Sunday, April 27, 2014

Old or New?

Years ago, while
walking around Galle Fort (in Southern Sri Lanka), I saw this lovely old hotel
and took a photo from the outside. Wanting to see more of the New Orient Hotel,
I walked into its dusty, dark interior.

‘You can’t come in,’
a man said to me from out of the darkness.

Never one to stop
taking a photo because I’m told to, I started taking pictures. Also, by that
time, I knew that Sri Lankans were just too polite to confront and really kick
me out. I was banking on this man to be too polite.

It was difficult to
get a good shot because of the darkness, but I did my best. I wanted to wander
around some, but the m

an wasn’t going to be pushed that far, so I was happy with just the lobby area.

The hotel has since been bought by the Aman conglomerate and totally redone and renamed to the Amangalla Hotel. I’ve captured a newer view of it off the web, for you to see the difference.