“…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…
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…
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…
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…
Life In An Eco Village – Day 2 Thursday Bed Coffee The temple across the river starts broadcasting pre-recorded chanting at 4.30 in the morning. Howling Hanuman Langurs in the Cashu trees add to the noise pollution. Trains to Galle and beyond thunder past the Andadola station. Sleep becomes impossible. It is light at six and…
Life In An Eco Village Day 1 – Wednesday Kadolana Kadolana Eco Village is in the midst of a disused cinnamon plantation at the edge of Madu River in southern Sri Lanka. The nearest town is Ambalangoda. It opened only four months ago and I read about it in Royston Ellis’s newsletter only last Sunday.…
It is hot and humid in Colombo but frangipani is in bloom. The crabs I got from the fabulous wholesale market yesterday was cooked for Sunday lunch and the red mullet will be baked for supper. Earlier in the week I attended an almsgiving and a street art festival and went to my first ever wine…
(Three Months In Sri Lanka – Week 7) Who Cares? The other day I had dinner with a well to do Colombo businessman at the Royal Colombo Golf Club. “I am a member of all the clubs in the City” he boasted as we sipped Rockland gin and tucked in to Black Pork. “Colombo has…
Kinross Club & Monkeys of Westbury I had an overdose of public holidays this week. Tuesday and Wednesday were public holidays and most took Monday off as well. After a sluggish Thursday and Friday, we were on to the weekend again. Tuesday was Thai Pongal – the Tamil Harvest Festival and Wednesday – Poya Full Moon Day. I…
Poison On A Plate The first week of 2014 started with a few headaches. The cook went off sick, the fishmonger went on holiday, the car broke down, drains next door got blocked and flooded my back garden and the heat became intense. The only silver lining was the first sight of a Glossy Ibis…
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