Play golf in Southern Sri Lanka

Shangri-La’s Golf & Country Club in Hambantota, Sri Lanka, unveiled the island’s first resort golf course. Designed by Rodney Wright on a former sapphire mine, the 18-hole course is the first of its kind in Sri Lanka, set within the hotel grounds of Shangri-La’s Hambantota Resort & Spa, which opened to guests on 1st June 2016.

Spread across a vast coconut palm plantation, it offers spectacular views and distinctive challenges for both beginners and seasoned players. The par-70 course is designed by Rodney Wright,the globally celebrated designer and a firm believer in integrating the culture and environment of the surrounding area into a golf course. The beautifully-landscaped course takes players on a memorable golfing journey through three zones, each with its own unique character; The Coconut Plantation offers lush fairways and challenging bunkers, The Dune Area - with its subtle elevation changes - gives way to breath-taking views of the Indian Ocean, and The Sapphire Mine showcases generous greens with an abundance of water features.

The course development was approached from an eco-perspective, due to the resort’s dedication to biodiversity and habitat protection. The structure has revitalised an abandoned sapphire mine, restored vegetation, re-introduced birdlife and usesPaspalum grass for its salt-tolerant turf, which is resilient in the tropical climate and allows for the highest standards of course conditioning.

Each hole has three decks for tee-off; Championship Tees, which allow for a course length of 6,107 yards (5,584 metres), Ladies’ Tees, which allow for a course length of 4,424 yards (4,945 metres) and Gents’ Tees, which allow for a course length of 5,570 yards (5,276m.)

Read more: Shangri-la’s Hambantota Resort and Spa unveils Sri Lanka’s first resort golf course

Temple of the Sacred Tooth in Dambadeniya

The Third Kingdom Dambadeniya temple is only an hour’s drive from Negombo and worth the journey for the fascinating 800-year-old wooden structures with original picture house and columns carved with the timeless lotus flowers holding up the beams of the ceiling.
 

The temple has a unique form of architecture, including the elephant that guards the entrances to the sacred spots that you should visit in sequence. These elephants have over the top trunks; almost cartoon like that are unique to the Third Kingdom. The king, on arrival, would go through the royal gate at the front of the temple, which was designed to be in perfect alignment with Buddha’s position in the picture house. Walk slightly to the left or right and the perspective is altogether changed, which is extraordinary as it is clearly an architectural illusion.

Read more: Wood-looking Temple of the Sacred Tooth: Dambadeniya The Third Kingdom

Cyclonic storm ‘Nada’ edges towards Jaffna

The cyclonic storm ‘Nada’, currently located 400km east of Mullativu is expected to move Northwestward closer to Jaffna peninsula, with wind speed up to 70-80kmph.

People have been warned to be cautious of possible high tides of up to 3m along the Mannar - Kankasanthurai - Trincomalee - Batticaloa coast.

The Meteorological Department earlier today warned of a deep depression in the southwest Bay of Bengal, likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm during next 12hrs.

The storm, named ‘Nada’ is likely cross the North Tamil Nadu coast on midnight on December 1, the Met. Department said.

It said very strong winds and heavy showers can be expected in the Northern, Eastern and North-central provinces of Sri Lanka as a result of the storm, until December 2. 

Source: www.dailynews.lk (01 December 2016)

Shanthi Karma: Propiciating the Gods

Gammadu shanthikarma, also known as devol madu shanthikarma, has been an ancient practice among Sri Lankans to pay reverence to the gods in return for peace and prosperity. The key players donned in devilish costumes and the devil masks dance until the evil spirits, if there is any, vacate the area and welcome the gods and deities to bless the land.

Read more: In liaison with Gods

Lovi

Lovi is an edible fruit. It is like a cherry or plum. Its botanical name is Flacourtia Inermis. It is a bushy plant. The Lovi tree looks very beautiful. This plant is native to the Philippines and it spread to African and Asian countries. The fruit has a very acidic taste. When it is immature it is green and after ripening it turns red.

Read more: In love with Lovi...

World’s tallest Christmas Tree in Sri Lanka

The world’s tallest Christmas tree, currently being built at the Galle Face Green, with hopes of being included in the Guinness Book of World Records, is scheduled to be completed and declared open on December 1. The project has been initiated by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Catholic Society and the Arjuna Ranatunga Social Services and Welfare Society.

The 375-foot tree would be constructed at a cost of Rs. 200 million and the expenses for the tree would not be borne by the Ministry, but private sponsors. The tree will be illuminated with 800,000 LED bulbs and decorated with two million pine cones. A Santa and a sleigh is also included in the installation.

The largest artificial Christmas tree to date measures 55 metres (180.4 feet) and was achieved by GZ Think Big Culture Communication Company (China), in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China on December 25, 2015. Including the star on top, the tree measured 56 m (183.4 ft). The diameter of the bottom of the tree was 22 metres and the circumference was 69 metres. The tree was covered with green synthetic foliage and decorated with ornaments and lamps.

Source: www.nation.lk

Hamilton Canal

The old 19th century Dutch canal (Hamilton Canal) runs from the north bank of Kelani Ganga, where it enters the sea at Hendala, a little to the north of Colombo, to the southern tip of the Negombo lagoon, and then winds through the middle of the town, and to its northern end at Puttalam, more than 120 kilometres away.

The history of the canal network goes back to the reign of King Veera Parakramabahu VIII (1477-1496) who ruled the Kingdom of Kotte. It is said that the King constructed the canal connecting outlying villages with Colombo and the Negombo Lagoon, to ease the transport of spices and most important of all, cinnamon, to the Kingdom’s main ports.

The Portuguese constructed the original canal in the 17th century, but it was the traders from the Dutch East India Company who expanded the canal, in the next century. The Dutch settlers also used the canal to transport pearls and spices from the north to Colombo.

The Dutch were displaced by the British. Between 1802 and 1804, when the island was under British rule, a new Colombo- Negombo canal was built and commissioned. It was named, the Hamilton Canal in 1804, after the well-known English civil servant Garvin Hamilton, who was based in Colombo. Hamilton Canal ran west of the Old Dutch Canal, quite close to the sea, from the mouth of the Kelani Ganga at Hekitta to the southern edge of the Negombo Lagoon at Pamunugama, a distance of 21.5 kilometres.

Read more: Hamilton Canal: An ingenious waterway feat