Return to Sri Lanka

One of my plans while in South Asia was to return to Sri Lanka where I had lived for one year (1962-63) as a CUSO volunteer. The occasion came about sooner than I had expected when the boss asked me if I would like to attend an international conference on small hydro to be held in Kandy from Oct 21 to 23. The arrangement was that he would cover the conference fees and I would be responsible for the rest. It seemed a pretty good deal.

We left the campus on Saturday October 20 at about 9:30 am. There were four of us Dr. H.K. Verma and wife and Dr. M.F. Sharma who we met at Muzaffanagar on the way. It was a pleasant drive with a couple of comfort stops along the way. For much of the trip we followed the Ganga Canal left bank road, a picturesque route that kept us away from the crowded country towns. Although the road was narrow this detour did not cost us much additional time as there was little traffic. We arrived in Delhi at about 4:00 pm. It was Saturday and traffic was light. This allowed us to get through the city quickly and to reach the airport with lots of time to spare. Our flight with Sri Lankan Airlines left on time. I had the choice of a vegetarian or non-vegetarian meal for supper. I decided to become a carnivore for the remainder of the trip.

We arrived in Colombo at about 11:30 pm. There were no hang-ups going through customs and I was not asked to buy a tourist visa that would have cost me $ 50:00 US (versus $3:00 for my Indian friends). I was not sure what happened. Were conference attendees exempt or was it because I was listed as a member of the Indian contingent? Or was the official on duty simply tired and inattentive? Getting organised took a bit of time until we sorted out where we were to spend the night. We eventually set out for Palm Village Hotel at 30 minutes after mid night supposedly this hotel was close to the airport but it took us the best part of an hour to reach our destination. We travelled via secondary roads that had not seen any maintenance for many years and our rate of progress was slow perhaps 15 km/h on average (?). It appeared to me that when a country is embroiled in a civil war repair of secondary roads gets a low priority. It was pleasant once we got there and we all had a goodnight’s sleep. After breakfast we set off for Kandy the conference location, and incidentally, where I lived in 1962-63. With the exception of Regal Theatre I recognised nothing. The conference hotels the Topaz and Tourmaline were on hill tops that were jungle 44 years ago. Hotel Topaz where I stayed was excellent and the food first rate, offering Sri Lankan and Western dishes and some Indian selections. I concentrated on the Sri Lankan dishes that I had so much enjoyed when I lived in Sri Lanka in the 1960’s. The fruit selection was somewhat disappointing but many of my favourite fruits were out of season although I was later able to find sweet sop, mango stein and cherimoya in various markets. I enjoyed the conference immensely mainly for the social/networking opportunities as the technical content was a bit thin. The largest contingent was from Sri Lanka as one would expect followed by India, Nepal and Norway the conference co-sponsors. But there were representatives in one and twos from Austria, Bhutan, Iran, China, Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, East Timor, Philippines, Nigeria, Peru, Sweden, U.K. and Uzbekistan. There was one German and one Canadian (me) who were both counted as Indians on account of our affiliations! I particularly enjoyed meeting the Nepalis. None were friends who I had known before but all knew one or other of my Kathmandu friends and colleagues from earlier days. Who knows I may get some future business out of these contacts!! I should mention that we were treated to the requisite number of cultural programs and I joined a half day trip to the elephant orphanage at Pinawela and then to a small but very elaborate Chinese built power plant - after all this was supposed to be work! The conference concluded on October 24.

After the conference I took a week of holidays to revisit old haunts and try and look up old friends. I decided to remain another day in Kandy to see the sites, notably the Dalada Maligawa (or Temple of the Tooth) where Lord Buddha’s tooth is preserved. It is worth noting that this famous Buddhist Temple also included statues to the Hindu God Shiva recognising the common roots of both religions.

From there I went by taxi to see Victoria Dam. This arch dam is one of the key elements of the large Mahaveli Irrigation System. At first the guards were reluctant to let me go to the dam but they eventually changed their minds. Evidently I did not look much like a (Tamil) tiger, so I was allowed to go up to the lookout but not to take any pictures. In calmer days they would have entertained large numbers of visitors and had laid out a spacious parking area and built a fine restaurant overlooking the dam. In those days visits into the dam’s inspection tunnel were also a regular part of the Victoria Dam experience. Behind the dam is a large lake in which, I was told, supports an important fresh water fishery. I ended the day with a quick visit to Royal Botanical Gardens Peradenya that is surely one of the loveliest public gardens anywhere.

Next day Oct 26th I set out by train to Nuwara Eliya at about elevation 2000m. There were no observation car seats available so I went second class. I was able to get a seat among a group of high school athletes from Kuranegala and their teachers, the girls were competing in karam and the boys in rugger. It was a pleasant 2½ trip. In Nuwara Eliya I stayed in McLeod Lodge, formerly the summer home of the Bandaranaike family (Mrs. B was prime minister of Ceylon/Sri Lanka in 1962-63 when I lived there). It is a large house but otherwise quite ordinary. The two days I stayed there were overcast and it rained each day from 1:00 pm until 7:00 pm and it was chilly besides: shades of Newfoundland! On my second day there I walked around Nuwara Eliya Lake and visited Victoria Gardens. Then in the afternoon I went by taxi to visit a tea factory and to see several nearby waterfalls. In the 1960’s I had passed through Nuwara Eliya many times but this was my first proper visit.

I left on the morning of October 28th again via train with destination Colombo. Again no luck with observer car tickets, it seems you must plan ahead for such comforts and planning ahead is not one of my strong points! So again it was second/third class but this time no seat. So I stood up or cotched, on the edge of a seat, for most of the four hour trip. However, I had the pleasure of meeting the Obeysekera family and Manori their charming daughter who teaches maths in an international school; in Colombo. I also met some members of the Kuranegala High School rugger team who had lost their match in the quarter finals and were going home early. The girls karam team seemed to be doing better. While travelling by train I saw two Canadian locomotives the Newfoundland and Vancouver City. These locomotives were given as aid by Canada under the Colombo Plan in the 1960’s and are still providing good service 40 odd years later. At least a dozen were supplied one for each province and a couple or more named after cities.

In Colombo I stayed at the Mount Empire Inn a small but comfortable two star hotel but with a singularly uninspired name. The name didn’t resonate with me and I had a hard time remembering it. Fortunately, the address was more distinctive! It is one thing to get lost in a foreign country but it is much worse to lose your hotel!! On my first day in Colombo I tried contacting friends from the old days. I was only able to track down Tamitegama (Tami) unfortunately he was away in India. However, his wife Lorraine invited me over to join her and some friends for lunch. It was a gourmet affair of finely prepared Sri Lankan and South Asian dishes and good company too. Both Tami and Lorraine are both very active in the Sri Lanka Alzheimer’s Society and provide much needed services to patients and their families. While in Colombo I also visited the Dehiwala Zoo. The zoo has an excellent collection of birds and animals particularly monkeys, but several displays were in shabby conditions. Clearly money for zoos is also a low priority. While I was there the Tamil Tigers staged a spectacular raid on the air force base near Anuradhapura and destroyed 17 to 20 aircraft (mostly helicopters I guess). The cost to replace this equipment was said to be in the order of $ 400 million! So shortage of money to repair secondary roads or to find mates for lonely animals at the zoo is likely to continue.

After a couple of days in Colombo I headed south to Hikkaduwa on October 31st for a proper beach holiday. Hikkaduwa is quite a tourist town spread out along kilometres of fabulous golden beaches. The town has recovered well from the tsunami of 2004. It would appear that businesses probably were favoured when relief money was given out. I think the more robust structures survived quite well although ground level furnishings were destroyed or simply floated away. The famous railway carriages are parked in the railway station and are slowly rusting away. Elsewhere foundations and the few standing ruins are already overgrown with vegetation as if this tragic event happened decades ago. The proper tourist season had not yet started so hotel guests were few. Swiss, Austrians and Germans seemed to be the most adventurous as Sri Lanka’s civil problems tend to scare tourists away. Actually, the south and central areas that I visited are mostly free from the strife that afflicts the North-central, Eastern and Northern provinces. I stayed at Sunil’s Beach Hotel and spent a couple of lazy days in Hikkaduwa. I swam mostly in the Hotel pool because the sea at this season was too rough, except for at sheltered location some distance from the hotel where I swam once. I also went on a short cruise (30 minutes!) in a glass bottomed boat to view fish life in a reef. The reef took quite a pummelling in the tsunami but appears to be recovering. The fish are relatively abundant but in fewer varieties than one would normally see in a coral reef. I also went on a sunset paddle around a lagoon to see the bird life and supposedly some spectacular rookeries. Spectacular rookeries there were none and the surroundings a bit too affected by human activity to be ideal places for roosting. A visit to a Buddhist temple was more interesting. Nonetheless it was a pleasant and tranquil time and I saw quite enough flying creatures birds (crows, egrets, kingfishers, fly catchers and bats – big flying foxes and smaller bats) to make the venture worthwhile. On my last day in Hikkaduwa I attended the dedication of a new restaurant, according to some traditions the first guest is supposed to bring good luck. I hope this is true for Mr. and Mrs. Lionel who are owners of this establishment.

I took my old note book on Sinhala language and tried to communicate. I could recall a few phrases such as: mage badda piruna (my tummy is full), keyada wyasa? (how old are you?) mama maha nuwara-ta hitiya (I used to live in Kandy) and not much else come to think of it! I got a many laughs for my efforts but I can no longer communicate in an effective manner in Sinhala.

I returned to Colombo on November 2nd again travelling by train. Travelling by train is incredibly cheap. The trip from Hikkaduwa to Colombo about 100 km cost about 90 cents Canadian.

The following afternoon I caught the plane back to Delhi, spent the night in a Karol Bagh hotel and returned to Roorkee by bus the next day, Sunday - November 4th.

I am attaching some photos for you to enjoy.

Phil Helwig
December 7, 2007