Best of the West From October to March, the beaches on the west coast of Sri Lanka are the best. Whether you like broad strands of sand to jog along at the sea’s edge, soaring waves to surf as they splash on the shore, intimate coves for private sunbathing, or beaches lined with seafood cafés… Read More »
Colombo Renewal The rejuvenation and expansion of Colombo continues at an incredible pace. Last month I wrote about the opening of the converted old Auditor General’s building by Independence Square into an ornate and upmarket shopping arcade. Now the downmarket area of Pettah opposite the Colombo Fort Railway Station is being gentrified with the conversion… Read More »
Colombo Renewed In colonial days Colombo was regarded as the Garden City of Asia, a reputation it appeared to have lost until the Commonwealth Summit in November 2013 made it necessary for the authorities to clean up the city. Walls around public parks were torn down (with no adverse effects) and revealed once again what… Read More »
From the moment you enter the wooden gates, the gentle breeze and the wide open green spaces just wash you over with a sense of peace and calm that cannot be brushed aside. This feeling would continue even through the welcome by the gracious and smiling hosts and the refreshing drink of thambili and it… Read More »
Go East The season to visit the East Coast of Sri Lanka begins this month, May, and lasts until October, as the monsoon storms switch coasts and the sea in the east becomes calmer and the weather bright, while the beaches on the west shrink under rough seas. Trincomalee is the best known… Read More »
City Birds As park and playing field walls are being torn down and roads cleaned up, Colombo is fast regaining its colonial reputation as a Garden City. Although the original sprawling cinnamon gardens that once formed the city’s boundary has become the prime residential district of Colombo 7, Vihara Mara Devi (formerly Victoria) Park… Read More »
The Flowering of the Lotus Pond Theatre The inaugural ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Colombo in November 2013 brought to the world’s attention the magnificent Nelum Pokuna (Lotus Pond) Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre. This spectacular building, familiarly known as Nelum Pokuna (Lotus Pond) Theatre, began life as the… Read More »
Christmas in Sri Lanka Season’s Greetings! Sri Lankans love to party and happily join in the celebrations of the feasts or holy days of all religions. December 25 is a public, bank and mercantile holiday throughout Sri Lanka. Even though it is a Christian festival, the government sometimes regards Christmas Day as equivalent to a… Read More »
By Rasitjha Wickramasinghe A few months ago I realized one of my lifelong ambitions. I am 41 years old and lived in Sri Lanka until the age of 18. All that time the furthest north I have been was to Mannar. With the heightening of civil war and the JVP insurrection I… Read More »
A thousand baby turtles made tiny imprints in the sand as they scuttled across the Bentota beach to the sea. Bentota Beach Hotel along with the Victor Hasselblad Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Center, Sri Lanka recently released 1,000 newly hatched baby turtles into the sea to mark ‘World Turtle day’. The baby critters were… Read More »
