Sri Lanka Today

 

Sri Lanka March 2024

The island nation has lots of walking at natural sites and religious places, a variety of food familiar to Malaysia's multi-racial demographics, interesting town walks, varying climate zones from mountains to coasts, Dutch historical influences and several options for adventure experiences.

Travel distances are user friendly, with destinations usually reachable one way between one hour and 90 minutes by road.  The way Sri Lankans drive can be so precise and shockingly close to one another on its mostly narrow roads.

Somehow I found the meats used in curries were pretty dry or hard.  Exception was in pork black curry.  Fish is generally more palatable, as in grilled or in curry dishes.

Escalators are rare outside Colombo and walking up two steps of flights to go to a meal floor is common.  King Coconut water, dhall curry, mudcrab and bananas are tops in my choice, but not durian types grown here. Tea quality as you know is outstanding, with ambiant walks in the midst of tea plantations around Nuwara Eliya.

The Sri Lankan economy is still in the doldrums.  There is this ever rising cost of entrance fees payable only in USD to enter tourist sites.  Locals on the street are friendly but realities of costs of living cause many to approach foreigners in not the most savoury manner.

There are sights and scenes in Sri Lanka that remind us of Malaya in the old times. Surprisingly the level of understanding and ability to speak English has fallen.

Hotel rooms, even at four star level, can be lit up better.  Toiletries for guests can be minimal.   Tv sets in the countryside often have Dialog brand wifi transmitters.  Buffet breakfasts are the norm for tourists, with a balanced selection of local, Thai and Western dishes.  The safety of tap water supply is better than in Thailand and Indochina, but boiling water and use of bottled water are advised

Your skill in the art of negotiation upfront for ride prices makes tuk tuk journeys more calming, although the pollution in Colombo streets can be a problem and it is better to ride with face masks on. You can pay in cash for Uber and Pick Me shared drive services. Grab is not available, unlike in South east Asia.

The emphasis for perfect and untainted copies of US dollar notes received by Sri Lankans can grow to be an irritating issue for unaware tourists.  Immigration points on arrival and departure are efficient and arrival cards must be prior filled up online.  Lining up for our foreign passports to be stamped seems more efficient at Colombo Airport compared to KLIA.  Baggage claim carousels are better serviced at Colombo than at Sydney.

The heat of the midday sun can be less tempered than south east Asia as Sri Lanka is further north of the Equator. 

Bentota, south west of the island, can be so commercialised with its beaches. The waters of the Indian Ocean look and so full at the beach, with stirring winds and gorgeous play of sunrise and sunset.

Galle remains a top choice in experiencing Sri Lanka, even if it is heavily imbued with colonial influences.  It has many tourists and inspiring accommodation - and if you care to walk along its streets, the true character of Galle surfaces, as it rose to be a strategic trading port dealing with the dangers and opportunities from the outside world.

My overall preferred experience in Sri Lanka is being together with locals waiting for Pooja in the very room so near the Buddha's tooth relic in Kandy.  Lining up behind in my choices are the river boat ride along the Madura River with its many isles, indigenious peoples, cinnamon trees and on to meeting the sandbanks of the Indian Ocean coast.  We were truly relaxed staying for three nights at the Livvy Waters Villas in Dambulla, with high ceiling cabins, spacious stone floor bathrooms and the chatter of lizards at night.

Nuwara Eliya, referred to as Little England, is nestled amongst cool and hilly landscapes - while Ella is a budding party hub for young Europeans.  The Nine Arch Bridge is a bit of hype and can be missed if you are on a busy schedule.  Why two peaks refer to the Biblical Adam beats my understanding.

We had a resourceful and energetic
young driver for our afternoon safari across the Yala National Park, but the variety of fauna observable is much less than in Africa.

Embarking on to Buddhist religious sites can at times demand the patience and passion of a pilgrim.
At the UN World Heritage site of Anarudharupa in north central Sri
Lanka, we were required to remove our footwear and walk on red hot concrete, brick or bare earth for long distances in the open, when the temperature was 36 degrees C. (It was burning hot for our soles even when we wore the allowed socks).

The hike up to Lion Rock in the Singhalese cultural hub of Sigiriya can be demanding to those not used to rock steps of varying width or height, slippery rain conditions and energy exerted up or down steep slopes.

The dawn opener on state TV is a collage of recogntion to all the main faiths in Sri Lanka and not just to Buddhism.  Singapore in contrast remains strictly secular in just playing the National Anthem on Mediacorp.

Tuti or Thank You, Sri Lanka for opening my eyes, heart and thoughts.

#yongkevthoughts

PS. We did not visit Jaffna and Trincomalee on this visit.

Desirable Airline Service

 

What makes an all round reliable airline that reassures?

Customer service with a balanced empathy and focus.

Engineering standards that are monitored and maintained.

Smooth transitions enabled at connecting airports.

User friendly bookings with resolution of any matters arising.

Boarding and disembarkation spring in the step.

Airline staff who are well trained and valued by the employer.

Seemingly little extras on flight like free wifi, that dessert and responsiveness to the uniqueness of each passenger.

Airline Board and top management who value human beings as vital to the business - and not just sheer profits.

Airlines that strive to provide the leading edge without haughtiness.

Airlines who emphasise on the holistic experience and not blame others on outsourced parts of the business.

#imagekev

Eatery Reviews

 

In this age of increasing disinformation, hidden propaganda, manipulative commercialism and social media hype, are we helped when we check an internet review of an eatery?

Are the scorings reliable?  One person's sense of taste can be another's disdain.  Can an eatery take litigation when its operators opine they have been unfairly assessed?

When goggling began, most reviews of foodie venues were dominated by text.  Then came the barrage of still images, many micro focused with blurred backgrounds, some echoing the ambiance of the place and all illustrating and supplementing what is written.

Eventually images in all forms took over with a crescendo.   Video clips, tantalising angles and added music made viewers really feel we are there with the influencers.  You Tube and Tik Tok fast tracked this waterfall of visual feasts.  Decisions and sensations were more made visually rather than upon listening to the audio.  Next, how do we bring in the wafts of Umami smell and aroma?

Individuals or groups of individuals can perfect the art of foodie tasting with humour, energy and internet income.   Some incorporate travelogues, in a varying range from the upper class seat experience of long haul aircraft flights to more obvious ads for tour itineraries.  Foodie reviews are transforming, experimenting and continuing to use new technology.   I wonder who watches the TV travel or cooking programmes anymore.

Perhaps nothing is as delightful as unplanned dropping by an eatery and enjoying the food, pushing aside any preconceived opinions from one's self or others.   The art and science of culinary sensations is best achieved by stepping on to the venue itself and utilising one's gut feel on the spot.

This brings to the matter of Michelin food guides, rankings and their requirement that winning eateries must fulfil prestated conditions each year to maintain their Michelin rank status.

Opinions of Michelin award teams are usually from individuals who are not local to the culture and country where they swoop in and make their assessments.   Are judges with local preferences and palates not important enough to be given more consideration?  Are restaurant design, elegance and pricing observed distracting from niche taste, strange cooking skills and heritage styles?

Can Michelin award judges have an inherent and unacknowledged bias against the vageries of things foreign? Is fusion cooking standing a better chance of being recognised by Michelin?

It can be amusing in contemporary times that scrolling on screens has fuelled the process of choice of eateries.  And then there is easy access to wifi and the need to post things on a real time basis - just after one bite and several posted images, an opinion of the food must be formulated.  There is not even sufficient time to digest the dish in the body before an opinion on a bite of morsel of food becomes viral.

Another disturbing tribal live screen following is that of fans watching what individual influencers eat every evening.   Does it reflect the pervasive extent of boredom that this can become a watching sport?

I know of people who quietly enjoy what they have eaten or drunk - and quietly go on to the satisfaction of having completed another day.  Such humans will not give impressions of food unless asked.

So there are millions of food images hanging about our cyberspace Universe. What eventually happens to them when they are no longer viewed? 

The eatery business needs regularity of custom, excitement of venue and marketing in all aspects. 
Word of mouth in the locality is no longer enough as greater mobility brings in diners from far and wide.
The post impact of a declared pandemic has changed significant
parameters for businesses that pay much rent, cannot rely on staff being available and depend on broken supply chains.  Social media  in this respect can help, but if not managed optimally, it can also be a two edged sword.

As for other things in life, success can bring about its own down stream challenges.   Cynicism can set in potential customers with too much hype in viral foodie opinions.

Relaxed venues begin to have three sit down sessions an evening.   Surcharges of whatever variety begin to be charged to so called milking the cow while the going is good. 

It all starts with someone giving an opinion for the world to see, read or hear in an entertaining way.

#yongkevthoughts

Purchasing Choices

 

The duopoly of supermarkets continues across Australia, as corporate muscles are flexed against suppliers, staff and customers in a relentless obsession of growth in profits, dominance and control.

I support more of stand alone independent grocers and direct producers, they have more variety on their shelves.  As prices in Coles and Woolies have gone up, they cannot compete price wise with some independent grocers, especially ethnic ones like Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, etc.

My strategy now is to be mindful of selected items of grocery to buy - and suppport small business in my locality as far as I can. A more focused approach helps to avoid wasting expenses on addictive food, zoom for more quality in edibles and exercise our minds and hearts in better choices with discretion.

Fresh eggs are not bad at Aldi, they do not shelf them in fridges like Coles and Woolies. Fresh milk at Aldis is a good buy, but at the same time there can be a lot of distracting products at Aldi outlets.

More distracting is the preponderance of products laden with sugar, salt, preservatives and fat at the main supermarkets.  Do walk the aisles and make up your own mind.

If one resides in an Australian regional area, I understand there can be a lack of choice -  and one depends more on the duopoly.

This is echoed in the lack of competition especially in the Australian sectors of domestic air travel, pharmacies and banking.

Fresh produce markets are fascinating to me, but generally since Covid, prices have spiked st such stalls, even if quality is maintained.

I have also dabbled in ordering online offers of groceries and white goods - some provide free  and next day delivery at the very latest.
The physical store model is increasingly under threat - the way some businesses are treating customers is viewed in disdain by more people I know.

Need we visit a supermarket venue to get essential food?  We step in such places and we observe some using them for social chats.  We also note the rise in self managed check outs with narrow spaces.  Cameras are attached to monitor the movement of human beings.
Pyschological games are played with posters put up by the supermarket to induce us to buy, but which underestimate our level of intelligence.

Do reflect on the huge numbers of real estate such supermarkets sit on, they can easily get into the commercial property game once they stop selling food.

There has truly been this relentless drive to know what you and each family have bought in the past to shape millions of purchasing profiles.   The underlying rationale is that once you buy something, you will buy it again.   This model excludes the very possible human trait of not purchasing the same thing ever again - and the right to have a significant change in taste.

The use of membership cards implies the giving of peanut reward points to customers.

The duopoly puts its bets on greater convenience, habitual pattern of spending and lack of competition for the majority of the population to
regularly visit its outlets.  They are also experts in marketing, human behaviour and commercial practices.  

#yongkevthoughts

What is your Plan De Vida Today?

 Singapore is so urbanised and densely populated, much more than the popularly identified current Blue Zones of age longevity - Ikaria on Greece; Loma Linda in California; Nicoya in Costa Rica; Ogliastra in Italian Sardinia and Okinawa, south of the main Japanese islands.

Yet Singapore has attained number 5 in the world rankings for age longevity.

I reckon each of the so called Blue Zones has unique characteristics that contribute to humans living longer than most. 

Strong family relationships give inner joy. However, we cannot choose our relatives and how they behave - good or not so good - is not our personal responsibility.  Overseas migration has destroyed the safety of having family nearby.

So the saying is true that having a good neighbour or friend is more important when family is living so far away. 

Most of the Blue Zones see its people having their share of restorative hours of night time sleep and afternoon naps. 

In Singapore, most residents do not drive private vehicles as they can be costly to buy, maintain and run (especially for essentially depreciating assets).  This translates to the common person on the street having to walk more each day as part of their regime, instead of being seated for too many hours driving ( as in the the  capital cities and rural regions of-  Australia). 

Having a strong purpose in life at whatever age - and keeping busy each day with such a purpose is an important characteristic to have.  Call it whatever, such a philosophy and practice is not confined to the terms Ikigai or Plan De Vida. 

Growing and having access to your own plant based sources of food is vital.  You do not have to solely depend on commercial shops to get your daily intake of greens when you can pluck them from what you grow in your own abode.  This is not easy for Singapore. 

On average, the serving size of food provided in Singapore eateries is less than those sold as the norm in nations of the Anglosphere.  Reflect on the ridiculous size of Big Macs, huge chunks of grilled meats and towering sandwiches that would not fit most mouths.  In the identified Blue Zones, most people eat only to statisfy half fullness of the stomach, except in Singapore. 

Dietary habits and nutrition are naturally factors contributing to sustainable overall health, immunity and anti-inflammation levels for each person.   The norm in societies like Nicoya, Okinawa and Ikaria  is not to overeat - and eat less processed foods.  Such consumption patterns contrast with other societies over fed on fast food, canned products and stuff overladen with salt and sugar, resulting in high case numbers of obesity, mental depression and medical drug addiction.  When you go to so called supermarkets anywhere in the world, most things along their aisles are over processed, supplemented with things to extend shelf life and with many ingredients altered from their natural state. 

A so called higher standard of living as measured by GDP per capita by itself is not a good indication of factors optimal for living longer.   Such economic measures omit or deemphasise the role of significant contributions to a quality long life. 

Social cohesion and networking effectiveness are important to giving most meaning when living longer.  A system embedded to encourage continuation of lifetime long friendships from childhood, like Moai in Okinawa, Seventh Day Adventism in Loma Linda and the Kopi Tiam gatherings in Singapore, helps. 

Over commercialisation of lifestyles in urbanised areas can translate to feelings of personal isolation even in crowded neighbourhoods.   Aged care can become dehumanised when delivered by paid agencies and robots instead of by family members. 

The dominance of monetary achievement, competitiveness and vibrancy is not observed in the five Blue Zones, except in California. 

Cultural norms practising and prioritising shared values, instead of auto relying on litigation, adversity and obsession with 'me' instead of 

"us", add to better conditions when living longer.  Village and communal practices, handed down through the generations to ensure survival and togetherness, or in the form of positive religious and cultural traditions, can provide better mental and physical environments. 

Most contemporary cities and nations, that fall prey to manipulating politicians and social systems that divide and rule, are bound to be stuck in strife, uncertainty with negative change and never ending geopolitical rivalry. 

Having the optimal size of community and ease of access to life's basic essentials in the rituals of daily life also smoothens out the experience.  It is interesting to note

that most of the Blue Zones do not have the best medical facilities, unlike in Singapore. 

No matter where you are, each person has to make effort and time to have a better quality of time extended to us on Earth. It is our own personal attitude in all aspects of life that determines whether we create our own Blue Zone. 

So what is your Plan De Vida for today? 

#yongkevthoughts