All along the west coast of Sri Lanka you will find turtle "sanctuaries" or turtle hatchling farms, where turtle eggs are collected from the beach and moved to a "protective" environment. I use inverted commas as there is a lot of debate as to how these hatchling farms will effect future turtle populations. Turtles are known to return to the same beach as they were born to lay their own eggs and there is questions as to whether eggs raised in hatchling farms will retain that knowledge or not. 
We were originally planning to visit one but, in the end, decided against it.

In Hikkaduwa we stumbled upon this wild turtle that apparently hangs out in the shallows mooching freshly purchased seaweed from tourists. The turtle seemed pretty happy with his set up! And I mean, who wouldn't be? Freedom and free food? Wahoo!

Unfortunately not all the turtles in Hikkaduwa are so lucky...

The arm of pollution is never far from our sea turtles.. RIP little fella...

Hikkaduwa is yet another surfing mecca. But to us, it was all about the shopping!!

We found some amazing stuff! We even got some pants tailor made for both Roh and Gypsy. The quality and materials were fantastic, and the prices were amazing...  It was almost wrong, NOT to buy things!! Roh's pants were about US$6 each tailor-made, and $2 for Gypsy's. It was wonderful!

Hikkaduwa town itself was a mass of shops, overpriced cafes and restaurants (there was a burger shop selling burgers for the equivalent of AUD$14!!) and accommodation. The beach was hidden away behind the shops, and unless you were looking for it, you would probably drive through town without even knowing you were near the beach... It was an okay beach. Good for surfing beginners with a couple of cute cafes that you could tell would be pumping full of energy and atmosphere after night. 

We chose to stay outside of Hikkaduwa. First north at Akurala, and then south in Dodanduwa for a couple of days. Having our own tuktuk meant we were able to stay in nicer, cheaper places on the beach and commute into town, rather than be forced to pay expensive prices for not so nice rooms alongside a busy road.  

Dodanduwa was nice. We had a lovely little cabana on the beach, with cute sunbeds, and a sunset to die for! A very pleasant reprieve from the craziness of Hikkaduwa. And a perfect place to ponder the shopping...