Continued Social Media Restrictions in Lanka

It's not a big deal for many, but clearly the Sri Lankan government is keen to keep the lid on the current unrest in the Kandy area of the country by restricting access to social media sites. 

Facebook has been unavailable for three days - so has YouTube, till this morning, but now it's inaccessible again. There's no indication of how long this is going to happen - our guide complains that he gets almost no notice of when the night time curfew is being lifted or changed. Nothing he can do about that.

Tonight no one is allowed into the streets of Kandy after 10pm - tourists are, apparently, not subject to this but then there's absolutely no reason to go out because all the businesses, restaurants and cafes - would be closed. 

Armed police in the Kandy suburbs

Armed soldiers keeping a watchful eye on people movement in Kandy

Mounted police riding past the Queen's Hotel in Kandy

I'm told that tomorrow the 'emergency' will be relaxed even more than it was today. Every junction, mosque, church and temple has a couple of gun-toting soldiers on the corner standing guard. In fact some are from the army, some navy and some are police. 

It's not normal to see so many armed personnel on the streets in any town but at the same time, it's quietly reassuring...