isak went to see the great-grandmother. I stayed behind, in the room, writing and trying to use the Wifi. The problem with the wifi was that if there's a power glitch the router restarts, and you get kicked out from whatever online thing you were doing. You might also loose Internet access for no apparent reason. This both contributes to the fact that the wifi/Internet can only be assumed to relay emails to you, it's not that good for browsing or Youtube. You have to be very patient.

The lunch was fish and chips. Fish and chips is not an especially fancy dish but it it can be used as a sort of standard currency - you will get fish and chips. The fish and the chips might look very different from place to place. In this case, the fish was a fried (not deep fried) version of a very common local fish (with the bones like small nails) and normal chips (i.e same as the ones you get at McDonalds), with some mayonnaise and lime. Not overly exciting to look at but good tasting.

I also did a recording of the sounds from the balcony. This is recorded by my laptop's built-in microphone so it is not the best quality, but you can hear several birds, dogs, monkeys (complaining about the dogs) and other stuff that is so different from Swedish summer sounds.

The resident dog, Brownie, followed me hopefully around in the assumption that tourists = food.

To summarize, this place is one that give the best value for the money. One very important note though: I couldn't find the bar!