Nilaveli Beach, Eastern Province, Sri LankaThe ever smiling Luckshana, whose desk sits within the restaurant, acts as your go-to overseer of guest happiness and comfort.
Juliet, in the kitchen, will give her full one-on-one attention to your dietary needs—tip: go for the Sri Lankan breakfast. It’s scrumptiously different each and every day of the week.
And if your up at six in the morning, you’ll see Siva, the pool attendant, toiling away in his daily attempt to ensure the High Park Hotel pool is the cleanest swimming pool in all of Sri Lanka.
It’s the fourth cog in this wonderful wheel, however, that takes the High Park Hotel to a whole other dimension. That cog goes by the name Pragash.
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Yesterday, sometime before eight in the morning, a young mommy and daddy felt they needed some alone-time, so they left their maybe four year-old son on the beach and went to their room. When they returned to the beach, it was panic-time, the lad wasn’t there. The sea was rough on this day; the surf had created small trenches and hills, just out from the shoreline. A misstep, followed by wave created backwash and a small child could be easily washed off to sea. Police were at the scene, as well as all staff and all of the hotel guests. We all looked to the sea cringingly, for what we did not want to find.
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Like an Indigenous man amongst a band of not-so-bright cowboys, Pragash took an altogether different approach. Unbeknownst to me and everyone else, Pragash walked south, along the seashore, then turned and went in the opposite direction. Bingo! Just beyond our hotel he picked up the trail of tiny footprints and started jogging. An estimated 3 kilometres down the beach he found the boy.
While we dumb bunnies, back at the hotel, spent more than an hour getting dizzy, staring at the rolling sea with fear, a sudden phone call from Pragash and the world was right again.
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Elenka and I though, weren’t so surprised at what Pragash had accomplished. Right from the get-go we knew he was different. He’s the dining room server, morning, noon and night; the baggage handler; the rooms cleaner; the cobblestone walkway layer; the guy who sets up the lounge chairs on the beach every morning; Mr. Fix It for repairs of things that don’t work quite right; and if you’d like an after-dinner beer, he’ll deliver it to your room—sometimes before you even arrive back at your room. Oh, and one morning shortly after bringing the coffee to our breakfast table, Elenka motioned for me to turn around and look up. Pragash was on the 2nd floor roof of our villa, video recording the work progress on some roof repairs. Then in what felt like the blink of an eye, he was standing in front of us with our breakfast plates. Point to a particular coconut hanging from one of the many trees, and he’ll have it on your table, with straw, moments later.
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For those who watch ‘The Bear’ on TV, Pragash reminds me of the smooth and slick waiters on this remarkably good series. His effortless moves are like that of a leopard. The Amazing Pragash of the beautiful High Park Hotel in Nilaveli is nothing short of a Marvel superhero.
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While staying in the area, these are sites that should not be missed:
We visited three Hindu temples in and around Trincomalee. The first one, Koneswaram Kovil, is the most revered and is dedicated to the god Shiva. Both spiritual and interactive this one is. Bells are rung in front of what could best be described as chapels. People gather in front of these places to pray and listen to short prayer/chants? At the end of each service a blazing fire-pot is brought out to where congregants place their palms over the flame, then after holding their palms against their cheeks, they clasp their hands and pray to the Heavens.
Elenka kept her distance, but I gave the fire-pot a go — no cameras allowed.
The second temple, Shri Badrakali was smaller, but by far the most magnificent. Carvings cover the ceiling and walls. And luckily, in this temple, cameras were permitted. The first seven or eight photos will show you why it was so fabulous.
The third one, Golden Temple, was less ornate, but all gold inside. It was unique in another way. Cameras were not allowed and neither were men with shirts. On our way out, I asked a guard at the front door why women were allowed to wear tops? He didn’t understand what I was saying.
Monica
2024-03-14
Wow what a beautiful temple, both inside and outside. Amazing pictures. What does vegetable fish taste like... is that like plant based cheese? Good try Jack. It's only the men who are required to take off their shirts. Lucky for Ellen. Thank goodness for your superhero. You all must have been so scared. Enjoy the beautiful weather
ToTo
2024-03-14
The colors are Amazing and the statues as well, you guys look like you had a great time. That looked like a giant snail? The guy next to Elenka was Superman?
Céleste
2024-03-14
Thank you for sharing this extraordinary adventure! The temple is phantasmagorical!
Heather
2024-03-14
So glad the story had a happy ending, thanks for painting that vivid image of Pragrash the leopard!
cate
2024-03-17
Wonderful pictures Ellen......beautiful temples......and the colours wow.......you guys are having a great adventure and it shows ........be safe!
Valerie
2024-03-17
Amazing statuary . The colours are so brilliant
Margo
2024-03-27
Wow that was some story. P sounds like “The Man “ The temples must be so interesting to visit and the visuals are gorgeous. Loving the pics, so colourful