A fire in the garden, a barbecue cooked over it, and one of the darkest skies you are likely to sit under.
There is very little light pollution out here. On a clear, moonless night the Milky Way is plainly visible overhead, and that alone is worth staying up for if you have come from a city.
We build the fire in the garden after dark and cook over it — a barbecue of chicken, fish and vegetables, with rice and sambols, served at a long table beside the flames. It runs at LKR 4,000 per person and needs a few hours' notice so we can shop for it.
What actually makes the evening is the noise. The forest at night is not quiet: geckos, nightjars, tree frogs, and occasionally something larger moving through the scrub beyond the garden wall. Guests who arrive planning an early night routinely stay out until midnight.
There is arrack, the local spirit distilled from coconut palm sap, and cold beer for anyone who prefers it.
