One Day In Sri Lanka

Love is in the Air

onedayinsrilanka — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 12:24:37 +0000

March 21st has come and gone back in Canada so Spring has officially started… I’m not sure Spring is such a big thing in a tropical climate when the seasons seem to look the same but alas, Spring…new growth, love….

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:

Student Art for Sale

onedayinsrilanka — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 14:51:31 +0000

We were heading to or returning from someplace else when the taxi turned out of a busy roundabout – suddenly several city-blocks of art appeared on a Park fence – I could barely contain myself as I asked the driver to stop and let us out!

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!

Huge Storm but Short!

onedayinsrilanka — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 08:06:46 +0000

A group of friends were out on the lawn at the Galle Face Hotel in Colombo enjoying the setting sun when a storm seemed to blow up from nowhere! Luckily we got under the veranda before the heavy rains hit…

A video of the action:

I changed my camera to capture video at 640 pixels rather than the 160 it came set at – I’m not too sure I’ll keep it there though, the files are just too huge – I’m thinking for what I’m using the video for, its not really worth the extra downloading time!

Lighthouse Beauty

onedayinsrilanka — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 11:21:22 +0000

Here a few shots from around the Lighthouse Hotel (a Geoffrey Bawa designed hotel) which is just 10 minutes or so from Galle. I took them while Brenda and I were on a reconaisance mission assessing nice hotels close to Colombo that Mark and I might want to stay at. The Lighthouse is definitely one I wish to return to!

A Photography Tour of Galle

onedayinsrilanka — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 11:07:24 +0000

One afternoon when Brenda and I were staying at the Lighthouse Hotel, I decided to hire a driver and scoot about Galle to take photographs. I thoroughly enjoyed myself! The driver was great – he not only went where I wanted to but also suggested a few places that were perfectly visually appealing (not your typical gem or souvenir shops!).

Here are a few samples from that afternoon:

Hiccaduwa Private School

onedayinsrilanka — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 10:44:23 +0000

Brenda and I went down to Hiccaduwa on another one of our ‘crazy woman weekends’ last fall. Across from our hotel was a private school. I met the owner who walked me around the premises and allowed me to take photos. He explained that after the Tsunami, his school was lucky enough to receive some sponsorship

He explained how the tsunami washed across the road and right into the class rooms – there were visible signs of structural damage but he explained things were pretty much back to normal.

Designs I like Part 5

onedayinsrilanka — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 17:29:22 +0000

These pots were found on the buffet table at Mount Lavinia Hotel – Very practical design but elegant as well.

The lids were really heavy so I can just imagine about the pots…won’t be taking anything like this home!

Colombo Flower Guys

onedayinsrilanka — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 12:09:23 +0000

A few Saturdays ago I got a rare chance just to go out and take photographs. It was a Poya Day so most of the stores were closed but as usual, the Flower STalls outside one of the Hindu Temples in the Wellawatta area along Galle St. were open for business.

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!

Bombay Sweets on Colombo Streets

onedayinsrilanka — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 08:22:03 +0000

BOMBAY SWEETS on COLOMBO STREETS
I heard the bell ringing first – it seemed far away but close enough to peak my interest. The streets of Colombo have many different mobile street vendors, some sell their wares from baskets atop their heads, others push two-wheel carts, while some have tuk-tuks or bicycles. Every morning I hear the pineapple sales men going buy the hotel – he yells, “Anansi” or something like that – I’m not sure how he’s carrying the pineapple, I’ve only heard him – and friends have told me what he does.

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.

Made In Canada – Sold in Sri Lanka

onedayinsrilanka — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 05:39:50 +0000

Now that’s quite a switch – This vendor was selling utility bags that had a “Made In Canada” stamp on it. The bags were made of a strong woven plastic that came from Alberta (from what I could tell) and cost about 40 cents Canadian (40 Rupees).