Archive for the ‘My life & thoughts’ Category
For the first time in forever, I watched a movie on an aircraft
May 27th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
I’ve just returned from a wonderful two-week holiday touring the beautiful island of Sri Lanka. Obviously the flight there and back were long ones but I never use the inflight entertainment, preferring to read and sleep. As many readers will know, I’m a massive movie fan. But I like to see my films on a […]
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Holiday in Sri Lanka (14): on the way home
May 23rd, 2017 by Roger Darlington
On my last morning (Tuesday) at the Trinco Blu Hotel, I checked the news online and was horrified to learn of the suicide bombing in Manchester, the city where I grew up and where my brother still lives. Following an exchange of texts with him, I learned that four schoolmates of my niece had been […]
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Holiday in Sri Lanka (13): swimming with sharks
May 22nd, 2017 by Roger Darlington
The Trinco Blu Hotel outside Trincomalee is the kind of place that, once guests have checked in, they tend not to leave until they check out – but I like to explore around and seek new experiences, so this morning (Monday) I booked a trip to a place called Pigeon Island. I was the only […]
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Holiday in Sri Lanka (12): around Trincomalee
May 21st, 2017 by Roger Darlington
Trincomalee is not really what I was expecting. The hotel is not in the city but at a resort and all the other guests are young couples or parents with small children, so there are no cultural options on offer. However, I read about a place nearby called Velgam Vehera and, since Shaleen had decided […]
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Holiday in Sri Lanka (11): Trincomalee
May 20th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
In the part of north-west London where I live, there are lots of Sri Lankans, all Tamils who were refugees from the bitter civil war. Indeed the local cab company I use is staffed almost exclusively by Tamils. Therefore I was determined that, whenever I visited Sri Lanka, I would see something of the Tamil […]
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Holiday in Sri Lanka (10): Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa
May 19th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
Friday was the last proper day of the basic tour, since tomorrow Thelma and Andrea start the journey back to the airport and I commence three days alone visiting the Tamil city of Tincomalee. Although our first destination was only a quarter of an hour’s drive away (past delightful rice fields), we left the hotel […]
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Holiday in Sri Lanka (9): Anuradhapura and Mihintale
May 18th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
One of the wonders of going on holiday these days is that one can share impressions and photographs instantly with family and friends. One of my Facebook friends – a Japanese woman who has visited Sri Lanka – posted a comment suggesting that I try a local food of which I had never heard: hopper. […]
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Holiday in Sri Lanka (8): Matale and Dambulla
May 17th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
During our two days in Kandy, there were hardly any other guests at The Tourmaline Hotel but, half an hour after we departed on Wednesday morning, some 200 guests were due to attend a wedding. We moved off in our minivan at 9 am (our latest start) and travelled due north to the town of […]
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Holiday in Sri Lanka (7): more Kandy
May 16th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
In terms of sightseeing, Tuesday was the busiest day so far – and that’s how I like it. We left our hotel in Kandy at 7.30 am and travelled west to a place called Pinnawala to visit the elephant orphanage there. This is the second elephant orphanage that I have seen, the other being in […]
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Holiday in Sri Lanka (6): Kandy
May 15th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
This morning (Monday) we had an amazing train journey which was a pleasant change from all the time in our minibus and provided scenes of wonderful landscapes. Our train was a light blue affair and, thanks to the type of track and the open windows, the trip was very rattling and very noisy (an Australian […]
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