Very early in our visit to the island, Mark and I went for a walk along the Galle Face Green ‘boardwalk’, a wide cement sidewalk and huge wall separating the ocean waves from the ‘green’. I remembered Mark saying, “Oh ya, there they are, the “Umbrella Lovers”. He had read about this phenomen of couples meeting on the Galle Face Green and using umbrellas to not only block themselves from the sun but also from prying eyes.

This was a typical scene back then…

These days, there is major construction work on the Galle Face Green so it is all fenced off. But the lovers are still congregating:

We found out that every weekend students from a few college/university art programmes set up their work along the fence and hope for the best. They arelocated at relatively central part of the city in Viharamaha Devi Park (Victoria Park for those of us who get tongue-tied – it is walking distance to ODEL, the Museum, & the Town Hall).

The student prices are very reasonable and despite the occasional bird-dropping or attempt to ‘cover-up’ an error, the art work is well worth viewing.

Mark and I ended up purchasing several pieces from the students – We’ve put them up in our apartment at Global Towers (using heavy-duty velcro so that we don’t wreck the walls). It’s really helped to make our place feel like a home and I think, with the two of us being teachers, it feels good to be surrounded by such excellent student work!

The fragrance is wonderful as you walk by and the colours magnificent. Thankfully, these guys were fine with me taking their photo as they worked. There was much comraderie among the various stalls and a bit of competition as one group put white jasmine flowers around my neck so another group added purple flowers.

There’s a definite technique to tying the flowers onto the strings – these guys were really fast!

So who was ringing the bell…and what was he or she selling? Luckily, the sound got louder as I entered the cross street I wanted to use to get up to Galle Road from our hotel. I caught a glimpse of a man with a square container wearing a hat and swinging his hand back and forth before he turned into an alley half way down the street. The ringing continued and a man’s voice called out..I could not make out what he was saying. I waited for him to come out of the alleyway, he seemed to circling a large apartment building – he must have something people from the building would want…I mused to myself.

As he approached, I asked him, “What is it? What are you selling?” – “Bombay Sweets!” He replied with a toothless smile. “Can you show me?” I queried motioning towards the can. He opened it up and grabbed a small handful of stringy stuff using a piece of recycled paper as a barrier between his dirty hands and the food. Just as he handed me the mound of string, a group of Sri Lankans passed, looking wantingly at the yellow stringy stuff – “Mmmm, bombay sweets, GOOD!” There was a little boy with the group so I asked if he could have the man’s sample. “Sure!” they replied. I just couldn’t see myself taking a chance on this street food. The little boy smiled as he took the mound from me.

I asked the vendor how much I owed… He stopped pensively, looked at me and then said, 100 rupees. “What?!!” That’s too much! I exclaimed – that little bit of sweet did not equate to the price of a chocolate bar in my mind… I gave the man 20 rupees – thanked him and continued on my way.

As I walked I thought that maybe he had misunderstood me – Perhaps he thought I didn’t want to just pay for the sample he gave me but rather a regular amount…

Sometimes the language barrier really gets in the way.

Mark and I decided to eat North American one night so we were heading across the busy Galle Rd when a mid-aged man started walking with us. At the median, he began the, now familiar, banter… “You don’t recognize me, eh?” I looked at Mark, he at me… “No” Mark said politely. “I work at the Sapphire, I’m a bartender, there – I’m not wearing my uniform today – that’s why you don’t know me!”. We laughed – I thought I caught a glimmer of recognition in Mark’s eyes and later, I learned that Mark thought I had recognized the guy. He helped us a bit with directions and told us not to buy electronics in a nearby store because they were expensive and then he said he had to go because he had a Doctor’s appointment at the clinic “over there”. We said our good byes and thought nothing of the chance meeting…until 20 minutes later when we came out of another store and the same guy was in front of us. He said he had to pay a medical bill and that he would give us his watch in exchange for 800 rupees. I couldn’t bear him giving us his watch as collatoral so I suggested to Mark that we just give the money. The smallest denomination Mark had was 1,000 – As the guy walked away…Mark and I had the conversation we should have had after the first time the guy met us. I said, “Did you recognize that guy from the hotel?” “No, I thought you did” was Mark’s reply…. we both smiled knowingly… We’d been SCAMMED!

How did he know we were from the Sapphire though? We figured he had got the information from the three-wheeler we had just gotten out of. And I proved this point a few days later. At Majestic City, I had just climbed out of a Global Tower hotel car and entered a bookstore when a vaguely familiar-looking Sri Lankan man came up to me and said, “You’re from Global Towers – how are you – you don’t recognize me, na?” I could not believe it… there he was right in front of me doing the same schtick!! I told the guy, “I do recognize you and I want your WATCH!!” I figured I couldn’t get our money back from him but he still had his watch!! He was surprised with my outburst in the store and said immediately, “No, no, you have the wrong person, I’m a tuk-tuk driver!” I’m flaring now, “Okay, show me your tuk-tuk… and give me your watch!! you took money from me and my husband and I want it back!!” The guy ran out of the store and down to where the tuk-tuk’s were parked – I followed him – “I’m going to tell every tourist I know about your scam – you will be put out of business” I irrationally told him – he surprised me with this retort: “I will go to Kandy to Anaradapura, you will not be able to stop me!!”. It was all kind of funny and good entertainment for the tuk-tuk drivers – I wasn’t really upset…more intrigued about how this guy operated – and his good english!!

After the scam artist went into the Mall, one of the street vendors gave me the warning of never to talk to a “Talking Man” and I haven’t since that day! Well, sometimes, I tell them “I don’t talk to strangers” – Sometimes I just ignore them – Sometimes I tell them I’ve been in Sri Lanka for a long time and I know what they’re up to.

You see, the regular Sri Lankans, although a friendly bunch when you get to know them, are not typically the type to “chat up” perfect strangers. Only “talking men” do – and there are quite of few those types in places where tourists hang out. They usually start talking to you about the weather and how hot it is…then they ask where you’re from and how long you’ve been in Sri Lanka – if you’re still on amiable terms, they will see if you want to go to the festival…see an elephant… etc. How do I know this? Almost everyone can tell you such a story….there was one of friends who got taken on one such scam where he ended up seeing an elephant, a few other sites but then had to pay the three-wheeler driver an astronomical fee and just when his head was beginning to clear, the talking man said he had to pay him!! Oh there are many stories!

Here are pictures of Talking Men who walk the beat between Crescat Mall and the Galle Face Hotel. You’d think after I had got rid of one that the others wouldn’t try… but alas…

MB’s is just a block down the seaside road – it’s got cheap but tastey cappuccino (from a Nescafe machine) served in a real cup – tandoori chicken buns, nice salad offerings, and niblet corn as a side dish….not bad for fast food!