A hut by the river, Belihuloya, Sri Lanka.

This beautiful setting is on the opposite bank of the Belihuloya Rest House. The place is popular with bathers doing the long trip to Katharagama from Rathnapura. Now there is a shorter but less scenic route through Embilipitiya and Udawalawe. The stream looks placid but is dangerous. A companion of mine got nearly drowned bathing here. He lost his sarong in the struggle and had to be given a towel to cover his nakedness before emerging from the water.

The 'Ramboda Pass', the climb from Ramboda to Nuwara-Eliya skirted a cut granite rock on the side of the hill. This has been by-passed by a tunnel now. There is a waterfall before and after the tunnel. The above pictures show the Ramboda falls before the tunnel, the entrance to the tunnel and the waterfall after the tunnel.
To see a picture of the Ramboda Pass before the days of the tunnel click on each of the web-addresses below:-
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/5368237.jpghttp://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/5368237.jpg

 http://rowlands-in-ceylon.blogspot.com/2008/11/chapter-14.html

Galkanda waterfalls on either side of the highway from Beragala to Koslanda, Sri Lanka

On the road from Beragala to Koslanda and Wellawaya before the village of Nikapotha there are two waterfalls straddling the highway. The photo on top shows the waterfalls above the highway and the second photo is of the waterfall below the highway. People of the village and travellers come here for a bath. The water is icy cold.

'Surathali' (Female Beloved-S) waterfalls, on the BelihulOya - Beragala road, Sri Lanka.

This waterfall is visible from the main road but you have to walk a few yards on a well constructed pathway to see its real beauty.
Click on the web-link below to watch a video of it:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NVZbkndhSY

Lush green valley, Pathana, Hatton, Sri Lanka.

A lush green valley with the water from St.Claire's falls flowing at the bottom of it make this place look like Paradise. The cold air with the frequent mist adds to the enchantment here. The Arab visitors to Adam's Peak, of more than a thousand years ago, said that you could hear the 'sound of the Fountains of Paradise' in Sri Lanka. The renowned author Arthur C Clark wrote a science fiction titled 'The Fountains of Paradise' basing the story in Sri Lanka.

Devon falls, Pathana, Hatton, Sri Lanka.

Situated close to the Hatton - Thalawakele road this is a most beautiful sight.
Experiences of my batch-mate Buddy Reid at this site.
Hello Phillip,
I am no photographer, but I too started with a box camera belonging to someone else on a trip to Nuwara Eliya in 1955. I nearly lost my life as a result. I wanted to take a picture of the water falling downwards from the top of Devon Falls. I went close to the edge and slipped on the wet rock. I was sliding downwards almost at the edge when I saw a clump of grass about one foot in diameter.  I managed to grab it with my left hand and fortunately for me it did not break off at the roots.
 The box camera flew out of my right hand, across my body to the left and landed near a pool in the rock. I carefully went on all fours and retrieved it as it was worth more than my life, by which I really mean that my life would not have been worth living if I had lost my friend's expensive camera.
Buddy

Hello Phillip,
Thanks for the photograph of Devon Falls which adds drama to the story. You can see the road at the back, curving to the right end of the picture. I got off the car at the right end of your picture and walked down the pathway that you see, running at about a 20 degree angle from the road to the top of the falls. I slipped on the very limited area of rock between the end of the path and the top of the falls (the left side of the falls which is the right side of the photograph as you face the photograph). As you can see, it is a sheer drop. We did silly things when we were young. I wonder whether any of our batch-mates have done things which beat this for lunacy or had near death experiences. Please don't let my grandchildren know about this. I don't even let them climb up the side of their bunk bed.
Buddy

Click on the web-link below to watch a video-clip of this:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AzP47p0ROg

email observation from Nana

Hi Buddy
I am glad to hear that I am not the only lunatic in the batch.
When  I came over to UK in 1976, I thought I knew how to drive around in my car. My wife and I took few of our Sri Lanka friends to witness a cricket match played between the Sri Lankan cricket team against Somerset. We traveled from Sheffield (that was where I was working as an SHO in Paediatrics at the time) to reach the cricket grounds.
We did not have 'sat nav' facilities then, but only the printed road maps. As we were not very good at getting the road directions, I had entered a motorway(which I should never have got into) in the wrong way round and only realized my folly when we found few cars coming in the opposite direction. It was not funny and all the inmates were shouting at me in real filth. (May be some one at the time was helping me as I was not destined to die that young)
 I managed to take a U turn and get onto the right way round within a few breathless moments. Fortunately that motorway was new and there were not many cars at the time.
We did witness the match and we cheered the Sri Lanka team as they did well against Somerset ( Ian Botham and Viv Richards were in the team).
 We did return home safely very late.
 Not surprisingly the 2 friends who were with us refused to get into my car afterwards.( Incidentally both those friends have died few years ago).
 I am still alive to tell the tale.
You may share this with your grand children to show that even the medical students can be stupid, ignorant and foolhardy.

Best wishes.

 Nana

Elephant orphanage, Udawalawe, Sri Lanka.

Orphaned elephants getting their quota of milk for the day at the Udawalawe Elephant Orphanage.

 Click on the link below to watch a video-clip of same:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85sHXF_iE5I