Freeing an unexpected catch in Sri Lanka and celebrating marital joy in Dubai

by Martin Moodie |
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Martin Moodie

Martin Moodie is the Founder & Chairman of The Moodie Report.

My time in Sri Lanka, the Pearl of the Indian Ocean, is over and I’m now on a fleeting visit to Dubai before heading to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia tomorrow morning for what promises to be an enthralling three-airport visit.

I’m here for the wedding of Dubai Duty Free Managing Director Ramesh Cidambi’s and his wife Alpana’s daughter Riddhi to Zeb, a joyous three-day celebration that culminated this evening in the splendid surroundings of Fort Island, Madinat Jumeirah.

A nice moment with Ramesh Cidambi at sunset on a cruise in the pristine Dubai waters on the eve of the wedding
Lovely scenes as the happy couple celebrate their wedding nuptials

Proud parents Alpana and Ramesh Cidambi take to the stage to thank guests and wish the betrothed couple everlasting love
I am pictured with (from left) Connectiv Founder Stewart Caddick, Bernard Creed and Sinéad El Sibai of Dubai Duty Free, Breeda McLoughlin, Jihad El Sibai and my wife Yu Lim Lee
With (from left) Groom Zeb Bennett, Ramesh Cidambi, Breeda McLoughlin and Yulim Lee

My unforgettable Sri Lankan visit, mostly in the good company of King Power Traveler President and Co-Owner Rakhita Jayawardena and his wife Yasmin, embraced visits to three very different locations – Hokandura near Colombo, Dambulla in Central Province and Ahungalla to the south on the way to Galle.

Rakhita Jayawardena: A proud Sri Lankan and great travel retail industry contributor

Dambulla is near to Sigiriya, an ancient and majestic rock fortress that surely should be high on every globetrotter’s bucket list. In truth one could spend weeks in this island paradise and hopefully many more people will do precisely that given tourism’s crucial economic and employment role.

At Galle International Stadium, one of the world’s most picturesque cricket grounds. The venue was devastated by the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004 before reconstruction from 2006 and reopening 18 months later.
Fishermen hauling in a hoped-for bumper catch a few hundred metres along from my hotel, the excellent Heritance Ahungalla

Time for me and Rakhita (in white below) to lend a helping hand. Judging by the weight of the net it should be a bountiful catch.

And now that weight is explained. A very sizable creature is moving around at the bottom of the net.
All is revealed as the released (and no doubt relieved) Green Turtle makes its way back to the sea

Arriving at Bandaranaike International Airport four hours before my flight allowed me plenty of time to review the shopping and food & beverage offer.

The gateway features a dual duty-free retailer model – Sri Lanka Duty Free (Dufry) and Flemingo – and frankly it makes as little sense here as it did at Auckland Airport in my native New Zealand (prior to the return to a single operator structure in June 2023).

Soon after reaching the airside zone, the passenger encounters the Dufry shop to the left and immediately adjacent its Flemingo rival. Flemingo benefits from a second position, an expansive and elegant store that ranks as easily the best of the trio, plus The Fashion Café, an intriguing  fusion of retail and dining.

The Dufry-run Sri Lanka Duty Free is the first store to come into view but there’s intense competition from Flemingo Duty Free, which also boasts a second store further along the passenger journey

There’s also a host of specialist stores, ranging from high-quality destination merchandise to small souvenir and jewellery outlets. It’s a mixed bag in both quality and product range terms, at times very good, at others not so. A decluttering would surely work wonders in giving this beautiful country the departures experience it surely deserves. ✈

Directly across the way Flemingo Duty Free is ushering in the upcoming Chinese New Year
Flemingo’s second location raises the retailing standard considerably

This is where so-called ‘destination merchandise’ goes wrong in my view. The Fort Galle red wine is actually from Portugal and a closer look at the Colombo gin tells me it’s distilled in England

But here’s the genuine article, Ceylon Arrack. The Sri Lankan spirit is distilled from the sap of the coconut flower and aged in oak casks

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