SRI LANKA PHOTOS

PEOPLE

Big weddings in Grand Hotels & perfect weddings on golden beaches.

Click on any of the smaller photographs below, to enlarge the image and see the caption.

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Sri Lanka.

So much more than you can see in a lifetime.

Click on any of the smaller photographs below, to enlarge the image and see the caption.

Monks on the Beach.

Some young Buddhist Sinhala boys become novice monks as an extension to their regular education.

If dedicated, they may continue to full ordination and a life of devotion.

Or they may stay for a while and then return to their previous life.

Novice Buddhist Monks on the beach near Galle Fort, Sri Lanka.

Sunday on Galle Face Green.

C olombo became a major port of the Empire for the British invaders in the 19th Century.

They used it to export tea from the mountains after they cut down the ancient Cloud Forests, and rubber from the lowlands after stealing the property of local people.

Galle Face Green was originally cleared by the Portuguese to prevent the Sri Lankan King’s army from approaching unseen. The Dutch and then the British kept it clear for the same reason. Just outside the Colombo Fort, Galle Face Green became the place for the wealthy British Colonists to spend a relaxing Sunday afternoon – to see and be seen. Aping “Rotten Row” in Hyde Park, London in the 18th & 19th Centuries.

Galle Face Green now lies between the five-star hotels on the Galle Road and the new up-and-coming Port City of the Indian Ocean, being built on reclaimed land.

In the evenings and on Sunday afternoons, the Green is full with people from all walks of life strolling past the food stalls.

At the Northern End is the Old Fort District and to the South the Galle Face Hotel (The white colonial building with a terra cotta roof and palm trees). This is the second oldest hotel in Sri Lanka after the Grand Oriental Hotel by the old British Port, and was the largest British Empire Hotel ever built east of Suez. Now it is dwarfed by the most modern new Asian hotels.

The Galle Face Hotel has a variety of European neo-classical architectural features, old furniture, hand carved doors, balconies and high ceilings.

Galle Face Green is 5 hectares (12 acres) of open space, which stretches for 500 m (1,600 ft) along the coast in the heart of Colombo, the financial and business capital of Sri Lanka. The promenade was initially laid out in 1859 by Governor Sir Henry George Ward. The original Galle Face Green extended over a much larger area than is seen today.

The Galle Face Green was initially used for horse racing and as a golf course, but later, also, for cricket, polo, football, tennis and rugby.

Inside the grounds of the Taj Hotel is the original hunting lodge built by the British.

The Colombo Club Building is one of the oldest buildings in Colombo. It is now the Grand Crystal Ballroom at the Taj Sumudra Hotel. It was built in the early 1860’s as the grandstand for the Colpetty Race Course. In 1871, it became the Colombo Club and underwent refurbishment.

Following independence in Sri Lanka, the building became the Hotel Training School at the Samudra hotel, which was later taken over by Taj Hotels.

Galle Face Green.

The place to meet for a lazy Sunday afternoon. 

Galle Face Green looks west across the Indian Ocean towards the Maldives, Africa, The Red Sea and beyond.

In the evenings and on Sunday afternoons, the Green is full with people from all walks of life strolling past the food stalls and enjoying the breeze.

At the Northern End is the Old Fort District and to the South the Galle Face Hotel (The white colonial building with a terra cotta roof and palm trees).

Galle Face Green is 5 hectares (12 acres) of open space, which stretches for 500 m (1,600 ft) along the only beach in the heart of Colombo.

The Galle Face Green was initially used for horse racing and as a golf course, but later, also, for cricket, polo, football, tennis and rugby.

Now it is preserved for anyone to enjoy.

Sri Lanka.

So much more than you can see in a lifetime.