This is a photo of the Colombo fort area. An pro will say it isn’t a particularly good one, because the foreground is a wee bit dark and the sky apears to be mostly white. Even so, I value this photo highly because it represented a once in a life time opportunity. It was taken on the day of a national election when the city center was deserted.

This was at a time when Sri Lankan elections were more violent than they are now and people were expecting a curfew in the evening. So the city was even more deserted than usual. Unlike most people, I went out. Took the kid to the Galle Face. On the way back took this photo of the YMBA and the other building which at the time was marked for demolishen but fortunately they didn’t carry it out.

This was also the time of the ceasefire, otherwise it would not possible to take photos in the fort area. So that’s why this is such a rare and valuable photo and that’s why the government of Sri Lanka stole it.

This I must admit is a cliche photo but the beach here certainly is well worth a visit specially if you have kids. You can wade for at least 10 meters before the water level comes upto your knees. You can wade another 50 more before it goes over your head.

When we visited Club Palm Bay, Beruwela a couple of months ago, the kids loved it. They loved it so much that they have been pestering us to go back and that’s just what we did on the weekend of the 27-28. This time the visit wasn’t so fun as last time around – half the – the left wing on the picture has been closed off for refurbished. This photo was in fact taken on the last visit, now the left wing is boarded up. That means fewer guests and I think they have let go of a few of the temporary staff due to that fact. That meant the service and the food had deteriorated. Still the stay was pleasant enough and we probably would go back there someday.

Pots for sale at the village market in Pallama (near Chilaw)

My little daughter Aminthika standing next to the giant chessboard at Club Palm Garden. Earlier the board was setup incorrectly by the hotel staff. I had seen a few people playing on it without even noticing that the setup was all wrong. I corrected the setup and made the first few moves of the Sicilian Defence Najdorf variation on it. Not that any of the staff or guests would recognize it but heck, I got a kick out of it.