sri-lanka-13-full-pdf-ebook.pdf

Jaf fna & the

Rediscovered North

17

In Jaffna (p 262 ), everything

seems different, especially the lan-

guage: the rapid-fire staccato of spoken

Tamil is a real change from singsong Sin-

hala. So too the cuisine: singularly spiced

and, in season, complemented by legend-

ary mangoes. And perhaps even the light: it

has a distinctive quality, reflected as deep

garden greens in Jaffna’s suburbs. Revel

in the uniqueness of Jaffna, including the

towering, ornate Hindu temples. And don’t

miss Jaffna’s isolated islands and their

end-of-the-earth appeal. Hindu temple, Jaffna

Colonial Legacy

18

Yes, the Brits were chased out at

independence in 1948, but their

legacy lives on in much more than an often

impenetrable bureaucracy addicted to

forms. Colombo (p 56 ) has wide, tree-

shaded streets where you’ll see the struc-

tures of the empire at their most magnifi-

cent. The National Museum building is

redolent with empire. Look around a little

and you’ll find the colonial legacies of the

Dutch and Portuguese as well. Just head

to restored quarters of Fort and w a n d e r,

pausing at the hugely popular Old Dutch

Hospital. Cargills main store (p59), Colombo

ASANKA BRENDON RATNAYAKE / GETTY IMAGES © OLIVER STREWE / GETTY IMAGES ©

17 18

PLAN YOUR TRIP

Sri Lanka’

S

Top 20