Serendib Magazine - July 2012

In this issue

The golden sugar of the kithul palm adds a consumate sweetness to life in Sri Lanka.
If you’ve got a day to spare in Colombo and want to explore another area of the country without too much travel time, then look no further than Kalutara. This coastal town has plenty to offer visitors, and is only 40km south of Colombo on the main Colombo-Galle road.
The Sita Amman Kovil is the only temple in the world dedicated to Goddess Sita.
In recent years, Kalpitiya has become somewhat of a buzzword in tourism circles in Sri Lanka. The next big thing in a burgeoning tourist industry in search of new attractions.
Countless dancers and drummers in the thousands, ponderous tuskers and elephants numbered in the hundreds and more, breath life to the reverberating annual pageant of the hill capital Kandy. While its easy to be entranced by its rich exuberance, the days and months preceding the pageant is one of feverish preparation, laborious hours of work and invoking of age-old arts and crafts.
In Sri Lanka’s rural society in particular, astrology is believed capable of providing the auspicious timing of personal and public events. Therefore most Sri Lankans have horoscopes cast at birth, which are consulted by an astrologer at important junctures in life such as marriage. So astrology governs when things happen, and when they don’t.
With its vast, shady forests, countless parks, fast flowing rivers, unique museums, tall skyscrapers and beautifully recreated old town, eco friendly Frankfurt is a stunning blend of the old and the new.