Click on the photo to go to a photo essay on a pilgrimage to a jungle shrine in Yala National Park. A beautiful piece on ancient rituals and traditions.

Stepping back in time

I needed to get out of town for the weekend. Galle, pronounced to rhyme with ball, seemed like a good option. A town on the south coast of Sri Lanka, happily easily accessible from Colombo via the Southern Expressway, the first in the country, that cuts the 120km distance down to a manageable hour or so, once you've negotiated the Colombo traffic.
And Galle proved to be a delight. Jutting out into the sea, the historic part is an ancient fortified town filled with crumbling buildings showing evidence of Portuguese, Dutch and English occupation and a mixture of Muslim, Christian and Buddhist cultures and traditions. Huge wooden doors open onto cool interiors providing welcome retreat from the bright, steaming sun. Glimpses of inner courtyards through open carved panels and timber columns gave hints of lush green gardens and ponds of tranquility.
It is said that Marco Polo stopped here, and Sinbad the sailor, yo ho. Records dating back to the 1400s tell of cinnamon trading to the west, so it really is a place steeped in history and there's no doubt there would be some ghosts about.
It's not yet a perfectly restored tourist mecca, many buildings are still decaying gently back into the rocky ground, some have been restored to discrete luxurious oases. Small businesses are popping up and daily life still continues for the many long term residents. Rebuilding is continuing from the tsunami too.
Climate: Tropical hot and steamy.
Loved: Colourful hoards of Sri Lankan tourists out for a weekend jaunt.
Unexpected: the occasional Art Deco villa.
Photos: Galle

Time to cut spending

I am conscious of the fact that I am a guest in this country, so I shall merely post the link to this article in yesterday's Sunday Times and reserve comment for another time.

Also love this letter in the paper for its impassioned language. as a point of reference, SL has to import all it's oil and fuel and a large proportion of electricity generation is dependent on it too. We have frequent blackouts due to demand and supply issues.

SOS call from the people

By Maurice Lord, Colombo 13

The people of this country are in real distress. They do not know where they are heading. The cost of living has spiralled completely out of control. The prices of basic food items have gone sky-high. Many people may be managing with only one meal a day. Some may not be able to afford even that. The soaring petrol, diesel and kerosene oil prices trigger a chain reaction that is felt in other crucial areas. When diesel goes up in price, so does the cost of transport, and consequently the cost of everything that has to be transported, including vegetables. A kilo of just about any vegetable has gone up to between Rs. 75 and Rs. 100. Tomatoes are more than Rs. 150 a kilo, and green chillies cost up to Rs. 30 per 100 grams. There is hardly anything that has not been affected by the increased oil costs, and there is talk that oil prices will go up even further. The Indian Oil Company (IOC) says it has raised its prices because the Government has raised its fuel prices. This is something that has to be looked into. The entire operation of the Indian Oil Company should be scrutinised – not by politicians but by competent financial experts – and a plan drawn up in the country’s best interests. The time has also come to consider a possible total ban on the import of all vehicles into the country. For a small country like ours, the number of vehicles we have appears to be far in excess of our needs. Our roads cannot take any more traffic. It is a virtual crawl on all roads during normal working hours. It is a disgrace that, in spite of the oil crisis, the Government should decide to import eight Benz cars, at a cost of over Rs. 2 billion. How can a country with such meagre resources indulge in extravagances of this nature? While a minority travels in luxury, the rest must suffer.

One more bookmark for later reference - Chinese investments in SL.

Arts and crafts

Stopped by the National Handcrafts Fair on Saturday. Some beautiful works and some that were certainly not to my western taste in aesthetics! Some extraordinary masks. 

 I was also pretty impressed with the kids' drawing exhibition.

Fine place for a picnic

 Two of my colleagues went down to Colombo port on the weekend to see the open day for the new deep water container port. The golf day we went to was put on by the financers of the port.
So the site is still a construction zone, it's not finished yet, and the dredgers are still working in the harbour (yes there are people in the water right next to the dredger!). But that apparently didn't stop literally thousands of people swarming all over the site, and having picnics . The line of traffic driving out along the new breakwater was about 3km long each way. Once you were in, as Dave was, you were in! OHS laws are clearly non existent in this country. But it looks like a jolly day was had by all.

Sinhalish?

I have some word watching friends who will be delighted by the slight typographical error in this sign at the aquarium. Musical fish!!