Taprobane, Serendib, Ceilao, Zeilan, Ceylon, Sri Lanka – no matter what the era, what the name, the island has always attracted the discerning traveller and often evoked comparisons with Paradise. It's not difficult to see why. Marco Polo's remark "the finest Island of its size" is important in this respect, for is a veritable microcosm. Indeed most famous foreign resident, Sir Arthur C. Clarke, once wrote: "The island is a small universe; it contains as many variations of culture, scenery and climate as some countries a dozen times its size."