I had arrived in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia in May 1976, and this was my first planned vacation. Seven of us decided to spend Christmas in Sri Lanka in 1976. We broke our journey in Mumbai (Bombay) where we had to catch our connection to Colombo.
ITINERARY
22 – 24 December 1976
Part 1 India Mumbai (Bombay)
Mumbai airport was my first experience of the Indian sub-continent. A seething mass of people greeted us as we stepped outside customs - greeters, porters, taxi drivers, chancers, hustlers, beggars - you name it, they were all there. The intense afternoon heat was suffocating. Shanty towns pressed each side of the road into the city, where the poor, the young, the old, the downtrodden, the hopeful, the rural immigrants lived in makeshift shacks using every conceivable material available to them. Harry remembers panicking as he thought the pilot had misjudged our landing and the plane was about to crash onto the shacks and cardboard boxes that came right up to the edge of the runways.
We checked into the heritage Taj Hotel, one of Mumbai’s finest, with doormen, immaculately kitted out in starched ironed khaki uniforms, who would ceremoniously hold the door and salute you as you entered and exited; only to have to step around and sometimes over people begging or sleeping on the pavement. We weren’t alone in this, as the hotel was holding many Christmas and New Year's parties, and some of the finest of Mumbai’s society trod the same path while we were there.
We stayed two nights, with a day of sightseeing. Mumbai is a marvellous city densely packed and seething with life. Cows slept underneath rain trees, and posters of all descriptions advertised the latest Bollywood movie or a government health campaign.
The most amazing sight were red "London double-decker buses" bent almost double to the ground due to the weight of passengers hanging on to the outside, but still maintaining their equilibrium. The city has always been known for its architecture. Not only traditional Indian features, but also those built during the British period in Gothic revival style, with features such as German gables, Dutch roofs, Swiss timbering, Romance arches, and Tudor casements.
We got around on tuk-tuks and with our limited time, our drivers took us on a tour of the grand public buildings, such as the Indo-Saracenic Gateway of India arch erected in 1924, opposite our hotel, and the Gothic revival Victoria Railway Terminus completed in 1878 – originally named after Queen Victoria, today called Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, after the C17th warrior king.
Mumbai has the highest number of Art Deco buildings in the world after Miami, often called Indo-Deco. These are mostly found along Marine Drive and west of the Oval Maidan, where the University of Mumbai and the Rajabai Clock Tower, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site are the best examples.
Our driver dropped us at the Oval, which together with the Azad Maidan and Cooperage Ground was a recreational and parade ground known as the Esplanade. We watched youngsters play cricket, impoverished mothers and children beg, and homeless boys perform body contortion tricks with hula hoops for money. Until the late C20th it was owned and run by the state government, but poorly maintained, it now consists of multiple cricket pitches, a football ground and a jogging track.
We visited the Crawford Market (Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Mandai) a huge market covering an area of 22,471 sqm although the building itself is only 1/5th of this at 5,515 sqm. It had been completed in 1869 and was the first building in India to be lit up by electricity in 1882. It was initially named after Arthur Crawford the first Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai, and subsequently renamed after Mahatma Jotirao Phule an Indian social reformer. The market was the main wholesale market for fruits until 1996, when the wholesale traders were relocated but still sells everything from vegetables, pets and poultry to clothing, toys, and jewellery.
That night we ate at a well-known fish restaurant, and some of us tried Bombay Duck and Pomfret fish for the first time.
As the Christmas period was often prone to overbooking, we had double-checked the details of our onward flight with the Indian Airlines check-in desk on arrival. We were told to check in an hour before 6pm. We duly arrived only to find that our plane had left at 4 o’clock! Check-in had said 1600 not 6! What to do!
We all felt that it was the fault of the airline, and we were so angry that we had an impromptu "sit-in" on the floor of the terminal. We created such a commotion that the Manager offered us a flight to Chennai (Madras) and take our luck there. Clutching at straws and feeling that at least we would be nearer to Sri Lanka we accepted his offer.
We duly arrived in Chennai, but the Station Manager wasn't hopeful. There were very few flights to Sri Lanka and all of them booked up until after New Year. We had arrived just after 9; around 10 he came back to us and said that the next flight to Colombo was expecting 6 French passengers from Bengaluru (Bangalore), but the plane hadn't arrived “…...if it hadn’t touched down in the next ten minutes, we could board the flight to Colombo.” 10 minutes later, we were boarding the plane. As we embarked, a plane was coming into land .......
25 December 1976 – 3 January 1977
Part 2 Sri Lanka
25th Colombo: We landed in Colombo just after midnight. It was Christmas Day. We got a taxi to our hotel in Havelock Road, unpacked and fell into bed exhausted.
Our Christmas meal...It’s a shame I can’t remember what our main course was, probably chicken but I recall we had a crisp salad as a starter. As I started to eat it, a bug appeared! I called the waiter over, who picked up the plate, and walking towards the kitchen flicked the bug off the plate. Assuming I hadn’t seen him, he rearranged the salad, promptly turned around giving me a ‘ new’ salad.
We spent a relatively quiet day exploring the neighbourhood, and then to bed for a good night’s sleep.
26th Colombo – Kelaniya – Negombo: The next day our guide Michael met us, and we set out for Negombo stopping at Kelaniya Rajamaha Viharaya on the way. This ancient temple has been destroyed many times and each time has been reconstructed, the current temple being completed in 1946. It is said that as the Kelaniya temple rose, Sri Lanka rose and as it fell, the country and its administration fell; consequently, it is often visited by politicians in and out of government. It is also famous for its reclining Gautama Buddha and the wall paintings depicting important events in the life and history of Buddha and Buddhism, painted by the Sri Lankan artist Solias Mendis over 20 years from 1927. The ‘Kelani Seya’ stupa, beside the Temple, standing 90ft, is also known as the ‘Dhanyakara’ or ‘the shape of a grain of rice’.
In 1978 Negombo was a sleepy village on a lagoon, it is now the site of luxury hotels abutting the airport. Our guesthouse was on the lagoon, a large semi-enclosed coastal water body, fed by a number of small rivers and the Dutch canal and linked to the Indian Ocean by a narrow channel to the north. There are over 190 species of wildlife. The fishermen who live in the villages along the lagoon use outrigger canoes, either sailing or catamarans. We spent a delightful afternoon and evening by the lagoon and had our first Sri Lankan curry and hoppers.
27th Negombo – Anuradhapura – Polonnaruwa – Sigiriya: Our next destination were the ancient cities of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Sigiriya, recognised as UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1982, which together with Kandy and Dambulla form part of the Cultural Triangle and which were recognised in 1988 and 1991 respectively.
Anuradhapura was the ancient capital of Buddhist Sri Lanka for over 1,300 years, from the C4th BCE to the C11th CE. Over the centuries, it grew in importance as a religious and political centre. It contains the Sri Maha Bodhi, a sacred fig tree grown from a sapling of the tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment. The city fell into decline when the Cholas conquered the Anuradhapura kings. The ruins were restored to their former glory during British rule and are an important place of pilgrimage with frequent ceremonies and daily rituals at its temples and stupas. The city is a massive site, and our visit was restricted to the Isurumuniya Vihara, famous for its carvings - Isurumuniya Lovers, the Elephant Pond, the Royal Family - and a reclining Buddha.
On the other hand, Polonnaruwa which dates back to the C11th CE when the capital was moved from Anuradhapura, was abandoned after its decline in the C14th and remains an archaeological site. During its pre-eminence there were a number of important temples, among them Gal Vihara, a rock temple whose main feature is four images of the Buddha - reclining, standing and seated.
It had been a long day, and we drove to our guest house near Sigiriya before our ascent the next day, which Michael had persuaded us to climb.
28th Sigiriya – Kandy: Sigiriya, which means Lion Rock, is a site of historical and archaeological significance, and is a massive rock fortress of granite approximately 590ft high. According to the ancient chronicle the Cūḷavaṃsa, King Kashyapa (AD 477–495) selected it for his new capital, built a palace on the top, and decorated its sides with colourful frescoes.
Halfway up the side of this rock, there is a gateway in the form of an enormous lion. Sigiriya’s name is derived from this structure – Sīnhāgiri (Lion Rock). The capital and the royal palace were abandoned after the king's death and used as a Buddhist monastery until the C14th.
Our climb: A walk at the beginning, from the gardens at the base; then up two massive brick stairways leading to a zig-zag staircase which in turn lead to the Mirror Wall walkway. We ascended a horizontal spiral metal staircase from the walkway to look at the extraordinary rock paintings known as the Asparas or Sigiriya Frescoes.
Back on the walkway, we climbed up to the Lion’s Feet gateway, and from there up a series of narrow steel gantries and steps to the summit. This was the hard part. Lots of hard breathing.
42 years later, I climbed Sigiriya with my younger brother. It seemed easier!
After our climb, we drove to Kandy and booked into the Queens Hotel, one of the oldest hotels in Sri Lanka with a history of over 160 years and a former Governor’s residence. That evening we went to see a traditional Kandyan dance and music performance at the Kandyan Art Association & Cultural Centre.
29th Kandy – Nuwara Eliya – Adams Peak: Before we left Kandy for the Hill Country, we visited Kandy’s world-renowned Botanical Gardens established in 1821 and then the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa). Set in more than 140 acres, we only walked around a very small part of the Gardens (sensible people take tuk-tuks). It contains over 4,000 species of plants, including orchids, spices, medicinal plants and palm trees. Beautifully laid out, it has avenues of Cook's Pine and different Palm - Palmyra, Coconut, Cabbage and Royal.
We managed to get to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa) in time for the noon ritual. It was strangely quiet, and we were lucky to get an unimpeded view of the relic, which is regarded as a symbolic representation of Buddha. The temple is located in the former royal palace of the Kingdom of Kandy and became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988.
We then drove up and into the Hill Country to Nuwara Eliya. The surrounding area was damper, cooler and wetter than we had experienced because of the higher elevation. We stopped at the Bluefield Tea Factory on the way, which was still using machinery from the C18th(!), and watched Hill Country Tamils, different from those in the North, picking tea so expertly you wouldn’t notice.
We had booked accommodation in what can only be described as a house from Surrey in the English Home Counties c1950s style.
Michael our guide had persuaded 5 of us to do another climb - Adams Peak. It is also known as Sri Pada and is a place of pilgrimage for those who come to see the "sacred footprint" of Buddha, Shiva, Adam or St. Thomas depending on your religion. We had to leave the hotel around midnight to get to the starting point by 2am for the 3-4 hours climb to catch the sunrise. It was miserable as we left the hotel as rain was falling, but Michael promised us this was normal, and it would stop. By the time we arrived at the starting point, it had.
The climb consisted of steps of huge blocs that exercised our calves and our lungs. Michael had persuaded us to bring a bottle of Scotch which Tricia carried but we were too knackered to drink it. We did buy some cokes on the way which as you got higher became more expensive. In addition to the temple at the top of the summit, the mountain “throws” an amazing triangular shadow at sunrise. We arrived in time as the photo below attests.
30th Nuwara Eliya – Ratnapura – Colombo: From Nuwara Eliya, we drove back down through the tea plantations and the flower nurseries toward Ratnapura and Colombo. Ratnapura is the centre of the gem trade in Sri Lanka. Michael took us to a gem store whose invoices contained a Royal Crest and by appointment to George VI! The shop claimed to have supplied the Crown with gems. I bought one blue and half a dozen white sapphires. I still had them in 2004 when I asked a jeweller to include them in my civil partnership wedding ring. She appraised them and told me they were worthless!
From there we carried on to the Mount Lavinia Hotel, another of Sri Lanka’s Heritage hotels.
31st Dec – 1st Jan Colombo: This was the end of our journey and where we planned to spend New Year’s Eve before flying back to Saudi via Bahrain. We spent our last day visiting the Dehiwala Zoo in the morning. In the afternoon we swam on the Hotel’s private white sandy beach. As the beach had a high sandbank that dropped suddenly into the Indian Ocean, you had to dive quite flat. Graham had found this out by diving in and hitting his head on the sand!
That evening our dinner under the stars of the Indian Ocean was my first introduction, and certainly not the last, to lobster thermidor and champagne. It was heaven. Our 10-day holiday had sadly ended.
Sri Lanka had been a gentle place, with lovely people, beautiful countryside, delicious food and above all a way of life that wasn’t hurried or harried.
1st – 3rd: Colombo: Air Ceylon unexpectedly came to our rescue. Before we set out for the airport, an airline representative informed us that our flight to Bahrain had been cancelled. Our plane had apparently been commandeered for the Colombo - Paris flight as the plane that had been flying that route had been sequestered for flying without radar! In those days Air Ceylon had a fleet of 3 planes.
We were forced to stay another two days in the Mount Lavinia Hotel, their cost! We flew back to Bahrain and onward to Dhahran on January 3rd.
Postscript: A day after we returned to Saudi, I found myself in the Hospital Clinic. In the cubicle beside me, I heard this terrible moaning. It turned out to be Graham who was suffering from an epidural hematoma when he had dived into the Indian Ocean on our last days. He hadn't realised that the shoreline was very shallow. He was airlifted to Riyadh for a successful brain operation.
Air Ceylon subsequently discontinued flights to Europe in early 1978 and finally ceased all local services on 31 August 1979, when Air Lanka replaced it.
The Travellers
Standing: Greg Brennan
Facing the camera: Richard Thom, Tricia Ryan, Cathy Nelligan
Back to camera: Sandra Burnham and Graham Edgson
Taking the photo: Harry McCobb
© Images:
Summit Sigiriya, Cathy Nelligan.
Mumbai Airport, Harry McCobb.
All others. Richard Thom.
© Words: Richard Thom. This article has adapted historical and cultural information retrieved from Wikipedia under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/.
*Some images have been removed from the original article for cultural sensitivity.
About the Author
Richard Thom worked in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia between 1976 and 1980 for Aramco’s Internal Audit and Contract Cost Compliance departments. He arrived in Dhahran in May 1976.
When not working, playing rugby, squash or trying his hand at amateur dramatics, he used his organising skills on the Aramco Employees Association and was Treasurer 1976/77 - 1978/79 and Chairman 1979/80 for the Dhahran Rugby Union Football Club (DRUFC).
This was his first vacation outside the Kingdom apart from rugby games in the Gulf States. Richard has contributed a number of articles to AramcoExpats including a review of Not the May Ball 3 in September 2022; a 10-part serialization of the unofficial history of the Dhahran Rugby Union Football Club, a look back on life after Aramco “Dance in the Desert”, “Jimmy Abdul McGregor, and other Stories: Tales from the Yemen”, Dhahran to London 1978, a journey in 10 parts, and Letter from India to Nepal.
Richard published a book Dance into Business in 2018 based on his experience as Finance Director for the Royal Academy of Dance. A how-to guide for dance students, teachers and professionals wishing to start up a dance studio or go freelance. It contains helpful tips, practical examples, and points to consider whether just starting out or already in business. It is available from Amazon websites as a printed book, or an e-book priced locally.
