16. Explorations and Elephants in Sri Lanka

It’s amazing how a simple conversation can transport you to new places, or in this case to places visited long ago, rediscovered in memory. This happened earlier this year while Molly and I were walking to the Pier. I remember that the morning was very muggy. Rather appropriately, the conversation that day was about Sri Lanka, where the weather is similarly hot for most of the year.

Molly and I are both members of the local Probus Club and we were discussing the pros and cons of joining other members on an escorted tour of Sri Lanka which the Club was proposing to do later in the year. While I was interested in the itinerary, I had been to Sri Lanka previously, plus I knew that Sue, my wife, would not be able to join me, due to health issues, but Molly was still considering it.

Prior to moving to Brisbane, when I was still living in Sydney, my old Probus Club had organised a similar trip, and while most of the participants had really enjoyed it, some had found the tour a bit too strenuous. Sri Lanka is a beautiful island, with stunning beaches, national parks, lots of elephants and other wildlife and the people are very welcoming. However, the tour involves a lot of travelling to diverse parts of the country, including visits to the north and south of the island and to the hill stations in the mountains.

Another consideration was security and the potential for political instability. In 2022 incidents occurred during demonstrations and between 1983 and 2009 there was a long and bloody civil war in parts of the island. This conflict was between the (Sinhalese dominated) government and the “Tamil Tigers”, who wanted an independent state in the North and East of Sri Lanka. Tens of thousands of people lost their lives.

My own first visit to Sri Lanka (previously known as Ceylon) was 68 years ago, in October 1955. I was working on a cargo ship as a very young and inexperienced steward. We had sailed from Indonesia to the capital, Colombo, where we stayed for 2 days only, which was just enough time to buy some souvenirs. Colombo is a fascinating city but, at that time, we were not able to explore it. But that didn’t stop it visiting us! To our surprise, we found ourselves taking on an unusual new passenger, an elephant in a very big cage, which was securely fastened to the deck by the ship’s carpenter.  I seem to remember that Jumbo stayed with us until we arrived in Genoa, Italy, several weeks later.

In 1982, I visited Sri Lanka again, on 2 occasions. At that time, I was working for an American company, whose president had been interested in the possibility of acquiring an interest in the famous Galle Face Hotel, in Colombo. This company already owned several other famous hotels around the world and was attracted to the Galle Face Hotel as it was known as “Sri Lanka’s oldest hotel and the Grand Old Dame of Colombo’s social life”.

The hotel is located right on the seafront, facing the Indian Ocean. It overlooks the Galle Face Green, a huge open space used by families for picnicking, playing cricket, flying kites and, later, for political demonstrations. The hotel, and its former owner, have fascinating histories. Both the hotel and Mr Cyril Gardiner have been written about in many journals, newspapers and other publications, and probably in books as well.

My first introduction to this hotel was like being in a movie. I had been sent out on a scouting mission and the manager and staff were waiting for me in the entrance area. I was welcomed by them with flowers and taken to my suite, the “King Emperor Suite”, by Mr Gardiner himself. I had never seen a suite quite like it. It had what was probably one of the largest sitting rooms attached to any hotel bedroom in the world. It was furnished with antique furniture and dozens of bottles of whisky, gin and other spirits were displayed on the sideboards.  This amazed me because Mr Cyril Gardiner was a teetotaller and, at that time, did not encourage the sale of alcohol in his hotel. Needless to say, I did not dare to touch any of the bottles during my stay there.

I did like the ambience and the history of this hotel and I loved where it was located. Once, while I was there, I decided that I would like to go for a walk along the waterfront to the end of the Galle Face Green. Mr Gardiner strongly advised me not to do this by myself as it was not, at that time, a safe place for foreigners to walk. However, he kindly asked an elderly military officer, who turned out to be a retired Brigadier General, to accompany me. Never have I been, and never again will I be, escorted by a general. I did not tell him that I had only reached the rank of sergeant during my national service in Holland!

This old and famous hotel was truly an amazing place to visit.  So much happened during my stay there that it would fill many more pages just to recount all the highlights. I hope to tell you more about it, and about my visit to Mr Gardiner’s house and family, in future stories.

Back to Sandgate! As it happened, towards the end of that earlier walk, Molly and I bumped into Brian, who was born in Sri Lanka. Brian told us that he was planning to go back to his island country for a holiday and that he would probably spend a month there. Brian almost always walks with his friend Viv and sometimes they are also joined by another friend, B.K. Both these gentlemen were born in India. Molly and I always look forward to the time we spend with these friends on our walks. They have led different and interesting lives and I think that they may have many stories to share with us.

In the end the Probus tour to Sri Lanka had to be cancelled. This was a pity because I’m sure that Molly would have entertained us, as only he can, with many a good story about his visit to this enchanted island country.  But I am thankful that I can still travel there in memories. Even when you can’t move your body, you can still move in your imagination and mind. What places can your own memories take you to? Why not try travelling there now?

O.P.

Next Sunday morning Molly and I remember being children in England and Holland and our liberation at the end of the Second World War.