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| Sunday, 19 February 2006 |
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Picturesque Serenity Leisure Park Hotel by Elmo Leonard
Do you want to go back in time, 50 years or more into Sri Lanka's past? If so, it would take you, one-and-a-half-hours drive from Colombo, to get to Serenity Leisure Park Hotel, Wevila, Kalatuwawa, where you will get a glimpse of plantation life, as it was, then. To get there, the climb by automobile was unbelievably steep and enduring, but, no one could tell us how many feet above sea level, Kalatuwawa lies. Unmistakenly, this locale is a high altitude, hilly Sabaragamuwa province, where wet weather is the norm, underscored by its lush dark greenery; possible, only through continuous rainfall. Up here, plantations dominate. There is rubber, tea, a sprinkling of coconut and well maintained rice fields. But, houses and people are scarce, and automobiles, even harder to spot. The few people we met, confirmed that there are human settlements, miles away. The hotel brochure says, "when you come along High Level Road, turn off at Meepe junction to Ingiriya Road. After 7 km travel, turn off at Ihala Bope junction towards Udagama, 7 km drive along winding road to Wevila." Nimal Amerasinghe purchased a 50-acre abandoned estate. Now, it abounds with tea, rubber, cloves, cardamoms, cinnamon, pepper, organic fertiliser nourished vegetables, and two acres of herbal garden. A rubber manufacturing factory is also part of this venture.
Nimal is a dual national and spends six months in UK (where he retired serving as a radiographer, at King's Hospital, London) and six months, at Serenity Leisure Park. But life goes on, here, with his wife, Chandra Manike and his sister and their son, in continuous attendance. There are spacy wooden cottages for dwelling, with modern conveniences. This eco-friendly hotel had the constant supervision of the Ceylon Tourist Board, when under construction, Nimal said. Here, there is a restaurant and reception hall, fresh water swimming pool, fresh water reservoir for fishing, bicycles (but on one side, the road is hilly), trekking through the estate and surrounding woods. Or, you can walk through the tea and rubber estate and visit the spice garden. Ask them how to pluck tea (two leaves and a bud) or tap rubber. There is a meditation centre, five kilometres from the site. On request, trips may be arranged to the Sinharaja Forest. The ayurvedic centre counts a German surgeon who lost the ability to grip instruments. Following ten days of medication, here, he has got back to surgery. He will be back next month, to secure a further cure. |
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