Time Out Srilanka Magazine - January 2016

In this issue

Thai refers to the month of January in the Hindu-Tamil calendar and it is also the harvest season. The advent of a new year heralds the festival of Thai Pongal celebrated annually on January 15, 2016.
Everyone’s seen Star Wars, right? Wrong. Tom Huddleston introduces newbie Phil Harrison to the world of lightsabers and Wookiees via a 12-hour inter-galactic movie marathon. What could possibly go wrong?
Galle Literary Festival will feature over 90 international writers, poets, dramatists, musicians and artists showcasing diverse literary and artistic styles, as well as local writers and artists from the three main districts promoting their unique cultural ethos.
Sri Lanka's highly popular open-air art exhibition cum fair, Kala Pola is another annual event, which attracts numerous artists from across the island to the precincts of a street in the heart of Colombo.
Negombo is a well-known for some fantastic eateries specialising in seafood cuisine.
The National Herbarium set deep within the Peradeniya Gardens has a lot on its hands.
A visit to the Bundala National Park in January is worth a trip to see migratory birds from Russia, Eastern and Northern Europe and the Himalayas, Mongolia and from across Asia beating the winter blues in sunny Sri Lanka.
Batticaloa is known as the “land of the singing fish” and is surrounded by lagoons and home to a very important landmark; the Batticaloa fort, the smallest Dutch fort. Mingled with ancient history of the Ruhuna kingdom and the history of the Portuguese, Dutch and British, this fort has stood the test of time.
The Sita Amman Temple dedicated to Sita, the wife of King Rama, situated in the hills of Nuwara Eliya, is treated with enduring devotion by Hindus as it is considered to be the only such temple in the world.