Ian Botham reveals why Sri Lanka is a perfect holiday destination

• England’s main wicket taker first visited Sri Lanka to play cricket in 1982
• This time, he took his grandchildren for a sunshine vacation of seaside fishing
• He has a selected fondness for Kandy, with its well-known Buddhist temple
  

By Ian Botham

Revealed: 12:37 EDT, 10 October 2014 | Up to date: 12:37 EDT, 10 October 2014

My preliminary impression of Sri Lanka? Sizzling.

I first visited in 1982 – when England performed their first take a look at match towards Sri Lanka in Colombo.

Then we went and performed in Kandy, within the central province, and it has grow to be one in every of my favorite locations in the entire nation. It’s house to the Temple of the Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa), and is crucial spot for Sri Lanka’s Buddhist group.

The entire city is steeped in historical past. It’s at all times been one of many nation’s main buying and selling locations, and there are lovely temples and tea plantations. It have to be a part of your itinerary.

A household favorite: Ian Botham has frolicked together with his grandchildren in Sri Lanka – and has lengthy discovered Kandy (proper), the place the Temple of the Tooth Relic is a vital Buddhist landmark – to be one in every of its best cities

I solely actually began to fall in love with the nation on coming again to commentate. As a participant we have been by no means in a single place lengthy sufficient.

I visited the south initially of 2004, simply after the tsunami. It was horrendous, with our bodies nonetheless being pulled from the rubble. Since then, Laureus Sport for Good Basis (I’m an envoy for the organisation) has labored with the Sri Lanka-based Basis of Goodness and constructed the Southern Undertaking in Seenigama, an space which was devastated by the massive wave.

There’s a model new faculty, a cricket oval and an Olympic-sized pool. The pool was paid for by rock singer Bryan Adams, who supplied to assist fund the sports activities advanced after studying concerning the destruction wreaked by the tsunami, and locals have named it the Bryan Adams Pool in his honour.

It’s arduous to consider that once I first visited, the railway line – and a practice – have been 400 yards away in a coconut tree.

It was this venture which impressed me to undertake final 12 months’s sponsored stroll. I managed 160 miles, from the north to the south of the island, in eight days. The goal was to boost cash and mirror what’s been accomplished within the south – as a result of the north was devastated by the civil battle and has suffered terribly.

The north has a lot to supply – it’s Sri Lanka’s subsequent booming tourism centre. The primary draw are the seashores – they’re sensational.

There are new accommodations and railways being constructed and the airport at Jaffna, the capital metropolis of the northern province, is being renovated. It ought to set up itself inside 5 years. Anuradhapura – the capital of the north central province – and Mihintale, which is the birthplace of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, have lovely stupas and temples which put Angkor Wat to disgrace – effectively, nearly.

They’re inside what’s often called Sri Lanka’s cultural triangle.

Splendid: The south coast of Sri Lanka has superb seashores – and has recovered from the tsunami of 2004

This space’s most spectacular landmark is the Sigiriya rock fortress – an unlimited, 200-metre-high lump of stone. In 480 AD, a Sri Lankan king constructed his citadel atop the rock. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage web site and Sri Lankans name it the eighth marvel of the world.

I climbed it on my first cricket tour and was amazed. A lot that, whereas taking a photograph, I by chance knocked over the bottle of water I’d diligently carried to the highest. I bear in mind watching in horror because it rolled over the sting and tumbled out of sight.

I’ve visited Sri Lanka with my household a number of occasions. Among the most memorable journeys have been with my spouse and the grandchildren.

It’s extremely child-friendly – as child-friendly as locations like Spain or the Caribbean. We needed to indicate the grandchildren that life isn’t straightforward, that horrible issues occur however it’s a must to choose your self up, mud your self off and stick with it.

The Sri Lankans are the most effective instance of this – they’re at all times smiling and there’s no bitterness concerning the unfair hand they’ve been dealt, with the civil battle and tsunami.

They’re the rationale my spouse Kath and I hold returning.

We’ve spent quite a lot of time within the capital, Colombo, which is a unbelievable, progressive metropolis, with nice accommodations and eating places. We like Lagoon, the restaurant on the Cinnamon Grand lodge, the place you select your seafood from an enormous show and the cooks cook dinner it nonetheless you need.

The grandchildren cherished it – they’d compete to search out the largest fish.

Different nice eating places within the capital are the Ministry of Crab, which is owned by Sri Lankan cricketers Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, and the Park Road Mews restaurant, which blends Sri Lankan and European delicacies.

I’ve most likely spent most time within the south, in coastal cities like Galle and Weligama. In Weligama, we rented a villa and simply sit back – I like watching the stilt fishermen balancing on their poles.

Inviting: Kandy, on the very coronary heart of this tropical island, is Sri Lanka at its most intriguing

I’ve spent hours strolling round Galle fort, which is a walled metropolis. The locals have unbelievable tales to inform concerning the day the tsunami hit – how they might see the wave coming and ran contained in the fort, rising hours later to search out the remainder of town in ruins.

The fort was constructed by the Portuguese within the 14th century and it break up the wave and saved 1000’s of lives. No one inside died – you may stroll round inside and see these previous retailers and eating places which weren’t even affected.

The grandchildren additionally adored Weligama, the place they fished, rode in tuk-tuks, performed on the seashores and noticed turtles.

At some point was spent simply fishing on the seaside.

Considered one of my grandchildren, James, is extraordinarily aggressive – he merely has to beat his youthful sister at every part.

James had spent all day ready for a chunk. He put down the rod whereas he nipped to the toilet and his sister Imani-Jayne picked up the rod and caught a fish inside seconds. James was furious.

My recommendation for anybody contemplating a go to to Sri Lanka? Do it. It’s all there to be explored.

Tourism on the south coast is well-established. The east and west coasts have gotten extra established, and the north will quickly be the subsequent massive tourism vacation spot.

What’s extra, you don’t should stroll all over the place – like I did.