Galle face hotel was founded in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 1864.
“Celebrity guests include Mahatma Gandhi; the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin; John D. Rockefeller; former British Prime minister Edward Heath; Princess Alexandra of Denmark; Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh; First Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru; Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India; journalist Eric Ellis and photographer Palani Mohan; future British RAF officer and MI6 agent F. W. Winterbotham;[21] Prince Sadruddhin Aga Khan; then-Prince Hirohito of Japan; Roger Moore; Carrie Fisher; Richard Nixon, US President; Lord Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma; Noël Coward, English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer; Josip Broz Tito, Marshal of Yugoslavia.[22] In January 2018 Prince Edward and the Countess of Wessex stayed at the hotel during their five day official visit.” and me.
As you come in the main entrance you will see a bust of Arthur C Clarke (1917 – 2008) as the hotel used to be the favourite haunt of the science fiction writer.
I happen to meet AC Clarke many years ago only as a go-between to see if he would be happy to be interviewed by a journalist who had to cross an ocean to meet him. I remember he said, “if that journalist can ask me a question that has never been asked in the first 10 minutes I will give them a 2-hour interview.” They met him longer than the 10 minutes I had with him. My recollections are high walls that surrounded his home, a very large satellite dish on his roof and as big as his roof. I asked the guard if i could meet Mr Clarke. He went away/came back and let me in. I saw adverts of scuba diving schools and trips into the ocean. I remember thinking why would he want to do this, but learnt later he was an avid diver (it is like being in space) and one of his reasons for moving to Sri Lanka. On a wall, at the bottom of the stairs of the large house leading to the first floor, was a huge picture of the planet earth in space. I followed the elderly guard upstairs. In front of me was a tall gentleman. We greeted each other. He asked me which country I was from. I told him. He went up to a TV on a desk, turned a dial and a test pattern came up. I recognized the test pattern. He said, “looks like nothing is happening there right now.” He kept in touch with what was happening in the world with his NASA like satellite dish on his roof. I told him that a journalist wanted to interview him……..
From some chit chat with the journalist who interviewed him I vaguely remember that he had shown a cover of an unpublished book that was completed and on his desk. It was not a science fiction book but a romantic book, unlike the science fiction books he wrote. He was uncertain if he was going to publish it. The journalist was made to read the last line in the book. Mr Clarke thought it was a good ending to the book but uncertain. It happened to be a cliche and was discussed why it was. I don’t remember any romantic books that were published by AC Clarke. Originality perhaps comes from what you know best and possibly romance was not one of AC Clarke’s concerns. I am but a better man for meeting him and perhaps the obsession with originality and me as far as my mind will allow me comes from such experiences. Arthur C. Clarke and me if only a short interlude.
Galle Face Hotel is under a 2-year restoration program that started in mid-2013.
The bar that was in the main building near the entrance will be enclosed and air-conditioned I gather. The new restaurant is being rebuilt with columns supporting the roof with an open-air plan. The sea breeze gently greeting you for lunch at the Gale Face Hotel, Colombo, in Sri Lanka. The restaurant will possibly open on July 2014. The columns under construction now for the restaurant can be seen in the pics above.
Galle Face Hotel “is the oldest hotel east of Suez. It is located at 2, Galle Road, Colombo 03.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galle_Face_Hotel”)
You don’t know what you are missing!
Sri Lanka.
Paradise island in the east.
