Interesting Artwork by Prageeth Manohansa

I was fascinated by these bold confident strokes when I saw them at the Gallery Cafe. Of course these were taken night months ago though I am only sharing them on here only now. Kudos to Prageeth Manohansa for this work.

                                      

Imprisoned by freedom.

They stepped into another life

The moment they got out of the plane..

No prying eyes… no wagging tongues… no responsibilities….

Even if it was just for a limited time..

They were free…

Free to walk hand in hand…

Free to sit beside one another and enjoy a meal

Free to laugh together

…as only lovers would

And before they knew it

they had to return.

To reality

To responsibility

To the rigidity that life imposes

All they had to hold onto

Were the memories

So wonderful... so lovely

They were prisoners of it.

There is a difference between “Buth” and “Rice”

The way the Sinhala language keeps evolving is amazing. How one word that means the same can have two completely different meaning at street level is something which never ceases to surpirse me. For instance if you walk into a road side food kiosk and ask for tea they give you tea made with milk and sugar but if you ask for “t(h)ey” – the Sinhalese word for tea – then it means a plain cup of tea without any milk.
Now it seems there is another new phenomenon. This time it is to do with our staple diet Rice.
If one goes to a roadside boutique and orders a “rice” then it means a fried rice while if they order a “buth” – Sinhalese word for rice – then it means the traditional rice and curry.
I can see you going huh!!! Yes that was my first response as well.

Sometimes it DOES take a Rocket Scientist!! (true story)..

Scientists at Rolls Royce in UK, built a gun specifically to launch dead chickens at the windshields of airliners and military jets all travelling at maximum velocity.
The idea was to simulate the frequent incidents of collisions with airborne fowl to test the strength of the windshields.
American engineers heard about the gun and were eager to test it on the Windshields of their new high speed trains.
Arrangements were made, and a gun was sent to the American engineers.
When the gun was fired, the engineers stood shocked as the chicken shot out of the barrel, crashed into the shatterproof shield, smashed it to smithereens, blasted through the control console, snapped the engineer's back-rest in two and embedded itself in the back wall of the cabin like an arrow shot from a bow..
The horrified Yanks sent Rolls Royce the disastrous results of the experiment, along with the designs of the windshield and begged the British scientists for suggestions.
You're going to love this......
Rolls Royce responded with a one-line memo:
"Defrost the chicken first."

Unexpected Disappointments and Delights in Arugam Bay…

Beautiful Arugam Bay from Gecko

It was a sudden decision. TE and me and her delightful son decided to just drive down to Arugam Bay to join some of our mutual friends because we had nothing better to do during that weekend. After a six hour drive across Sri Lanka we finally came to our destination which was Bay Vista Arugam Bay. A place we had found online on agoda.com.
And as we stepped into the property we realized that we had stumbled upon the best place to stay in Arugam Bay by a complete stroke of sheer luck. Amazingly it is not even officially open yet. They have just had the soft opening and it is still a work in progress with many more additions on the cards.
But as far as we were concerned the rooms were large and airy. The air conditioning worked well. The bed linen was soft, crisp and comfortable – like the kind you get at more upscale facilities - and the toilet was spacious, clean and spanking new. I believe that it had even have a pressure pump. Something unheard of in the more budget conscious digs around this area.
Who could ask for more?
But that is exactly what we got. And it came in the form of a delicious culinary experience.
This hotel is run by a charming mom and daughter - who have spent a long time in Italy - along with a very able hotel manager. Amanda the daughter manages the front desk while Kanthi the mother is in charge of the kitchen. The fact that Kanthi has spent many years in Italy means that her Italian Cooking is outstanding as much as her Sri Lankan food and we were lucky to enjoy the best of both worlds.
Our last night’s dinner consisted of grilled Lobster and Calamari. Along with Sea food Risotto, Seafood Pasta and spaghetti carbonara. All of these dishes were absolutely delicious.

Lobsters absolutely delicious what was nicer was the price just 2000 for two

Sea Food Rissoto

Seafood pasta

Spaghetti Carbonara

The most delicious grilled calamari I have had

To my delight the next day we were served String hoppers, bread along with accompaniments which included a pol sambol which could only be described as pure dynamite.

Yummy Polsambol

I believe to find a place which can do both Western and Eastern food very well is an absolute Treasure. But what makes this find so valuable and delightful is the disappointing experience we had at gecko.
As you know Gecko is the default destination of almost everyone in Colombo who ventures into Arugam Bay. And the first thing we did after we put our bags down was to walk into Gecko which is three doors down.
Yes the place was nice and comfortably laid out but that’s all that one could say about it. The attitude of the waiters – if you can call them that in the first place as these are mostly boys from the area without any proper training - can only be described as nonchalant. In fact the conversation was more about what they could NOT give us rather than what they could. Worse of all none of them spoke Sinhalese only Tamil. A few I believe could understand English when spoken with a Western Accent. All this combined made ordering food a night mare experience. And sadly the food was not good at all. It was less than average and to add insult to injury highly overpriced. You were paying the kind of charges one would pay at a restaurant like German Restaurant for something which was two thirds less than the value and the service you would get there.

on the other hand this grilled calamari from Gecko was putrid

Our disillusionment was further strengthened when we ordered the rice and curry lunch the next day. Firstly rice and vegetables was 950 and an additional 950 was charged if you wanted prawns or crabs. It took two hours to prepare as well. What we got for a 2000 rupee lunch was white rice, mellung, beet root Parippu and papadams along with a prawn curry consisting of tiny prawns. Cheated was how we felt after this experience. The only silver lining in this dark experience at Gecko is that they had excellent homemade ice cream made out of buffalo curd. I tried the arrack and the banana ice cream which was delicious. Specially the arrack ice cream had raisins which had been soaked in arrack which were like flavor bombs that exploded in your mouth.
It seems that Gecko may have been the definitive place to be in Arugam bay sometime ago. But it seems success along with an equally large portion of greed has made them slovenly and lose their edge these days.
Fortunately for us all Bay Vista is there to take the slack.

An interesting sign

An Avalanche of excellent service at the Grand Hyatt Singapore

 I am not exaggerating when I say so.

Being hit by an Avalanche of excellent service is exactly how I would summarize my recent experience at the Grand Hyatt Singapore. It made me feel so glad that I chose this property over the others in spite of a few negative reviews that appeared on Trip Advisor.

The entire hotel abuzz with energy and professionalism.

I was greeted by a smart young lady with an ipad who started my check in process the moment I stepped out of my taxi. Nice touch by the way. What truly amazed me was that this level of excellence was visible at all levels of staff I encountered. From the people behind the reception counter to the people who were serving in the restaurants; even the bellboys and the staff that clean the room was full of exuberance and enthusiasm. Being in the service industry myself I know how difficult it is to maintain such standards and I raise my hat in respect for those responsible for making this possible.

I found the rooms absolutely comfortable and spacious. What I really appreciated were the strategically placed power sockets –both square pin and round pin - near the bed as well as on the desk ensuring that I could plug my laptop as well as charge my phone without a problem. Trust me when I say it can be a huge problem sometimes.

The bath room was delightful. Firstly it was large and roomy with separate bath AND a separate rain shower cubicle with excellent water pressure making your shower experience absolutely relaxing. The amenities provided were of good quality as well.

Also I found the food at the Grand Hyatt Singapore excellent. The spread at the breakfast buffet was breathtaking. There is Western Chinese and Indian plus a fresh fruit and vege juice section as well. I also loved the fact that they served proper espresso coffee instead of the filter coffee which is served in most of the other hotels I have been to. What’s more they are also nice enough to give you a take away cup of coffee if you want it. In fact the food was so good most of my meals were ordered via room service as I thought it was a wiser option than going out to eat. 

I also spent a lot of time in 10 Scots which is a lovely and cozy meeting place combining the warmth and atmosphere of a coffee shop and a wine bar. The best news of all is that the wine was excellent – in fact it was the best that I had ever had. I am not a wine connoisseur all I did was order a glass of the cheapest that was available.  

In addition to all the comforts of the hotel an additional plus is its location. It is in the heart of Orchard Street and just minutes away from the better known malls.

My entire stay at the hotel was excellent however there was one inconvenience I faced which was that they were not flexible in giving me an early check in. Even though I was willing to pay for the privilege. Which meant I had to pay for one full extra day to be able to check in to the room 4 hours earlier which is an absolute waste of money. Oops and I forgot to mention I looked all over but could not find the thermostat to control the air conditioner. :)

This is a review which I did on tripadvisor which I am putting up on here so it is not exactly a blog post propper :)

A tribute to my Galaxy Note II

It has been more than a year since I ditched my Blackberry and switched to a note. It seems to be one of the best decisions I have made. I have been bullied, laughed at – “are you carrying a hand bag?” - made fun of because of the size of my Samsung Note II. But the large size of the screen is one of its best features. Firstly it means that I don’t have to carry a phone as well as a tab which I hate. Over the past few months my Galaxy Note II has become my constant companion. I read books on it. I write on it. I (badly) draw on it. I use it to record what I eat. I watch movies on it and it is my primary mode of video chatting with my overseas friends. In fact the only thing I can think of which it can’t do is to get laid on it.
I just thought for the benefit of every one reading this post that I will post some of the apps I find highly useful which are not part of the popular apps such as YouTube, Facebook and TED. Just in case that you might not have heard of it and find it helpful
The first app I use a lot is a very simple easy to use task manager called any.do

Also I found this amazingly useful app called my diet journal. I use it to keep a food journal as well as record my exercise regime. It also helps you to track your weight and other vitals stats which you keep on record by generating graphs.

And finally an app called flava which I use to maintain a diary and journal documenting my thoughts and inspirations. It has an interesting timeline where your entries are featured and gives you the option of adding a few pictures as well as songs and video to enhance your writing experience. The best news is you can access flava across all platforms be it phone tab or PC. And the advantage is you can access your Journal via the web through all platforms be it phone tab or PC. I find this flexibility highly useful. The downside is that you get a maximum storage capacity of 300MB on their servers. And one day you are bound to run out of space if you keep writing in a fast and furious manner.

The only negative about my Galaxy Note II I have is that with me using so many apps on my phone the battery sometimes runs out in two to three hours. Now I always make it a point to religiously close all apps which I have opened every time I stop using the phone. It is difficult at first but if you keep at it consistently then you can make a habit out of it. Combining this with a battery life saver called 2x I have managed to double the battery life of my phone which is a huge relief.
The short life of the battery is not a huge issue since I generally travel with a standby battery as well as have chargers within arms reach be it my office, my vehicle or my home. But it does become a problem when travelling abroad or sometimes when you have to travel with someone else. I cannot wait for the day till someone invents a longer lasting lithium iron battery for mobiles.