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The London Observer had a piece of advice to British tourists on November 4. 'Go to Sri Lanka', the paper advised, under the heading 'Welcome to Paradise'. Excerpts from the article, written by Jane Knight:

Ken Hollins was jittery about travelling to Sri Lanka in October, but not because of the recent terrorist attacks which all but wiped out the island's tourist industry. He was planning to have his second wedding at a hotel in Bentota Beach and was nervous about the service. Linda, his wife-to-be, laughingly told him he was right to be worried; after a service with dancers chanting blessings, she thought she was going to fall off the decorated elephant they rode for the wedding photographs.

Flying with some of the first tourists to return to the island since the resumption of tour operator packages, I found heavy security at the airport, but it was reassuring rather than worrying.

'The terrorists here are different from those in Egypt or Spain - they have never deliberately targeted tourists,' said Rajee, my guide and driver.

Far from the terrorist attacks making the country difficult for travellers, they have inadvertently made it more of a paradise than ever. Now, you can stretch out on four seats on the half-full SriLankan Airlines flight, hog hotel swimming pools before sharing the dining room with a handful of other guests and get treated like kings in a country where the hotels and service are already top-notch.

Best of all, you can see the country's sights without having to fight your way through the crowds. And the sights are amazing. Although Sri Lanka, with its beautiful, palm-tree-lined beaches all the way down the southern coast, is generally marketed as a sea and sand destination, there is lots more on offer.

The country has elephants and monkeys, Buddhist temples and images, archaeological wonders and acres of tea plantations. It's India without the hassle and dodgy stomachs and Thailand without the vast distances.

At the spectacular rock fortress of Sigiriya, only a handful of tourists climbed to the top, once accessed through a lion's head carved into the rock but now with only the paws remaining. From his throne, he could survey the magnificent views over the surrounding jungle beyond the moats stocked with man-eating crocodiles, as well as keeping an eye on his harem frolicking in the pools.

'It's great that there are hardly any tourists here,' said Bob Fevyer from Kent, as he clambered down from the fortress with his wife, Carolyn. 'I don't know why people are frightened to come here. Saying don't go to Sri Lanka is like saying don't go to Tipperary because of the IRA.'

It was the same story later on at the ancient city of Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka's capital from the tenth to thirteenth centuries, where we spent a happy afternoon without seeing another foreigner as we wandered the ruins of palaces, temples and enormous images of Buddha cut into the rock.

If the thought of so much exploring is exhausting, Sri Lanka has a string of Ayurvedic spas in its hotels where you can plunge into baths coloured brown with strange leaves.

Rajee provided endless information which was more accurate than any guidebook as he happily wove through the endless procession of cows, three-wheeled taxis and tractors. Another good reason for having a car is that you can tweak the itinerary to suit yourself. Finding a six-hour-old baby elephant wobbling beside its mother at the Pinnewala elephant orphanage, we lingered longer than planned and spent several hours at the riverside restaurant overlooking the spot where the 67-strong herd bathed.

Stopping often at roadside stands, Rajee took us on a tour of the country's strange tropical fruits, from the delicious jackfruit to the foul-smelling durian. We washed them down with the milk from king coconuts drunk from the shell with a straw, then moved on to sample the toddy drink made from coconut palms.

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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