Shooting Without Guns


World Wildlife Day was on 3rd March. This wildlife gallery is a belated celebration of the event. The images were captured by me on numerous trips to some of the wilder parts of the planet over the years. I hope you enjoy it.

Six Fun Things To Do In Jaffna


    …soak in liquid Viagra, have a free lunch, laze the afternoon away on the beach, watch the sunset and eat great ice-cream in the evening…     Jaffna in Northern Sri Lanka is not exactly Rio but has its own quiet charm. Here are some of the things I enjoyed in one day during a…

Kantharodai & Tamil Buddhists Of Antiquity


“…Few have heard of it and fewer have visited it…”   I heard about Kantharodai only recently. There seemed to be a certain magic about the place and I yearned to visit it. The big coach I was travelling on this February could not negotiate the narrow winding side road from the main Jaffna-KKS road…

Great North Road


“…It is exciting to be on the A9, weaving my way through the Tiger heartland for the first time…” There are cows, dogs and mad drivers on the road. Cops hide behind trees, waiting for easy pickings. My betel chewing driver spits a jet of red betel juice out of the window and just manages…

Reflections on the Ukraine


Originally posted on From the mind of Chris Terry:
The Maidan in Peace. Own Photo Like many of you, I am now watching the videos and images coming out of Ukraine, following it on my twitter account and watching it on youtube links. The images of fire and smoke, Ukrainian flags flying, protesters chanting and…

Wonderful Wines of Gut Oggau


Originally posted on HMWS Blog:
“Gut Oggau is a 13 hectares Austrian wine estate located in the province of Burgenland by the Lake Neusiedl. The estate is today run by Eduard Tscheppe  – son of a winemaker – and his wife Stephanie Tscheppe-Eselböck – daughter of a 2 Michelin stars Austrian restaurant owner –  who took over the estate several years ago. The vineyards are cultivated according…

A Day In A 400 BC Citadel


Last week I spent a day in Anuradhapura. This bustling city in north-central Sri Lanka started life as an insignificant settlement in 10th century BC. By 400 BC. it had acquired all the trimmings of a proper city – suburbs, cemetery, place of execution, monastery, hospital and houses of worship and sacrifice. It was then…

Barberyn…Where Moors First Landed


I took the scenic coastal road to Colombo from Kadolana last Saturday and stopped at Beruwela for lunch. This predominantly Muslim town is considered to be the place where first Arab traders landed in Sri Lanka in the 8th century. They probably came from the Yemen and called their landfall Barberyn. The Kechchimalai Mosque, one…

Madu River Safari


Three Months In Sri Lanka – Week 9, Part 3, Friday Together with Randombe Lake to which it is connected by two narrow channels, Madu River forms a 915 ha shallow wetland with emerald green water in South-Western Sri Lanka. It is little known and seldom visited despite being the second largest wetland in the country…