'Ambalama' - 'Ambalam', Kadugannawa, Sri Lanka.

On the climb to Kadugannawa from Mawanalla, there was an old building. This was labelled as 'Ambalama'. An 'Ambalam' is a very old word much used in Tamil to refer to a resting place. The exhausted travellers on bullock drawn carts climbing the steep road to Kadugannawa, were provided with a resting place here, in olden times. The old building has been renovated recently. Somehow the charm of the old building is now gone. I took this picture on 29/11/2009.

Waterfall - bathing spot, Kadugannawa, Sri Lanka.

Upto the 1980s the climb to Kadugannawa had only one tea-shop and a waterfall as a bathing spot. I have stopped there in my Fiat Millicento in the late 1960s, to have a cold bath from the cascade after a long drive. Now the activity is shifted further up with a lot of fruit stalls. These were introduced by our late Mr.Premadasa. This place has no stop-over travelers now. I took these photos in November 2009.

Couroupita guianensia - 'Sal' tre - near Malwaththe temple, Kandy, Ari lAnka.

Monkeys raiding houses, around the Lake of Kandy, Sri Lanka.

The houses around the Kandy lake are visited by hoards of monkeys. They damage TV antennae and raid the kitchen and dining rooms of houses, carrying away food items. The photo taken by me shows a monkey seated on a telegraph wire at the entrance to a house in the area.

Botanical gardens, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.

Photo taken on 28/11/2009 on Fuji Finepix S 1500. It was a lovely sunny day and I took this picture around 1pm.