Sri Lanka by the Sea

Our member Ms K. Chakrabarti had recently gone for a trip to Sri Lanka with her son and daughter-in-law. She vividly narrates about her stay and her experience there.
On 23 rd January, 2023 we left for Colombo the capital city of Sri Lanka. We took the Sri Lankan airlines to Colombo. The flight took 1½ hour. The flight timing was rather uncomfortable as it started late from India. But most international flights usually had the same pattern. The flight took off at 2.30 a.m. and landed at 4.00 a.m. Colombo airport is comparatively small but very neat and clean which struck me. From the airport we took a cab to Taj Bentota, a resort 2 ½ hours from the airport situated on the Bentota beach. I was fascinated by the wonderful roads built by the Chinese. They were wide, lined by trees, with fast moving vehicles. The resort was luxurious, surrounded by sea on 3 sides. The hotel rooms overlooked the sea with an amazing view. We stayed there for 3 days. The pool was an inlet from the sea, lined with palm trees, sun loungers and pool umbrellas. We lazed around on the beach and at the pool side. It was cool, comfortable and highly enjoyable.
Sri Lanka is a paradise of handicrafts. Making and selling of masks is a big aspect there. The masks are of various colours, shapes, sizes and are of different types. They are examples of tribal art. Two more famous things of Sri Lanka are spices and gemstones. Spice exports of Sri Lanka are an all-time high. We saw the most aromatic spices in numerous places which were sold in small packets. Gemstones found in Ceylon are of export quality and 75 different precious and semi-precious gemstones have been sourced from there, moreover, it is a top source of finest Ceylon Sapphires. Sri Lanka also flourishes in coffee production. In the North, Tamilians are more where the coffee plantations exist. We went for sight-seeing to Sigiriya and Kandy. The roads to these places were also built by the Chinese, they were neat and clean and looked beautiful being lined with trees on both sides. Sigiriya has a uniquely built 1600 years old fortress with a striking feature of two feet created on either side of the stairs going up the fortress. The compound is protected by two moats and three ramparts. Kandy on the other hand is a city amidst hills situated in the Kandy plateau. It has a temple and is known as one of the most sacred places of worship among the Buddhists.
Colombo is a beautiful city where Sinhalese population is predominant. It has wonderful monuments, buildings, statues, temples and a commemoration hall. The striking feature is that even the by lanes were spic and span. An excessively used conveyance is the Tuktuk much like the autos in India.
I will always remember the simplistic yet hardworking nature of the natives, and their love for cleanliness. Even the countryside is well maintained making it absolutely picturesque.