Tropical Topics, Sunday 19 May 2013.

Welcome to this week’s newsletter from Sri Lanka where we are celebrating the monsoon with days of wind, rain – and sunshine!

Made in Sri Lanka

The saltpans of Hambantota in Sri Lanka’s deep south have long been famous so I was pleased to see roadside vendors offering salt for sale during my recent visit to the harbour and airport there.

Salt seller

The best deal was to purchase eight packets of salt for Rs100 [ 52p;  80c].  Since each packet contains 500g of salt crystals and is price marked at Rs35 each, it was a bargain. Now of course I’m wondering what to do with 4kg of rock salt.

Rock salt

Unawatuna

After touring temples, tea estates, wild life game reserves and souvenir shops, what about having a real, old fashioned holiday break? That means lying in the sun by the sea at Unawatuna, rated as among the ten best beaches in the world (and the only beach in Sri Lanka oozing fun where you can drink and eat as the surfs laps your feet).

It’s not just the sand, sea and sun that makes it a great beach but also the other activities – including the beach bars that turn out some great fish dishes and where the partying seems to go on all night. No hassles either.

Here’s a photo of sun worshippers outside Lucky Tuna, refreshingly the antidote to a boutique hotel (in spite of what the sign says), with friendly service, cheap meals and a couple of simple beach view rooms above its log cabin bar. (luckytuna@hotmail.com)

Unwatuna Beach scene (Photo by Neel)

Flying to Mattala

Following my report last week on the new international airport at Mattala, in the deep south of Sri Lanka, I have received many enquiries from readers overseas who don’t want to drive to the airport, but want to fly there from their home countries.

Road sign to airport

At present this is possible by connecting at the main international airport (code CMB) for SriLankan Airline’s (www.srilankan.com) flights to Mattala (code: HRI) on the following days:  Monday UL818 CMB1240/HRI1315; Tuesday UL119 1025/1100; Wednesday UL119 0710/0745; Friday UL858 1240/1315; and Sunday UL273 1200/1235.

On Mondays and Fridays, UL114 flies from Male’ at 1130 and arrives Mattala at 1325. There are flights from Bangkok on Tuesday (UL819 BKK 0610/HRI 0755) and Wednesday (UL819 BKK 0915/HRI 1110). There is a flight every Sunday from Riyadh (UL274 RUH 1740/HRI 0150 [Monday]). Bon voyage!

Elephants crossing

On the way to the new international airport, I spotted this warning of an unexpected road hazard.

Beware. Elephants crossing

Dish of the week

In last week’s newsletter I wrote excitedly about the seafood platter I enjoyed at the Hambantota Resthouse for Rs750. This week I’ve moved upmarket and tried the seafood kebab platter at the Chaaya Traanz 4-star hotel in Hikkaduwa.

Seafood kebabs at Chaaya Tranz

It consisted of three skewers, each with a cube of fish (mullet), calamari and single farmed prawn. Added to this was a simple salad of lettuce, grated carrots and sliced black olive drenched in a dressing that had a hint of mint. There were two sauces: a salsa and another of pineapple and snake gourd cubelets. It was an ample snack for lunch and, even upmarket, cost only Rs650  [£ 3.42;  $ 5.20]

Australian writer wanted

Are you Australian and a writer in need of somewhere to concentrate while you write, or do you know of one? If so, click on http://writersvictoria.org.au/services/fellowships/templeberg-residential-writing-fellowship

This is a fellowship for fiction, non-fiction and performing arts writers, poets, journalists and bloggers that includes return economy airfares, accommodation at Templeberg Villa (www.templeberg.com) in Galle, southern Sri Lanka, full board for month and a $1,000 allowance. Applications close on 14 June, so apply quickly!

As a professional writer I know how being in Sri Lanka helps me with my work. Not just because of the 3 S’s (scenery, service and serenity), but also because days can be structured solely around writing, making the most of the inspiring bliss of staying in this gracious plantation cottage.

Templeberg writer’s cottage

I visited Templeberg a few days ago. The Writer’s Cottage is a two bedroom, clay tiled building with a bathroom linking the two bedrooms, at the back of the inner lawn of Templeberg. It looks like the perfect place for a guest, whether a writer or not, who wants to be independent while also enjoying the food and facilities of the main Templeberg bungalow.

Templeberg paddling pool

Guests can cool down in the small rock pool in the garden. It was an abandoned lotus pond that has been converted into a water filled space with boulders left in place as seats for chilling out as the sun sets. Meals are taken in the semi-open parlour with a view of the inner lawn and are prepared using locally grown ingredients where possible.

To get to Templeberg, whether to write or for few days break (at around US$120 per night), leave the Galle exit of the Southern Expressway then turn left at the first set of traffic lights into the Akuressa Road. After driving about 300m, the first lane on the left leads up hill to the plantation gates and the curving drive up to the bungalow. And to creative peace.

Dominica Beauty

For 13 years (1966-1979) I lived exclusively on the island of Dominica and during the 1980s commuted between there and Sri Lanka as I gradually changed islands. To see what Dominica is like today, click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbrIJbUMC5s

Sri Lanka guide

For more on Sri Lanka, my Bradt guide is available through http://www.bradtguides.com/Book/552/Sri-Lanka.html

Warmly,

Royston

Tropical Topics, Sunday 12 May 2013

Greetings to readers around the world.

Made in Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, it’s not only the craftsmen & women who are skilful at weaving, birds are too.  This is the nest made with great trouble by a weaver bird and was presented to me by a villager since they are highly prized as decorative pieces. The birds enter through the sleeve of the nest and settle down in the elbow-like bulge.

Weaver bird’s nest

This sketch of a male and female weaver bird is reproduced from Sarath Kotagama’s book Pictorial Pocket Guide to the Common Birds of Sri Lanka (ISBN 955-9021-24-9) in which he states: “Baya Weaver. The nest is pendulous and usually built overhanging ditches and water bodies. Reedbeds, paddy field, wetlands. Common.”

Weaver birds

Resthouse cuisine

The resthouse tradition in Sri Lanka goes back to colonial days when bungalows were built in the best locations for officials to stay a night while travelling around the island. They were usually spaced a day’s horse ride from each other.

Now the tradition is continued by hotel companies who have leased the old buildings and moved them upmarket, but a few still fall under the purview of the Urban Development Authority and are rented out to private operators. One of these is at Hambantota where the older wing of 1930s art deco architecture overlooks the harbour.

Restaurant at Hambantota Resthouse

Drinks are served on the veranda in front of the bedrooms or on the sea-facing lawn. There is also a spruced up, cottage restaurant where rice & curry lunch costs Rs350 [£ 1.79; US$ 2.80]. Since I was close to the sea I opted for the seafood mixed grill, uncertain of what I would get for just Rs750 [£ 3.85; $ 6.00 ]. I was astonished when this hot cast iron platter was produced with half-a-dozen prawns, three pieces of grilled seer fish, two pieces of grilled tuna, and a whole crab. A lunch to remember.

Seafood mixed grill

Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport

Sri Lanka’s second international airport opened to pomp and ceremony in March 2013 in the deep south of the country. There were lots of press articles about it (total cost US$209m; built with financial assistance and expertise from the Chinese government; 2,000 acres; able to handle one million passengers annually) but little information on how to get there.

Airport welcome sign

So when I saw an advertisement that showed its distance from popular tourist spots such as Nuwara Eliya (94km), Yala (53km) and Arugam Bay (110km),  I decided to check it out. It took five hours to drive there from my cottage (it takes me three hours to the international airport at Katunayake, north of Colombo) so the new airport isn’t practical for those staying on the west coast.  However, for people staying in Galle, along the southern coast, and even in the hill country, the airport is a super gateway to the world.

Gigantic peacock at the airport

The way there is via the A2 to Hambantota with a sign-posted turn-off inland that opens up into a grand dual carriageway giving access to the airport  access road after about 25km.  Wild peacocks lurk in the wilderness and a giant metal sculpture of one guards the approach to the airport.

Public courtyard at Mattala airport

There is one broad corridor for departing and arriving passengers linking the public concourse and an interior open courtyard, behind a large statue of Buddha, where the public can watch aircraft movements.

Check in desks

Departing passengers are processed in the check in lounge in the left wing, from where domestic passengers access the departure lounge directly while international passengers take an escalator to the first floor for immigration formalities.

General departure lounge

The departure lounge has huge windows making it bright and pleasant to use; the seating is polished chrome chairs and pastel-shaded armchairs.

Business class lounge at Mattala airport

There is a small Business Class lounge but as yet only soft drinks and snacks are available in it.  Duty free shopping counters, run by Dufry, are soon to be set up for departing and arriving international passengers.

Two air bridges serve two aircraft at a time (the airport can accommodate the new A380 aircraft).  Arriving international passengers take the lower deck of the bridge to emerge at immigration and customs (while domestic passengers follow another route). All passengers emerge into a bright arrivals hall in the terminal’s right wing and then proceed along the main red-carpeted corridor to the exit.

Arrivals hall

It was very impressive, and a contrast to the undeveloped plains of the surrounding countryside. While the airport will bring employment and development to the area, it also makes air travel easier for residents of the south, either to fly to Colombo for overseas flight connections, or directly overseas as more airlines schedule flights to/from Mattala.

Ship at new port, Hambantota

The new airport (and the new deep water freighter port) and the super highways are the first massive major infrastructure development in Sri Lanka since the 19^th century when Governor Barnes declared the solution to prosperity and peace was “roads, roads, roads” – and then, in 1867, the railway network was begun. It gave me an eerie feeling to see the future unfolding in the plains of Hambantota; to witness the beginning of a valiant vision that will change the demographic of Sri Lanka.

Naming Sri Lanka

From Richard Boyle’s new book, Island of the Cosmos: An Alternative Guide to Sri Lanka, come these further comments on the names for Sri Lanka.

“The names by which the island was known to the Chinese were either adapted from the Sinhalese as near to the Chinese characters that would supply equivalents for the Sanskrit and Pali letters, or else they were translations of the implied sense. Hence the classical Lanka was rendered Lang-kea, and Sinhala as Seng-kia-lo. On the other hand, Tambapanni is translated as Chi-too (“red land”), while Ratnadipa is translated as Paou-choo (“island of gems”). Tsib-e-lan, She-lan and Se-lung are all modern modifications of Ceylon.”

Warmly

Royston

Tropical Topics, Sunday 5 May 2013.

Greetings from Sri Lanka where the rains began on the torrid west coast on time, 1 May, as predicted.

The rain arrives on time

Monsoon time

For vacationing visitors to Sri Lanka this is the season to make for the east coast where the sea is calm, the sand and sun welcoming; while the west coast gets its annual watering from the monsoon. In a few weeks we’ll be fed up with the rain, but right now it’s refreshing after so much heat.

Bang on time the thunder came

Heralding the monsoon month of May

With bolts of lightning, streaking rain

And upbeat winds to cool the day.

Curry Recipes

Recently I received a request for recipes for Beetroot Curry and Garlic Curry from a visitor who enjoyed those curries while touring the south. Last week, we had lunch in the garden to commemorate the 100^th birthday of a dear friend of ours who died in Sri Lanka on Christmas Day, 2011. The dishes were, clockwise in this Lazy Susan starting from 6 o’clock: Stuffed Capsicums, Beetroot Curry, Chicken Curry, Spinach & Lentils Curry, and Tempered Potato with red rural rice in the centre.

Rice & Curry for lunch

Kumara’s mother-in-law prepared them and provided these simple recipes. For the Beetroot Curry, slice 500g of beetroot into strips then mix it with 1.5 teaspoons of chilli powder and 1.5 teaspoons of curry powder, plus a pinch of turmeric, salt according to taste, a couple of green chillies chopped fine and 2 cups of coconut milk. Boil the mix until it thickens and the beetroot is tender.

Next, slice a couple of red (small) onions and temper the onions in oil with the addition of a few curry leaves and rampa. When it’s cooked, add it to the beetroot; mix and serve.

Beetroot curry

For the Garlic Curry, my favourite, peel 250g of garlic, and then mix it up with some Maldive fish pieces, a couple of sliced red (small) onions and green chilli pieces, a teaspoon of curry powder, a pinch of turmeric and salt, and 1 cup of coconut milk. Cook until tender.

Apparently the secret in achieving maximum curry satisfaction is for freshly squeezed coconut milk to be used (not powdered or canned) and for the cooking to be done in a clay pot over a wood fire.

Lotus Chalets

A chorus of mewling peacocks greeted the dawn, and woke me up with a start. I gazed at the ceiling of the bedroom and found there was none, just the underside of the roof, neatly thatched with palmyra leaves.

The palmyra leaf thatched roof

It took me a moment to remember that, as a result of wanting to inspect Sri Lanka’s newly opened second international airport at Mattala in the deep south of the country (report next week), I had checked in the night before at a hotel just 15 minutes drive from the terminal.

Lotus Chalets signboard

Hotel? Hardly, but certainly the most unusual near-airport accommodation I have ever stayed in – and worth the US$ 38 [Rs4,750; £ 25] for a double room (and the tranquillity).

The chalets at sunrise

Room? A semi-detached chalet constructed of breeze blocks plastered with mud. The interior floor was of unadorned concrete (not a sign of boutique refinement here), the bed solid local timber with a comfortable mattress but silly small pillows (I’d brought my own anyway). The bathroom was daubed in green splodges eco-fashion and equipped with tiny wooden shelves and a wooden towel rail, although I would have also liked hooks on which to hang clothes.

Lotus Chalet bathroom

The veranda into which the rising sun shone, overlooked a lotus pond, a round kiosk used as a sit-out with reed thatched roof, a thicket of manioc bushes, furrows of sweet potato leaves, and jungle. For passengers spending their first night in Sri Lanka at Lotus Chalets, they might feel on waking that they have discovered an alternative Eden.

The-jungle-kiosk-at-Lotus-Chalet.j

There are three “eco” chalets (with fan) and one four-bed AC chalet (all with attached showers/toilets), as well as an open sided pavilion for meals focused on farm-grown vegetables.

To get to this haven, either from Hambantota or the Mattala airport, take the road to Migahjandura, turn left into Sooriyawewa and skirt around the new cricket stadium, then follow the signs.  (Lotus Chalets, Canal Road, Migahajandura, Sooriyawewa; 071 4422244; lotuschalets@gmail.com; www.lotuschalets.com)

Naming Sri Lanka

My continued thanks to the distinguished British writer Richard Boyle who is a resident of Sri Lanka for snippets about the naming of Sir Lanka taken from his as yet unpublished book, Island of the Cosmos: An Alternative Guide to Sri Lanka.

An original 1652 print of Ceylan et les Maldives (Taprobane) by Sanson

“Down the centuries and across cultures, Serendib was transformed into Sielediba, Serindives, Selin, Seilan, Syllen, Sillan, Celan, the Portuguese Ceilão, Spanish Ceilán, French Selon, the Dutch Zeilan (as well as Ceilan and Seylon).”

“Finally it became the English Ceylon, and the variants Seylan, Zeylan and Ceylan. Although the Portuguese used Ceilão, the names Tragan, Trante, and Caphane also appear on Portuguese maps. Other names to be found on mediaeval maps are Siledpa-camar, Lanka Camar, Pertina and Tuphana. The last is derived from Topazius, a name given by the Greek writer Polyhistor during the first century BCE because the island produced topaz.”

No Locate

This isn’t appalling English for “Can’t find” but a fact: LOCATE is no more. Set up by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office of the UK as a website so British nationals living or visiting abroad could register their whereabouts in case of emergency, it has been shut down as not many people bothered. In Sri Lanka, it’s left to the Consular Wardens (of whom I am the one for the Southern Province) to try to keep in touch with Britons. A good excuse for a monsoon party?

Beat Poetry

There are poems, raunchier than the one above, in the new edition of my 1961 rock ‘n’ roll guidebook, The Big Beat Scene available from http://musicmentor0.tripod.com/book_big_beat_scene.html

Beat regards

Royston

ROYSTON’S REPORT, Number 158

Tropical Topics, Sunday 28 April

Greetings from sweltering Sri Lanka (30 plus degrees) where we anxiously await the cool breeze and rain of the monsoon season, supposed to begin in May.

Made in Sri Lanka

Kooni has several meanings (just Google it to see) but I’d never heard of it until I saw a packet in my local supermarket (the source of many wondrous things); bought it out of curiosity, took it home and opened it – to discover dried baby shrimps. Packed, and presumably harvested there, in Payagala on the west coast, the 200g pack cost me Rs 230 [£ 1.21;  US$ 1.84]; on line it’s available at $5.99.

Kooni (dried)

When I lived in Dominica we used to delight in tiny, tiny fish (titiri) cooked in battered cakes, but how to prepare these exceedingly small shrimps? Obviously they needed lots of washing to sift out the sand, so I left that job to Kumara’s mother-in-law who provides Sri Lankan rural cuisine for my cottage. She did a marvellous job, tossing the shrimps with onion and seasoning in oil, resulting in a bracing breakfast dish, which I ate with cucumber salad to neutralise the saltiness.

Kooni ready for breakfast

Brief briefly

Signboard to Brief

“Brief” is a privately owned garden created in the raggedness of tawdry plains that proves nature can benefit from man’s help. The transforming of this former – and failed – rubber plantation by Bevis Bawa and its subsequent maintenance by its current owner Dooland de Silva, is a man-made miracle. It demonstrates that with passion, experiment and ‘blood, sweat and tears,’ nature can be moulded to man’s dreams.

The dream in this case was of Bevis Bawa (1909-1992) who was given the 200-acre rubber estate (acquired by his lawyer father through funds earned from legal briefs) by his mother when he was 20. He took poorly to plantation management, preferring the camaraderie of army life where he distinguished himself by becoming ADC to a succession of British governors of Ceylon.

Gradually Bawa sold off acres of rubber-growing land, ploughing the funds into the creation of his dream garden; a dream based on gardens he had seen in Europe fused with the gorgeous trees, plants and bewitching foliage of the tropics. Now there are five acres of over 120 varieties of trees, but no flowers.

Evening shadows at Brief

Brief is open every day from 8am to 5pm and admission costs Rs1,000 [£ 5.26; $ 8]. Visitors are left to enjoy the gardens, as one flows into another, by themselves. These are gardens that don’t need a guide, only a chance to contemplate nature’s glory (and the gardeners’ painstaking work) in solitude.

Brief entrance sign

After enjoying the gardens, visitors can tour the house, which has been preserved by Dooland de Silva, as it was when Bevis Bawa died. It is an amazing example of a simple, tropical colonial life style that has visitors gasping in admiration at its quirks and beauty, including a priceless mural by the famous Australian artist, Donald Friend.

Donald Friend’s mural at Brief

There is also a handsome mosaic table that must have been fun to create, and concrete slabs bearing Bawa’s signature imprint of a leaf.

Home made mosaic table at Brief

It takes only 30 minutes from Colombo along the Southern Highway to reach the Welipenna Junction on the way to this extraordinary garden of Eden, then a further 15 minutes to the approach to Dharga Town and a Bo Tree shrine marking the differently named Ambagaha Handiya (Mango Tree Junction).

Turn right there (or left if you are coming from Alutgama) until a dignified sign board with lettering like the writing on a legal brief, directs drivers to the right. Then the road disintegrates to a country trail until a retired fountain marks a crossroads. The extreme left fork leads through carefully manicured bushes to Brief – and its garden paradise.

Dooland de Silva at Brief

More names for Sri Lanka

Richard Boyle, the British writer and resident of Sri Lanka who is an indefatigable researcher into the origins of words and Sri Lanka’s legends, writes about the many names of Sri Lanka in his forthcoming book Island of the Cosmos: An Alternative Guide to Sri Lanka.

“After the arrival of Vijaya – an outcast Indian prince who supposedly arrived circa 543BCE and was the legendary founder of the Sinhalese people – the island acquired the name Tambapanni – Tâmraparnî – which means “copper-palmed” in Pali. …Taprobane – pronounced Tap-ROB-a-nê – the name by which the island was first known to the Greeks, is thought to be a corruption of Tambapanni. However, some believe it is derived from tapu-ravan or “the isle of Ravan” (a reference to the king of Lanka, Ravana, the villain of the Ramayana); others that it comes from the Hebrew taph-porvan or “golden coast”, which, like Tambapanni, is another allusion to the characteristic colour of the island’s soil. …

“Later, Taprobane became Simundu, Palai-simundi and Salike. Palai-simundu is perhaps derived from the Sanskrit pali-simanta, or “the head of the sacred law”, as the island had become a major centre of Buddhism. Salike may well have been a seaman’s corruption of Sinhala, Sihala or Sihala-dipa, the name chosen by the Sinhalese themselves, which means “the dwelling place of lions”; although some assert that “the blood of the lion” is more correct.”

The Small Print

If you don’t receive this newsletter on time on Sundays, please click on www.roystonellis.com/blog to see it on my website. If there’s a specific topic you’re interested in, enter the topic in the SEARCH box and you can see if I’ve covered it during the past three years. Also, you can enter in the SIGN UP box the email address of anyone who might like to receive their own copy of this newsletter every Sunday.

Sunny regards

Royston

Tropical Topics, Sunday 21 April 2013.

Greetings to fans of Sri Lanka. This week we have a request for curry recipes from someone yearning to try a taste of Sri Lanka at home.

Talking Drums

New Year drumming

Last Sunday marked the beginning of the New Year for Sinhalese and Tamils in Sri Lanka. This trio of village ladies were playing a neighbourly drum (known as a raban) in the car park of Colombo’s Arpico Supermarket when I shopped there last week.

Sri Lankans are lucky in having two New Years to celebrate, together with the festivals of all the religions that are practised here. There are at least 25   official holidays in 2013, including the days of the Full Moon. These, plus weekends and village feasts, mean that Sri Lankans are on holiday for more than a third of the year so this is a real holiday island, for Sri Lankans as well as visitors.

Good Marketing

It’s a new concept in Sri Lanka: a market of wholesome local products, including some wonderful food items and ingredients that never make it to the supermarket shelves. The Good Market takes place from 12noon to 8pm every Thursday in the Water’s Edge compound at Battaramulla.

As well as the Moorock Ripe & Raw cheeses I featured last week, there are a few local handicrafts on display. But the most exciting are the food items. I bought a packet of Rangala House sundried tomatoes (75g. Rs230 [£ 1.21; US$ 1.84] that are now happily marinating in extra virgin olive oil and garlic at home.

Garlic in bee honey

I also bought a jar of Garlic in Bee Honey (Rs 790; [£  4.15; $ 6.32] that is a curious blend of tart but soft garlic and the sweet tang of honey; it was delicious as well as making me feel virtuous.

Priyanka natural products

It came from Priyanka Natural Foods, which looks like a cottage industry but is in fact an enterprise of the Food Research Unit of the Department of Agriculture.

Garlic pickle

Neel bought a jar of Garlic Pickle made with garlic, ginger, pepper sauce, traditional spices and iodised salt; no artificial flavours or preservatives, and no msg. Rs 790. I grabbed a bottle of green pepper sauce – 100% vegetarian, 100% natural,  – green pepper, white pepper, black pepper, red pepper, ginger, garlic, tropical spices, table salt, water, corn flour. No artificial flavours, colours, chemicals or msg.  (Rs490  [£ 2.57; $ 3.92]). It’s going to be perfect for a green pepper steak.

Green pepper sauce

Even healthier was this small jar of Rangala House Gourmet Natural Fine Ground Tahini, containing only white sesame seeds and vegetable oil. The 200g jar cost Rs400  [£ 2.10; $ 3.20]. The company, part of a tea plantation bungalow guest house enterprise, bills its products as “Quality natural foods from the hill country of Sri Lanka.” (www.rangalahouse.com)

Tahini from Sri Lanka

Recipes please

Still on food this week, I have had a request from a lady enamoured of Sri Lankan curries, particularly curried garlic and beetroot curry. She wonders if I have recipes for such dishes. Here’s one of my own favourites, curried garlic.

Curried garlic

If any readers have a sensational recipe for garlic or beetroot curry they would like me to feature in a forthcoming edition of this newsletter to help pining curry fans abroad, please email it to me. I’ll enjoy trying it too.

Napkin Holder

In newsletters 141 & 143, I wrote about Napkin Clips as an essential accessory for gentlemen, like me, whose napkins always slide gently to the floor just when needed. Jane and Paul, two readers, very kindly brought me a present of the latest napkin clip available in England. It’s elaborate and useful as the clips are attached to a lanyard strung around one’s collar, keeping the napkin squarely in place.

New napkin clip

Naming Sri Lanka

From Richard Boyle comes more information on the origins of the various names given to Sri Lanka over the centuries.

“In Buddhist literature, Sri Lanka was also known as Ratnadipa, “Island of Gems”, a reference to the variety of precious stones found most especially around Ratnapura (“City of Gems”). Another ancient name was Nagadipa, “Island of Snakes”, an allusion to the snake worship practised by an aboriginal tribe known as the Naga, which, it is believed, lived between the sixth century BCE and third century CE in the western and northern parts of the island.”

More next week.

Beatles in 1963

I am reminded by an author in Canada who is writing a book detailing what each of the four Beatles did together – and separately — every day in 1963, that it is 50 years since I was rocking and rolling with them in Jersey & Guernsey. I’ve declined to contribute to the book, having said all I should in Steve Turner’s excellent 1994 book: A Hard Day’s Write where he reveals I was the inspiration for John’s song called Polythene Pam  – based on a night we shared with a lady in polythene bags (in lieu of black leather sheets).

GUERNSEY 1963

Anyway, it’s an excuse for me to look back at this photo, taken as we arrived in Guernsey from Jersey, Channel Islands. (I’m the one with the beard.)

Follow The Beat

That’s a cue for a plug for the reprint of my 1960s book The Big Beat Scene still available, if you’re quick, from http://musicmentor0.tripod.com/book_big_beat_scene.html

The Big Beat Scene

Beat regards

Royston

ROYSTON’S REPORT Number 156

Tropical Topics, Sunday 14 April 2013.

It’s the National New Year weekend in Sri Lanka so special Festive Greetings to all Sri Lankans and fans of Sri Lanka round the world.

Made in Sri Lanka

By good fortune, Jez, a former SriLankan Flight Attendant, invited me to visit his cheese stall at the Good Market held every Thursday from 12 noon to 8pm in the canopied car park in front of Water’s Edge at Battaramulla, the up-market suburb of Colombo.

What’s in the pot?

Thus I discovered this newest culinary treat made in Sri Lanka: cheese produced from single origin milk from Jersey or Frisian cows, and from Swiss Saanen goats, with neither E numbers, preservatives, flavour enhances or colours.

Tropical goat’s milk yoghurt

Jez also makes this goat’s yoghurt which turned out to be almost liquid, and bracingly wholesome.

Jez and Moorock cheeses

Jez started making cheese about four months ago and as yet his products are young. The cheddar is mild and milky and his blue has still to bloom to a raunchy bite but his feta, crumbly and without salt, is so smooth! Jolly good with smoked salmon, avocado, herb-marinated tomato, or just to wallow in for breakfast!

News of when he has a regular outlet in Colombo will be published on his Facebook page www.facebook.com/ripeandraw. Jez says he has still not finalised his line of products. “We’re exploring frozen yoghurt and gelato at the moment.”

Feta and mild Cheddar and young Blue

He has to keep his prices higher than expected, as he needs to pay a premium for top quality, hygienically collected and stored milk. He quotes Goat milk probiotic yoghurt 400ml at Rs 500 [ £ 2.63; US$ 4.00], Goat milk cheeses at Rs 5,200  [£ 27.36; $ 41.60] a kilo and Cow milk cheeses at Rs 3,500 [£ 18.42; $ 28] a kilo.

The Fort Printers

Galle Fort with broad ramparts dating back to the days of 18^th century Dutch and 19^th century British occupation, has some amazing buildings, ranging from officers’ quarters and merchants’ mansions to bold art deco villas and boarded up shacks. It is a sanctuary in transition from being a walled peninsula of gentility to an enclave of Sunday Supplement gentrification.

The Fort Printers, entrance with press

One building that has been transformed was formerly The Fort Printers and, before that, a school. It has five bedrooms now, with the Prefect’s Room fronting a courtyard lap pool. The other rooms, on the first floor, are The Headmasters, and the Geography, Art and History Rooms. All are furnished in retro style.

Fort Printers: bathroom of Prefect’s Suite

The demand (room rates are about US$150) has been growing ever since it opened in 2004, so the owner has recently renovated a house opposite with three guest rooms and one adjoining the Printers (five guest rooms) fronted with stout Dutch columns.

Extension to Fort Printers Galle

I popped in to The Fort Printers for lunch and enjoyed a refined prawn curry presented in an enormous plate with eight plump prawns floating in a mild coconut and curry sauce. The rice, crisp runner beans, carrots and potatoes, and thick dhal, papadums and coconut sambol were daintily served in separate in bowls. It was a superior quality lunch at a very reasonable Rs1,200 [£ 6.31; $9.60]. (www.thefortprinters.com)

Fort Printers refined rice & curry lunch

Multi-named Lanka

According to Richard Boyle who responded to my query about why both Sri Lanka and Sumatra are called Taprobane on ancient maps, Sri Lanka has had many names through the ages.

“Names such as Taprobane, Serendib and Ceylon might be familiar, but Tenarisin, Tragan and Topazius are probably not. The oldest name for the island, found in the literature of both Buddhism and Brahminism, is the Sanskrit Lanka and its variations, such as Maha Lanka, the resurrected Sri Lanka, Sri Lake, Sakelan, Lanka-Puri (the Malay name), Maha Indra Dipa, Lince, Lans and Lana. Lanka became familiar throughout India because it was one of the principal locations of the epic poem, Ramayana, which also uses the name Lankadvipa.”

I’ll return to this topic in next week’s newsletter.

Bank Cooking

Thanks to my local bank, Nations Trust in Alutgama, I can now cook rice, (leaving cooking the books to others).

Last year I opened a savings account at the expanding Nations Trust Bank because the bank is part of the Keells Group whose chairman I am proud to have known since he began his career with Keells as an airline ticket clerk more than 30 years ago.

The Alutgama branch of the bank celebrated its first anniversary on Tuesday 9 April and I was invited for “a get-together” at 8.30. Being fixated on cocktails I assumed the caller meant 8.30pm and so was surprised, when Tuesday came,  to be summoned by telephone to the bank at 8.30am!

Ever thoughtful of not upsetting my friendly banker in case I should need an overdraft, I donned my safari suit and dashed off. To my amazement, I was presented with a certificate by the Senior Regional Manager, Mr Herath, for a Rice Cooker as the prize in the Bank’s fourth quarter draw 2012.

Novel interest

That’s just in time for me to cook mutton biryani for our traditional Sri Lanka National New Year Lunch today, Sunday 14 April.

Colours of Change

There is to be an exhibition of the photographs of Sri Lanka by Stephen Champion in London from Thursday 18 April to Saturday 22 June 2013 at the Brunei Gallery, Thornaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1 that will thrill Sri Lanka fans in London. Champion is a freelance photographer based in London. From 1986 he developed new works in Sri Lanka, creating several exhibitions; in 1993 his first book, Lanka 1986-1992, was published in the UK. His photographs have appeared internationally in magazines, academic research papers, newspapers and films. www.stephenchampion.org

YES FM

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of being interviewed on the famous Sri Lankan radio station YES FM (101) by Michael, a confessed retro-dict who loves his yellow Beetle car and the Beatles. You can listen to a podcast of it on www.yesfmonline.com

Michael at Yes FM

Beat regards

Royston

TROPICAL TOPICS, Sunday 7 April 2013.

Welcome to readers around the world to this week’s view from Sri Lanka.

Made in Sri Lanka

Feta cheese is not something one associates with Sri Lanka where the locally produced cheeses are of the hard yellow kind. However, Kotmale (www.kotmale.lk), founded in 1967 and now the largest producer of dairy products in Sri Lanka, has introduced this fine fettle feta cheese to the market.

Feta cheese from Sri Lanka

Feta is not only traditionally associated with Greece, in the EU it can only be called “feta” if it is made with sheep’s milk. Elsewhere, this brined white cheese derives from cow and buffalo milk. Brining (or pickling) gives it the distinctive salty, tangy flavour and crumbly consistency that drives its fans (like me) ecstatic.

This 100gm piece (well packed in cellophane, airtight bag and cardboard display box) cost Rs 380 [£ 2; US$ 3.04 ] . I’ve already pickled some in extra virgin olive oil and oregano to preserve it as, without liquid, it dries out quickly. Now we can buy local feta cheese, I expect to see “Greek salad” on more restaurant menus here.

See next week’s newsletter for some secret news about a new brand of locally produced cheese…

Map Mystery 3

My mention in last week’s newsletter of the mystery on ancient maps of two Taprobanes (both Sri Lanka and Sumatra were called by that name in the 15^th century) has brought a spirited response from Sri Lankan British resident, Richard Boyle, who was kind enough to send me a chapter “Naming The Teardrop” from his book at present awaiting publication, Island of the Cosmos: An Alternative Guide to Sri Lanka.

The lost map

He comments: “Consider: Taprobane is no doubt derived from the rock-solid Tambapanni, so it is not a fanciful name and must be Sri Lanka. The problem was that Ptolemy’s map was lost for 12 centuries, and when it was found the island was called Seylan, which made travellers search for a non-existent Taprobane! Then di Conti suggested Sumatra, cartographers such as Munster put both on his map not realising the confusion. I have now written a whole chapter on the subject, and it is quite clear to me that we were Taprobane from two millennia ago, while Sumatra was only named Taprobane by di Conti six centuries ago! It’s the loss of Ptolemy’s map that caused all this confusion.”

Read next week’s newsletter to see Richard’s report on the other names bestowed on Sri Lanka in the past.

Pub Crawl

At long last, the west coast area around Bentota, where I live, seems to be livening up and adding a few bars and restaurants to lure package tourists away from their buffets. A few months ago (Newsletter No. 128) I wrote about the modern, industrial style beer bar called Machang in the nearby town of Alutgama.

Now it has spawned a branch between the 64 & 65 km markers on the Galle Road, south of Alutgama and Bentota, on the way to Induruwa, squeezed on a narrow plot of land with the main road on one side and the rail track on the other. Machang is actually a term of affection in Sinhala for a male friend or colleague, although it really means ‘brother-in-law.’

Asitha sets up the pool table

The Bentota Machang is an acceptable cross between a beer pub (it has a pool table and wooden benches) and a spirit and cocktail bar. A mug of draft beer (300ml) costs Rs100 [ .51p;  .80c];  50m Lemon Gin is Rs110  [.56p; .88c] while Long Island Iced Tea (which I am not brave enough to try) is listed at Rs400 [£ 2.05; US$ 3.20].

Devilled pork at Machang pub

We popped in there for lunch yesterday and greatly enjoyed a bite of robust devilled pork (Rs450 [£ 2.30; $ 3.60]). We went off menu with a special request to the cook for butter fried cuttle fish, instead of the advertised ‘batter fried’ cuttle fish. It was tender and tasty, perfect for a lunch time snack (Rs475 [£ 2.43; $3.80]).

Butter fried cuttle fish at Machang pub

Jungle Tide

From Sally & Jerry (whom I’ve not met) comes a newsletter report of disaster at their hillside retreat of Jungle Tide near Kandy (http://www.jungletide.com).

“Just before Christmas after five days of incessant heavy rain the stream in our garden burst its banks, water crashed across the swimming pool and began to gouge into the unstable land beyond, which we’d had planted with mango and other trees (partly to stabilise it, but they hadn’t been there long enough to achieve that). The result was an absolutely massive landslip which deposited our mango orchard squarely on our neighbours’ paddy fields, and also affected the chicken farm adjacent to us…

Jungle Tide

“The good news is, first and foremost, that no-one was injured – it happened at night – and, second, that the pool itself was undamaged, though the pipework and electricity supply were fractured and the pump-house was unceremoniously dumped into the bottom of the canyon.  It’s going to cost us almost £25K to fix… Talk about throwing money into a hole in the ground!  Being positive, we will in the end have an intriguing valley garden and an accidental infinity pool.”

Links

Thanks to all the readers who expressed concern about the small operation to drain a swelling on my arm. It seems it may have been a centipede bite that got infected – I guess the centipede didn’t feel very well either!

To recover, I flew to Maldives for a few days last week, but I couldn’t swim as my arm is still bandaged. To read more about Male’, the capital of the Maldives, my article in the April Singapore Airlines inflight magazine is available on this link. http://www.silverkris.com/destinations/asia-pacific/discover-male?page=0,1

This spectacular and unusual photo of a tropical island scene is a road junction in Male’ by Karen & Brian Knutsen (www.karenknutsen.com) © Karen Knutsen and © Brian Knutsen (All Rights Reserved – Worldwide)

Male’ traffic

On another link; to read more about me, as interviewed by The Sunday Leader last Sunday, click on: http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2013/03/31/royston-the-legendary-paperback-writer/

Sunday Leader 31 March 2013

Finally, here’s a link to my article in last week’s Sunday Times on my recent discovery well worth visiting, the Royal Bar and Hotel in Kandy, see:

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/130331/plus/toast-to-an-elegant-transformation-38942.html

Sunny regards

Royston

TROPICAL TOPICS, Sunday 31 March 2013.

Sunny greetings from Sri Lanka where it’s gloriously hot during the day and thundery at night.

Made in Sri Lanka

When I lived in Dominica in the 1960s I was fascinated to hear on the radio, after the news bulletin, a call for “Dwarf Cavendish” bananas to be delivered to the jetty at a certain time for shipment, by the Geest boat, to England. It seemed a lifeline to Britain (Dominica was then an “Associated State” of the UK, a kind of semi-colony). The Geest boats, as well as carrying bananas, took a few passengers too on the voyage to and from the UK.

Cavendish bananas from Sri Lanka

Those memories came rushing back when, on my supermarket expedition, I saw – and bought – Dole Cavendish Bananas “Made of Sunshine” – produce of Sri Lanka. The taste is delicious, sweet without the dryness of the many other varieties of banana grown here. This seems to be a new venture in Sri Lanka for Dole as the website www.madeofsunshine.com is still under construction.

Meanwhile I am enjoying my “Sixers Pack (as it’s called) of Cavendish bananas, which cost Rs136.50 [£ .71p;  $ 1.09] a kilo.

Map Mystery Part 2

My mention of confusion in last week’s newsletter about whether Sri Lanka was ever known as Taprobane brought an immediate response from Richard Boyle whose erudite articles and books on Sri Lankan history and customs are packed with information.

He sent me a clipping of an article discussing the matter (http://www.island.lk/2008/03/15/satmag1.htm), from which he concludes that Sri Lanka was, indeed, named Taprobane. Well, perhaps it was for a time, but from what the article says, that was because two different original sources identified two separate islands (Sumatra and Sri Lanka) as Taprobane.

“Explaining the confusion in application of the name Taprobane to two places, Damian Cole [Assistant Curator of the Australian National Library Map Gallery] explained … ‘As the Europeans started to explore… they came across Sri Lanka, and thought well this must be Taprobane. But at the same time another route to the Indies was further south across the Indian Ocean and explorers came across Sumatra in Indonesia [and called that Taprobane]. So a debate began whether Taprobane was Sri Lanka or Sumatra, as both fitted the description of an exotic island with golden spices and elephants.’”

I like the idea that Sri Lanka was only mistakenly called Taprobane because that then indicates the enthusiastic arguments of the Taprobane supporters (quoted in the article) may be specious. Certainly by the16th century, mapmakers had decided Sri Lanka was called Zaylon (or a version of that word) and Taprobane was Sumatra.

This comes from the delightful 1519 Atlas Miller.

Detail of Atlas Miller, 1519

And this is a detail from a Munster map, dated 1550, showing both islands.

Detail of map dated 1550 by Munster

Fine dining?

In Colombo at lunchtime last week, I decided to try out one of the many restaurants opening up in the city as it gradually undergoes revitalisation. Mistake really; I ended up walking out of two of them and being told I must hurry to order in the third as the kitchen was closing.

The first one proclaims it is Russian. The ground floor was an empty and gloomy room with rather startled staff when we walked in at 1.30pm for lunch. The staff member who recovered the quickest suggested we go upstairs to eat. Décor there was sheer opulence; we could have walked into a tsarina’s karaoke boudoir with its huge screen and an ear-shattering belt of opera. We fled.

Our next attempt was at a well established Swiss restaurant that has added a Brasserie  Lunch experience to its purvey of gourmet cuisine. Unfortunately, there appeared to be no staff on duty. Neel wandered into the depths of the bungalow shouting ‘ Anyone at home?’ but no one came. When he pushed open a glass door we were met by an icy blast from the air-conditioning and an equally icy stare from a steward serving two tables. We left.

Mixed amuse bouts

We managed to get to Spoons, the Colombo Hilton’s fine dining restaurant just before the kitchen closed at 2.30pm. We had the executive lunch with a platter of mixed amuse-bouches (including lobster mousse) as a starter followed by our choice of mains (fish, chicken or lamb). Double braised Australian lamb in confit cabbage sautéed spinach feta crumble pot jus (shown here) was rich in flavour and very satisfying. We concluded with a platter of mixed desserts.

Lamb confit in cabbage

This wonderful lunch cost Rs1,600  [£ 8.42; $ 12.80], plus plus. Unfortunately the high standard of the food was let down by lazy service. I’ve noticed that sometimes where places justly pride themselves on their food quality, the stewarding staff lack (or take no notice of) necessary professional training that matches the food standard.

Surgery

Last Saturday, I popped into the local doctor’s surgery to ask advice on how to deal with a swelling on my elbow that had been troubling me for a couple of weeks. He gave me a several pills which I took in the right order but which resulted, the next morning, in a much larger swelling.

As soon as he saw it, the good doctor decided to operate. I was laid down on a Rexine-covered wooden bed in the doctor’s surgery and rolled on my side to face the wall as the doctor operated. Kumara held my hand down, Neel and the nurse swotted flies and the doctor, aided by someone I took to be a tuk tuk driver but who seemed to know his job, cut and scraped and sewed me back together with 20 stitches.

Why there are typos

I loved the informality of it all with people crowding the surgery’s open doorway to watch. Made me feel like family! So if there are any typos this weak, you know why…

Sunny regards

Royston

Tropical Tropics, Sunday 24 March 2013.

Greetings to readers from around the world, as Sri Lanka opens a new gateway to the world: Mattala Rajapkasa International Airport.

Made in Sri Lanka

Scraped from the bark of the cinnamon tree, shaped and dried into quills, cinnamon was one of the spices that attracted the Portuguese to Sri Lanka. Although its export is no longer a prime income earner, cinnamon is still grown in Sri Lanka where it is a prime ingredient in Sri Lankan cuisine.

Cinnamon quills as table decoration

At home, though, we use it as a table decoration set here in a dried Kithul fronds basket (R440 [£ 2.31;  US$ 3,52]) from Colombo’s Paradise Road emporium of cute things. This bunch of quills from a cinnamon peeler cost about Rs1,000 [£ 526; US$ 8] and its faint aroma creates a pleasant impression. I have noticed, though, that the quills are getting shorter, since Kumara has taken to breaking off and nibbling a piece occasionally.

New Airport

It is a historic occasion when a country opens a new international airport. This rare event happened in Sri Lanka last Monday (18 March) when President Rajapaksa opened the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport at Mattala, near Hambantota, in the deep south of Sri Lanka. It’s historic as all new developments in the neglected south-eastern quarter of the country will be dated from that day.

I hope to use the new airport for my next trip to the Maldives as SriLankan have scheduled two flights a week to/from Male’ from Mattala, as well as flights to/from the Middle East and China (via Bangkok). More in a subsequent newsletter.

Bay Leaf

The Bay Leaf, the city’s foremost Italian restaurant in Colombo’s Gregory’s Road enclave of foreign embassies sent me a flyer about a Roast & Grills promotion now on until next Sunday. Since I’m not a fan of pasta and pizza I haven’t been there very much but the dishes sounded so tempting, I couldn’t resist popping in when I was in Colombo earlier this week.

Bay Leaf exterior

We sat under a ceiling fan on the balcony overlooking the garden. While we waited for our main courses, my guest and I shared a Tapa Platter of three coconut-shredded prawns, three breaded chicken wings, three stuffed mushrooms (fresh, not from a tin) and lots of potato wedges, surely a bargain at Rs750 (£ 3.94; $ 6).

Bay Leaf Mixed Grill

The main course of Grigliata Mista Carni was a plate of juicy grilled tender lamb cutlet, pork chop, beef steak and chicken breast served with grilled mashed potatoes and a pepper and red wine sauce. Not a pineapple or fried egg in sight. It tasted great and at Rs1,975 (£ 10.39; $ 15.80) was marvellous value even though the customary service charge and VAT added 22% to the bill.

I reckon we were lucky to try the promotion menu before it vanishes next Sunday, and we’ll certainly go back to Bay Leaf. I’d like another Pavlova too. (Rs525 [£ 2.76; $ 4.20]).  (http://harposonline.com).

Bay Leaf Pavlova

Kandy retrospect

Kandy Buddha statue at sunrise

In going through the photographs of my recent visit to Kandy, I discovered that the photo Kumara took of the view of Kandy from where the Bahirawakanda Buddha Statue overlooks
the town, is actually an up to date version of the view in 1884, as seen from this print in my collection.

Kandy view, 1884

Kandy view of temple & lake from Buddha statue, 2013

Garden statuary

In the garden of my cottage on the west coast I have a few statues too. They weathered well with a nice aged patina bestowed by the sea breeze and the pollution from the trains that roar alongside the garden in the mornings and evenings.

But when I came back from Kandy I found my new (and very efficient) house boy had decided to paint them. Thus Pushpa, the maiden bathing, has been transformed into a white goddess.

Garden statuary

Even my bust wasn’t spared.

Painted bust

Jaffna Taxis

Morris Oxford in Jaffna

And about the taxis I photographed in Jaffna, a correspondent from Scotland writes:  “The taxi on the right is a Morris Oxford, the Austin Cambridge having a slightly different radiator grille/indicator arrangement. It’s a Series V built from 1959 to 1961, and described in one of my books as ‘a rugged car which could put up with much abuse.’ The photo tends to prove that assertion, not bad: a 50+ year-old car in daily working use!”

Map Mystery

I’ve mentioned before (Number 125) the mystery of how some old maps (and even marketing people today) refer to Sri Lanka as having been called Taprobane. That name was actually applied to Sumatra, according to many old maps.

Hondius 1620 showing Ceylon

Now here’s another mystery. A delightful coloured map of India Orientalis by Hondius published in 1620 (when the littoral of Sri Lanka was occupied by the Portuguese) has just come up for auction in the USA. Bidding closes on Tuesday, so I don’t know if I will be successful in buying it. The map intrigues me because today’s Sri Lanka is clearly labelled on the map as Ceylon, which is supposed to have been the name bestowed by the British –  who didn’t occupy the island until 1796…?

Amazing

Thanks to the marvels of the internet I discover that the magazine, Amazing Sri Lanka, for which I am the Editorial Consultant, is available to read on-line. The magazine is published by the Tourist Board of the Western Province and contains several articles that might interest Sri Lanka fans. If the link works, it is available via:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B06M7_DhZRcqeUFCcUdZTHBsMmc/edit

Sunny regards

Royston

TROPICAL TOPICS, Sunday 17 March 2013.

Made in Sri Lanka

Instant Noodles with various flavours are popular in Sri Lanka (as well as in the rest of Asia) for a quick and convenient meal – just add boiling water. Personally I don’t like the ersatz flavours and, anyway, the noodles are made with wheat flour and off my diet as they are not gluten-free.

Instant red rice noodles

So I was happy to discover while exploring the shelves of my local supermarket, Nikado Red Rice Noodles.  The box states the noodles are manufactured from red rice and salt in Sri Lanka (www.webasia.com/nikado). Instructions are explicit: Add red rice noodles to a bowl of boiling water and keep for about five minutes until cooked. Drain and rinse under cold water. You may temper or stir fry the rice noodles with fish, meat, egg or vegetables as per your desired taste.

At least using these noodles one can have authentic flavours without too much trouble. The box of 400gm (that’s 10 portions) costs Rs110 [£ 0.56; US$ 0.88].

Kandy Caper

Utilising a special offer by SriLankan Airlines Smiles frequent flyer mileage points I flew by sea plane Twin Otter from Bentota to Kandy and back for a couple of days last week. I checked in for the flight at the Marine Hotel at the Bentota River at 06.30am where a SriLankan Airlines security officer helped by the hotel’s dive master dutifully scrutinised paperwork and luggage.

Bentota passenger check in

The flight was indeed heavenly, and I was amazed at how lushly green and mountainous Sri Lanka is from the air.

Sri Lanka from the air

The flight took 40 minutes and we landed on Kandy’s Polgolla Reservoir. A tuk-tuk took us to town for a day’s exploration, first to the Temple of the Tooth and then to gaze at this magnificent fountain with cast iron cherubs, some alas now headless, and floundering fish, a tribute to the Victorian foundry men’s craft. The fountain commemorates the visit of the Prince of Wales to Kandy in 1875.

Kandy Prince of Wales fountain

A reminder of those days is The Royal Bar & Hotel, a licensed tavern since 1860 and now beautifully converted into a mansion with five stylish bedrooms (from Rs12,000 B &B [£ 61.50; $ 96] a double) and no hint of boutique snobbery. (www.royalbarandhotel.com)

Royal Hotel bedroom

It has a public bar with a black & white tiled floor and a teak and mirror display cabinet, a cobbled courtyard café, and a first floor restaurant with a 1930s ambience where we enjoyed pork fillet (Rs1,500 [£7.69; $ 12]) and malt whisky (Rs650 [£ 3.33; $ 5.20]).

Kandy Royal Hotel restaurant

The charm of the place is its mix of clientele; Kandyans popping in for a quick snifter and chat with friends, expat residents gossiping and tourists gaping at the memorabilia and welcome friendliness of the ambience.

Royal Hotel courtyard

I liked it so much, the next day we popped in for a lunch of spicy prawns (Rs600 [£ 3.07; $ 4.80]) to give us energy for shopping.

Royal Bar spicy prawns

Thus I discovered another fountain, under the open-air roundabout in the underground shopping complex that’s the crossing from one side of the main street, Dalada Veediya, to the other.

I was delighted too, down a side alley, to find a knife sharpener with this traditional contraption utilising a bicycle wheel and foot pedal for power to turn the grinding stone.

Kandy knife sharpener

Unusual lunch

From Brendan O’Donnell, host of the superb Reef Hotel at Wadduwa (see newsletters 33 & 117) comes this press cutting showing an unusual lunch offer at Cinnamon Bey hotel.

Burghers for lunch?

I wonder how saucy those burghers are?

Colombo Festival Weekend

http://issuu.com/britishcouncilsrilanka/docs/colomboscopeprog

Next weekend, Friday 22 to Sunday 24 March, the place to be in Colombo is Park Street Mews. That’s the location for “Colomboscope” a banquet of art, literature, music, food and stimulating discussion. There are lots of events planned, at either Rs500 [£ 2.56; $ 4] admission or free, as well as Sunday lunch (Rs4,250 [£ 21.80; $ 34]) with the multi-talented poet Sean Borodale . See: www.seanborodale.com.

Poet Sean Borodale

Comments

Thanks to the many readers who have enlightened me about the magnificent  giant statue in Jaffna featured in last week’s newsletter. Samit from India writes: “The jolly green giant seems to be a statue of Hanuman, the very revered monkey god, and the god Ram’s right hand person. Legend has it when Ram’s wife Sita was abducted by Ravan to his home in Sri Lanka, Hanuman went over and set fire to Lanka with his tail and rescued Sita. Ravan is seen as a demon here, but worshipped in Sri Lanka.”

In Jaffna

From VK Vaseekaram, the manager of Expo Pavilion in Jaffna where I stayed, “ This statue is located at Maruthanar Madham; it was redone recently and is of  Anjaneyar which is in front of the temple. We consider Anjaneyar as one of our Gods. This temple is similar to Ramboda  Anjaneyar temple, located near Ramboda falls. Anjaneyar searched for Sita for Rama and later found her in Sri Lanka. It is said that Anjaneyar burnt a particular mountain in Sri Lanka using his tail and went back and informed Rama.  Rama then started a war and captured Sri  Lanka and rescued Sita.”

Another correspondent from India states, charmingly, “As you are aware, HINDUISM is a very Great Ocean and the deeper you go, the more you are confused.”

From Michael Richardson, the owner of Slightly Chilled which I reviewed last week, comes this comment: “Thank you so much for a wonderful review. However I think those Margaritas lost your sense of direction. The water you saw is the water of Kandy Lake and not Mahaweli River.”

Late News

My apologies to readers used to receiving this newsletter early on Sunday mornings as it now seems to be arriving late. That’s the cyber service, not me. If ever you want to read the latest issue of this newsletter at your leisure, just click on www.roystonellis.com/blog

Beat regards

Royston Ellis