If you stay at Villa Rosa you can also enjoy the stunning Hantana mountain, where Indiana Jones and The Temple Of Doom were filmed. Here, life is as it was hundreds of years ago, with men working on temple carvings with hand chisels, furniture all upcycled, and monkeys rambling past as you snake your way from the Citadel Hotel at the bottom of the hill to the heady heights of this National Geographic spot. Everything about this lush tropical landscape is evocative of the bygone era of the great kings and their opulent lifestyle; even the vintage heyday of classic cars and chic bars like the Royal bar in the heart of Kandy’s old town centre is reminiscent of the grandeur of this regal region.

Royal Bar & Hotel is a great place to start your city tour of Kandy. Relax in its historic courtyard room and afterwards take a look at the history room of photos on the second floor, dedicated to how life was in Kandy in pictures illustrating how much has changed since the olden days and in a few cases stayed the same like this wonderful establishment; a place steeped in stories and excellent food, served either in the indoor courtyard or on the balcony overlooking the main street where the Perahera elephant parades past. Delicious starters like coriander hummus and devilled cashews with fried curry leaves, lead to sizzling mains like pork in black bean sauce with rice and coconut prawns. From here, you can walk to the Temple of the Tooth and, after making an offering of jasmine and nil manel, join the throng of worshippers barefoot on a pilgrimage, that walks to the beat of the temple drums, to see the inner sanctum where the golden casket housing the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha rests.

After, you can hire a boat and cool down while exploring the lake. There is something wonderful about people walking around with parasols in the midday sun, wearing sarongs of rainbow colours, while promenading around an ancient lake that is the centrepiece of the city.

If you want something wacky and flamboyant for a meal, head up to the giddy heights of Helga’s Folly for a drink, and don’t worry, the candlesticks with stalactites of wax hanging from them, along with silver goblets, fairies in the garden, eye-catching murals and quirky colonial furniture, complete with unusual decor like the black mosquito nets draped over the magnificent four poster bed are all part of the fun of visiting this wildly eccentric lipstick pink folly.

If you are very lucky, you might even meet the very striking and fascinating owner, Helga De Silva Blow, usually dressed in a Japanese kimono, swishing her way around, like a member of royalty, into the central dining room, as if she was a character out of a golden oldie movie, ordering an arak and soda from the staff  – no doubt shaken, but not stirred. Anyone who is anyone in celebrity circles has been to this enchanting spot, including some of my all-time favourite celebrities like Vivian Leigh, Sir Alec Guinness, Peter Finch, Sir Laurence Olivier, David Lean, Gregory Peck, Win Min Than, fashion designer Zandra Rhodes, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Kelly Jones of The ‘Stereophonics’ who was inspired to write the single ‘Madam Helga’.

Another fascinating Kandy character is Volker Bethke from Hamburg, Germany, who came to Sri Lanka in 1995. A gentleman through and through, picking up his guests with his groovy blue VW Beatle he relates his own epic story over a Sri Lankan banquet of curries, overlooking the Mahaweli. “My parents were refugees from Russia’s Kalingrad, and in many ways, what is happening right now is not dissimilar to what happened then. I was born in the coldest of winters in Europe and I still wonder where they got the energy, vision and passion to make a better future for my brother and me.”

Volker who studied economics fell in love with Sri Lanka, seeing like so many that have followed in his footsteps the true value of the island, opening Villa Rosa in August 2003. Within weeks a real mix of characters visited and stayed, from climbers to cartoonists, and even famous Sri Lankan sculptors like Sarath Chandrajeewa, whose stunning bust of his Sri Lankan daughter Jasmine holds court outside the main dining room.

Villa Rosa, in many ways, was the early tech nomad’s dream. It attracted enormous interest around the world, appearing in the newspapers and many different guidebooks, from Lonely Planet to glossy magazines.

Asking him about the current situation Volker says, “Every day something can happen in Sri Lanka; it keeps you always on your toes, so you have to be a mixture of a positive thinker and problem solver – something you become good at after 35 years of living here. But it is all worth it in a place full of so many great qualities and superb weather all year round, compared to freezing cold Europe in the winter.

“If I lived in Germany at this stage in my life, I would be seen as a grandfather and pensioner, watching the roses grow, whereas here, I can innovate, adapt and support the enormous artistic talent of the area, plus provide livelihoods for my many amazing staff, who have been with me now for more than 18 years.”

As monks start to chant, and a distant flute player plays a lilting tune, as the sun starts to set, I ask what lies on the other side of the river where the mist rises in the morning like a scene out of Lord Of The Rings. Volker smiles, “Now that is quite a question, as it is a totally different world from Kandy that in many ways is lost in agrarian times and paddy field traditions, a place where the people remain close to nature, food is grown in abundance and the cycle of life continues as it did in ancient times.”

 

 

Beyond the literal letter

With Barbara by his side he contributed greatly to local architecture

National Trust lecture: Ameena Hussein to speak on Ibn Battuta

Cure without medicines – the placebo effect

Gustav Mahler Orchestra returns to the stage

Letters to the Editor

APPRECIATIONS