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Sunday, 8 May 2005  
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Pleasure seekers

by Rikaza

Come April, the season of holidays begins, schools close, Avurudu holidays together with the weekends create longer holidays for working men and women and a lot of people decide to make a change, take a break and go on holiday. Come April, another season commences in the Lankan version of an English county; the start of spring is celebrated from the first of April to the thirtieth at Nuwara Eliya.

The soaring temperatures, humidity and intense rays from the sun combined that constitute the current climate, make those in the city of Colombo and its suburbs rush to the cooler climes of Nuwara Eliya in droves. Their goal is to take in as much as possible of the refreshing cool air, funds and leave permitting of course.

This particular year has seen some of the hottest days in the past couple of months driving people half crazy as they are forced to get themselves to work in their formal clothing without looking soaked to the skin or smelling like a pig sty by the time they reach their offices. Not to mention praying to God that you don't get skin cancer or sun stroke if ever put in the unfortunate position of travailing the streets in the afternoon.

But this particular year, has also seen some of the longest as well as most number of long weekends in the month of April. The Avurudu holidays falling right in the middle of the week let people have over a week off work by only taking a day or two off. And right after that came another long weekend as if to compensate for those who were unable to make it due to celebrating Avurudu at home.

So what is it exactly that entices people to go to Nuwera Eliya of all places at this time of the year other than the obvious change in temperature? We spoke to some of the lucky holiday makers at NE this April.

Sugath and five of his friends spent four days until the 24th at NE staying at a house. "We love the place because its cool and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. We hope to come here for Vesak as well if we can."

"I love NE during the season, its so happening at that time. It's almost like Colombo with night life, rows of food stalls and other stuff, only much colder. Not to mention there are loads of guys roaming the town in their jerseys and wolly caps and at least some of them are quite good looking too." Rhea who came with a few cousins says she loves the place even better when it rains because it's much colder then.

Harshini says she comes to NE each year for the horse races. "My husband and I come here every year, since we both love horses though we do not own one ourselves. We even stay close to the race course and of course it's exciting to dress in the style of the fashion conscious English woman with hats and the boots and all the other finery."

Not all those who made it to NE were as exstatic as Rhea though. Chamali and Mahen, a newly wed couple who decided to take some time off their busy schedules to spend some quality time together and relax said that they "definitely chose the wrong place for our vacation. Instead of peace and quiet we kept on bumping into people we knew and were taking a break from, not to mention the traffic which was even worse than Colombo." Says Mahen, "sure NE is cold but there are definitely much colder places in Sri Lanka and with more beautiful sights to see."

And what about those who couldn't make it to this cold sanctuary to the overheated city types? Trevor says that he was planning to be there with a "couple of my mates, but unfortunately things didn't work out. We've already booked the train tickets for the Vesak holidays in May. In a way it'll be colder 'cos it'll be raining, perfect weather to get smashed."

Samanthi has never been to NE but heard so much from her brothers' talk. "I wish I could be there for the season, at least for one day, though not with my parents or relatives or anything. Just me and my pals, like a girls day out. My parents don't let me go with my brothers 'cos they think it's not safe enough for a girl."

"I don't ever want to go there. I haven't been there but when I hear of the traffic jams and the loud music and the beer stalls, if I wanted that I'd rather stay here in Colombo in the a/c," says Nilanthi. Her friend Caroline says that the guys get out of control especially in the night.

"They think they are free to act like perverts and unless you've got a lot of guys around you it's not safe in the night."

The dearth of proper accommodation and the high prices that are charged for even a little bed-sit in a house, the high decibel level, the crowds and the traffic jams are quite a number of cons for choosing this city to spend your precious time and money. Yet it still allures a large number of visitors that only seem to increase by the year, especially the youth. So, best vacation spot or the most unholiday-like atmosphere, NE just seems to attract the crowds, like moths to a flame, to beat the heat of this season.


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