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| Sunday, 2 May 2004 |
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Features |  |
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Kotmale Holiday Resort : To explore a host of tourist attractions by Beverley Jansz Surrounded by mountains with forest covered slopes and lower tea plantation, and paddy fields, with the soothing sounds of the singing birds, is the Kotmale Holiday Resort.
A 'Grade Club Hotel' registered under the Ceylon Tourist Board, the resort is managed by the Ceylon Hotels Corporation (CHC). In a most scenic location in Kotmale, the resort offers 20 beautiful chalet-type cottages. Manager, Kotmale Holiday Resort, Shantha Navaratne said that one cottage was recently converted into a luxury suite consisting one family room and two double rooms. This luxury suite offers all modern facilities including A/c, telephone, TV, mini-bar, hot/cold water and room service. A three and half drive from Colombo along Colombo-Avissawella, Ginigathena Nawalapitiya, the Kotmale reservoir and dam provide breathtaking sightseeing to tourists visiting the resort. The resort is ideal for relaxed family stay in salubrious climes and idyllic surroundings and a host of recreational and sightseeing facilities, with the overall plus factor of reasonable prices, says Senior Manager, Marketing/Travel, Ceylon Hotels Corporation, Ranjith Balasuriya. Cool river bathing in the nearby river which flows down to the resort, with delicious packeted lunch provided by the resort, has become very popular and a common option among tourists. The resort area covers about 10 acres with tea plantations, bushes and shady trees. The chalets are built in between the beautiful flower beds which fascinate tourists. Kotmale Holiday Resort is managed by an experienced hotelier, Shantha Navaratne who spares no pains to make every guest enjoy a memorable holiday during their stay at the resort. The airconditioned restaurant can accommodate over 150 guests. Set menus, weekend buffets offering culinary delights, BBQ and an A'la carte menu are offered to guests. The resort provides a superb venue for conferences and training sessions. The environment is conducive to relaxed, undisturbed concentration and participation to obtain maximum results. The conference hall at the resort could accommodate 75-100 participants in classroom style seating. For day outings, the resort now caters to approximately 1000 packs. Two of the main attractions offered by the resort are visits to the Kotmale reservoir and dam, and the large and beautiful waterfall 'Dunsinane' at Sheen/Dunsinane estate, Pundulu Oya, a one hour's drive from the resort. A comprehensive range of recreational facilities to cater to the most fastidious outdoor type, is available. For the adventurous types, mountain trekking, fishing and rafting in the upper reaches of the Kotmale reservoir and overnight camping on the banks of the reservoir, are arranged by the resort. ###### Glittering evening at Taj Samudra by Beverley Jansz General Manager Taj Samudra Hotel, Praveen Nair hosted a gala event last week to the loyal clientele of the hotel and the social elite of Colombo as a measure of good will and appreciation. The chief guests for the evening were Minister of Tourism, Industries and Foreign Investment, Anura Bandaranaike and High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Nirupam Sen, and Mrs. Sen. Entertainment for the event featured Pradeep Rao, the master of "Mynd Games" who mesmerized the believers and kept the audience spellbound with his astonishing power of predicting the human mind. The audience participation was forthcoming throughout his show and everyone was dazzled and amazed at the outcome. "Mynd Storm" the 'Mind' Show is a 60-minute mind boggling interactive psychological mind game. It is a perfect entertainment solution that invokes participation, provokes discussion and breaks the ice. During the show Rao skilfully took the audience into a world of 'altered reality' with compelling simulations of some uncommon, uncanny and amazing powers of the adult human mind. Powers that apparently bypass the usual sensory channels and transcend mundane reality. Pradeep Rao is an intrepid performer of impossibilities, who combines a career as a senior corporate executive with an alter ego of a magical entertainer of no mean repute. 'Mynd Storm' almost represents his coming of age in the field of intellectual psychological entertainment. The second half of the show featured Vikram Sathey the "High Priest of Mimicry". The audience was in perpetual hysterics with his mimicry of famous personalities, which included many giants of the cricketing world such as Sachin Tendulkar, Muralidaran and Kapil Dev. Commentators such as Tony Greg and Geoffery Boycott were also not spared by his humour. The likes of leaders form the sub-continent such as A. B. Vajpayee, L. K. Advani and Pakistan's General Mussaraff were also fair game for Vikram Sathey. As a stand up comedian Vikram has performed in various shows executing a great mix of Cricket and Bollywood in his acts, cricket being his speciality. He has performed in shows like the LEVI's Dockers Quiz with Harsha Bhogle, Sony Max World Cup Launches with Kapil Dev, The Ad Club EMVIES Awards and more recently the CEAT International Cricketer of the year, Indian Telly awards, The Air Sahara Golf Achievers cup. The show was resounding success and all invitees expressed their appreciation for an unforgettable experience brought to them by the Taj Samudra, Colombo. As one guest put it, 'the food was great, the service exemplary, the atmosphere electric, the shows of international quality and the evening the best I have had in many years.' What better tribute can one expect? |
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