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| Sunday, 23 January 2005 |
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Business |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Little England in Sri Lanka by Don Asoka Wijewardena Sri Lanka has been popular - through thick and thin because of its natural beauty. Nuwara Eliya that lures tourists from all over the world located in the hills is different from most tourist destinations.
It combines old-world charm and subtle commercialisation yet still manages to retain an air of unaffected simplicity. It is perhaps best known for its numerous tea plantations,however,it was once also considered to be a beneficial health resort. It is a combination of old-world (Colonial) charm and local simplicity,in the sense that all Sri Lankans understand. You do not need an alarm clock in Nuwara Eliya. Before six,just as the sun is rising,the muezzin's call will unfailingly set you on your way. As you take an early morning walk through town,the air around you seems to have emanated from a giant refrigerator,so that the rays of the sun on your skin is as welcome as some soothing balm. The locals who go shivering past you hidden behind thick scarves,woolen caps and fluffy wind sweaters Cold Nuwara Eliya is as far removed from the beaches of Sri Lanka as you can get. Being refreshingly different,Nuwara Eliya which means "City of Lights" and means "City of Lights" gets its fair share of the large numbers of tourists who visit the island annually. Situated 1,890 metres above sea level. It is situated on a plateau measuring 6.5 km by 2.5 km ringed by hills and mountains,which tempt the wanderer. The town itself is small enough to explore on foot within a few hours.
All around, there are sloping tea plantations, some stretching right into the outskirts of the town. Last but not least,with its numerous British-built country mansions, Nuwara Eliya has an enchanting,if quaint colonial air about it. Nuwara Eliya was discovered in 1826,by a group of British officers who had lost their way while on an elephant hunt. Nuwara Eliya was nondescript little village surrounded by thick jungles. This was rapidly to change. The officers informed the British Governor of the then Ceylon,Sir Edward Barnes of their find. He soon made his way to Nuwara Eliya. Recognising its potential as a health resort,the governor built himself a residence there in 1828 and soon after,he initiated the construction of a sanatorium. In no time, the "healthy" reputation of Nuwara Eliya spread across the island and those who needed salubrious climate began moving in. To facilitate travel to Nuwara Eliya,the then governor Barnes ordered a road built from Kandy 77 km away,which was already well-connected with the capital of Colombo. On the Eastern slopes the road was to continue to Badulla. Thus well-connected,Nuwara Eliya grew by leaps and bounds. Holidaying colonial officers were simply delighted with Nuwara Eliya's salubrious climate and many built mansions,which would not look out of place back in England. By the 1860s,Nuwara Eliya had become a little 'snob of a town,'much more British in appearance than any other place in Ceylon. The "City of Lights" had been renamed "little England" in Sri Lanka. To counter any threat of boredom,a horse- racing track was laid out in 1875,in 1889 a golf course followed suit. In 1890,several hundred prisoners from the Boer War in South Africa were employed to build Victoria Park. Though somewhat neglected these days,during the 1930s and 40s the Park had been steadily improved and was the showpiece of the town. Altogether 2,500 Prisoners of War were held in Diyatalawa,about 50 km south-east of Nuwara Eliya. To supply fresh food for the holidaying colonials European vegetables and flowers such as carrots,cabbages,beans,tomatoes and potatoes, as well as strawberries and roses were grown. The rich black soil in the region,lying on the top alternating layers of yellow clay and gravel ,combined with the cool and rainy climate,was bound to make any gardener happy. Today,some may think that Nuwara Eliya has lost its past charm. Most tourists come to enjoy the clean and healthy air,soak the quaint colonial atmosphere and visit the numerous tea estates. The latter makes superb photo subjects,especially when there are scores of sari-clad tea pluckers in them from a distance they may appear like giant locusts munching their way through the greenery. Yet,the tourist's joy is sombedy else's pain. Work in the tea estates is hard and badly paid. On many days there is no work (and no pay at all). To get to the plantations,many women have to walk two to three hours through the winding estate pathways. The tea pluckers are almost without exception Tamils,who make up eighteen per cent of Sri Lanka's population of 19.5 million. Apart from tea plantations,tourists can also visit some tea factories in the area. You will soon get used to the unappealing sight of these factories - they are drab two or three-storeyed buildings,which somehow look like sinister boardings school. Notwithstanding the appearance,the fresh tea smell emanating from the factory is enticing. One of the tea factories open to visitors is Labookellie,10 km along the Nuwara Eliya Kandy road. While passing it by bus on your way from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya,ask the conductor to be left off there,because your luggage in a storage room and have a look around. You can also purchase some of the Labookellie's tea,which is supposed to be among Sri Lanka's best. The tea estate is also an easy taxi ride from Nuwara Eliya. In Nuwara Eliya,unlike many other tourist destinations,just spending time in a hotel can be sheer bliss. Apart from countless middle-class guest houses,the town boasts of several top class mansion-type hotels,with cosy colonial style rooms and lush well- attended gardens. Here, you can feel like a true country squire.One such place is the Grand hotel,opened in 1891,and built in rustic Tudor style. Despite its old-world charm(including cracking fire-palces in the rooms),you will also find many state-of-the-art amenities such as shopping arcades, billiards, table-tennis rooms and tennis court. The most traditional-bound of Nuwara Eliya's hotels is the Hill Club. As its name implies,it was originally conceived as a club,founded in 1858 to cater to British colonial officers and tea and coffee planters. When the club was finally on the verge of bankruptcy,it was converted into a hotel. Even today,the Hill Club has retained much of its old-time snobbishness;guests are required to dress smartly at all times,and after 7 p.m. the men must wear jackets and ties in all public areas,the women evening gowns or similar formal dress. Come 5 p.m. in Nuwara Eliya,the sun will rapidly disappear behind the mountains and the air will get colder by the minutes. Put on your sweater,ask the hotel staff to light the fire-place in your room,have a tea and sit back and set warmath back in. They don't make places like this anymore. Golden Mile Fish fresh as ever The Golden Mile, the popular seafood restaurant by the seaside at Mt. Lavinia escaped the tsunami waves miraand is now functioning with a new menu. The chef at The Golden Mile has introduced a new menu leaving out seafood for the time being as guests are skeptic about seafood on account of the tsunami. However the hotel is offering its guests a special dish made of a choice of fish and prawns from their own private farm at Thoduwawa. Now that experts have declared that there is no reason for fear, The Golden Mile restaurant is doing its utmost once again to attract tourists to this popular beach restaurant at Mt. Lavinia, by offering a special menu at an attractive price. Target Travels excursion Target Travels (TT) which is synonymous with the domestic tourism market offers a tour for local and expatriates from 22- 24 of January. With the recent calamity the tendency to travel has shifted to the centre of the country and with this in view the itinerary would be Seeduwa, Munneswaram, Panduwasnuwara, Puttlam, Wilpattu Park, Anuradhapura, Thanthirimale, Aukana and Pidurangala, with night stays at Galway Miridiya and Sigiriya Hotels. TT while offering the usual five per cent discount to the senior citizens will also give a further five per cent to the Ranfer Group (Tsunami victims) consolidated fund, which will help to rebuild affected houses in the Southern Province. |
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