On the road from Colombo to Kandy, especially near the area close to the Elephant Orphanage (which we feel is overpriced and unworth the visit, unless you’ve never seen an elephant before), you’ll find a number of signs saying ‘Spice Garden,’ or ‘Spice Grove,’ fronting local spice operations. We visited one of them, The Island 25 […]
Read the rest of this entry »Archive for the 'Culture & History' Category
WoWasis book review: Nihal De Silva’s ‘The Road from Elephant Pass’ Sri Lanka
Every so often an exceptional book by an emerging author reaches out and strikes the reader unaware. Somewhat less often does the book encompass more than 400 pages. And rarer than that are cases in which the author, in some sense, predicts his own upcoming death. In an apt metaphor, the finally-fledged Sri Lankan writer […]
Read the rest of this entry »Thai debate continues over Article 112 lese majeste laws
The renewed emphasis on enforcement of Thailand’s lese majesté laws, which are used to prosecute individuals accused of insulting the royal family, is a topic on the front-burner of Thailand’s press these days. In a talk given by veteran Thai political observer Thongchai Winichakul (currently professor of Southeast Asian History at the University of Wisconsin), […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis visits Dambulla, home of Sri Lanka’s Buddha cave temples
Sri Lanka’s cave temples of Dambulla lie approximately 2 hours north of the city of Kandy, and one hour south of the ancient city of Sigiriya. The site, at first, certainly doesn’t appear to be very holy, with a garish, kitschy front entrance, hoards of hawkers, and an aura of commercialism that you won’t find […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: of tea plantations in Sri Lanka
Herman Gunaratne is a well-known Sri Lankan tea planter, executive, and politician, who worked himself up through the ranks at the lowest levels in plantation life. He has written his fascinating memoirs in The Suicide Club (2010, ISBN 978-955-0000-02-9), the title of which refers to an exclusive and informal club, of which his illustrious grandfather […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis travel clothing road test: the Sri Lankan handloom sarong
Virtually everyone in Sri Lanka seems to own a number of sarongs, wrap-around garments that keep one cool in the hottest of seasons. You can buy colorful sarongs — identical to the longhi from Burma — in just about any marketplace. They are typically machine woven in Sri Lanka or India, and usually sell for […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis visits Anuradhapura, ancient city, and Sri Lanka’s first capital
The ancient city of Anuradhapura is located roughly a 4 hour drive northwest of Sigiriya, which, along with Polannaruwa, comprises Sri Lanka’s three most significant ancient cities. This city is, to a large extent, defined by a series of dagoba’s, monumental stupas featuring massive domes. Although the small museum at GPS: N08°20.897’ E080°24.225’ is nothing […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis visits Polonnaruwa, home of Sri Lanka’s monumental rock carving masterpieces
Polonnaruwa, roughly a two-hour drive east of the ancient city of Sigiriya, is famous for its monumental rock-hewn Buddha images, but also boasts remains of some finely-designed palace and religious structures as well. Declared a UNESCO World heritage site in 1982, the site is extensive, best traveled by auto or bicycle. The ruins are […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis visits Sigiriya: Sri Lanka’s answer to Machu Picchu
Most western visitors looking for the South Asian experience travel to India. In doing so, though, they run the risk of missing out on Sri Lanka, home to the amazing World Heritage site of Sigiriya. This site comprises a series of foundations, walls, terraces, waterworks, and frescoes, leading up to the remains of a rock-top […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: Chinese prostitutes in 19th century San Francisco by Benson Tong
As Benson Tong attests in his book Unsubmissive Women: Chinese Prostitutes in Nineteenth-Century San Francisco (1994, ISBN 0-8061-3284-1), the Chinese prostitution dynamic in California has been thriving quite a while. As WoWasis reported in April, 2011, Asian Apartment Massage Parlors (AAMPs) proliferate today through the San Francisco Bay Area and the west coast of North America. […]
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