‘Wonder of Asia’

Visiting Sri Lanka is like unearthing a treasure chest  you go through lengths to get to it, but once there, you hit a goldmine of sights, sounds and yes, gems. (Sri Lanka is world famous for its blue sapphires.)

Since most Filipino tourists have not (yet) visited the country, dubbed “the wonder of Asia,” it is really a treasure trove waiting to be discovered. And there lies most of the excitement of visiting Sri Lanka  you don’t know half as much of it as you know about nearby Asian tourist attractions. So be prepared to be held in awe.

When Pangasinan Rep. Gina de Venecia invited me to Colombo as part of her delegation to the 8th General Assembly of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties, which was founded in Manila in 2000 by her husband, five-time Speaker of the House of Representatives Jose de Venecia Jr., I was lured by the prospect of an extraordinary discovery. I envisioned a panorama of exotic holy temples, lush tea plantations, colonial buildings and a new culture. I was not to be disappointed.

I knew it as the former Ceylon, which was famous for tea; of being the country of the world’s first elected female chief executive, Sirimavo Bandaranaike; of being the country where sportscaster Ronnie Nathanielsz, who was very visible on TV during the Marcos days, originally hailed from. One of PeopleAsia’s contributing editors, Glenn Gale, also has Sri Lankan roots.

I had read about the Tamil Tiger terrorists, and was reassured that they have since been tamed.

So with the curiosity of the explorer, a sense of adventure, and a desire to be an active part of a community of Asian nations, I hopped on a plane with the De Venecias for a Sri Lankan sojourn.

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I had been told that JDV is a “rock star” in meetings of parliamentarians and lawmakers abroad, because of his brilliance and peace initiatives.

In Colombo, he was welcomed like a head of state, and he was whisked off in a motorcade from the Bandaranaike Airport, where we arrived in the wee hours of the morning, to the Cinnamon Grand Colombo some 30 minutes away from the airport.

With us were Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, president of the Centrist Democratic Party of the Philippines; former Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco, regional chairman of the Nationalist People’s Coalition; Fil-Am journalists Roger Oriel and Vince Samson and special advisers Maria Rosario Moreno and Petrona Lim.

During the drive from the airport to the hotel, Mark Cojuangco marvelled at the cleanliness of the streets and sidewalks of Colombo. There were also no people milling about on the streets (“standbys”), no uncollected heaps of garbage, no stray soft-drink cans on the curb.

We were later to learn that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had successfully turned the peace and order situation of his country around and though three days may not be enough to really immerse oneself in the country, it was enough for me to feel the peace and quiet.

Security measures were strict at the airport, the hotel and the convention center. Though the international airport is not as modern as our own NAIA Terminals 1, 2 and 3, it was spacious and functional. The eagle-eyed immigration officer noticed the birth date on my visa was not the same as the one in my passport  and I should have been the first to notice it as the erroneous birth date made me two months older!

I also noticed that most Sri Lankans are respectful and hospitable to tourists. In our hotel, when you request for a wake-up call, you not only get a second wake-up call, you get a follow-up knock on your door to check if you have indeed risen.

Education in Sri Lanka is free from grade school to college, and so is medical care.

The exchange is about 130 rupees to the US dollar  and you can get a pot of coffee via room service for about $2, but a glass of red wine will cost you about $10.

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What seaside Colombo and Manila have in common is a boulevard running along the sea. But the waters kissing Colombo’s shores are cleaner, clearer, and in the river that runs through the city, you can even see pelicans frolicking!

Our guide showed us the sandy area overlooking the Indian Ocean where Pope Francis will canonize the first Sri Lankan saint Joseph Vaz this January before flying to the Philippines.

Downtown Sri Lanka boasts several colonial buildings of Dutch, British and Portuguese architecture, most of which have been preserved.

A 17th-century government office (some say it was also an asylum) has been turned into a shopping complex called the Arcade, and the 17th-century Dutch Hospital has been restored, not as a medical facility but as a shopping center called the Dutch Market. It’s the oldest building in town with long, low courtyards just like those of the Philippine General Hospital (which should be preserved even if the hospital is modernized). The old Dutch Hospital is now a one-stop shop for clothes and gifts, spa treatments, chic dining. It boasts a nightlife, too!

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We also have Kandy-colored memories of Sri Lanka.

After the ICAPP conference, where JDV called for strength amidst Asia’s diversity and multi-faiths, and where Gina proposed the creation of a Ministry or Department for Women in every government, we took a day trip to Kandy, the last royal capital of Sri Lanka.

Some 115 kilometers from Colombo at 465 meters above sea level, Kandy is to Buddhists what Rome is to Catholics and Mecca to Muslims. Famous for the Temple of the Tooth and many other temples, the city could be called the cultural capital of the island.

Established in the 15th century, Kandy was where 2,500 years of royal rule ended in Sri Lanka.

Everyone was asked to go barefoot inside the temple complex, and I joined the throng of Buddhist faithful, barefoot, as they paid homage inside the temple where a tooth of Buddha is enshrined.

The Kandy Perahera, the pageant of the Temple of Tooth, is held either in July or August each year. The final night procession is the most spectacular event of the country where more than 50 elephants parade the city.

Interestingly, the Temple of the Tooth is near a Catholic Church, a Hindu temple and a Muslim mosque. There is only one entrance to all places of worship and it was a privilege to have passed that gate  symbolic of the reason why I was in Sri Lanka. Yes, it was possible to thrive and bloom, like the lotuses and the lilies on roadside carts in Kandy, even if one worshipped in different churches. For only one God shines upon all of us, and we arch our faces towards this Sun.

And that is the wonder of Sri Lanka. (You may e-mail me at [email protected].)