I MUST admit, I had huge reservations about imparting this south-east Asian hideaway.

I DO not wish to belabour my readers on the theme of fruit bats, but when one sees them in sixes and sevens against the night sky, as big as egrets and flying with the same, slow wing-beats as herons, they warrant a few lines.

FOR many people getting out the kitchen for a couple of weeks is the sweetest part of a holiday — well away from the tyranny of having to cook every day. Of course, I love eating out but I also love to cook particularly when I am in a place where the food and culture is different.

Sri Lankans climbed onto the roofs of their houses while others fled in their cars away from the coastline after officials urged them to move to higher ground after fresh quakes sparked fears of new tsunamis today.

The Sri Lankan military told residents of coastal areas not panic today after neighbouring India issued a fresh tsunami alert, but the government advised them to move to higher ground as a precaution.