Budapest is a city of two halves; so much so that it was once two cities, Buda and Pest, separated by the River Danube. Although now united as one, each has its own characteristics. Buda is hilly, with historic buildings, panoramic views, and winding streets.
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Galle Fort is not only, as the name suggests, a fortification; it holds within its ramparts a beautifully preserved/restored colonial town. The town was founded by the Portuguese, then extensively fortified by the Dutch during the 17th century. Later it became the southern headquarters of the British colonial rule.
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While May has been green this year, we haven’t always had spring-like weather; quite the contrary! Some days have felt as chilly as a mild day in winter, while towards the end of the month we had a heatwave that would have felt fairly extreme even in August, with temperatures topping 34 degrees Celsius, breaking – no, smashing – all records.
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Hull has had something of a poor reputation in England in recent years, but that seems to be changing. A city voted the ‘worst place to live in the UK’ in 2005 became the country’s City of Culture in 2017 and last year its city centre was named one of the coolest places to live by the Sunday Times. From worst to coolest; that’s quite a turnaround!
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While significant parts of Hull were bombed during WWII, and many lives tragically lost, its Old Town survived and has been well preserved. The historic buildings and cobbled streets make it an ideal stand-in for Victorian or Georgian London. These streets have been transformed many times by film and TV studios for productions including The Crown, Victoria and Blitz.
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These simple, practical vehicles are ubiquitous in Sri Lanka, as they are in many other countries in the world. While tourists tend to refer to them as tuk-tuks, to the locals they are usually known as three-wheelers or simply three-wheels.
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We have had plenty of sunny days this past April; however quite often the warm sun was tempered by a fresh wind. But we have also had some almost summer-like days; indeed, on one day quite early in the month the temperature reached 26 degrees in London and that IS summer weather.
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If Sri Lanka is tear-shaped, Jaffna can be said to lie at the upper point of that tear, just as it starts to fall from the eye. Appropriate perhaps for a region that has seen more than its share of conflict. This northern region was for many years the stronghold of the Tamil Tigers. But today it is as peaceful as any other part of the country and has much to reward those who make the long journey north.
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The four stone lions that guard the entrances to the Chain Bridge in Budapest are very like the bronze ones in London's Trafalgar Square. There are several legends attached to them. One legend tells that they are the guardians of Hungary and will come to life if ever the country is threatened.
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For many years the northern region of Sri Lanka was the stronghold of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, usually abbreviated to LTTE and better known as the Tamil Tigers. But when the civil war hostilities ceased in 2009 visiting the region again became a possibility. It’s a long drive north, but well worth it to see a different side of this island.
