Lankan hotel offers election night package with arrack and ‘bites’
View(s):While most Sri Lankans on Wednesday were tense in Colombo but waited patiently ahead of Thursday’s do-or-die presidential poll, there were some enterprising entrepreneurs coming up with interesting food, drink and stay options for election night.The poll appeared too close to call between the two main candidates – Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena – until a winner was announced on Friday, and many people had prepared for a relaxed but somewhat uneasy Thursday night.
In the process there were enterprising hotels and entrepreneurs who were cashing on possibly a long day on Thursday and an extended stay at home or in a hotel if a post-poll curfew was being imposed. Eventually no curfew was imposed with Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe and President-elect Sirisena urging people to stay calm and not break the law. The Global Towers Hotel at Wellawatte on Wednesday took an advertisement in a local newspaper offering an election night package for an apartment with a complementary bottle of arrack, two chasers and one ‘bite’ plate.
On Facebook, innovative caterers were offering ‘plates of bite’ for residents staying up all night for the election results.