Marvellous Sri Lanka

Aliya Resort & Spa, Sigirya Ceremonial Opening – 96 Room Theme Resort – New Addition to the Cultural Triangle

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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year visitors to the Cultural Triangle, Sigiriya Rock Fortress and Pidurangala Rock Temple will be able to stay at a brand new four star hotel, Aliya Resort & Spa in Sigiriya.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Named after the beloved elephant or ‘aliya’ in the Sinhala language, this brand new 96 roomed hotel has brought an investment of 1.4 billion rupees ($7.8 million) to the Cultural Triangle. Aliya Resort and Spa Ceremoniously opened by Chief Guest Hon. Basil Rajapakse, Minister of Economic Development in the presence of Hon. Sarath Ekanayake, Chief Minister of the Central Province, Mr. Bhashwara Gunarathna Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism, Mr. Rumy Jauffer Managing Director of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Dr.D.S Jayaweera Director General of Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, Aliya Resort & Spa Chairman/Managing Director Mr.Chandra Wickramasinghe and several Tourism industry stake holders.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aliya Resort & Spa consists of 68 Deluxe rooms, 8 Deluxe rooms with Attics, 2 suites and 18 luxury tents.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aliya Resort & Spa Chairman/Managing Director and veteran hotelier Chandra Wickramasinghe said, ‘Aliya Resort & Spa is a fusion of many things old and new. It feels cutting-edge, exciting and fun. But we also want to give anyone who stays here a true feeling of village life in Sri Lanka; after all we are right in the middle of a rural area and village. So although it is very contemporary, Aliya Resort blends in with the Sigiriya Villages and the simple carefree lifestyle of the people who live here.’</span></div>
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Aliya Resort & Spa, Sigirya Ceremonial Opening – 96 Room Theme Resort – New Addition to the Cultural Triangle

This year visitors to the Cultural Triangle, Sigiriya Rock Fortress and Pidurangala Rock Temple will be able to stay at a brand new four star hotel, Aliya Resort & Spa in Sigiriya. Named after the beloved elephant or ‘aliya’ in the Sinhala language, this brand new 96 roomed hotel has brought an inv…

31Jan2014

Travel and Leisure Magazine Recognized Sri Lanka as the “Best Travel Destination” for Chinese Travelers

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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sri Lanka was awarded with the “Best Travel Destination” Award at the Annual Travel Award Ceremony of the Travel and Leisure Magazine of China held on 16 January 2014 in Beijing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Awards were given for Best Travel Destination, Best Hospitality Provider, Best Airlines and Best Travel Organizer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to China Ranjith Uyangoda received the Award at the awarding Ceremony, which was attended by more than 400 representatives including diplomats, travel executives and travel media personnel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Travel and Leisure Magazine identified Sri Lanka as the Best Travel Destination through an opinion poll conducted among its Journalists and Readers in China.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the awarding ceremony, a Holiday Package jointly sponsored by the Sri Lankan Airlines and Jetwing Travels of Sri Lanka was awarded to a lucky winner.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.srilanka.travel/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Visit Sri Lanka Tourism Official Website >></span></a></div>
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Travel and Leisure Magazine Recognized Sri Lanka as the “Best Travel Destination” for Chinese Travelers

Sri Lanka was awarded with the “Best Travel Destination” Award at the Annual Travel Award Ceremony of the Travel and Leisure Magazine of China held on 16 January 2014 in Beijing. Awards were given for Best Travel Destination, Best Hospitality Provider, Best Airlines and Best Travel Organizer. Sri L…

31Jan2014

Comprehensive Tourism Guide Book Launched in Colombo

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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Under the leadership of His Excellency Ambassador Udayanga Weeratunga, Sri Lankan mission in Russia has initiated a series of promotional campaigns to market Sri Lanka as the preferred tourism destination among the Russian travelers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Under these campaigns, which are fully backed by the Sri Lanka Tourism, one of the activities conducted during the year 2012 was the ‘Tourist Guide Book’ published in the Russian language which highlights the attractions of Sri Lanka.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moving a step ahead, the Sri Lanka’s mission in Russia has now translated this book into English to be distributed among Sri Lanka’s tourism stakeholders including the Island’s missions in overseas countries.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Through the mission the book would also be distributed to travel and tour operators operating in key tourism markets of Sri Lanka.</span></div>
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Comprehensive Tourism Guide Book Launched in Colombo

Under the leadership of His Excellency Ambassador Udayanga Weeratunga, Sri Lankan mission in Russia has initiated a series of promotional campaigns to market Sri Lanka as the preferred tourism destination among the Russian travelers. Under these campaigns, which are fully backed by the Sri Lanka To…

10Jan2014

The Trip to Sri Lanka

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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What do you expect from a country that has gone through a 30 years of bloody civil war? When we first met and started dating, Preben would show me the photo album of the first foreign country he visited. He was there as a young university intern working at Ceylon Leather Products Company app. 30 years ago – a leather factory – and stayed at the house of the high ranking CEO of several SOEs, Prof. Lakshman R. Watawala – Past President of the Sri Lanka Chartered Accounting Institute, President of CMA Sri Lanka and Board Member of several public companies that trade at the Colombo Stock exchange.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He would also point to this or that photo and sadly say the person in the photo was assassinated or he was shot while campaigning and the list goes on. For the last 20 years every time my husband mentioned Sri Lanka and said he wished one day he could take the family to see it, I would always try to push the issue off. I have seen enough of misery and poverty in my own country, why should I go that far to see more? And then in the middle of our ski holiday in the white wilderness of Norway last Christmas, we talked about the following Christmas and how we should be somewhere warm and different. Sri Lanka was such a good idea that everyone immediately agreed.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally in Sri Lanka!</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here we come, December 2013! Colombo – the capital city of Sri Lanka. It is my habit to judge a strange country the minute I step off the plane and walk to the airport, see the security folks and the road leading to the city. The four-lane high way stretch of 45-minute drive is such a nice surprise with speed and traffic signs just like somewhere in Europe. No motorbikes on the highway – what a relief!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The airport is nothing special but not something you have to complain about. But it is the people who put me at ease. Not only do the officers look good in their well-fit uniform, but they are so friendly. They always address you as ‘Sir’ or ‘Madam’ with a warm smile. Later on, I witness its vast hospitality at work in various circumstances and people I met, talked or just passing by in the car.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sri Lanka has it all</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We stayed at the Galle Face which was built since 1864. It is an established grand hotel so rich in tradition of those colonial days by British. There is even an antique car displayed at the back of the hotel to be said as the first car of Prince Phillip – husband of Queen Elizabeth II. The hotel is perched on the Indian sea with the garden looking over the sea. Having afternoon tea at the garden while enjoying the spectacular sunsets is such a sweet romantic thing for me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During our 10 day trip, we would switch four different hotels and experience four different kinds of landscape and also its varied climate. Sri Lanka has it all. The country is blessed by Mother Nature with so much favour. They have sea, mountains, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, tea plantations, safaris. It helps also as they don’t have too many natural disasters.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The country is so green. A lot of landscape and urban planning was laid out since British days. But what amazes me is how they are so well maintained. A walk into the Botanical Garden near Kandy city is such an overwhelming experience. The fact that there are no tea vendors or shops popping up anywhere selling anything like we often see in every corner in Vietnam helps maintain the cleanness of the huge garden.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I watched many groups of local adults and children having lunch picnics on the meadow, under the shade of big trees. I didn’t see any trash or litter after they left. Everybody eats their picnic lunch quietly, not disturbing other guests. The entrance ticket is not cheap (at US$ 10 per person) but there is always a queue at the ticket boxes. I don’t remember enjoying such a walk in a long time. Growing up near a big botanical garden in Hanoi, it was as a matter of fact a playground in my childhood, but today I can hardly see it as a botanical garden any longer.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Use of English</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have to admit that our trip was so much smoother and so enjoyable also thanks to our excellent driver cum guide. He was so adorable and professional that we never considered him a paid driver but as a friend. His sense of humour did not do any harm either. We would have lunches or a drink or two with him whenever he could. My curiosity is always satisfied with his explanation in excellent English.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Almost everywhere we go we can easily communicate with people in English. The country has three official languages: Sinhala, Tamil and English. You will see it in all official signs or announced in all three languages by the stewardess in their national airline carrier SriLankan Airways. But English is probably the language to bring the divided nation together. English is taught as one of its official language since Grade 1.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Education system</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What Sri Lanka inherits from the British system must be their education. The country is proud to be very strong in providing professional accountants and auditors of international standards. You can see that education is strongly emphasised in this nation. It is worth to note that all schools are free of fees from elementary to university.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A good grade will help you land a better university but it is not the end of the world if you fail as you can enter a less prestigious college though the diplomas are of the equal merit. All uniforms are provided by the Government free of charge. I can see the country obsessed with uniforms. Each school has their own kind of uniform. Lunches at school are subsidised by the Government.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Peradeniya University next to the Botanical Gardens has impressive sports facilities, such as football and cricket fields, with a vast immaculate grass lawn. There is a very strong academic environment, with separate dorms for male and female students. Students have holidays every three months and they can even protest if they don’t like something. One day we passed a row of students sitting comfortably under a roofed hut with a banner in front. I asked the driver and he said it was a student protest. A very peaceful protest for whatever reason and no Police around to disturb them. After taking a picture of them, I gave them a thumbs-up for encouragement.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In Sri Lanka there are many youth centres where young people can further their study or learn a new thing there while still working. It can be electronic, human management and even landscape designing. The courses are mostly done during the weekend. We visited one of the centres named after a former Minister who was shot dead while campaigning to become President, Lalith Athulathmudali, whom my husband admired so much and with whom he was friends.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sri Lanka has so much to offer</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now I understand why people kept coming to Sri Lanka even during the war. The country has so much to offer in a very professional way. All the rest stops – whether at a tea plantation, a gem exhibition centre, a carpentry workshop or a spice garden – are arranged in a way that leaves an everlasting experience for the tourists and each trip is always ended at one of its many amazing shops. It is time to open your wallet. But you don’t feel exploited. You are happy to bring home some of the memories, aren’t you?</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Galle Fort</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We come to a Galle Fort which was built by the Dutch and later on fell into the hands of the British. It reminds me a lot of Hoi An in Vietnam. I can see a new invasion of foreigners there as the Government’s policy offers tax free status for those who buy the property and run a business rather than just own it. It is highly recommended to spend a night or two there, preferably at the Old Colonial Hotel which was the former military headquarters of British commanders.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No devastating poverty</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our trip has covered several kilometres through many cities and villages. I can still see the poverty but not devastating poverty like you often see in Vietnam. People here never go to bed hungry. They may live in all kinds of different houses, but the houses in the countryside surprise me most. They are done with taste. Being a person interested in architecture, I can imagine I could easily live in one of those houses. Many two storey houses with gardens are dotted all along the way to Kandy city.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cinnamon Citadel Hotel is a nice experience with a sprawling view of a long river in the background of the tropical forest. Such a magnificent view! I never get tired of watching it. Have you ever see big huge trees grow in the middle of the lake? What a fascinating scene! Come to The Safari Hotel! Huge lake with huge trees.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But hey something is missing. Where are those ugly big buildings made from the same mould called ‘People’s Committee’ that one can see in every district or commune in Vietnam? Simply, we don’t see it here in Sri Lanka! I once spotted a very modest sign named ‘Municipal Council’ in a low single-storey house. However we see a lot of ‘Irrigation Department’. It says a lot about the priority in the governing of this country.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sri Lanka is a country of Buddhism. Its philosophy and worship can be seen everywhere and in every aspect of life. I passed a funeral and I saw how peaceful, neat and respectable it was. All the funeral symbols are in white and guests come also in clean white robes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We also visited the Temple of the Tooth, where everyone has to take off their shoes and hats and women as well as men have to cover upper arms and legs. A security lady will help you to reinforce the law by adjusting women’s scarves in a curtained booth.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Construction is everywhere</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The whole time of the trip, Vietnam is always at the back of my mind. I can’t help comparing. The two countries have quite a lot in common. We both has two devastating wars, but how far has Vietnam gone after 38 years of peace while peace was restored in Sri Lanka just four years ago?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Construction is everywhere. Around Galle Face Hotel in Colombo, Shangri-la and Grand Hyatt will be opened in 2015. Galle Face itself is also under complete renovation. Sri Lanka’s GDP today is around US$ 3,500.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Traveling to Sri Lanka can be a bit of problem as there still aren’t many direct flights just yet. We are very grateful for the trip customised by Adisti Travel in Bangkok, especially for the wholehearted involvement by Bent and Stig. So again thank you so much.</span></div>
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<b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Hanoi, January 2014)</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://srilanka.travel/" target="_blank">Visit Sri Lanka Tourism Official Web Site >></a></span></div>
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The Trip to Sri Lanka

By Hien Hjortlund What do you expect from a country that has gone through a 30 years of bloody civil war? When we first met and started dating, Preben would show me the photo album of the first foreign country he visited. He was there as a young university intern working at Ceylon Leather Products …

08Jan2014

Sri Lanka’s Gangarama Temple Photo Becomes the “BEST PHOTO TAKEN ON A SMARTPHONE” Competition

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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The 'Best Photo Taken on a Smartphone' contest, launched by Celebrity Cruises, encouraged amateur photographers to submit their holiday snaps and has announced that a shot of the Gangaramaya Viharaya Temple, taken in Colombo, Sri Lanka, has taken top place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The photo, submitted by holidaymaker Zoe King, was judged to be the best by a judging panel of world-renowned photographers Stuart Franklin, Ian Berry, Art Wolfe and Massimo Vitali.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://srilanka.travel/" target="_blank">Visit Sri Lanka Tourism Official Web Site >></a></span></div>
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Sri Lanka’s Gangarama Temple Photo Becomes the “BEST PHOTO TAKEN ON A SMARTPHONE” Competition

The 'Best Photo Taken on a Smartphone' contest, launched by Celebrity Cruises, encouraged amateur photographers to submit their holiday snaps and has announced that a shot of the Gangaramaya Viharaya Temple, taken in Colombo, Sri Lanka, has taken top place. The photo, submitted by holidaymaker Zoe …