ORIENT: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: Land of the Serendib
by Paul J. Lalli

My dictionary defines serendipity as the "aptitude for making happy and desirable discoveries by accident." Before the island of Sri Lanka was called Ceylon by the British, Arabian sailors had dubbed it Serendib, the name which gave us our word serendipity. On our recent visit to this island nation off the southern coast of India, we learned that this name fits the island and the definition perfectly.
We came to Sri Lanka to see the Esala Perahera, one of the outstanding spectacles in the world. It is celebrated in the hill city of Kandy during the full moon in the Sinhalese month of Esala (July or August) to honor the relic of Buddha's tooth. Processions are held every night for ten days, but the final night---the full moon---is the most spectacular. The climax is a three-hour-long procession that starts with whip snappers and includes drummers, dancers, acrobats and more than 60 caparisoned elephants sparkling with lights and carrying illuminated howdahs. An elephant with huge tusks carries the howdah containing a replica of the sacred tooth, said to have been snatched from Buddha's funeral pyre.
The real tooth is rarely displayed even in Kandy's Temple of the Tooth, a pilgrimage destination for Buddhists the world over. We modern pilgrims stayed at the Citadel, a world class hotel with Sri Lankan touches such as room doors painted with scenes from Hindu mythology and native fabrics forming a canopy over the beds.
During our visits to the other two ancient Sri Lankan capitals of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, the serendipitous nature of our visit began to unfold. As we placed a floral offering before a statue of Buddha in Anuradhapura's Ruwanweli Seya, a white dagoba (pagoda) guarded by a wall of gray stucco elephants, we suddenly heard the beat of a drummer and saw a colorful parade of worshippers come out of nowhere, carrying offerings of flowers, fruit and incense to the shrine.
Another must-see in Anuradhapura is the Sri Maha Bodhi, a temple containing an ancient tree that was once a cutting taken from the bodhi tree in India under which Buddha attained enlightenment. It, too, is a place of pilgrimage where Buddhists come to pray and leave votive offerings, some in the form of brightly colored cloth hung outside the temple.
In the ruins of the royal palace at Polonnaruwa a bathing pool is still fed by water from a huge tank (reservoir) built 900 years ago. No visit to Polonnaruwa would be complete without seeing the Gal Vihara, a monastery where gigantic statues of Buddha have been hewn from a cliff of solid granite.
Anyone who has visited Australia's Ayers Rock will immediately see the resemblance to Sri Lanka's rock fortress of Sigiriya. Similar even in shape, Sigiriya roses abruptly to 600 feet above the surrounding plain. Those of us hardy enough to climb it were rewarded with breathtaking panoramic views as well as remarkably-preserved frescoes, the "Sigiriya Ladies" dating from 477 B.C., in a sheltered stone gallery halfway up the steep cliff.
These are the classic highlights of a trip to Sri Lanka, affording ample opportunities to make "desirable discoveries by accident." But what made our visit truly serendipitous was our knowledgeable guide Walter and the expertise and experience of the company we traveled with, Select Tours, whose vivacious and enthusiastic president Cipora Kronen accompanied us. Together, they ensured that we did not miss an opportunity to enjoy a true Sri Lanka experience.
We had used the Lodge at Habarana as our base for visiting Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa and this complex itself is a serendipitous discovery. The individual lodges, manicured grounds, great pool and excellent cuisine were beyond our expectations. Each day brought new serendipitous discoveries: the stone-age Veddahs, inhabitants of the island before the Sinhalese arrived, demonstrated their hunting techniques and brewed a magic potion; the stilt fishermen at Ahangama on the resort-studded southwest coast who pass on their fishing perches in the sea from father to son; the elephant orphanage at Pinnewala where visitors can feed and photograph the herd of orphaned pachyderms and watch them being led down to the river for their daily bath.

Decorative facade of a Hindu temple in Columbo

Then, too, there were the visits to a spice garden, lace making school, tea plantation and batik establishment, giving us the chance to meet Sri Lankans---and bring home souvenirs of genuine Ceylon tea, fresh exotic spices and beautifully crafted lace and batik. Along the way, we stopped to watch a roadside potter fashion his wares on a foot-driven wheel and tappers collecting the sap from rubber trees. We came upon toddy tappers stringing hemp ropes from tree to tree so they can tap many palms without having to continually climb up and down. From the sap they collect they make arrack, the local moonshine popular in Sri Lanka.
Roadside fruit vendors display their produce so imaginatively that it becomes a work of art. Some also sell wax fruit and little red papier-mache banks in the shape of British mail boxes.
At Hambatota, we stopped at one of many curd or yogurt stands where clay pots of curd are strung together and displayed as an advertisement. To us, art; to Sri Lankans, an inducement to buy.
One of the most interesting stops was at the mask museum at Ambalangoda where we watched the process of mask making---from wood selection to carving to the final painting in vivid glossy colors typical of Sri Lankan masks.
Animal lovers especially enjoyed the visit to the Yala National Park where on safari we saw crocodiles, water buffalo, elephants, monitor lizards, deer and monkeys. Although we weren't fortunate enough to see any, leopards have been sighted in the park. At a turtle hatchery, we were allowed to gently pick up tiny week-old hatchlings as well as feisty fifty-pounders. Local fishermen help to increase the sea turtle population by voluntarily bringing in turtle eggs found on the beach.
During the Portuguese and Dutch domination of the island---or Ceylon as it was then called---coffee was one of the chief exports. A blight in the 1870's forced the then British overlords to switch to tea cultivation---and the rest is history. Nuwara Eliya became a British hill station and still resembles a bit of old England, with Tudor-style houses and a quaint pink brick post office. We enjoyed a sumptuous tea at our Elizabethan Grant Hotel, after which some of our group investigated golfing at the 18-hole golf course adjacent to the Hill Club, a classic British country house hotel.
The fort at Galle, on the other hand, is a page out of Dutch history. Although some scholars connect it with the Tarshish of the Old Testament, Galle today retains a decidely Dutch flavor. A tall lighthouse overlooks the massive sea wall built by the Dutch East India Company and the 90-acre Galle Fort, a treasure trove of Dutch architecture. We visited the Government House and the Groote Kerk, its floors paved with old gravestones. Near the church is the new Oriental Hotel, a relic of Colonial times, on whose vast front veranda we enjoyed yet another cup of Ceylon tea served with all the grace and warmth of a country that knows how to make visitors feel welcome and can offer exciting serendipitous discoveries at every turn.

IF YOU GO TO SRI LANKA:
We chose Select Tours to guide us through Sri Lanka. This California company specializes in trips to Sri Lanka and Indonesia but can arrange trips throughout Southeast Asia. It uses Walker Tours based in Colombo for travel within Sri Lanka. The 1997 Esala Perahera tour will probably be in July 1997, costing about $3195, including flights from Los Angeles. (Call 800-356-6680 for information.)
We flew Singapore Air from Los Angeles to Colombo, via Singapore. We thought it best to break the long flights with a stopover in Singapore, especially since the airline charges only $50 extra per stop. Our three-day stay at the new Traders Hotel, associated with the Shangri-la Hotel and Resort chain cost $182 for a deluxe room with bay windows, sitting area and CNN, plus a swimming pool and fitness center. The hotel enjoys an ideal location just a few minutes from Orchard Road.
On our return, we stopped in Taipei at the Far Eastern Plaza. Our luxury room in this elegant tower hotel had window seats, spacious marble bathroom and a panoramic view to the hills surrounding the city. Pool and health club are available, but don't miss the traditional English tea served daily in the Lobby Lounge. (Call 800-942-5050 for information).

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