Sri Lanka. Part I. Main DetailsMap
August The country was formerly called Ceylon. But since there’s absolutely nothing to do here, they renamed it to Sri Lanka. ![]() The only detail deserving of attention is the license plates. The plates in the front are white, the back ones are yellow (like in the UK, Algeria or Uganda). The front ones are elongated, the back ones are compact. On the left side is a code for the province—Central, Eastern, Western, and so on. And the most interesting part—the center of the plate, under the dash, indicates the type of engine: P for petroleum, D for diesel. Why Sri Lankans suddenly became so preoccupied with indicating the type of fuel on license plates is one of those mysteries that make world travel so captivating. ![]() The windshield of every car has a big vehicle inspection disc stuck on it (it’s comparable to Guyana’s in terms of shape and size, but doesn’t hold a candle to it when it comes to beauty). ![]() And one more interesting detail: the yellow concrete Road Development Authority pillars. The pillars demarcate the boundaries of lots owned by the Authority (so that ordinary citizens don’t go building anything on them). ![]() The Authority’s logo—a stylized swastika— is also mandatory on the back of every traffic sign. ![]() A bus stop. ![]() A digger. ![]() Children. ![]() Pedestrian crossing. ![]() A kilometer marker post. ![]() All lampposts and other roadside objects are painted white at the bottom with black stripes along the borders of the white. ![]() All the bridges in the country are the same, with railings consisting of three crossbars. ![]() There are three official languages: Sinhala, Tamil and English. ![]() A guy with a bag. ![]() A nut vendor. ![]() A woman with porcupines. ![]() A train passes by. ![]() A bus rushes by. You get the impression that all the buses here are actually remodeled trucks, which would explain why you have to climb several steps to enter the cabin, as if it were a porch. ![]() The buses themselves are painted, but rather uninspiringly and without love. Not even close to India or Pakistan. ![]() There are two types of payphone half-booths: blue with clear walls and yellow opaque. ![]() Three types of post boxes (all British) can be seen here. Metal. ![]() Cast iron. ![]() And faceted concrete hexagons. ![]() The voting custom is to put ×, not √, next to the chosen candidate, so it appears at first as though the country is plastered with attack ads. ![]() Every mountain in every city is invariably crowned with a statue of Buddha (or occasionally Shiva). ![]() All the Buddha statues, as well as those of the Virgin Mary and other Christian figures, are always covered with a roof and glassed in. Presumably to protect them from the tropical rains. ![]() Every town has a central tower with a digital clock at the top and a small Buddha figure behind glass at the bottom. ![]() Many trucks have decorative metal arrows over their back turn signals. Looks pretty and elegant. ![]() |
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august 2012
Sri Lanka. Part I. Main Details
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