In Sri Lanka, a faraway tropical paradise, the mighty land monitor lizard emerges from the jungle into gardens, while monkeys leap from roof to roof overhead, visible only by their shadows on the ground. By a sonata of birdsong I am awoken. I walk outside, and am greeted by palm leaves criss-crossing the sky. My vision blurred by the dappled, multicoloured light, I fix each detail onto the golden pages of my memory.