Visit to River Kwai and Kithulgala

Visit to River Kwai and Kithulgala

On a rainy morning in the monsoonal month of May, we made our way towards the Kithulgala Rest House, owned and operated by Ceylon Hotels Corporation.

Kithulgala can be called the flagship of a well appointed chain of hotels, rest houses and guest houses owned by the Corporation, which has a long history in the hospitality industry. Pioneer in the tourism hey day, the Corporation was then, the primary arm of providing five star accommodation and relevant services to the tourists who flocked to see beautiful Sri Lanka.

Kithulgala, is one of its finest and well appointed facilities. Arriving at around 10.30 am on that day, we were greeted with a tray filled with goblets of tasty fruit pulp with a base of jaggery. A warm Sri Lankan welcome followed and we sat to a hearty Sri lankan breakfast. Rotti, Pittu, string hoppers and bread with a Miris Malu, Pol Kiri and Katta sambal were washed down with a tangy tasty Kola Kenda with jaggery.

The rest house overlooks a tributary, which flows just below its terraced garden with a balcony overlooking the surrounding greenery. The river was made pregnant with the rain that had fallen for the past couple of days, with the monsoon. Yet, one could hear revelers, splashing about in its cool waters, that flow over rocks, stones, over the banks in a rhythm, only a river can flow. Walk out of the dinning area on to the balcony, and the river flows almost at your feet….. with its breath taking surroundings of rain washed greenery stretching as far as the eye could see.

We were at the rest house for a unique experience. Borderlands, a premier outdoor adventure company had tied up with the Corporation to provide tourists with adventurous experiences of Sri Lanka. There certainly is beauty in our precious island, beyond its beaches – and Borderlands, ably managed by Wader Campbell and his well trained staff, provide that experience by way of white water rafting and hiking.

Soon after breakfast, we were shown a multi media presentation of how Borderlands operates in Nepal and Sri Lanka. We were shown video clips of company outings, falling over rapids, experiences of the Blue Room, and rock climbing. “ Sri Lanka is full of climbable rock “, says Wade “… which are hardly used in this very popular sport “. It is his desire to introduce this sport to Sri Lanka as his company has over ten eyras of experience in this arena, especially in Nepal.

The presentation was scary. My thoughts went back to my two children at home. Hardly able to swim – except to waddle about in the water keeping my head up, I seriously asked myself whether I really want to go white water rafting.

After the presentation, we were given our safety gear. Helmet, lifejackets, an anorak – as it was raining and the paddle – of course, to paddle the boat. For the first time in my life, I held on to this blue and yellow paddle, wondering what I am supposed to do with it… We were then loaded on to a comfortable truck and taken a few kilometers up the road.

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