The whole western coast of Sri Lanka, south of Colombo, certainly, is like one giant resort. It presents nearly one uniform stretch of fabulous, west-facing beach with glorious sunsets coming up at dusk, daily.

However, where we happen to be staying, Koggala, is not quite a city. More like a hamlet, with a handful of little entrepreneurs in little huts on either side of the road. A soda, a juice, some cookies, sure. But no handicrafts. No sit-down eateries.

To find actual restaurants and shopping … to go where more traditional, Puerto Vallarta-style tourist amenities are available … well, then you’re talking about Unawatuna.

Galle is the closest Sri Lankan city, about 20 miles north of where we are. In the sense that it is a fully functional place, one which would not dry up and blow away without tourists. It has a deep-water port, a famous cricket stadium and more than 90,000 residents.

Unawatuna is not a real city, in that it depends entirely on the tourist trade. It boasts a great position, on the edge of a curving beach in a recessed bay, and nearly every inch of that beach is occupied by a hotel or a restaurant or a hotel-restaurant.

If you are staying anywhere in the area, eventually you will go to Unawatuna — unless you really, really like your peace and quiet or are really, really offended by the concept of “tourist town.”

We took a tuk-tuk ride up to Unawatuna in search of a couple of well-regarded restaurants, and also to buy a few snacks and perhaps some clothing. We were not disappointed.

Unawatuna is not quite on the main road, the A2. You turn west off of the A2 and take a narrow, serpentine, semi-paved road towards the shore. Along the way are hundreds of small shops, and towards the end of it are a long series of beachside restaurants.

We did the shopping first, and it was one of those unpleasant moments when a handful of tourists are considering scads of establishments, each with its proprietor out on the street bidding for you to enter. A month from now, when tourism picks up, it won’t be so awkward, but at this moment in the evening it was about 100 merchants chasing about four visitors. We picked out the place we were interested in seeing, bought several clothing items, and then it was on to the Kingfisher, a restaurant with a good reputation that happens to be located in a hotel.

It was deserted when we walked in, a bit after 7. We assumed we were ahead of the rush, but we had no idea how big it might be, given that the Eurotourists have not yet arrived in force in the country.

The place had a bar, which seems pretty much required when your primary clientele are Germans, Aussies and Brits. Leah had a mojito and I had the Passion mojito, which is made with passion fruit and was excellent.
We had bruschetta appetizers at 190 rupees each ($1.90), and each of us ordered a Thai curry dinner — green curry with chicken and rice for Leah, a milder red curry with yellowfin tuna and rice for me. Those set us back 980 rupees ($9.80) each.

The meal was excellent, the best we have had here. And that is the beauty of Sri Lanka, circa 2011. Even the upscale places, specifically designed for cash-carrying tourists, are still reasonable by occidental standards. Or UAE standards. We were sitting on a wooden deck, above the sand, maybe eight feet from the bay, with views of the whole of the bay and the twinkling lights of the shops … and with dessert we were out of there for about $45. That would barely cover your bar tab at an Abu Dhabi hotel.

The other interesting aspect of Unawatuna, at least at this time of year, is the tourist crowd there. It skews much younger than elsewhere, lots of twentysomethings who are diving or snorkeling by day, drinking and carousing at night, and it’s interesting to watch them interact, generally in English. It does make you feel old and a little out of place.

We probably will go back once more. Unawatuna is not the sort of place you would want to live in, or even stay in … but visiting for a few hours at a stretch, yes … it will do quite nicely.