Geoffrey Bawa is without a doubt the most renowned, influential and celebrated architect in Sri Lanka, and whilst I was in Sri Lanka, I learnt exactly why. Bawa was born in 1919 and spent his childhood in Sri Lanka, before moving to England for college, followed by many years of travelling and working around the world. It wasn't until 1948 that he returned to Sri Lanka, and it was then that he bought an abandoned rubber estate at Lunuganga which would later became his country home, and, arguably, the birthplace of "tropical modernism".

Now a boutique hotel, Bawa's country house at Lunuganga is made up of various small buildings scattered across the grounds, almost like little farmhouses, surrounded by exquisite gardens. In perfect harmony with its natural surroundings, each room is opened out to maximise and invite in light and air. Peaceful, tranquil, organic are all words that spring to mind whilst wandering the grounds of the property. It was somewhat of a spiritual experience, even, to witness such perfect unity between man and nature, and the incredible simplistic and natural approach Bawa took in his work.