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Cathryn | profile | all galleries >> Sri Lanka and Malaysia 2011-12 >> 9 Trincomalee tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

1 Kuala Lumpur | 2 Penang | 3 Colombo | 4 Kandy | 5 Matale | 6 Sigiriya | 7 Dambulla | 8 Kandalama | 9 Trincomalee | 10 Galle | 11 Matara | Riding the Rails

9 Trincomalee

Photos of a two-day stay at Trincomalee in January 2012.
After staying at Kandalama Hotel I drove to Kerirawa, a small town where I caught a train to Trincomalee. The scenery between there and Trinco is green but not interesting or photogenic. A few pictures of the journey appear in my gallery Riding the Rails (click link above).
Trincomalee is such an evocative name that it alone attracted me to the place. A fascination with the British colonial period and the beauty of the natural setting combined to make me feel that I should not go to Sri Lanka without visiting Trinco, although it has no conventional tourist attractions other than beach resorts and cemeteries. (Local authorities are converting a former governor's residence to a museum.)
Guidebooks by Lonely Planet and Rough Guide both describe Trinco as a recent war zone, and indeed it might be, yet apart from a couple of grim reminders of the civil war (see my first two photos), today Trinco appears to the casual visitor to be a place at peace with itself and getting on with life.
It seems never to have been a great metropolis, rather a bustling and cheerful regional town with a similar character to such towns in the south of India. For me it is characterized by strong colours and vivid images of commerce, domesticity and colonialism.
Trinco has few hotels or restaurants. I stayed at a decent mid-range place, Green Park Beach Hotel, which has been built on the waterfront but with its back to a magnificent view. It also houses one of the best restaurants in town, so I ate nearly all my meals there.
No guns allowed - sign in bank window
No guns allowed - sign in bank window
LTTE house, apparently closed
LTTE house, apparently closed
Dutch Bay from hotel, looking north
Dutch Bay from hotel, looking north
Dutch Bay from hotel, looking south
Dutch Bay from hotel, looking south
Romantic ruin opposite hotel
Romantic ruin opposite hotel
Elephant decoration in wall
Elephant decoration in wall
Waterfront guesthouse
Waterfront guesthouse
Street scene
Street scene
Gate in wall
Gate in wall
House
House
House
House
St Mary's Cathedral (1852)
St Mary's Cathedral (1852)
Colonnade, St Mary's Cathedral
Colonnade, St Mary's Cathedral
Tailor's shop
Tailor's shop
Fruit shop
Fruit shop
House of a well-to-do family
House of a well-to-do family
Colonial villa
Colonial villa
Shop
Shop
Sari shop
Sari shop
Short eats - Sri Lankan snacks
"Short eats" - Sri Lankan snacks
Girls in hardware shop
Girls in hardware shop
House down a side street
House down a side street
Street scene
Street scene
Cafe where I had faluda
Cafe where I had faluda
Shops
Shops
Colourfully dressed woman
Colourfully dressed woman
Land and District Registry
Land and District Registry
Government offices
Government offices
Tower, Hindu temple
Tower, Hindu temple
Hindu temple
Hindu temple
Women tending sacred fire at Hindu temple
Women tending sacred fire at Hindu temple
Ganesha image, Hindu temple
Ganesha image, Hindu temple
Shrine, Hindu temple
Shrine, Hindu temple
Hindu deities on new temple a few kilometres north of town
Hindu deities on new temple a few kilometres north of town
Memorial in Hindu and Buddhist cemetery
Memorial in Hindu and Buddhist cemetery
Commonwealth War Cemetery, Uppuveli, north of Trinco
Commonwealth War Cemetery, Uppuveli, north of Trinco