Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Holiday
Sri Lanka is a thousand shades of green, from the concentrated emerald of the coconut palms through mid-hues of bamboo to the tender pallor of young rice. Marco Polo called it "the finest island of its size in the world", and he was a man who knew a thing or two about fine islands. This "Auspicious" or "Resplendent" Land is shaped like a pearl dropped from the sub-continent of India. Precious stones, seas rich in fish, superb beaches, cool highlands and a regal past are part of its appeal. Here, on a misty peak, Adam is said to have rested and repented after his expulsion from Eden. He left his footprint behind to prove it, though Buddhists will tell you it is the Buddha's mark and Hindus recount what is probably the most appealing version of all. this is where the god Siva's foot struck the ground during the great Dance of Creation.
You'll come across more than a lingering trace of the British Raj: ceiling fans cool old hotels and ancient Morris Minor taxis sputter through Colombo streets. Nearly everyone speaks or understands the English language-a picturesque mixture of 1920s idiom rounded out with the latest jargon. A weighty bureaucracy can probably be blamed on the British, as well as a natural desire to take life easy. It's understandable enough in Colombo, Sri Lanka's biggest city, and in the nearby administrative capital of Sri Jayewardenapura, where the hot, sticky climate is not conducive to doing things any other way.
Some 17 million people occupy an area of nearly 65,000 sq km (25,000 sq miles), slightly smaller than Ireland. Sri Lankan's are poor but not unbearably so. Their smiles-shining white or, when they've been chewing betel, a disconcerting red-are sincere. Although you will encounter begging, you are certain to meet heart-warming friendliness. Literacy stands at well over 80 per cent. There are two national languages, Sinhala and Tamil, and four main ethnic groups: the predominantly Buddhist Sinhalese, Hindu Tamils of Indian origin, Muslims, descended from medieval traders, and Burghers, whose lighter skins and European names derive from 16th- and 17th-century colonization.
Conflict in the north and east of the island has been making headlines for some years now. The Tamils (about 18 percent of the total population) resort to violence in their struggle against discrimination by the dominant Sinhalese, frequently with bloody results. An end of the conflict has often appeared in sight, then ceasefires and peace talks alternate with warfare and turmoil. This does not affect cultural centres and tourist areas. For centuries the Western powers struggled for control of the island. First came the Portuguese, who left a legacy of Catholicism in west coast fishing villages. The Dutch followed in their wake, bequeathing neat canals and solid forts, while the British contributed gentlemen's clubs and golf courses and tempted the population into the sin of adding milk to their tea.
Elephants are among the country's cherished possessions, and high-ranking traffic hazards, bettered in size, strength and potential danger only by a Sri Lankan bus at full charge. It's best to keep a respectful distance from both. Some 2,000 beasts roam wild, mostly in nature reserves like Yala and Wilpattu. Another 500 work on buildings sites and in timberland. Ancient cities, serene holy sites and calm, compassionate statues of the Buddha are the nation's monuments. From the mud and pebbles of Ratnapura (literally "City of Gems") come sapphires, rubies, aquamarines and garnets-stones that set Marco Polo's eyes shining back in 1291. Equally bright and beautiful are the attractions of sea, sand and foliage.
Sri Lanka will leave you with pleasant memories, whether it's the red roofs of the old royal city of Kandy or the placed expanse of the rice paddies-where, away in the distance, girls in bright saris bob like lanterns through waterfields blurred with green.