Sri Lanka, 22 August 2010.
Greetings to the growing numbers of readers of this weekly newsletter from an expatriate author happily settled in Sri Lanka.
Newsweek
I subscribe to Newsweek for the wrong reason: I like the free gift when I renew my subscription. The magazine itself strikes me as pretentious and dull and it never occupies more than a few minutes of my time in the small, tiled reading room attached to my bedroom.
However, the latest issue features something that did hold my attention: the magazine’s list of “the world’s best countries.” Sri Lanka is there at number 66 (out of 100), which seems about right.
Never having been there though, it’s difficult to understand why Kazakhstan should be placed at Number 61. Is that country really better than Sri Lanka? Or are India (Number 78) and Kenya (Number 87) worse?
Since the best country in the world, according to the magazine, turns out to be Finland, followed by Switzerland and Sweden, you get a taste of the thinking behind the list. Perhaps “best” equals dullest?
Jobs for the boys.
To Colombo on Wednesday for lunch with two impressive, and important, gentlemen, both Sri Lankan, who shall be nameless. One is an expert on tourism and pointed out that the government’s drive to promote Sri Lanka for tourists with a target of 2.5 million visitors within the next few years, will create jobs galore for young people.
He estimates there will be 60,000 new staff required. The problem is training them. I suggested that hotels should be encouraged to employ a foreign trainer (even a volunteer) to get hotel staff up to the standard guests expect.
Even if skilled Sri Lankans return from working in hotels overseas (where they are very popular), they won’t be happy working under the clueless supervisors (all theory and no initiative) they’ll encounter entrenched in some hotels here.
Romantic seaside villas.
The host at the lunch is building 12 villas by the beach to sell, at around £200,000 for a 4-bedroomed one, to expat Sri Lankans and foreigners wanting a second home here.
He asked me to help name the villas. Each one will be “Serene something.” “Serene Palms” or “Serene Hibiscus” are rather trite. Something reliable, romantic and tropical is needed (and I’m not talking about staff again). So I’m asking your help. Send me a list of names for the 12 villas and you can make Sri Lanka at least sound like the best.
New Guide
My new guide “Sri Lanka Step By Step” is being published by Insight Books in the UK and worldwide next month. It features “12 tailor-made itineraries written by a local expert” and is designed for the independent visitor to Sri Lanka who wants to explore without being part of a package tour.
Since I was allowed to include my favourite restaurants, hotels and guest houses in it, as well as destination information, it was a lot of fun to write. I hope it will be useful in luring more visitors here in 2011, which is billed as Visit Sri Lanka Year.
Dinner
For dinner last night, I went with two friends to Heritance, Ahungalla, a five star hotel on the beach about 15 minutes
drive south from where I live. We ate in the coffee shop because that’s open sided and smoking is permitted, but chose some dishes from the menu of the “fine dining restaurant.”
For my main course I had a curious combination of lamb chop and duck breast accompanied by delicately cooked local vegetables. It was superb. The service was good and we all enjoyed the meal.
This morning I looked at the bill. For Caesar Salad with prawns, and a starter of teriyaki scallops and one of Tasmanian smoked salmon; two duck and lamb combinations and a plate of jumbo garlic prawns, a bottle of New Zealand pinot noir and one of Australian shiraz, and two large Talisker malt whiskies (instead of dessert), with 23.25 percent added for tax and service charge, the bill was SLRs23,260, the equivalent of £133.40 or US$208.34.
I wonder what such a meal would cost in Finland, or Kazakhstan?
Beat regards
Royston
Don’t forget The Big Beat Scene is available from Music Mentor Books http://musicmentor0.tripod.com/book_big_beat_scene.html
