Monday, March 25 – Wednesday, March 27
I was lucky enough to meet no less than 5 people at Wonderland who had been to Sri Lanka before, so I had lots of positive vibes about my trip here before I even landed. It was a seamless journey from Koh Phangan all the way to Colombo, so it felt destined to be a great experience from the start.
In my research, people had said to not spend much, if any, time in Colombo and just head on to the more popular beach and mountain regions of the country. But I figured since I’ve come all this way, the least I can do is give it one day, and I’m actually quite glad I did!
My hotel, Wonder Hotel Colombo, was new but kind of in that strangely-vacant and not quite running at full capacity sort of way. The customer service was very nice though and the room was large, modern, clean, and I had a lovely view of the Indian Ocean. I arrived late and was just happy to check in and fall into a really comfy bed, adorned with 4 pillows–all for me!
Tuesday morning I set out to get some cash, but the first ATM was not working. Luckily, the chef for my hotel noticed my debacle and offered to walk me to another ATM on the way to his bus stop heading home. He informed me there was a festival going on at a local temple where all the school children would be attending and told me I should check it out on my day’s adventures. He was kind to advise me I should get a tuk tuk and take that back to the hotel after getting my cash as it’s not always best for (tourist) women to be walking alone in Colombo. He went a step further and flagged me a tuk tuk and gave the driver instructions to the ATM and the festival at the temple. My day has plans and I didn’t even have to come up with them myself! It was great!
The tuk tuk driver was helpful and let me swing by the hotel to get my camera and we were off. The temple was really impressive and the school children were so adorable. I got lots of stares and waves as we went around looking at all the shrines, sculptures, ancient relics, royal jewelry, and even “hair of the Buddha” that are kept on site. It was a lot more than I expected and my driver was very kind to take me on the full tour, explaining everything along the way.
Hair of Buddha on that wee pillow
Sweet school children, beautiful teachers in their saris, and of course doggo
I was impressed by his temple tour so I negotiated a deal to do a couple hours touring all the highlights of the city. He was delighted at the prospect and looking back on how many things we hit, I think he was an aspiring tour director and amateur photographer!
We visited the monument to Sri Lanka’s first Prime Minister, Victoria Park, the “White House”, the (crazy) local market, he took me to the train station and helped me purchase my ticket to Galle for the following day, took me out to the new development sight on the waterfront which will transform Colombo into a “little Singapore” over the next 6 years. I saw the President’s house, the Sri Lankan History Museum, a gem shop (bought a hippie stone), a tea house, and the almost-complete Lotus Tower/casino hotel.
Temple game strong
Lotus Tower in the background. The lotus flower is the national flower and an iconic symbol of Sri Lanka that you can find everywhere throughout the country.
Local market chaos
It had been very hot in Thailand but I feel it’s almost more sweltering in Sri Lanka. I was so worn out from the heat and all the in-and-out of the tuk tuk that we called it a day after about a 3.5 hours excursion. I was ready for some rooftop pool action and since I had very low expectations for what I’d see in the city, the day felt so accomplished. I feel I got a wonderful experience and saw all there really is to see.
My opinion, it’s not the most beautiful or dynamic place but I enjoyed learning about the capital and the history of Sri Lanka. I would recommend doing a one day tuk tuk tour there if you are passing through and have the time.
My Colombo tour guide
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