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 Enroute to Colombo via Hatton, about 10km from Hatton town towards Colombo The Tea Cup is easily recognizable by the large teacup in the front. Maintained by the Watawala Plantations Limited The Tea Cup offers brewed tea and snacks in addition to being a tea sales center. Toilets here were superbly clean. |
Thursday, March 18, 2010
The Tea Cup
Labookelle Tea Centre
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 The Labookelle tea center on Kandy road offers guided tours of the factory free of charge and also runs a sales outlet and a restaurant on site. |
Nuwara Eliya Golf Club
Walking distance from the town center, built in 1891 the club offers 18 hole course for a green fee of about Rs 1500. Could rent clubs, shoes and buy old balls.
A short glance on the City
Nuwara Eliya is a mountain station at 1,868 m (6,128 ft) of altitude, in a splendid landscape. The city pretends to be particularly well-kept and neat, and the always green grass gives to the locality an aspect of “colonial British style".
Nuwara Eliya was built entirely during the 19th century and its architecture mimics that of an English country town, with red-brick walls, country house like hill club and mock-Tudor half-timbering.
Blessed with salubrious climate, breathtaking views of valleys, meadows, mountains and greenery; it's hard to imagine that Nuwara Eliya is only 180 Km from the hot and humid Colombo. Temperatures are 14C-21C (Jan- April) 16C-18C (May-Aug) 15C- 18C (Sept-Dec).
Brief Description
This sacred Buddhist site, popularly known as the city of Senkadagalapura, was the last capital of the Sinhala kings whose patronage enabled the Dinahala culture to flourish for more than 2,500 years until the occupation of Sri Lanka by the British in 1815. It is also the site of the Temple of the Tooth Relic (the sacred tooth of the Buddha), which is a famous pilgrimage site.
Hundreds of Starwood Hotels to Dim Lights for Earth Hour 2010, Sharing Environmental Awareness Message Worldwide
From St. Regis and Sheraton to W and Aloft, Hotels Worldwide to Shut Lights Down for Second Year
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Mar 18, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- A leading light in hospitality is about to go dark. But just for an hour -- and for a good cause.
For the second year, hundreds of hotels in the Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (HOT 42.38, -0.12, -0.28%) portfolio will participate in Earth Hour, the global environmental awareness event created by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), to send a powerful global message about the importance of environmental sustainability and caring for the planet.
On March 27, from Beijing and Brussels to Baltimore and Buenos Aires, Starwood hotels flying brand flags, including St. Regis(R), The Luxury Collection(R), W(R), Westin(R), Le Meridien(R), Sheraton(R), Four Points(R) by Sheraton, and the recently launched Aloft(R), and Element(SM), will turn off their lights and take other energy-saving measures for one full hour, underscoring the company's dedication to environmental sustainability.
This year, in more than 90,000 hotel rooms, guests staying in participating Starwood properties will be encouraged to turn off the lights. Additionally, as they did last year, participating Starwood hotels will take the remarkable steps of turning off exterior signage lighting; last year, the darkened hotels offered striking visual imagery that provided an apt symbol of Earth Hour. Properties will also participate by dimming or turning off non-essential interior lighting, using candlelight in appropriate public areas such as restaurants and bars, and using in-room voicemail messages and in-room television messages to inform guests about Earth Hour observances.
Starwood hotels around the world will also coordinate Earth Hour awareness events, including community walk-a-thons, public candlelight "unplugged" concerts, and guest receptions featuring signature green cocktails.
"The enthusiasm we saw from our guests and associates last year made it clear how much they share our passion for sustainability and environmental stewardship," said Sandy Swider, Vice President of Global Citizenship, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. "Considering that Starwood does business in every corner of the world, we have a terrific platform for sharing messages about the impact each one of us can have if we work together."
Starwood itself made history when it launched Element Hotels, Starwood's green trailblazer and the first major hotel brand to mandate that all properties pursue the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for high-performance buildings. Across its entire portfolio, Starwood is rolling out initiatives that aim to conserve energy and water, reduce waste and enhance indoor environmental quality for Starwood guests and associates alike.
About Earth Hour
On Earth Hour, March 27, 2010, hundreds of millions of people around the world will come together to call for action on climate change by doing something quite simple--turning off their lights for one hour. The movement symbolizes that by working together, each of us can make a positive impact in this fight, protecting our future and that of future generations. Since its inception three years ago, Earth Hour's non-partisan approach has captured the world's imagination and became a global phenomenon. Nearly one billion people turned out for Earth Hour 2009 -- involving 4,100 cities in 87 countries on seven continents. Last year, 80 million Americans and 318 U.S. cities officially voted for action with their light switch, joining iconic landmarks from around the world that went dark for Earth Hour. More at www.myearthhour.org.
About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world, with 992 properties in almost 100 countries and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis(R), The Luxury Collection(R), W(R), Westin(R), Le Meridien(R), Sheraton(R), Four Points(R) by Sheraton, and the recently launched Aloft(R), and Element(SM). Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.
SOURCE: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Stacy Trevino, 914-640-8513 stacy.trevino@starwoodhotels.com
Copyright Business Wire 2010
Welcome to Ceylon Hotels Corporation...
Ceylon Hotels Corporation, having commenced business in 1967, boasts a diverse collection of 19 hotels, rest houses, resorts and restaurants throughout Sri Lanka, many of which offer an old world charm providing clients with something quintessentially local in the most picturesque and prominent locations known to man. Many are within a few kilometers to renowned historical sites and attractions.
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Further Relaxation of Foreign Exchange Transactions
In keeping with the announcement made by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in its “Road Map for 2010 and Beyond”, the following measures will be implemented with effect from 11th March 2010, in relation to foreign exchange transactions:
1. The following categories of resident Sri Lankans will be permitted to open and maintain bank accounts abroad:
- Persons earning foreign exchange from investments abroad as approved by the Central Bank,
- Persons engaged in providing international professional services in Sri Lanka or abroad,
- Persons engaged in any occupation abroad,
- Persons who have proceeded outside Sri Lanka for education and/or for medical treatment, and
- Exporters of goods.
2. Forward contracts in foreign currency to cover foreign exchange transactions related to trade in goods and services, remittances and approved foreign lending and borrowings, will be permitted.
3. The present 100% margin deposit requirement against advanced payments on the invoice value of selected items to be imported, will be removed.
4. The suspension on the pre-payment of import bills will be lifted.
5. The existing different investment accounts, namely Share Investment External Rupee Accounts (SIERA), Treasury Bond Investment External Rupee Accounts (TIERA), Treasury Bill Investment External Rupee Accounts (TIERA-2), and Treasury Bill/Bond Investment External Rupee Accounts – Deshabhimani (TIERA -D) maintained by non-residents in commercial banks will be permitted to be unified. The unified account will be renamed as Securities Investment Account (SIA).
The Central Bank is of the view that the relaxation of the above specific exchange controls would contribute to further improve investor confidence and stabilize the foreign exchange market, thereby paving the way to further integrate the Sri Lankan economy with the global economy.
Sri Lanka relaxes some forex controls
Mar 08, 2010 (LBO) - Sri Lanka has relaxed several exchange controls relating to opening bank accounts abroad, forward forex cover and imports margin deposits and prepayments from March 11 in the first phase of a forex liberalization plan announced earlier in the year.
"This is the first series of relaxations," Central Bank governor Nivard Cabraal said.
"We will be relaxing other controls in a phased manner."
Exporters, persons earning foreign exchange abroad from approved investments, people providing professional services abroad, people doing any job abroad and people who go abroad for education or medical treatment have been allowed to open bank accounts.
Forward foreign exchange cover has been allowed for remittances, approved foreign lending and borrowings as well as trade in goods and services.
A 100 percent margin requirement against advanced payments for imports will be removed. Importers will be allowed to prepay.
Several different types of investment accounts for inward investments for shares and bonds will be unified into one account.
The central bank said in its monetary policy roadmap in January that over 2010 a series of foreign exchange controls would be relaxed.
Sri Lankan residents would be allowed to invest abroad upto a specified limit, and foreigners would be allowed to buy corporate bonds.
Foreigners, including tourists would be allowed to open bank accounts in Sri Lanka.
The full central bank statement is reproduced below:
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