Newsletter aus Sri Lanka von Royston Ellis
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Premasiri
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Made in Sri Lanka: Herbal Teas
Searching for alternative beverages to black coffee or green loose-leaf tea (and sugared soft drinks) I decided to try herbal teas made in Sri Lanka. Since Sri Lankans are experts on traditional Ayurveda medicines, there is a wide choice. (Ayurveda is the Sanskrit for ‘the knowledge of long life.’)
Packets of herbal tea bags: Gotukola and Ranawara Gotukola (Centella asiatica) is said (by Wikipedia) to be “a mild adaptogen, mildly antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcergenic, anxiolytic, nervine and vilnery, and can act as a cerebral tonic, a circulatory stimulant, a diuretic and may be useful in treatment of anxiety.” It is grown in swampy conditions in Sri Lanka and is used as a leafy green in Sri Lankan cuisine.
I found Gotuloka Tea at Rs200 [£ .95p; US$ 1.53] for 25 sachets. On the packet, it states: “It is time tested to improve memory power, intelligence, concentration, immunity and as a remedy for catarrh and sinus ailments…healthy skin…wound healing…in old age helps to prevent loss of memory.” (Aha!)
Ranawara (Cassia auricultata) is an evergreen shrub also used in Ayurveda medicine and is said to be “good for diabetes… eye infections, joint and muscle pain…liver disease.” The packet (Rs175 [.83p; $ 1.34] for 25 sachets, states it has a medicinal quality and can be drunk any time of day.
Both teas taste a bit like spinach water - perhaps like drinking new mown grass must be - but are nevertheless refreshing.
Plein Air Art
As well as her incredible scenery, Sri Lanka is rich in artists who interpret that scenery in various ways. Notable is Ifthikar Cader who, very successfully, specialises in Plein Air painting. He will be holding an exhibition of his latest oil paintings at the Harold Peiris Gallery, Lionel Wendt, in Colombo on 8 & 9 December.
An evocative painting by Ifthikar Cader Cader began painting when he was 16 but was only able to devote all his time and energy to it from 1995 when he was 57. His work reflects the reassuring traditions of his generation.
Wildlife by Ifthikar Cader With plein air painting the artist has to capture the essence of a scene quickly before the light changes and affects colours in shadows and bright areas. Most of Cader’s paintings are on linen canvas but he sometimes uses good quality cotton canvas made in USA. He uses the best quality colours of the highest grade available. He believes that a good painting is one that stimulates visually, intellectually, and emotionally. The theme of his exhibition is: In the tradition of Plein-Air Realism.
For British Residents of Sri Lanka
British residents of Sri Lanka have long been encouraged to register their presence in the country with the British High Commission. This is not to ensure an invitation to Her Majesty’s Birthday Party nor to give the UK tax authorities extra information. It is simply to make it easier for the British High Commission to be in touch with British residents in the event of an emergency, either national or personal.
Reverse of an old Union Jack I found in an abandoned house in the Galle district As the (volunteer!) consular warden for the Galle district of Sri Lanka (all that area south of the Bentota river), a popular district for Britons to reside in either permanently or temporarily, I have been asked to pass on the following information to British residents, whether registered or not. (I’ll be at the Galle surgery.)
2 December 2012 from 10.00 am until 12.30 pm at Unawatuna Beach Resort, Unawatuna, Galle
The Consular Team will be available to answer your questions and give you advice about:
Please note that the Consular Team do not deal with visa enquiries
For further information please visit our website: www.ukinsrilanka.fco.gov.uk
Business Lunch
Park Street Mews restaurant is one of the many restaurants in Colombo run by the enterprising (and former dj) Harpo. It is a spacious place reflecting its original existence as a warehouse and has been converted with comfort and style. The wonderful news for diners and imbibers is that it now has a liquor licence.
Park Street Mews: cocktail list
I didn’t know that when I popped in for the Executive Lunch one day last week, so I was thrilled to discover decent, cool Margaritas at Rs550 [£ 2.61; $ 4.23] as well as wine and beer. The lunch menu, at only Rs999 nett [£ 4.75; $ 7.68] offers an extensive range of choices for starters, mains and dessert with a complimentary coke. (www.parkstreetmewsrestaurant.com)
Kumara started with an enormous platter of Bacon Caesar Salad while Andrew opted for a ‘knickerbocker glory’ glass stuffed with a prawns and avocado chunks. My choice was the bland but wholesome Vietnamese Vegetable Spring Rolls. Both my guests had Shredded Beef and Rice which, in fact, was cubes, not shreds, of beef with a rich sauce. My roast pork with sautéed cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, courgettes and potato wedges was succulent and satisfying. Outstanding among the usual suspects of chocolate-drenched desserts was an ample fruit platter.
Park Street Mews executive lunch: roast pork Living, as I do, out of Colombo, it amazes me that the quality and cost of lunching in the capital is so good. On the coast all we get (apart from rice-and-curry) is overcooked fish and undercooked chicken if we dare to lunch away from home.
Retiring?
From a new subscriber to this newsletter I have received this information, which I am happy to pass on to anyone considering retiring to Sri Lanka.
“You might like to know about our new website: http://www.retiretosrilanka.net It's intended to help/encourage people interested in retiring here but perhaps daunted by the process.”
Guide
Guide to Sri Lanka (Bradt) For those who prefer information old fashioned way - from a guide book – my Guide To Sri Lanka is still available through http://www.amazon.co.uk or direct from the publisher:
http://www.bradtguides.com/Book/552/Sri-Lanka.html
Warm regards
Royston
Geniesst noch die letzte Woche im November
LG Premasiri
Searching for alternative beverages to black coffee or green loose-leaf tea (and sugared soft drinks) I decided to try herbal teas made in Sri Lanka. Since Sri Lankans are experts on traditional Ayurveda medicines, there is a wide choice. (Ayurveda is the Sanskrit for ‘the knowledge of long life.’)
Packets of herbal tea bags: Gotukola and Ranawara I found Gotuloka Tea at Rs200 [£ .95p; US$ 1.53] for 25 sachets. On the packet, it states: “It is time tested to improve memory power, intelligence, concentration, immunity and as a remedy for catarrh and sinus ailments…healthy skin…wound healing…in old age helps to prevent loss of memory.” (Aha!)
Ranawara (Cassia auricultata) is an evergreen shrub also used in Ayurveda medicine and is said to be “good for diabetes… eye infections, joint and muscle pain…liver disease.” The packet (Rs175 [.83p; $ 1.34] for 25 sachets, states it has a medicinal quality and can be drunk any time of day.
Both teas taste a bit like spinach water - perhaps like drinking new mown grass must be - but are nevertheless refreshing.
Plein Air Art
As well as her incredible scenery, Sri Lanka is rich in artists who interpret that scenery in various ways. Notable is Ifthikar Cader who, very successfully, specialises in Plein Air painting. He will be holding an exhibition of his latest oil paintings at the Harold Peiris Gallery, Lionel Wendt, in Colombo on 8 & 9 December.
An evocative painting by Ifthikar Cader Wildlife by Ifthikar Cader For British Residents of Sri Lanka
British residents of Sri Lanka have long been encouraged to register their presence in the country with the British High Commission. This is not to ensure an invitation to Her Majesty’s Birthday Party nor to give the UK tax authorities extra information. It is simply to make it easier for the British High Commission to be in touch with British residents in the event of an emergency, either national or personal.
Reverse of an old Union Jack I found in an abandoned house in the Galle district British High Commission
The British High Commission, Colombo, will be conducting Consular Surgeries for
British Nationals living in or visiting Sri Lanka
On
1 December 2012 from 10.00 am until 12.30 pm at the Cinnamon Citadel Hotel, Kandy2 December 2012 from 10.00 am until 12.30 pm at Unawatuna Beach Resort, Unawatuna, Galle
The Consular Team will be available to answer your questions and give you advice about:
- The role of Consular Staff
- What we can and cannot do to assist British Nationals overseas
- How to apply for a British Passport
- Our role in a crisis
Please note that the Consular Team do not deal with visa enquiries
For further information please visit our website: www.ukinsrilanka.fco.gov.uk
Business Lunch
Park Street Mews restaurant is one of the many restaurants in Colombo run by the enterprising (and former dj) Harpo. It is a spacious place reflecting its original existence as a warehouse and has been converted with comfort and style. The wonderful news for diners and imbibers is that it now has a liquor licence.
Park Street Mews: cocktail list I didn’t know that when I popped in for the Executive Lunch one day last week, so I was thrilled to discover decent, cool Margaritas at Rs550 [£ 2.61; $ 4.23] as well as wine and beer. The lunch menu, at only Rs999 nett [£ 4.75; $ 7.68] offers an extensive range of choices for starters, mains and dessert with a complimentary coke. (www.parkstreetmewsrestaurant.com)
Kumara started with an enormous platter of Bacon Caesar Salad while Andrew opted for a ‘knickerbocker glory’ glass stuffed with a prawns and avocado chunks. My choice was the bland but wholesome Vietnamese Vegetable Spring Rolls. Both my guests had Shredded Beef and Rice which, in fact, was cubes, not shreds, of beef with a rich sauce. My roast pork with sautéed cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, courgettes and potato wedges was succulent and satisfying. Outstanding among the usual suspects of chocolate-drenched desserts was an ample fruit platter.
Park Street Mews executive lunch: roast pork Retiring?
From a new subscriber to this newsletter I have received this information, which I am happy to pass on to anyone considering retiring to Sri Lanka.
“You might like to know about our new website: http://www.retiretosrilanka.net It's intended to help/encourage people interested in retiring here but perhaps daunted by the process.”
Guide
Guide to Sri Lanka (Bradt) http://www.bradtguides.com/Book/552/Sri-Lanka.html
Warm regards
Royston
Geniesst noch die letzte Woche im November
LG Premasiri
Zuletzt bearbeitet:
Premasiri
Well-known member
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TROPICAL TOPICS, Sunday 2 December 2012.
Tropical greetings to readers around the world as we enjoy the last few days of 2012.
Grown in Sri Lanka
Lady Luck, a cute carnivorous plant I have recently become the proud owner of a miniature insect eating plant, called Nepenthes or Lady Luck, from a local company named Borneo Exotics (www.borneoexotics.com) and marketed by www.bio-domes.org through special Colombo outlets. It cost me just Rs 930 (£ 4.42; US$ 7.15)
Attractive packing for an insect eating plant The clever packaging describes it as “fun and easy to keep and grow” and explains it needs three hours direct sunlight a day and watering once a month to the level indicated on the plastic dome it lives in. The dome cover has a hole through which rainwater can be poured, and the instructions are that this protective plastic dome should not be removed, to keep the plant’s air humid.
Nepenthes in its plastic dome
The plant is not indigenous to Sri Lanka but is a hybrid descending from two different species of Nepenthes (commonly known as pitcher plants) introduced to Sri Lanka by Diane Williams and Robert Cantley in 1997. The company they started, Borneo Exotics, has since won sales around the world as well as four gold medals at the Chelsea Flower show.
Hair Today
Have you noticed how trendy hairdressing salons give themselves outrageous names? During my travels around Sri Lanka I have been looking out for examples and have so far seen these marvellous names:
Tangels
Cutting Block
Hair Matters
Cutting Station
Cut Above
Head Turners
Roots
Rumours
and, my favourite, Headmasters.
One hairdressing salon proclaimed it specialised in Bridle Dressing, perhaps something to do with dressage?
Ravi looks for hair to cut
My own hairdressing is done by Ravi (whose salon is called Salon Moira after the original owner) whom I first encountered about 25 years ago working in the Moira’s Salon in the basement of the Ceylon Intercontinental Hotel. He is still much in demand. Perhaps because I don’t have much hair to cut, he charges me Rs500 [£ 2.38; US$ 3.84) a trim.
Made in Sri Lanka
It’s no surprise that good tailoring exists in Sri Lanka. In fact every village has at least one tailor who can produce a shirt or trousers to one’s own design very quickly. All my clothes are tailor-made, and that’s not boasting – it’s simply more practical and cheaper than mass-produced garments, and means I can maintain my fashion (safari shirts with four pockets) while the fashionistas follow other people.
Sri Lanka: a village tailor (at Haputale) With so many hotels and restaurants in the country, it’s not surprising either that an enterprising company produces hospitality staff uniforms to order. I don’t know why chairman/managing director Walter Perera calls his company Queens Work Wear but his workshop in Ja-Ela produces a majestic range of uniforms, from dashing chefs tunics and trendy toques to shirts for special theme nights (Chinese, Seafood, etc.)
Sri Lanka: hotel uniforms made to measure I saw some of them on rather stiff display at a recent hotel exhibition in Colombo. The company “exports quality uniforms to the hospitality industry and clinical uniforms to the health care industry. (http://www.queensworkwear.com)
Breakfast in Maldives
I am hopeless at breakfast, even on a hangover-free morning, and at home prefer to eat alone in the papaya orchard while the sea splashes the beach across the road and I can lose myself in a newspaper. So when I’m staying in a hotel I often opt for room service rather than face a scrum at a buffet counter of under-dressed and weary people scrambling for overcooked and equally-weary scrambled egg.
At Kurumba in the Maldives where I stayed last week there is the perfect option for a peaceful breakfast. For guests in certain categories of rooms, and for those who pay a few extra dollars for the privilege, breakfast is served beachside from a menu, not from a buffet.
Breakfast at Kurumba, Maldives
A fruit and meat platter, breads - including gluten free bread – are brought to the table, as well as juices and tea or coffee and the guest’s choice from a menu that includes Farmer’s Grill (eggs, bacon, sausage, etc.), eggs benedict, Italian, Indian and Far East Asia breakfasts, French crepes and omelettes. I usually choose the whites of egg omelette with smoked salmon as an accompaniment to the apparently unlimited serving of Piper Heidsieck champagne.
Mile High Club
A fascinating survey by Asia Pacific’s leading travel search site Wego (www.wego.com) has revealed that airline passengers are still quite partial to becoming members of the Mile High Club. Of 3,000 air passengers interviewed, 15 percent told Wego they had witnessed some form of sexual conduct on an aircraft.
Mile high on a private plane; where’s the passengers? Many reported observing two people entering a bathroom together, "followed by a lot of squealing and banging [sic]". There were many sexual variations reported, such as the flight where passengers were frightened by a strange noise in the overhead locker; it was discovered to be a buzzing vibrator in a woman’s handbag. Another passenger was intrigued to find a life size inflatable female doll in the centre seat next to him, apparently with a ticket paid for by its male owner in the adjoining seat.
It seems respondents to Wego’s survey were not offended by what they saw, although only a few confessed to being proud members of the fabled Club.
The Big Beat Scene
The Big Beat Scene brings back the past For the rock ‘n’ roll life that gave birth to the Swinging Sixties, see the reprint by Mentor Music Books of The Big Beat Scene, my book about the early pop music scene, available from http://musicmentor0.tripod.com/book_big_beat_scene.html.
Beat regards
Royston.
Wünsche allen einen schönen ersten Advent mit oder ohne Glühwein
LG Premasiri
Tropical greetings to readers around the world as we enjoy the last few days of 2012.
Grown in Sri Lanka
Lady Luck, a cute carnivorous plant Attractive packing for an insect eating plant Nepenthes in its plastic dome The plant is not indigenous to Sri Lanka but is a hybrid descending from two different species of Nepenthes (commonly known as pitcher plants) introduced to Sri Lanka by Diane Williams and Robert Cantley in 1997. The company they started, Borneo Exotics, has since won sales around the world as well as four gold medals at the Chelsea Flower show.
Hair Today
Have you noticed how trendy hairdressing salons give themselves outrageous names? During my travels around Sri Lanka I have been looking out for examples and have so far seen these marvellous names:
Tangels
Cutting Block
Hair Matters
Cutting Station
Cut Above
Head Turners
Roots
Rumours
and, my favourite, Headmasters.
One hairdressing salon proclaimed it specialised in Bridle Dressing, perhaps something to do with dressage?
Ravi looks for hair to cut My own hairdressing is done by Ravi (whose salon is called Salon Moira after the original owner) whom I first encountered about 25 years ago working in the Moira’s Salon in the basement of the Ceylon Intercontinental Hotel. He is still much in demand. Perhaps because I don’t have much hair to cut, he charges me Rs500 [£ 2.38; US$ 3.84) a trim.
Made in Sri Lanka
It’s no surprise that good tailoring exists in Sri Lanka. In fact every village has at least one tailor who can produce a shirt or trousers to one’s own design very quickly. All my clothes are tailor-made, and that’s not boasting – it’s simply more practical and cheaper than mass-produced garments, and means I can maintain my fashion (safari shirts with four pockets) while the fashionistas follow other people.
Sri Lanka: a village tailor (at Haputale) Sri Lanka: hotel uniforms made to measure Breakfast in Maldives
I am hopeless at breakfast, even on a hangover-free morning, and at home prefer to eat alone in the papaya orchard while the sea splashes the beach across the road and I can lose myself in a newspaper. So when I’m staying in a hotel I often opt for room service rather than face a scrum at a buffet counter of under-dressed and weary people scrambling for overcooked and equally-weary scrambled egg.
At Kurumba in the Maldives where I stayed last week there is the perfect option for a peaceful breakfast. For guests in certain categories of rooms, and for those who pay a few extra dollars for the privilege, breakfast is served beachside from a menu, not from a buffet.
Breakfast at Kurumba, Maldives A fruit and meat platter, breads - including gluten free bread – are brought to the table, as well as juices and tea or coffee and the guest’s choice from a menu that includes Farmer’s Grill (eggs, bacon, sausage, etc.), eggs benedict, Italian, Indian and Far East Asia breakfasts, French crepes and omelettes. I usually choose the whites of egg omelette with smoked salmon as an accompaniment to the apparently unlimited serving of Piper Heidsieck champagne.
Mile High Club
A fascinating survey by Asia Pacific’s leading travel search site Wego (www.wego.com) has revealed that airline passengers are still quite partial to becoming members of the Mile High Club. Of 3,000 air passengers interviewed, 15 percent told Wego they had witnessed some form of sexual conduct on an aircraft.
Mile high on a private plane; where’s the passengers? It seems respondents to Wego’s survey were not offended by what they saw, although only a few confessed to being proud members of the fabled Club.
The Big Beat Scene
The Big Beat Scene brings back the past Beat regards
Royston.
Wünsche allen einen schönen ersten Advent mit oder ohne Glühwein
LG Premasiri
C
Claudia
Guest
Das Bild aus der alten Schneiderei ist einfach genial!!! 
- Registriert
- 25. Juli 2005
- Beiträge
- 8.351
Yepp Claudia, mir gefällt das auch.
Kurios find ich auch die vielen verschiedenen Namen für die Friseursalons. Der Royston passt ja schon auf, gelle.
Immer wieder herrlich, hier zu lesen.
Übrigens hat Hänschen für einen Haarschnitt inkl Rasur 80 Rps. gezahlt.
Danke Premasiri und liebe Grüsse, Biggi
Kurios find ich auch die vielen verschiedenen Namen für die Friseursalons. Der Royston passt ja schon auf, gelle.
Immer wieder herrlich, hier zu lesen.Übrigens hat Hänschen für einen Haarschnitt inkl Rasur 80 Rps. gezahlt.
Danke Premasiri und liebe Grüsse, Biggi
Premasiri
Well-known member
- Registriert
- 8. Aug. 2009
- Beiträge
- 10.693
Yepp Claudia, mir gefällt das auch.
Kurios find ich auch die vielen verschiedenen Namen für die Friseursalons. Der Royston passt ja schon auf, gelle.
Übrigens hat Hänschen für einen Haarschnitt inkl Rasur 80 Rps. gezahlt.
Danke Premasiri und liebe Grüsse, Biggi
Peter hat beim Coiffeur Diana in Aluthgama inclusive Rasur und Gesichtsmassage auch 500 Rps. bezahlt...
das Bild von diesem Schneider in Haputale ist einfach genial.
War wieder intressant wie immer, freue mich jeden Sonntag auf den Newsletter und bin jedesmal wieder überrascht was Royston wieder erlebt und gesehen hat....
LG Premasiri
christa123
Verlobte von Hänschen !!!
- Registriert
- 20. Aug. 2005
- Beiträge
- 348
diese Art Berichte gefällt mir sehr gut,er gibt einen Einblick in das Leben in Sri Lanka
aiach freue mich ueber jeden neuen Bericht.
noch eine schoene Woche
wuenscht Christa aus dem Schnee
aiach freue mich ueber jeden neuen Bericht.
noch eine schoene Woche
wuenscht Christa aus dem Schnee
Premasiri
Well-known member
- Registriert
- 8. Aug. 2009
- Beiträge
- 10.693
Habt ihr schon Entzugserscheinungen????
Habe den Newsletter erst heute um 04:34 erhalten...
TROPICAL TOPICS Sunday 9 December 2012
Greetings from the sunny climes of Sri Lanka!
Househusband/street photographer
Househusbands are quite common in Sri Lanka. They are the husbands of foreign women who are employed (often as diplomats) here on contracts. A condition of their spouse visa is that they are forbidden to work. One such househusband goes by the pseudonym of dayvmattt. I have just seen some of the street photography he has begun to compile as a hobby during his time in Colombo.
Colombo street scene by dayvmattt He has already published a coffee table book and an eBook of his Seoul street photography, and plans to do the same when his wife’s contract finishes and he leaves Sri Lanka. Judging from his website blog.dayvmattt.com, it will be a treat – new insights making the every day street scene memorable.
Supermarket Alert
I hope it’s only a coincidence, and not a trend being inflicted on other guileless supermarket shoppers like me. Twice this week, I have been caught by cashiers’ incompetence (or is it a skilful rip off?). The first time was in Bentota where, when I checked the bill after I got home, I found I had been charged for a packet of “Sweet Peanuts” I had never bought and wasn’t in my shopping bag. Fortunately, the next day the manager was able to check the cash register against stock, agreed with me, and refunded the money.
Check the checkout
Next it happened at a major supermarket in Colombo. But it was only when I checked the bill at home that I discovered I had been charged for an item – a “tin of sweet and sour fish” - that I would never buy, and didn’t have. The moral seems to be to do what every careful housewife (or househusband) does: check what one is being charged for at the checkout counter. Even in Sri Lanka!
Calling Brits
As the volunteer Consular Warden for the Galle (Southern) District of Sri Lanka for the British High Commission, I am sometimes asked how many British residents there are in the south of Sri Lanka. I thought we might find out when the official consul team (John, Mary & Thiranee) held a Consular Surgery in Galle last week.
The British flag flies at UBR (Unawatuna Beach Resort) Alas, only about 10 people turned up but as John said, “It can be seen we are here if required.”
I’ve heard the number of British residents in the south estimated at 200. Most of those, though, are “semi” residents, not here on long-term resident visas but as short-term visitors. Some of them are only “semi” owners of property here, since their beach houses, bungalows, etc., are leased, or bought in the name of a nominee.
All Britons intending to stay in Sri Lanka for more than 30 days are officially advised to register their presence, simply so they can be contacted in case of an emergency. If you are a British resident here and want a form to register, please send me an email and I will post you one.
Food discrimination
A new restaurant has opened in Alutgama, the main town near my home. I was excited, as I am always keen to support new ventures and perhaps try new versions of tropical cuisine. However, I was perturbed by the sign outside this restaurant that, rather rudely, states: “No Beef, No Pork.”
Blatant food discrimination
Given that the sign is in English and, thus, presumably intended for tourists, the announcement that the restaurant does not serve beef or pork is so negative, why should tourists bother to go there? Wouldn’t it be better for the sign to concentrate on what the restaurant does do, such as: “Riverside Sri Lankan Cuisine - seafood, fish, rice and curry, chicken and vegetarian dishes” instead of telling us what we can’t eat?
Grand Hotel: Chapters of Grandeur
“Chapters of Grandeur” is a romantic, eye-catching title but this book is not a novel, although it could well be, given the amount of intrigue and the number of characters in it. This is the story of the Grand Hotel, Nuwara Eliya, and its importance in the fabric of ancient and modern (as well as tourist) Sri Lanka.
The Grand Hotel, Nuwara Eliya Thanks to the diligence of the author, British resident Richard Boyle, helped with research by Ismath Rahim and ably supported by architect Waruna Gomis as photographer, here is a volume that will astound as well as entertain and inform. It’s lavish and expensive (advertised at Rs8,500 [£ 40; US$ 65] but much more than the story of a hotel; it is a well-documented and well-presented, and charmingly irresistible account that takes us from ancient Serendib via colonial Ceylon to 21[SUP]st[/SUP] century Sri Lanka.
I’ve a special interest in this book since I wrote the commemorative volume for the hotel’s centenary which was celebrated in 1991, based on 1891 being the date the Nuwara Eliya Hotels Company was formed to take over, own and operate the Grand Hotel. I also contributed the foreword to this volume, so it’s my choice this week for a book to treasure and enjoy - even for those who’ve not yet stayed at the Grand Hotel - for a record of an age that is slipping away as the 21[SUP]st[/SUP] century advances on Sri Lanka. (www.tangerinehotels.com)
Website advertisement for the Grand Hotel coffee table book Sunny Season’s Greetings!
Royston
Das mit dem zuviel getippt passiert mir auch hie und da im Supermarkt in der Schweiz.....kontrolliere den Kassenzettel seid neuem immer bevor ich den Laden verlasse.
LG Premasiri
Habe den Newsletter erst heute um 04:34 erhalten...
TROPICAL TOPICS Sunday 9 December 2012
Greetings from the sunny climes of Sri Lanka!
Househusband/street photographer
Househusbands are quite common in Sri Lanka. They are the husbands of foreign women who are employed (often as diplomats) here on contracts. A condition of their spouse visa is that they are forbidden to work. One such househusband goes by the pseudonym of dayvmattt. I have just seen some of the street photography he has begun to compile as a hobby during his time in Colombo.
Colombo street scene by dayvmattt Supermarket Alert
I hope it’s only a coincidence, and not a trend being inflicted on other guileless supermarket shoppers like me. Twice this week, I have been caught by cashiers’ incompetence (or is it a skilful rip off?). The first time was in Bentota where, when I checked the bill after I got home, I found I had been charged for a packet of “Sweet Peanuts” I had never bought and wasn’t in my shopping bag. Fortunately, the next day the manager was able to check the cash register against stock, agreed with me, and refunded the money.
Check the checkout Next it happened at a major supermarket in Colombo. But it was only when I checked the bill at home that I discovered I had been charged for an item – a “tin of sweet and sour fish” - that I would never buy, and didn’t have. The moral seems to be to do what every careful housewife (or househusband) does: check what one is being charged for at the checkout counter. Even in Sri Lanka!
Calling Brits
As the volunteer Consular Warden for the Galle (Southern) District of Sri Lanka for the British High Commission, I am sometimes asked how many British residents there are in the south of Sri Lanka. I thought we might find out when the official consul team (John, Mary & Thiranee) held a Consular Surgery in Galle last week.
The British flag flies at UBR (Unawatuna Beach Resort) I’ve heard the number of British residents in the south estimated at 200. Most of those, though, are “semi” residents, not here on long-term resident visas but as short-term visitors. Some of them are only “semi” owners of property here, since their beach houses, bungalows, etc., are leased, or bought in the name of a nominee.
All Britons intending to stay in Sri Lanka for more than 30 days are officially advised to register their presence, simply so they can be contacted in case of an emergency. If you are a British resident here and want a form to register, please send me an email and I will post you one.
Food discrimination
A new restaurant has opened in Alutgama, the main town near my home. I was excited, as I am always keen to support new ventures and perhaps try new versions of tropical cuisine. However, I was perturbed by the sign outside this restaurant that, rather rudely, states: “No Beef, No Pork.”
Blatant food discrimination Given that the sign is in English and, thus, presumably intended for tourists, the announcement that the restaurant does not serve beef or pork is so negative, why should tourists bother to go there? Wouldn’t it be better for the sign to concentrate on what the restaurant does do, such as: “Riverside Sri Lankan Cuisine - seafood, fish, rice and curry, chicken and vegetarian dishes” instead of telling us what we can’t eat?
Grand Hotel: Chapters of Grandeur
“Chapters of Grandeur” is a romantic, eye-catching title but this book is not a novel, although it could well be, given the amount of intrigue and the number of characters in it. This is the story of the Grand Hotel, Nuwara Eliya, and its importance in the fabric of ancient and modern (as well as tourist) Sri Lanka.
The Grand Hotel, Nuwara Eliya I’ve a special interest in this book since I wrote the commemorative volume for the hotel’s centenary which was celebrated in 1991, based on 1891 being the date the Nuwara Eliya Hotels Company was formed to take over, own and operate the Grand Hotel. I also contributed the foreword to this volume, so it’s my choice this week for a book to treasure and enjoy - even for those who’ve not yet stayed at the Grand Hotel - for a record of an age that is slipping away as the 21[SUP]st[/SUP] century advances on Sri Lanka. (www.tangerinehotels.com)
Website advertisement for the Grand Hotel coffee table book Royston
Das mit dem zuviel getippt passiert mir auch hie und da im Supermarkt in der Schweiz.....kontrolliere den Kassenzettel seid neuem immer bevor ich den Laden verlasse.
LG Premasiri
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Premasiri schrieb:
Joo, doch schon ein wenig.
Ich hab übrigens bisher auch noch nie die Bons in den Märkten kontrolliert. Ob hier oder in SL, weil ich wahrscheinlich doch zuviel Vertrauen an die Ehrlichkeit habe. Was Royston beschreibt scheint ja wohl schon eher an Betrug zu grenzen, weil er halt ein Weisser ist, wird mal flott mehr eingetippt...
Liebe Grüsse in die Schweiz, Biggi
Joo, doch schon ein wenig.
Ich hab übrigens bisher auch noch nie die Bons in den Märkten kontrolliert. Ob hier oder in SL, weil ich wahrscheinlich doch zuviel Vertrauen an die Ehrlichkeit habe. Was Royston beschreibt scheint ja wohl schon eher an Betrug zu grenzen, weil er halt ein Weisser ist, wird mal flott mehr eingetippt...
Liebe Grüsse in die Schweiz, Biggi
christa123
Verlobte von Hänschen !!!
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- 20. Aug. 2005
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- 348
Leider konnte ich erst heute den Bericht lesen, aber wie immer wunderbar beschrieben, man kann sich in die verschieden Situationen hineindenken.
Ein Bravo
Christa die einen halben Meter unter Schnee ist und auf die
will
Ein Bravo
Christa die einen halben Meter unter Schnee ist und auf die
will
Premasiri
Well-known member
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- 8. Aug. 2009
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- 10.693
TROPICAL TOPICS, Sunday 16 December 2013.
Season’s greetings as Christmas looms and the New Year is about to dawn.
Red Lantern Christmas
Galle Face Hotel: bagpipers play for the lowering of flags.
The Christmas season in Colombo is heralded annually by the Red Lantern Vigil at the Galle Face Hotel. Like so many visitors to this country since 1864 (when it was opened as a hotel), I spent my first night in Sri Lanka in the hotel. I remember the room resembled the inside of a plywood box (they’ve since been splendidly refurbished) and I checked out the next day and headed to Trincomalee.
However, I’ve always had a soft spot for the hotel not just as a traditional and fun place to stay in Colombo, but also for its parties. These are always “events” rather a formal cocktail party, and this year’s Red Lantern Vigil was spectacular.
A bagpipe band played for the flag-lowering ceremony after which the invitees trooped, each guest carrying a red candle lantern (for which we paid a donation to charity), around the corner and along Galle Road to the hotel’s Regency Wing. There in the garden, accompanied by the sound of the sea, a choir sang carols, a band played, drinks flowed, and the snack-buffet kept us all happy.
Hair raising
My comments recently about saucy names for hairdressers brought in this example from Richard Boyle, spotted in Nawala: Curl Up And Dye.
Kate Spencer from the UK, who visits Sri Lanka annually with her husband Tim, writes: “We are concerned that you may be being overcharged for your hairdressing...Each year, Tim takes his custom to a barber whose name escapes me on the main road in Ambalangoda… on the left, going south, just before the station road. I've attached a picture from our October 2012 visit showing Piyal (our driver) "supervising." Total cost, including full head massage, with tip....R200!! [95p; S1.58]
A village barber at work on Tim Spencer Where to be born
Another of those rather silly lists has been prepared by the The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a sister company of The Economist. The topic this time is where best to be born in 2013 for a healthy, safe and prosperous life in years to come.
Sri Lanka: better to be born here. The list, according to a press release “links the results of subjective life-satisfaction surveys - how happy people say they are - to objective determinants of quality of life across countries.”
Hmm…
The EIU’s chart of the best places to be born It continues: “One of the most important factors is being rich, but other factors come into play - including crime, trust in public institutions and the health of family life. Another factor includes potential income per head in 2030, which is roughly when children born in 2013 will reach adulthood.
Alas, Sri Lanka only rates at Number 63 out of 80 countries, just a bit better than Ecuador or India. Nigeria is at the bottom of the list and Switzerland at the top; no surprise there. Singapore is sixth, with Britain just under France at number 27 and the USA equal with Germany at number 16.
I’m sure Sri Lanka would rate much higher in the survey “It’s good to be here.”
Tourist taxes up in 2013
The indirect taxes paid by visitors to Sri Lanka rise from 1 January 2013. The 30-day on-line visa fee (www.eta.gov.lk) goes up by US$5 to $25 while the airport departure tax (applicable to Sri Lankans as well) of US$15 increases by $10 (Rs1,300) to $25.
New office
Baros Maldives: thatched cabana on the beach This newsletter comes to you from my new office, pictured above: my villa on Baros Maldives where I am spending a few days working on a new book. The book’s actually about Baros, which was only the third island to open for tourists in the Maldives and will be celebrating its 40[SUP]th[/SUP] anniversary next year – hence a commemorative book.
Baros Maldives: a golden sand beach girdles the island. Baros has preserved its Maldivian style and tranquillity with emphasis on the personal touch, so much so that many of the guests are repeaters. At this time of the year, who can blame them for returning to this private island paradise to revel in the sun, sea and sand.
Baros Maldives: Palm Garden and Sails Bar. And to enjoy the warm conviviality of the Palm Garden and the Sails bar (www.baros.com)
New car
Sri Lanka’s Micro car I am considering replacing our three-wheeler with a small car to make local driving less of an anxious experience as I get older. I won’t drive it myself though, as I no longer have a licence; that will be Kumara’s responsibility. I have seen new models of the Micro Trend hatchback (assembled in Sri Lanka) advertised in the local press at Rs1,550.000 [£ 6,740; US$ 11,923] (www.microcars.lk).
I’d like to receive comments to royston@roystonellis.com from anyone who’s had experience of this vehicle. “Hell, it's not even classed as a car – it's a quadricycle” as one motoring magazine snootily calls it.
Apologies
My apologies for the late delivery of last Sunday’s Tropical Topics. Webmonster Andrew was out of town and out of touch on Sunday and it was only on Monday that he responded to my agonised pleas thus: “There was a server mail sending problem and even though the auto scheduling did work, the emails were not sent out. Now it's been fixed and back to normal. Sorry about it. Had to wait till the mail UK guys at the data centre fixed it, as it was beyond my settings/control...”
My publisher, Music Mentor Books, informs me that the cost of the reprint (with its additional insights) of my 1961 book The Big Beat Scene is to be increased from 1 January 2013. So now’s a good time to buy it for stuffing in the stocking of that ageing rocker in your life. It’s available from http://musicmentor0.tripod.com/book_big_beat_scene.html.
Beat regards and sunny Season’s Greetings
Royston
wünsche allen Lesern einen schönen vierten Advent
Premasiri
Season’s greetings as Christmas looms and the New Year is about to dawn.
Red Lantern Christmas
The Christmas season in Colombo is heralded annually by the Red Lantern Vigil at the Galle Face Hotel. Like so many visitors to this country since 1864 (when it was opened as a hotel), I spent my first night in Sri Lanka in the hotel. I remember the room resembled the inside of a plywood box (they’ve since been splendidly refurbished) and I checked out the next day and headed to Trincomalee.
However, I’ve always had a soft spot for the hotel not just as a traditional and fun place to stay in Colombo, but also for its parties. These are always “events” rather a formal cocktail party, and this year’s Red Lantern Vigil was spectacular.
A bagpipe band played for the flag-lowering ceremony after which the invitees trooped, each guest carrying a red candle lantern (for which we paid a donation to charity), around the corner and along Galle Road to the hotel’s Regency Wing. There in the garden, accompanied by the sound of the sea, a choir sang carols, a band played, drinks flowed, and the snack-buffet kept us all happy.
Hair raising
My comments recently about saucy names for hairdressers brought in this example from Richard Boyle, spotted in Nawala: Curl Up And Dye.
Kate Spencer from the UK, who visits Sri Lanka annually with her husband Tim, writes: “We are concerned that you may be being overcharged for your hairdressing...Each year, Tim takes his custom to a barber whose name escapes me on the main road in Ambalangoda… on the left, going south, just before the station road. I've attached a picture from our October 2012 visit showing Piyal (our driver) "supervising." Total cost, including full head massage, with tip....R200!! [95p; S1.58]
Another of those rather silly lists has been prepared by the The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a sister company of The Economist. The topic this time is where best to be born in 2013 for a healthy, safe and prosperous life in years to come.
Hmm…
Alas, Sri Lanka only rates at Number 63 out of 80 countries, just a bit better than Ecuador or India. Nigeria is at the bottom of the list and Switzerland at the top; no surprise there. Singapore is sixth, with Britain just under France at number 27 and the USA equal with Germany at number 16.
I’m sure Sri Lanka would rate much higher in the survey “It’s good to be here.”
Tourist taxes up in 2013
The indirect taxes paid by visitors to Sri Lanka rise from 1 January 2013. The 30-day on-line visa fee (www.eta.gov.lk) goes up by US$5 to $25 while the airport departure tax (applicable to Sri Lankans as well) of US$15 increases by $10 (Rs1,300) to $25.
New office
New car
I’d like to receive comments to royston@roystonellis.com from anyone who’s had experience of this vehicle. “Hell, it's not even classed as a car – it's a quadricycle” as one motoring magazine snootily calls it.
Apologies
My apologies for the late delivery of last Sunday’s Tropical Topics. Webmonster Andrew was out of town and out of touch on Sunday and it was only on Monday that he responded to my agonised pleas thus: “There was a server mail sending problem and even though the auto scheduling did work, the emails were not sent out. Now it's been fixed and back to normal. Sorry about it. Had to wait till the mail UK guys at the data centre fixed it, as it was beyond my settings/control...”
My publisher, Music Mentor Books, informs me that the cost of the reprint (with its additional insights) of my 1961 book The Big Beat Scene is to be increased from 1 January 2013. So now’s a good time to buy it for stuffing in the stocking of that ageing rocker in your life. It’s available from http://musicmentor0.tripod.com/book_big_beat_scene.html.
Beat regards and sunny Season’s Greetings
Royston
wünsche allen Lesern einen schönen vierten Advent
Premasiri
C
Claudia
Guest
Lankaner im Schottenrock *schmunzel*
Premasiri
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TROPICAL TOPICS, Sunday 23 December 2012
Season’s greetings from Sri Lanka to readers around the world.
Made in Sri Lanka: Savoury Nuts
Just right for a Christmas snack – some savoury nuts that aren’t actually hazel nuts, Brazil nuts or walnuts; made in Sri Lanka these are exotically spicy imitation cashew nuts. Guests at Horizon Cottage love them with sundowners as they satisfy hunger pangs while titillating the palate to taste another tipple.
Sri Lankan speciality: savoury nuts
Although I can’t eat them now that I’m on a gluten-free regime (they’re made of wheat flour) I remember how much I enjoyed them in the past. They come beautifully packed in boxes of 170g net and are manufactured by the Sri Lankan company, CBL Munchee, and are exported worldwide (www.muncheelk.com). A box costs Rs115 [.54p; .88cents]
Napkin Clips
It’s not just old age; it’s a matter of dining etiquette. For years I was embarrassed whenever I went out for dinner and laid the napkin across my lap, or tucked it in between two buttons on my shirt, and then minutes later felt it slip to the floor. What to do? To pick it up from the floor and start again seems unhygienic.
Quite by chance in Paris I discovered Napkin Clips. These are clips designed specifically to attach a table napkin to one’s shirt. I bought one with a clip and a dangling gold painted metal butterfly that looked rather fetching and became a dinner conversation piece. Then I lost it.
I googled Napkin Clips and discovered there are hundreds out there, but these are mostly two clips on a lanyard to use as a necklace around one’s neck and secure the napkin like a bib. Or they look like electrician’s crocodile clips. Actually the napkin clip was familiar in Victorian & Edwardian days with antique clips from that era selling on eBay for anything from £40 to £200.
An Edwardian silver napkin clip made in Birmingham.
Flying last year in Business Class on Iberia I discovered that, instead of having a buttonhole in the napkin so you can attach the napkin to a shirt button (as some airlines, like Sri Lankan, provide), Iberia issued miniature plastic pegs for the purpose. So I bought a small wooden clothes peg and decorated it with feathers to make my own napkin clip to prevent further embarrassment while dining.
Napkin clip: a clothes peg and feathers secure it to the shirt
In the meantime, I saw this enquiry on a cruise accessories website: Does anyone know of where I can get a napkin clip for my husband?
To which someone had replied: Is that a fair exchange?????
The Most Romantic Resort in the World.
Baros Maldives, where I stayed last week, has recently won the travel industry’s Oscar as the World’s Most Romantic Resort in the annual World Travel Awards (http://www.worldtravelawards.com). To celebrate, I had dinner on a sand bank.
Baros Maldives: romantic dinner on a sandbank
My companion for this incredible experience was the resort’s popular Executive Assistant Manager, Ahmed Shuhan, a Maldivian of beaming personality and romantic soul. Our conversation centred on the marvel of dining under a starlit sky on an isolated island-in-formation, that wasn’t even there seven years ago.
Attended by a sarong clad steward and a dedicated chef, we enjoyed a dinner in this pop up restaurant that would put gourmet establishments to shame. How could they compete with the romance of the sun setting as we sipped champagne, the shy rising of the moon, the gentle splash of surf lapping the sand at our feet, the flickering glow of candlelight, the perfect table setting, and a memorable meal prepared with panache and served with patient charm?
Baros Maldives: Ocean & Earth BBQ menu
Shuhan told me the sandbank dinner is the highlight of a stay at Baros for couples. The price is not expensive for what is included: the transfer to and from the sandbank by motorboat, the gourmet menu (shown above) of generous portions, a bottle of champagne, the exclusive use of the sandbank for the evening, and an experience to treasure, just US$475 – and that’s for two!
Sign of the times
A couple of weeks ago (Newsletter 139) I featured a restaurant sign that got me annoyed because it stated “No pork, no beef” which is like saying “no tourists.” Perhaps someone told the restaurant owner because the sign has been replaced with this much more positive one.
Restaurant sign with everything
Head note
As a head (instead of a foot) note to my recent report of cute signs outside hairdressing salons, I spotted this one on the road to the airport in Sri Lanka: Hair Springs.
From the publisher of my epic The Big Beat Scene, I learn that Curl Up & Dye is the name of the hair/beauty salon featured in The Blues Brothers. He adds: “Many years ago, I used to go to a hairdresser called Short & Curlies… and the most inspired name I've seen is that of a hairdresser located on Swain House Road, Bradford, West Yorks: Swainy Todd.”
My publisher points out that the correct address of the website to purchase the book for that ageing rocker (or rockette) in your life to roll in the New Year is:
http://musicmentor0.tripod.com/book_big_beat_scene.html.
Christmas shopping
For the first time since we began publishing this newsletter 140 weeks ago, we’re having a break (actually I’m in Bangkok right now - for Christmas shopping, of course; what else?), so no newsletter on Sunday 30 December. However, to keep in touch with Sri Lanka, don’t forget my Bradt Guide Book, available through http://www.amazon.co.uk or direct from the publisher: http://www.bradtguides.com/Book/552/Sri-Lanka.html
Happy holidays
Royston
Season’s greetings from Sri Lanka to readers around the world.
Made in Sri Lanka: Savoury Nuts
Just right for a Christmas snack – some savoury nuts that aren’t actually hazel nuts, Brazil nuts or walnuts; made in Sri Lanka these are exotically spicy imitation cashew nuts. Guests at Horizon Cottage love them with sundowners as they satisfy hunger pangs while titillating the palate to taste another tipple.
Sri Lankan speciality: savoury nuts Although I can’t eat them now that I’m on a gluten-free regime (they’re made of wheat flour) I remember how much I enjoyed them in the past. They come beautifully packed in boxes of 170g net and are manufactured by the Sri Lankan company, CBL Munchee, and are exported worldwide (www.muncheelk.com). A box costs Rs115 [.54p; .88cents]
Napkin Clips
It’s not just old age; it’s a matter of dining etiquette. For years I was embarrassed whenever I went out for dinner and laid the napkin across my lap, or tucked it in between two buttons on my shirt, and then minutes later felt it slip to the floor. What to do? To pick it up from the floor and start again seems unhygienic.
Quite by chance in Paris I discovered Napkin Clips. These are clips designed specifically to attach a table napkin to one’s shirt. I bought one with a clip and a dangling gold painted metal butterfly that looked rather fetching and became a dinner conversation piece. Then I lost it.
I googled Napkin Clips and discovered there are hundreds out there, but these are mostly two clips on a lanyard to use as a necklace around one’s neck and secure the napkin like a bib. Or they look like electrician’s crocodile clips. Actually the napkin clip was familiar in Victorian & Edwardian days with antique clips from that era selling on eBay for anything from £40 to £200.
An Edwardian silver napkin clip made in Birmingham. Flying last year in Business Class on Iberia I discovered that, instead of having a buttonhole in the napkin so you can attach the napkin to a shirt button (as some airlines, like Sri Lankan, provide), Iberia issued miniature plastic pegs for the purpose. So I bought a small wooden clothes peg and decorated it with feathers to make my own napkin clip to prevent further embarrassment while dining.
Napkin clip: a clothes peg and feathers secure it to the shirt In the meantime, I saw this enquiry on a cruise accessories website: Does anyone know of where I can get a napkin clip for my husband?
To which someone had replied: Is that a fair exchange?????
The Most Romantic Resort in the World.
Baros Maldives, where I stayed last week, has recently won the travel industry’s Oscar as the World’s Most Romantic Resort in the annual World Travel Awards (http://www.worldtravelawards.com). To celebrate, I had dinner on a sand bank.
Baros Maldives: romantic dinner on a sandbank My companion for this incredible experience was the resort’s popular Executive Assistant Manager, Ahmed Shuhan, a Maldivian of beaming personality and romantic soul. Our conversation centred on the marvel of dining under a starlit sky on an isolated island-in-formation, that wasn’t even there seven years ago.
Attended by a sarong clad steward and a dedicated chef, we enjoyed a dinner in this pop up restaurant that would put gourmet establishments to shame. How could they compete with the romance of the sun setting as we sipped champagne, the shy rising of the moon, the gentle splash of surf lapping the sand at our feet, the flickering glow of candlelight, the perfect table setting, and a memorable meal prepared with panache and served with patient charm?
Baros Maldives: Ocean & Earth BBQ menu Shuhan told me the sandbank dinner is the highlight of a stay at Baros for couples. The price is not expensive for what is included: the transfer to and from the sandbank by motorboat, the gourmet menu (shown above) of generous portions, a bottle of champagne, the exclusive use of the sandbank for the evening, and an experience to treasure, just US$475 – and that’s for two!
Sign of the times
A couple of weeks ago (Newsletter 139) I featured a restaurant sign that got me annoyed because it stated “No pork, no beef” which is like saying “no tourists.” Perhaps someone told the restaurant owner because the sign has been replaced with this much more positive one.
Restaurant sign with everything Head note
As a head (instead of a foot) note to my recent report of cute signs outside hairdressing salons, I spotted this one on the road to the airport in Sri Lanka: Hair Springs.
From the publisher of my epic The Big Beat Scene, I learn that Curl Up & Dye is the name of the hair/beauty salon featured in The Blues Brothers. He adds: “Many years ago, I used to go to a hairdresser called Short & Curlies… and the most inspired name I've seen is that of a hairdresser located on Swain House Road, Bradford, West Yorks: Swainy Todd.”
My publisher points out that the correct address of the website to purchase the book for that ageing rocker (or rockette) in your life to roll in the New Year is:
http://musicmentor0.tripod.com/book_big_beat_scene.html.
Christmas shopping
For the first time since we began publishing this newsletter 140 weeks ago, we’re having a break (actually I’m in Bangkok right now - for Christmas shopping, of course; what else?), so no newsletter on Sunday 30 December. However, to keep in touch with Sri Lanka, don’t forget my Bradt Guide Book, available through http://www.amazon.co.uk or direct from the publisher: http://www.bradtguides.com/Book/552/Sri-Lanka.html
Happy holidays
Royston
Premasiri wünscht allen Lesern ganz frohe Weihnachten und einen guten Rutsch ins 2013
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Hallo Premasiri,
etwas verspätet aber auch Euch von ganzem Herzen alles nur erdenklich Gute für 2013!
Danke auch nochmals für das Einsetzen der Newsletters von Royston Ellis, dort haben wir sehr nochmals viele Tips und Infos für unsere Reisen und viel über das tägliche Leben in SL erfahren!
Ich freu mich schon sehr auf den nächsten Newsletter!
L.G., Biggi
etwas verspätet aber auch Euch von ganzem Herzen alles nur erdenklich Gute für 2013!
Danke auch nochmals für das Einsetzen der Newsletters von Royston Ellis, dort haben wir sehr nochmals viele Tips und Infos für unsere Reisen und viel über das tägliche Leben in SL erfahren!
Ich freu mich schon sehr auf den nächsten Newsletter!
L.G., Biggi
Premasiri
Well-known member
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- 8. Aug. 2009
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- 10.693
Biggi, vielen Dank für die Glückwünsche...hier ist der erste Newsletter 2013
Sunday 6 January 2013.
Greetings for a very happy, prosperous and fulfilling New Year. I hope the dream of a visit to Sri Lanka this year becomes reality for all who wish it.
Made in Sri Lanka
Instead of a product, here’s an idea for a do-it-yourself beverage that can be made in Sri Lanka, or anywhere with access to fresh ginger root. For this simple recipe, I am grateful to Stephanie, the Spa Mistress at The Spa on Baros Maldives.
From her, I learn that ginger “relieves nausea, clears toxic matter and is a fantastic anti-inflammatory medicinal root that promotes circulation as it is warming and also aids digestion wonderfully.” In this recipe, the lime balances and stablises any acidity in the body while honey is a blood cleanser that boosts the body’s liver and kidney function.
Ginger is the root of good health Take a couple of pieces of ginger, peel and chop them; squeeze the juice from three limes; boil a litre of water and have four tablespoons of honey ready.
Place the chopped ginger pieces in a jug, add the lime juice and pour the boiling water into the jug. Let it cool, then dribble in the honey and leave it to blend for a while before straining it through a sieve and funnel into a bottle. Put the bottle in the fridge to chill overnight for a refreshing, medicinal tipple throughout the following day. In the evening, make another bottle for the next day!
Ginger juice by the glass to start the day Alms Giving
It is customary in Sri Lanka to remember those who have died with the preparation and presentation of a meal (alms) for village monks - and neighbours - on a day nominated to commemorate the departed relative or friend.
The government of Sri Lanka, worried that monks might be enjoying donated meals that are unhealthy for them, recently issued guidelines for recommended healthy dishes for the Buddhist clergy. A suggested breakfast menu reads like this: String hoppers with [vegetable dishes of] kabella dalu malauwa, billing curry, tender jackfruit mellum, coconut sambol, tempered banana flower, coconut milk gravy (kiri-hodi), dhal and fish (Embul Thiyal) and papaya. For recipes see: http://lankakitchenrecipe.weebly.com/other-vegetables.html
Breakfast ready for delivering to monks and neighbours Last week we gave alms to the monks of the village temple on the occasion of the first anniversary of the death of Londoner, Beryl Harding-Marsh, our dear friend, the retired musical comedy actress and theatrical agent who died, age 98, in Sri Lanka. The breakfast consisted of a huge box of string hoppers and various curries and sambols (condiments) as side dishes.
Bangkok Holiday (1)
There was no newsletter last week as I was visiting Bangkok where, because of the shopping, entertainment and fantastic food, there is no time to do anything except enjoy!
“A touch of Siam in Bawdy Bangkok; convenient for bars and brothels” is how my review of where I stayed -The Siam Heritage Boutique Suites – is headlined on http://www.agoda.com.
Patpong, the bar & brothel bizarre bazaar district “It took me time to find this hotel on the map and then I realised it is located within two minutes walk of the Patpong night bazaar bizarre district, so perfect for evening gawping and shopping. The hotel's interiors are enchanting with touches of old Siam in the use of wooden floors and heavy wooden doors, and the layout of my executive suite, with full kitchen, dining table, parlour, bathroom with bathtub and separate shower cabinet, alcove for working desk, and king-sized bed was perfect. However, only two thin pillows and worn towels.
Siam Heritage Executive Suite, Bangkok “I saw a notice which said that non-resident guests must deposit ID card at reception and baht 3000 would be added to the bill – presumably only if the guest stayed overnight. There are three free internet computers in the lobby, where the staff is helpful. Breakfast (included in the room rate) is taken in the charmingly decorated restaurant adjoining reception and is a buffet with a different Thai dish and Thai soup every day, plus the standard breakfast fare, including eggs cooked to order.
“A super hotel, not stuffy nor expensive for its location. This was my first stay there and I plan to make it my HQ in Bangkok when good fortune takes me there again.” (My suite cost US$ 108 [Rs 14,040; £ 66], a night, double with breakfast.) More on Bangkok next week.
Dear (!) Diary
In October 2012 I ordered a Mini Pocket Diary (Pink Iguana) from Letts in the UK to replace my 2012 diary; cost, with postage, £ 11.91 [ Rs 2,501; US$ 19.23]. In December, when I realised it hadn’t arrived, I emailed the company and got a pleasant response saying they would investigate. I pleaded with them to send me a substitute diary immediately so I would get it in time to begin 2013.
A few days later they agreed but said there were no more pink iguana diaries so would I accept a blue iguana one instead. It wasn’t the colour that worried me, I just wanted a diary in time to transfer all the information from the old one to the new one. Just before Christmas when the substitute diary hadn’t arrived, I emailed Letts again and was told another substitute would be sent.
In Bangkok, in desperation, I bought a trendy Moleskine diary for the equivalent of an exorbitant Rs2,500. On Tuesday 1 January, just as I was about to make the first entry in it, the postman brought two envelopes: two Letts diaries for 2013; so now I have three. Is it an omen, or perhaps it’s time for me to go digital?
Dear (!) Diary
New Guide
I have been asked by Bradt Travel Guides to prepare the 5[SUP]th[/SUP] edition of my Guide to Sri Lanka. As so many new and desirable properties (to eat, drink and stay in) have opened up since 2011 (when the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] edition was published), I need some help to review them all.
So if readers could let me know details of places they feel worth recommending to others, do please send me an email about them to: royston@roystonellis.com.
In the meantime, here is a round up of places that I contributed to the January 2013 issue of the Smart Travel Asia newsletter: http://www.smarttravelasia.com/SriLanka.htm
Sunny good wishes,
Royston
Jetzt könnt ihr Royston helfen seinen neuen Travel Guide auf den neusten Stand zu bringen...
Premasiri die in 11 Tagen auf der sein wird.
Sunday 6 January 2013.
Greetings for a very happy, prosperous and fulfilling New Year. I hope the dream of a visit to Sri Lanka this year becomes reality for all who wish it.
Made in Sri Lanka
Instead of a product, here’s an idea for a do-it-yourself beverage that can be made in Sri Lanka, or anywhere with access to fresh ginger root. For this simple recipe, I am grateful to Stephanie, the Spa Mistress at The Spa on Baros Maldives.
From her, I learn that ginger “relieves nausea, clears toxic matter and is a fantastic anti-inflammatory medicinal root that promotes circulation as it is warming and also aids digestion wonderfully.” In this recipe, the lime balances and stablises any acidity in the body while honey is a blood cleanser that boosts the body’s liver and kidney function.
Ginger is the root of good health Place the chopped ginger pieces in a jug, add the lime juice and pour the boiling water into the jug. Let it cool, then dribble in the honey and leave it to blend for a while before straining it through a sieve and funnel into a bottle. Put the bottle in the fridge to chill overnight for a refreshing, medicinal tipple throughout the following day. In the evening, make another bottle for the next day!
Ginger juice by the glass to start the day It is customary in Sri Lanka to remember those who have died with the preparation and presentation of a meal (alms) for village monks - and neighbours - on a day nominated to commemorate the departed relative or friend.
The government of Sri Lanka, worried that monks might be enjoying donated meals that are unhealthy for them, recently issued guidelines for recommended healthy dishes for the Buddhist clergy. A suggested breakfast menu reads like this: String hoppers with [vegetable dishes of] kabella dalu malauwa, billing curry, tender jackfruit mellum, coconut sambol, tempered banana flower, coconut milk gravy (kiri-hodi), dhal and fish (Embul Thiyal) and papaya. For recipes see: http://lankakitchenrecipe.weebly.com/other-vegetables.html
Breakfast ready for delivering to monks and neighbours Bangkok Holiday (1)
There was no newsletter last week as I was visiting Bangkok where, because of the shopping, entertainment and fantastic food, there is no time to do anything except enjoy!
“A touch of Siam in Bawdy Bangkok; convenient for bars and brothels” is how my review of where I stayed -The Siam Heritage Boutique Suites – is headlined on http://www.agoda.com.
Patpong, the bar & brothel bizarre bazaar district Siam Heritage Executive Suite, Bangkok “A super hotel, not stuffy nor expensive for its location. This was my first stay there and I plan to make it my HQ in Bangkok when good fortune takes me there again.” (My suite cost US$ 108 [Rs 14,040; £ 66], a night, double with breakfast.) More on Bangkok next week.
Dear (!) Diary
In October 2012 I ordered a Mini Pocket Diary (Pink Iguana) from Letts in the UK to replace my 2012 diary; cost, with postage, £ 11.91 [ Rs 2,501; US$ 19.23]. In December, when I realised it hadn’t arrived, I emailed the company and got a pleasant response saying they would investigate. I pleaded with them to send me a substitute diary immediately so I would get it in time to begin 2013.
A few days later they agreed but said there were no more pink iguana diaries so would I accept a blue iguana one instead. It wasn’t the colour that worried me, I just wanted a diary in time to transfer all the information from the old one to the new one. Just before Christmas when the substitute diary hadn’t arrived, I emailed Letts again and was told another substitute would be sent.
In Bangkok, in desperation, I bought a trendy Moleskine diary for the equivalent of an exorbitant Rs2,500. On Tuesday 1 January, just as I was about to make the first entry in it, the postman brought two envelopes: two Letts diaries for 2013; so now I have three. Is it an omen, or perhaps it’s time for me to go digital?
Dear (!) Diary New Guide
I have been asked by Bradt Travel Guides to prepare the 5[SUP]th[/SUP] edition of my Guide to Sri Lanka. As so many new and desirable properties (to eat, drink and stay in) have opened up since 2011 (when the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] edition was published), I need some help to review them all.
So if readers could let me know details of places they feel worth recommending to others, do please send me an email about them to: royston@roystonellis.com.
In the meantime, here is a round up of places that I contributed to the January 2013 issue of the Smart Travel Asia newsletter: http://www.smarttravelasia.com/SriLanka.htm
Sunny good wishes,
Royston
Jetzt könnt ihr Royston helfen seinen neuen Travel Guide auf den neusten Stand zu bringen...
Premasiri die in 11 Tagen auf der
sein wird.
Premasiri
Well-known member
- Registriert
- 8. Aug. 2009
- Beiträge
- 10.693
Sunday 13 January 2013
Welcome to readers from around the world to this week’s tropical topics.
Made in Sri Lanka
Having endured many uncomfortable nights in guesthouses in Sri Lanka because of thin pillows seemingly stuffed with old socks, I was delighted – on the way to the airport recently - to see a factory advertising itself as producing “luxury bedding.” When I checked on my comfy, plump pillows at home, I discovered that they are, in fact, made in Sri Lanka.
Some of my pillows are made in the factory I saw by a company with the intriguing name of Celcius (www.celciusbedding.com). The label recommends how to wash them (delicate tumble) and dry (lightly re-fluff) and assures they have “100% polyester virgin fibre, hypoallergenic, anti-bacterial and anti mite fill.” That’s tough pillow talk.
Plump pillows made in Sri Lanka Other pairs of pillows, made by Arpico (http://www.arpico.com) have 100% cotton ticking and are “filled with a hollow siliconized, polyester cluster fiber.” In spite of the American spelling they, too, are made in Sri Lanka and carry the slogan Soft as a cloud. The price was about Rs 850 [£ 4.04; US$ 6.53] each.
Antique Map of Ceylon
My New Year gift to myself is 325 years old. It is this beautiful, copper engraved and contemporary hand-coloured map, published in 1688 by the British bookseller, publisher and maker of maps and globes, Robert Morden (1650-1703). Morden was one of the first successful commercial map makers and, according to Wikipedia, “was based under the sign of the Atlas at premises in Cornhill and New Cheapside, London. His cartographical output was large and varied.” He is best known for his maps of English counties.
Ceylon by Robert Morden, 1688 The map that I have bought is interesting for two reasons. At the time it was published, the British had no interest in Ceylon, it then being under Dutch influence, yet all the place names are in English. In addition, it maps out the territory later claimed as the Tamil homeland, shown here as Coylot Wanees Country.
Napkin
My quest for napkin clips that I mentioned in newsletter 141 was commended by some readers; one of who suggested I patent my idea of a feather-covered clothes peg as a napkin clip. (If you’ve just joined, a napkin clip is a desirable accessory for those of us who find napkins slip to the floor whilst dining, unless secured to one’s clothing. Some airlines provide napkins with a buttonhole in one corner so they can be looped over a button, but I’ve never found a restaurant that does.)
Office supplies as napkin clips My quest has produced these three options, but none of them are elegant enough for the establishments that provide table napkins (or even serviettes). The first is a miniature clothes peg, but I wonder if it could sustain the weight of a standard 20x20in starched napkin. The second is an industrial clip while the third is a nifty miniature bulldog clip that comes in gold, maroon or blue.
Bangkok Holiday (2)
Although I loathe buffets and prefer to be served efficiently when eating out, I make an exception for the buffet presented for Sunday brunch at Lord Jim’s, the mainly seafood restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok, overlooking the busy, swirling Chao Phraya River.
Bangkok Lord Jim's restaurant I relax my rule because although this is a self-service meal, the food is freshly cooked at action stations that are spread apart and there are no queues of ditherers. The other reason is the superb quality of the food that inspires guests to tuck in to several varieties of smoked salmon, pan-fried duck foie gras, oysters, seafood, fish, salads, and meat carved generously from roasted joints of lamb, beef, ham, pork and whole duck.
The service is impeccable, the drinks divine, and the ambience of brand-aware Thais happily gourmandising, electric. It’s not cheap at the equivalent of US$ 70 [Rs 9,100; £ 43] per person, but hedonistically worth it.
Lady Boy Cabaret
Believe it or not, it’s a family show: real cabaret with sensational dancing, glamorous costumes, and lots of fun. With a cast of at least 70 young (and not so young) jolly performers of indeterminate gender the show takes place in a nightclub atmosphere at the 450-seat Calypso Theatre in the Asiatique Riverfront complex. At the equivalent of US$ 30 [Rs 3,900; £ 18.57] per person with a drink included, it’s a wonderful evening to round off a day shopping and eating in Bangkok. (www.calypsocabaret.com)
Bangkok Calypso cabaret ticket
There’s a free boat shuttle service to the complex from the Saphan Taksin Skytrain station. A Skytrain pass costs the equivalent of US$ 4.33 [Rs 562; £ 2.68] for one day’s travel throughout the network so it’s easy to go to shop at MBK (National Stadium station), Tesco’s (On Nut station) and the Chatuchak Weekend Market (Mo Chit station), have lunch at Lord Jim’s and enjoy the cabaret, on the same day’s ticket.
Bangkok Skytrain one day pass
Beatles remembered
I was flattered to discover that there is a long interview with me in the wide-circulating internet newsletter published in the USA on Tuesday 8 January. http://www.ibtimes.com/beatles-1960-liverpool-royston-ellis-remembers-996876
Top Guide
From my guidebook publisher, Bradt, I learn that Bradt Guides have been judged the Best Country Guides by the UK consumer group, Which. http://www.which.co.uk/news/2013/01/which-reveals-top-guidebook-brands-305973/#.UOXB08CgXS4.facebook
That’s splendid news and very encouraging as I begin work on a new edition of the Bradt Guide to Sri Lanka.
We are now in the process of choosing an evocative photograph for the cover. I suggested smiling people, as they are the essence of Sri Lanka. Any readers have other suggestions that I could pass on to the designer of the book cover?
Beat regards
Royston
LG von Premasiri die in vier Tagen auf der landet....
Welcome to readers from around the world to this week’s tropical topics.
Made in Sri Lanka
Having endured many uncomfortable nights in guesthouses in Sri Lanka because of thin pillows seemingly stuffed with old socks, I was delighted – on the way to the airport recently - to see a factory advertising itself as producing “luxury bedding.” When I checked on my comfy, plump pillows at home, I discovered that they are, in fact, made in Sri Lanka.
Some of my pillows are made in the factory I saw by a company with the intriguing name of Celcius (www.celciusbedding.com). The label recommends how to wash them (delicate tumble) and dry (lightly re-fluff) and assures they have “100% polyester virgin fibre, hypoallergenic, anti-bacterial and anti mite fill.” That’s tough pillow talk.
Plump pillows made in Sri Lanka Antique Map of Ceylon
My New Year gift to myself is 325 years old. It is this beautiful, copper engraved and contemporary hand-coloured map, published in 1688 by the British bookseller, publisher and maker of maps and globes, Robert Morden (1650-1703). Morden was one of the first successful commercial map makers and, according to Wikipedia, “was based under the sign of the Atlas at premises in Cornhill and New Cheapside, London. His cartographical output was large and varied.” He is best known for his maps of English counties.
Ceylon by Robert Morden, 1688 Napkin
My quest for napkin clips that I mentioned in newsletter 141 was commended by some readers; one of who suggested I patent my idea of a feather-covered clothes peg as a napkin clip. (If you’ve just joined, a napkin clip is a desirable accessory for those of us who find napkins slip to the floor whilst dining, unless secured to one’s clothing. Some airlines provide napkins with a buttonhole in one corner so they can be looped over a button, but I’ve never found a restaurant that does.)
Office supplies as napkin clips Bangkok Holiday (2)
Although I loathe buffets and prefer to be served efficiently when eating out, I make an exception for the buffet presented for Sunday brunch at Lord Jim’s, the mainly seafood restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok, overlooking the busy, swirling Chao Phraya River.
Bangkok Lord Jim's restaurant The service is impeccable, the drinks divine, and the ambience of brand-aware Thais happily gourmandising, electric. It’s not cheap at the equivalent of US$ 70 [Rs 9,100; £ 43] per person, but hedonistically worth it.
Lady Boy Cabaret
Believe it or not, it’s a family show: real cabaret with sensational dancing, glamorous costumes, and lots of fun. With a cast of at least 70 young (and not so young) jolly performers of indeterminate gender the show takes place in a nightclub atmosphere at the 450-seat Calypso Theatre in the Asiatique Riverfront complex. At the equivalent of US$ 30 [Rs 3,900; £ 18.57] per person with a drink included, it’s a wonderful evening to round off a day shopping and eating in Bangkok. (www.calypsocabaret.com)
Bangkok Calypso cabaret ticket There’s a free boat shuttle service to the complex from the Saphan Taksin Skytrain station. A Skytrain pass costs the equivalent of US$ 4.33 [Rs 562; £ 2.68] for one day’s travel throughout the network so it’s easy to go to shop at MBK (National Stadium station), Tesco’s (On Nut station) and the Chatuchak Weekend Market (Mo Chit station), have lunch at Lord Jim’s and enjoy the cabaret, on the same day’s ticket.
Bangkok Skytrain one day pass Beatles remembered
I was flattered to discover that there is a long interview with me in the wide-circulating internet newsletter published in the USA on Tuesday 8 January. http://www.ibtimes.com/beatles-1960-liverpool-royston-ellis-remembers-996876
Top Guide
From my guidebook publisher, Bradt, I learn that Bradt Guides have been judged the Best Country Guides by the UK consumer group, Which. http://www.which.co.uk/news/2013/01/which-reveals-top-guidebook-brands-305973/#.UOXB08CgXS4.facebook
That’s splendid news and very encouraging as I begin work on a new edition of the Bradt Guide to Sri Lanka.
We are now in the process of choosing an evocative photograph for the cover. I suggested smiling people, as they are the essence of Sri Lanka. Any readers have other suggestions that I could pass on to the designer of the book cover?
Royston
LG von Premasiri die in vier Tagen auf der
landet....
C
Claudia
Guest
Habt ihr das gesehen auf der Landkarte? Offensichtlich schieb man eine Zeitlang Ceylon auch mir Z und ei = Zeilon. Das sieht ja schon lustig aus 
Danke für den Newsletter, Premasiri! Er ist wie immer sehr interessant!!!
Danke für den Newsletter, Premasiri! Er ist wie immer sehr interessant!!!
Premasiri
Well-known member
- Registriert
- 8. Aug. 2009
- Beiträge
- 10.693
Sunday 20 January 2013
Welcome to readers from around the world to this week’s newsletter from Sri Lanka about tropical topics.
Made in Sri Lanka
A seaside home in Sri Lanka needs a lot of maintenance. Because my cottage is close to the sea, the railway line and the main road, anything made of brass or iron, like door hinges and window grilles, soon corrodes. Televisions, video players, even clocks and kitchen gadgets have a shorter life than in a less humid climate.
Chairs need maintenance too. That’s because a lot of the furniture in the cottage is traditional: wooden with rattan or plastic weave upholstery. Luckily there is a craftsman who comes to repair the chairs whenever we need him.
Sunil is 50 and learned the craft from his uncle when he was 18; his younger brother does it too, but he says he can’t find any youngsters interested in learning the skill.
That’s bad news for the owners of boutique hotels and homes in the south who depend on people with Sunil's skill to refresh their furniture every year. But it’s not a bad job for a youngster. Sunil travels to work by bus throughout the south and has only the expense of buying the plastic or rattan for weaving. He uses his fingers, no expensive tools. And he re-wove this planter’s chair with its intricate design in six hours, had morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea, and a fee of Rs 2,400 [£ 11.70; US$ 19.20].
Art Fair
Sri Lanka’s 20[SUP]th[/SUP] annual open-air art fair is at a new address this year: Nelum Pokuna Mawatha, the street named after the new theatre built to a Chinese design. Actually, it’s in the same place as before, that’s the new name for Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, near the Art Gallery in Colombo 7. With paintings hung on railings on either side of the road, it is scheduled to begin on Saturday 26 January with a second showing on Sunday 27 January.
The first Art Fair was held in 1993 with only 30 Sri Lankan artists taking part. For this year over 300 artists have registered. According to a newspaper report, at last year’s Kala Pola artists earned “around a total of Rs 7million [£ 33,333; US$ 53,846].” There is to be an auction of local artists’ work on Sunday at 10.30am where I expect prices to be high.
In the past, I have bought paintings for around Rs 8,000 [£ 38; $ 61] but I expect prices for good, original work (not blatant copies of other artists’ work and style, and student exercises) to be at least three times as much this year. If you’re in Colombo, here’s a great way to see the artistic soul of Sri Lanka on display.
Antique Print
From contemporary to colonial art: this antique print (published in 1856) is a recent addition to my collection. It shows the original lighthouse in Galle Fort that was built on the bastion at the end of Lighthouse Street. It burned down in 1936 and was replaced by the one that exists today on the Point Utrecht Bastion.
Galle Fort lighthouse 157 years ago.
This print shows a bucolic way of life, a contrast to the boutique lifestyle that has transformed Galle Fort in the past two decades from a walled enclave of some 450 crumbling houses to a trendy hangout for a cosmopolitan community of expats proudly owning renovated properties and opening fashionista cafés, guesthouses and art galleries.
Bangkok Holiday (4) Street Food
One of the delights of Bangkok is the availability of street food: snacks cooked by the wayside to eat on the go; in fact Thais seem to be eating all the time, except on the Skytrain where it is forbidden to eat or drink. The dishes are remarkable. I was tempted by these cute, quail egg pancakes fried on demand; what an idea for a sundowner snack!
Bangkok quail eggs snack For those squeamish about eating food cooked in a makeshift kitchen on a cart parked in the gutter of a main road, there are lots of food stalls in the air-conditioned but raucously noisy atmosphere of shopping centres. At Tesco’s (by that On Nut Skytrain station) I enjoyed a lunch of slices of scrumptious duck, greens and rice for the equivalent of US$ 1.66 [Rs 216; £ 1.03].
Bangkok street buffet There are veritable buffet counters by the side of the street, where customers point to what they want, and either eat it while sitting on stools as people swirl around, or take it away to eat in peace. There are sweet items too, although these dry fired bananas failed to tempt me.
Bangkok bananas as street sweet Top Destination
The leading tour operator, Kuoni, has drawn up a list of its Top Ten Long-Haul Holiday Destinations based on advance bookings for 2013. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Maldives is “Top for Hols” with Thailand second and, yes! Sri Lanka third. Then come the USA, UAE, Mauritius, Malaysia, Barbados, Singapore and St Lucia.
Maldives (Baros) tops for hols What intrigues me is that Kuoni says: “hand-picked hideaways, secluded villas, pampering hotels and private islands are the order of the day, in destinations spanning the exotic Far East and Africa, magical Indian Ocean, and the USA, Caribbean and Mexico.” I just hope that in their enthusiasm to welcome tourists the hotels here don’t overprice that pampering!
Sri Lanka Bentota Beach New guide in preparation
Thanks to readers who have already sent me tips about places to feature in the new edition of the Bradt Guide to Sri Lanka, which I shall be updating later this year. Please send recommendations of places you personally like to this new address roystonsreport@gmail.com.
Tips wanted for the next Bradt Guide Meanwhile the current edition of the book is available direct from the publisher: http://www.bradtguides.com/Book/552/Sri-Lanka.html
Warm regards
Royston
Sende allen Usern ganz sonnige Gruesse von der Insel
Premasiri
Welcome to readers from around the world to this week’s newsletter from Sri Lanka about tropical topics.
Made in Sri Lanka
A seaside home in Sri Lanka needs a lot of maintenance. Because my cottage is close to the sea, the railway line and the main road, anything made of brass or iron, like door hinges and window grilles, soon corrodes. Televisions, video players, even clocks and kitchen gadgets have a shorter life than in a less humid climate.
Chairs need maintenance too. That’s because a lot of the furniture in the cottage is traditional: wooden with rattan or plastic weave upholstery. Luckily there is a craftsman who comes to repair the chairs whenever we need him.
Sunil is 50 and learned the craft from his uncle when he was 18; his younger brother does it too, but he says he can’t find any youngsters interested in learning the skill.
That’s bad news for the owners of boutique hotels and homes in the south who depend on people with Sunil's skill to refresh their furniture every year. But it’s not a bad job for a youngster. Sunil travels to work by bus throughout the south and has only the expense of buying the plastic or rattan for weaving. He uses his fingers, no expensive tools. And he re-wove this planter’s chair with its intricate design in six hours, had morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea, and a fee of Rs 2,400 [£ 11.70; US$ 19.20].
Art Fair
Sri Lanka’s 20[SUP]th[/SUP] annual open-air art fair is at a new address this year: Nelum Pokuna Mawatha, the street named after the new theatre built to a Chinese design. Actually, it’s in the same place as before, that’s the new name for Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, near the Art Gallery in Colombo 7. With paintings hung on railings on either side of the road, it is scheduled to begin on Saturday 26 January with a second showing on Sunday 27 January.
The first Art Fair was held in 1993 with only 30 Sri Lankan artists taking part. For this year over 300 artists have registered. According to a newspaper report, at last year’s Kala Pola artists earned “around a total of Rs 7million [£ 33,333; US$ 53,846].” There is to be an auction of local artists’ work on Sunday at 10.30am where I expect prices to be high.
In the past, I have bought paintings for around Rs 8,000 [£ 38; $ 61] but I expect prices for good, original work (not blatant copies of other artists’ work and style, and student exercises) to be at least three times as much this year. If you’re in Colombo, here’s a great way to see the artistic soul of Sri Lanka on display.
Antique Print
From contemporary to colonial art: this antique print (published in 1856) is a recent addition to my collection. It shows the original lighthouse in Galle Fort that was built on the bastion at the end of Lighthouse Street. It burned down in 1936 and was replaced by the one that exists today on the Point Utrecht Bastion.
Galle Fort lighthouse 157 years ago.
This print shows a bucolic way of life, a contrast to the boutique lifestyle that has transformed Galle Fort in the past two decades from a walled enclave of some 450 crumbling houses to a trendy hangout for a cosmopolitan community of expats proudly owning renovated properties and opening fashionista cafés, guesthouses and art galleries.
Bangkok Holiday (4) Street Food
One of the delights of Bangkok is the availability of street food: snacks cooked by the wayside to eat on the go; in fact Thais seem to be eating all the time, except on the Skytrain where it is forbidden to eat or drink. The dishes are remarkable. I was tempted by these cute, quail egg pancakes fried on demand; what an idea for a sundowner snack!
Bangkok quail eggs snack Bangkok street buffet Bangkok bananas as street sweet The leading tour operator, Kuoni, has drawn up a list of its Top Ten Long-Haul Holiday Destinations based on advance bookings for 2013. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Maldives is “Top for Hols” with Thailand second and, yes! Sri Lanka third. Then come the USA, UAE, Mauritius, Malaysia, Barbados, Singapore and St Lucia.
Maldives (Baros) tops for hols Sri Lanka Bentota Beach Thanks to readers who have already sent me tips about places to feature in the new edition of the Bradt Guide to Sri Lanka, which I shall be updating later this year. Please send recommendations of places you personally like to this new address roystonsreport@gmail.com.
Tips wanted for the next Bradt Guide Warm regards
Royston
Sende allen Usern ganz sonnige Gruesse von der Insel
Premasiri
C
Claudia
Guest
Ein Newsletter direkt von der Insel 
. Super!!! Vielen Dank!!!
Hat nicht kürzlich jemand nach dieser Art von Stuhl gesucht hier im Forum?
Weiterhin einen schönen Urlaub und gute Erholung
. Super!!! Vielen Dank!!!Hat nicht kürzlich jemand nach dieser Art von Stuhl gesucht hier im Forum?
Weiterhin einen schönen Urlaub und gute Erholung
Premasiri
Well-known member
- Registriert
- 8. Aug. 2009
- Beiträge
- 10.693
Sunday 27 January 2013.
Greetings to readers, with an apology for the fluctuating delivery time of this newsletter. If ever you don’t receive it on Sunday, please check www.roystonellis.com/blog for the latest issue
Bullock cart for sale
Some readers might remember that, flushed with funds from selling some old maps and prints at a Colombo auction about 14 months ago, I splashed out and bought a bullock racing hackery at the same auction. Regular reader Ronnie from Scotland even commented: I am sure you were reluctant to sell your maps and prints, however once you have bought your bullock cart not only will you be reducing your carbon footprint it will be a super way to collect the groceries.
Bullock hackery racing 1887
The ancient hackery has now been restored and although I wouldn’t recommend it for racing or collecting the groceries, it would make a stunning display at a boutique hotel or restaurant, or even as part of a bar. So I have decided to sell it - as long as I can find someone who would appreciate owning this rather special part of old Ceylon, once used for racing.
An authentic bullock racing hackery If you’re interested and would like to know the price, please send an email to: roystonsreport@gmail.com. It’s located on the veranda of a villa in Induruwa.
Bangkok Holiday : Jim Thompson
Products and fabrics with the brand name of Jim Thompson (www.jimthompson.com) are one of the treasures to be found when shopping in Bangkok. Thompson was a charismatic American who successfully set up The Thai Silk Company in 1951 and became known as much for his personality as for his fabrics. He disappeared while on a visit to the Cameron Highlands in Malaya in 1967, 22 years after he first arrived in Thailand.
The fabrics designed by his company retain the distinctive quality and originality he pioneered. The Jim Thompson main store is near the Sala Daeng skytrain station, with a smaller one at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, with which Thompson was associated in the 1950s. The smart shopper, however, heads for a Jim Thompson Factory Sales Outlet. The one I visited is at 149/4-6 Surawong Road, not far from Patpong.
Bangkok for fabrics like this
I was looking for silk fabric with a bold, typically Jim Thompson design for a new shirt and handkerchiefs. Above is what I found, at a cost of the equivalent of US$ 12.93 [Rs 1,681; £ 8] a metre. The local village tailor turned it into a multi-pocket shirt for a charge of Rs 500 [£ 2.38; US$ 3.84].
Tailored 4-pocket shirt
Male’ Bus Journey
Bus journeys in Sri Lanka are not to be recommended given the style and speed of driving, so I haven’t been on a bus for years. That was until last week when pleasurable circumstances (ie: a paid writing assignment) took me back to Male’, the capital island of the Maldives.
Male’ is an island alone, far removed from the archetype of a tropical island, as it bristles with high-rise buildings and swarms of motorcyclists bouncing up and down cobbled alleys, with nary a palm tree in sight. Even the beach is artificial, although Male’ does have a corner where sufficient surf rolls in to entice the local hot shot surfers. It has over 100,000 inhabitants squeezed in an island less than 2 sq.km in area.
A bus service has recently been introduced with buses running every 15 minutes. I waited for a short while at the bus stop near the main square by the waterfront wondering if a bus would really come. It did and I paid the equivalent of 32 US cents (SLRs 41; 20 UK pence) to be allowed on board. It had 18 seats, windows wide open for the breeze, and a route map that showed it did a round of the island.
Male' bus ticket
We rattled past Sultan’s Park with its curious Republican Monument wrought in aluminium by students, to the ferry terminal for boats to Hulhumale’, a man-made satellite residential island.
Male' republican monument
Then we breezed along the east coast to the surfers’ corner before cutting through the new developments on reclaimed land to the Southern Harbour with its colourful cargo vessels from outlying islands. Then we dashed down the main shopping street and headed back to the waterfront where harbour cleaners were at work.
Male' harbour cleaning
I got off at the bus stop where I had boarded, having enjoyed a remarkable 45 -minute tour, seeing the city and getting close to Maldivians.
Teenage Testament
Stuck in the business class lounge at Male’ International Airport for eight hours (my SriLankan flight had gone “technical”) with no bar to turn to, I dabbed away at the free computer. That’s how I discovered a website with a “manifesto” I had written as an energetic teenager...and forgotten about.
The website complier comments: “I found this typed statement among some papers that I had bought from the late John Rolph, a marvellous man, publisher with the Scorpion Press and latterly a 'tea bag' bookseller in his rambling shop at Pakefield, Lowestoft. He had published several Royston Ellis poetry pamphlets including the great-looking 'Rave' (1960).
Rave - poetry by Royston Ellis
“Ellis's statement, written when he was 18, is cri de coeur from teenland--the teenager at the time had only just been invented, before that in what is now known as 'the age of deference' you went uncomplainingly from boy to man, from girl to woman, wore sensible clothes and behaved yourself. A historic document, not quite on a par with the Dada Manifesto (at the Cabaret Voltaire in July 1916) but of some significance-- it is a carbon copy with a note by JR 'given to me by Royston 1960.' It appears to be unpublished.”
Rave - back cover blurb To read the rest, go to:
http://www.bookride.com/2010/07/teenage-testament.html
For more on the dawn of the swinging sixties, see the recent reprint of my 1961 book: The Big Beat Scene available through:
http://musicmentor0.tripod.com/book_big_beat_scene.html.
Beat regards
Royston Ellis
wegen Computerproblemen kommt dieser Newsletter verspätet
LG Premasiri
Greetings to readers, with an apology for the fluctuating delivery time of this newsletter. If ever you don’t receive it on Sunday, please check www.roystonellis.com/blog for the latest issue
Bullock cart for sale
Some readers might remember that, flushed with funds from selling some old maps and prints at a Colombo auction about 14 months ago, I splashed out and bought a bullock racing hackery at the same auction. Regular reader Ronnie from Scotland even commented: I am sure you were reluctant to sell your maps and prints, however once you have bought your bullock cart not only will you be reducing your carbon footprint it will be a super way to collect the groceries.
Bullock hackery racing 1887
The ancient hackery has now been restored and although I wouldn’t recommend it for racing or collecting the groceries, it would make a stunning display at a boutique hotel or restaurant, or even as part of a bar. So I have decided to sell it - as long as I can find someone who would appreciate owning this rather special part of old Ceylon, once used for racing.
An authentic bullock racing hackery Bangkok Holiday : Jim Thompson
Products and fabrics with the brand name of Jim Thompson (www.jimthompson.com) are one of the treasures to be found when shopping in Bangkok. Thompson was a charismatic American who successfully set up The Thai Silk Company in 1951 and became known as much for his personality as for his fabrics. He disappeared while on a visit to the Cameron Highlands in Malaya in 1967, 22 years after he first arrived in Thailand.
The fabrics designed by his company retain the distinctive quality and originality he pioneered. The Jim Thompson main store is near the Sala Daeng skytrain station, with a smaller one at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, with which Thompson was associated in the 1950s. The smart shopper, however, heads for a Jim Thompson Factory Sales Outlet. The one I visited is at 149/4-6 Surawong Road, not far from Patpong.
Bangkok for fabrics like this I was looking for silk fabric with a bold, typically Jim Thompson design for a new shirt and handkerchiefs. Above is what I found, at a cost of the equivalent of US$ 12.93 [Rs 1,681; £ 8] a metre. The local village tailor turned it into a multi-pocket shirt for a charge of Rs 500 [£ 2.38; US$ 3.84].
Tailored 4-pocket shirt Male’ Bus Journey
Bus journeys in Sri Lanka are not to be recommended given the style and speed of driving, so I haven’t been on a bus for years. That was until last week when pleasurable circumstances (ie: a paid writing assignment) took me back to Male’, the capital island of the Maldives.
Male’ is an island alone, far removed from the archetype of a tropical island, as it bristles with high-rise buildings and swarms of motorcyclists bouncing up and down cobbled alleys, with nary a palm tree in sight. Even the beach is artificial, although Male’ does have a corner where sufficient surf rolls in to entice the local hot shot surfers. It has over 100,000 inhabitants squeezed in an island less than 2 sq.km in area.
A bus service has recently been introduced with buses running every 15 minutes. I waited for a short while at the bus stop near the main square by the waterfront wondering if a bus would really come. It did and I paid the equivalent of 32 US cents (SLRs 41; 20 UK pence) to be allowed on board. It had 18 seats, windows wide open for the breeze, and a route map that showed it did a round of the island.
Male' bus ticket We rattled past Sultan’s Park with its curious Republican Monument wrought in aluminium by students, to the ferry terminal for boats to Hulhumale’, a man-made satellite residential island.
Male' republican monument Then we breezed along the east coast to the surfers’ corner before cutting through the new developments on reclaimed land to the Southern Harbour with its colourful cargo vessels from outlying islands. Then we dashed down the main shopping street and headed back to the waterfront where harbour cleaners were at work.
Male' harbour cleaning I got off at the bus stop where I had boarded, having enjoyed a remarkable 45 -minute tour, seeing the city and getting close to Maldivians.
Teenage Testament
Stuck in the business class lounge at Male’ International Airport for eight hours (my SriLankan flight had gone “technical”) with no bar to turn to, I dabbed away at the free computer. That’s how I discovered a website with a “manifesto” I had written as an energetic teenager...and forgotten about.
The website complier comments: “I found this typed statement among some papers that I had bought from the late John Rolph, a marvellous man, publisher with the Scorpion Press and latterly a 'tea bag' bookseller in his rambling shop at Pakefield, Lowestoft. He had published several Royston Ellis poetry pamphlets including the great-looking 'Rave' (1960).
Rave - poetry by Royston Ellis “Ellis's statement, written when he was 18, is cri de coeur from teenland--the teenager at the time had only just been invented, before that in what is now known as 'the age of deference' you went uncomplainingly from boy to man, from girl to woman, wore sensible clothes and behaved yourself. A historic document, not quite on a par with the Dada Manifesto (at the Cabaret Voltaire in July 1916) but of some significance-- it is a carbon copy with a note by JR 'given to me by Royston 1960.' It appears to be unpublished.”
Rave - back cover blurb http://www.bookride.com/2010/07/teenage-testament.html
http://musicmentor0.tripod.com/book_big_beat_scene.html.
Beat regards
Royston Ellis
wegen Computerproblemen kommt dieser Newsletter verspätet
LG Premasiri