The Romance of Mount Lavinia

'In the year 1805, Sir Thomas Maitland, a gallant military General, sailed to the island of Ceylon (as Sri Lanka was known at that time) to assume duties as the second British Governor. He was better known by the sobriquet "King Tom".

King Tom had the desire to build a grand country mansion for himself... he discovered the perfect location for a stately house, on a promontory overlooking the sea in the village of Galkissa, not too far from the capital Colombo. It was in the year 1806 that King Tom built his new residence... Here within the portals of this house, King Tom first set eyes on a beautiful mestizo dancer, Lovina Aponsuwa, the half Portuguese half Sinhalese lead dancer of her father's dancing troupe...'
(Ref: www.mountlaviniahotel.com)

Long story short, King Tom and Lovina had a six-year clandestine affair with the latter visiting her lover in his private residence via a secret tunnel (which still remains to this day). He named his mansion Mount Lavinia after her. But poor health forced King Tom to leave Ceylon and his Lovina.

The Mount Lavinia Hotel bell-boy who showed us the 'love tunnel' added the tragic ending - that the devastated 'Lady Lavinia' drowned herself in the sea ocean.

So that's the romantic but sad history of the Mt Lavinia Hotel (MLH) sited in the beach resort of Mt Lavinia, a southern suburb of Colombo. Our stay here was a serendipitous upgrade, yay!

'Colonial' security at the Mount Lavinia Hotel

We stayed in an ocean view room in the main block of MLH, the Governors Palace. Suffice to say, we loved the room, and the view from the room. Unfortunately it rained cats and dogs in the late afternoon and come dusk, with the overcast sky, no setting sun was to be seen. Ces't la vie.

The next morning, breakfast was at the Governor's Restaurant with prime seats overlooking the Indian Ocean. Some chipmunks and a few crows provided cheerful fauna company while we gorged on the delicious local fare of thosai, rotti, appa, and the accompanying curries and sambols. (More about this in another blog post on 'My Taste of Sri Lanka').

Meeting fellow Malaysian Judy and her Sri Lankan
husband Chandra Fernando at our MLH breakfast

After breakfast we checked out the hotel's amenities; the pool, the spa, etc., and the private beach. What can I say? The bright sun and cooling sea breeze, the soft golden sand, the aquamarine waters of the ocean and the azure blue sky... a bit of paradise? No wonder King Tom and Lovina fell in love!

A we-fie by the waves of the Indian Ocean

(In progress)