It’s a photographic cliche but a good one.

Find yourself a nicely textured wall or another interesting background, in this case in Galle, Sri Lanka. Sit down and wait.

Butchering a yellow fin tuna, Sri Lanka.

Portrait of a young Buddhist monk taken in Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Here’s a couple of black and whites of tea pickers from Sr Lanka.

For its size, Sri Lanka is an incredibly diverse island. One of the most interesting and beautiful areas is the hill country in the heartland.

Here, the verdant landscape has been shaped by tightly trimmed tea bushes.

The premium grade Ceylon tea is picked by Tamil ladies brought in by the former British colonials from the north of the island and southern India.

They are a lovely bunch, all smiles and laughter as they deftly pick the tender leaves.

They were also kind enough to invite me to their homes for tea and biscuits…I’ll post a couple more portraits a little later today.

Last November I spent a couple of weeks motorcycling in Sri Lanka – an experience that leaves you with the distinct impression that every motorist has been hired to run you down. Kamakaze bus drivers and scroungers aside, it’s a beautiful country with a rich history and many spectacular Buddhist sites to explore. One of the most enigmatic is the cave temple at Dambulla.

The World Heritage Site is situated 148 km east of Colombo. The series of five caves are covered with 2,000 m² of colourful Buddhist murals and also feature 157 Buddha images. Established in third century B.C., the complex has been used as a place of worship ever since.

The caves are located in a hillside and reached by a steep flight of stairs. For those interested in learning more about the temple’s history, there’s also a Buddhist museum situated in front of an enormous, and more recent, golden Buddha.

I’ll try and post more images from Sri Lanka in the near future.