The lagoon looks serene. The evening light gives the gentle waves caressing the shore an amber hue. Egrets stand still in the tall grass and pipits and larks take off and land incessantly. A lonely Brahminy Kite circles lazily overhead and lapwings break the intense silence with their high pitched ‘did he do its.’ Two…
The Kotte Marsh at the edge of Diyawanna River, just outside Colombo, is firmly etched in my memory. My grandfather’s old house was up the hill, beyond the rice fields. As a child, the Marsh was my favourite playground. I walked, fished, hunted and watched birds there. Today it is unrecognisable. The river now is…
Yesterday I went to high tea at Galle Face Hotel in Colombo. Some say this venerable Sri Lankan hotel, opened in 1864, is the oldest this side of the Suez, standing as it does at the edge of the Galle Face Green, overlooking the Indian Ocean. The Verandah was already filling up, mostly with Sri…
Few travellers linger in the southern Sri Lankan coastal town of Matara, one hundred miles from Colombo. Those who find the time to do so will be surprised to find many beautiful relics of another age. In the time of Sri Lankan kings, Matara was a centre for trading in elephants and spices. Portuguese invaders…
The crescent shaped beach at Mirissa with fine, golden sand is just off the main road from Galle to Matara in the deep south of Sri Lanka. I first visited it in 2012 and spent a day there again this February. The sea is as appealing as ever and there is a handful of cheap…
The sun came out early. The gloom and rain of the previous few days were gone and red kites were circling over head, stark against a bright blue sky. It was hard not be elated. Brunch was the first business of the day. Rice was cooked with coconut milk, as they do in Sri Lanka on all…
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: 600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 2,600 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 4 years to get…
It started to rain in the night and the morning was cold and misty. Presents were unwrapped and scrambled eggs were eaten with smoked salmon for breakfast. It was not a morning for a brisk walk in the park. We messed around with the giant jigsaw, watched the Box and got ready for lunch. The…
It was a wet, gloomy day and we decided to go to the cinema. Eggs were poached and eaten with crispy bacon and hot buttered toast. We drank pots of black tea and called a cab. The excellent Cabbee App on the smart phone presents you with bids from taxi firms for your chosen journey…
Mi to London was painfully slow. An accident closed lanes and emergency vehicles and an ambulance raced on the hard shoulder. Outside, the wind howled. I stopped to munch sandwiches and drink black coffee from a little flask. In mid-afternoon, London was quiet and the streets had only scanty decorations. In Renu’s flat, we sipped…
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