However, there is one place to turn to when the going gets hungry -- the famous underground Food Court on Galle Road. Whether you fancy Indian, Italian, Mexican, Korean, Thai, English or even Mongolian it's a gourmet's delight.

The huge court not only attracts tourists but also cricket celebrities. Almost every Bangladeshi cricketer dines here. Pakistanis and the Hong Kong teams are regular customers.

Pakistani wicketkeeper Moin Khan, his wife and three children visit at least twice a day.

ASIF A CRICKET LOVER

There were hardly one hundred spectators at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground to watch the Bangladesh-Hong Kong match.

Standing between two Bangladesh flags was acclaimed pop star Asif Akbar, who flew all the way from Dhaka with a friend to watch two first-round matches.

Interestingly, before concentrating on a singing career, Asif was quite an accomplished cricketer and had even represented his home district Comilla in the National Cricket Championships.

It just goes goes to show one can never forget his first love!

WRONG TIME, WRONG PLACE

Man has almost controlled everything but Mother Nature. The weather forecast for the next two weeks in Colombo was no heavy rains or depression. So every tourist headed to the beach last night to cool off after a long, hot, humid day. But they were in for a shock.

Just before midnight, the breeze turned into gale force winds and plastic chairs began to fly. Those who were sitting at the seaside lawn of the 120-year-old Galle Face Hotel, had to seek protection as the storm intensified shattering most of the glass lanterns of the open restaurant.

Then came the downpour which made standing in the balconies impossible.

Strangely, life in the city went on as usual. The locals were least bothered, the Bangladeshis were curious. Leaving only western tourists to show signs of anxiety.

After half-an-hour, almost everyone forgot what had happened. In fact, those who slept through the storm never noticed a thing in the morning.

The local organisers must have been pleased too that the opening match of the regional tournament started on time.

SCORER OUT!

Maybe Sri Lanka's cricket history is much older than Bangladesh's. But its logistical support has not improved over the years.

Lack of facilities apart at the SSC press box, the veteran scorer is no match for even a Bangladeshi scorer who assists reporters to obtain details of a match.

It was so poor that when one queried about a dismissal, his answer was, "caught wicketkeeper, bowled...umm!"