Hey, back in Colombo for the first time in 2 years – and they are actually going to let us off the ship today! Woo hoo. Little bit different than our COVID cruise where we only had a technical stop for resupply and had to watch from the balcony or pool deck without disembarking. We’re ready!
Today we are 2nd off the ship, but we’ll take that, and there is a port gate shuttle this time. As we are leaving Ryszard asks if we are walking – to which we reply, “can we?” He says this is his stress – ok, so now we are the stressing him out passengers! Ha! Onto the pier we go and there is a shuttle waiting right there for us. Lovely. The first shuttle is at 8:30, and even though we aren’t meeting Kuma until 9:00, we figure it is better to be early rather than late – and we don’t know when the next shuttle will be. As it turns out, this shuttle leaves way before 8:30, which puts at the gate about 8:35. We text Kuma who tells us he is on our way and then just hang out watching all the other folks on our bus look for their drivers. Some find them right away. One couple across from us was on the phone with their driver in the bus trying to explain gate 1A, but their Australian accent was so thick it kept coming out as 1 Aye. Hard to phonetically do it, but if I didn’t know what he was talking about, I’d never have gotten it either. Their guide took a bit, but finally showed up and after a while, we were the only 2 left standing.
It was still early and we had tons of entertainment in terms of the next batch of cruise passengers coming off the shuttle looking like they knew exactly what they were doing, only to walk out of the port going in the wrong direction and having some guy run after them to turn them around to the waiting tuk tuk line. Seriously funny.
Kuma arrives a little late – no worries for us – we’ve literally got all day – and we great him fondly as he walks from the tuk tuk that he sent us a picture of on WhatsApp. The funniest thing though is the WhatsApp picture looks nothing like him. As a matter of fact, as all these guys were coming to work at the port and walking toward us, we would look as say, is that Kuma? Then look at the picture and say nah – he’s got a goatee and a little soul patch and long hair. OMG – he does not! Clean shaven, close cropped hair – the first thing I say after greeting him is what’s with this picture??? It was taken during pandemic and he’s obviously totally changed his look. If he didn’t call us by name – we’d probably have thought it was a scam!
But it isn’t and we three squeeze into the back of his best friend’s tuk tuk and are off on our city and food tour. Since we are combining food and colonial city tours, Kuma is setting the agenda and interspersing eating and sightseeing, which is perfect for us. Our first stop is Independence Square memorializing Sri Lanka’s independence from the British in 1948. Kuma gives us a wonderful commentary and history on the entire colonization, the split – which was done without a war, just 6 months after India – and how this Square and Memorial Hall was built on the exact spot where the formal ceremony marking self-rule took place.
Right behind the square is the old British Mental hospital, a gorgeous colonial style palace looking place that was only for British soldiers and rich colonists. Yeah, well, it was the colonial days – those folks weren’t all that charitable! Now? Converted into a high dollar mall with all the pricey name brands you can imagine. What a waste. This is an incredibly gorgeous colonial building with many of the original finishes and flooring still in place. It is 2 stories with soaring wood ceilings in the stairways, gorgeous chandeliers and beautiful wooden doors. Such a shame to be wasted on a mall! But Kuma says that is what many places have done with old historical buildings. On one hand, it saves the building, on the other, isn’t there a better use? Who knows the answer to that question.
Continuing on our little city journey, we head off for Victoria Park, now called Viharamahadevi Park), the oldest and largest park in the area. The Town hall is right across the street, modeled after the US Capitol building, complete with a dome on top (but no rioters….sorry, couldn’t resist….) and the National museum around the corner. Here sits a huge golden Buddha statue at the head of a lovely landscaped and paved walk through the beautifully manicured park. Kuma leads us through the park, pointing out all sorts of different trees and shrubs. He leads us to a huge Banyan tree that has actually grown over a water well, completely covering it. Those things are amazing – and as Kuma points out – like weeds. We move on to a plant called the Mimosa plant, which has thorns and is definitely a weed, but it is one of those cool plants that when you touch it, the leaves close in on itself for protection. Of course we had to try it – it is really kind of fun. Cruel maybe? It’s a plant? Don’t know, but fun nonetheless (in the photo I’ve circled the open leaves in blue and the ones we touched, all closed up, in black). Kuma points out the temple flower, which has a little stupa like point on the inside of the flower ball. He dissects one for us to see – but no way it would come out in a photo. Better to just look a these gorgeous things hanging from vines in clumps. Ooh, and then it is on to the bats. Huge freaking bats hanging in this one tree. Some of them are stretching their wings and hanging there unfurled, which is the first we’ve ever seen like that. They are amazing things. Making a little noise now, but Kuma says around 5 or 5:30 when they come fully awake, it is really noisy here.
We cross the street out of the park, walking along the broad avenue next to the museum where artists have hung their paintings. This area is sanctioned by the government for artists who don’t have showrooms or galleries to hang their paintings and sell their art to tourists and locals alike. There are a lot of students who do this to help with their school costs, as well as older adults who are trying to make a living. The pieces are all really good, in lots of varying styles, shapes and sizes. There is one particular series we would love to take home, but we quickly calculate the number of flights we have ahead of us, and just as quickly dismiss the thought. Not a chance, no matter how stunning or how much it might cost!
It is about 11am now, and time for a snack. Kuma takes us to what he calls a fruit “experience” at a local fruit market. Everything is so gorgeous here – fresh and pretty and vibrant. We try tons of things – jackfruit! Yay! Of course! And mangosteens. So sweet and juicy. Oh my. We’ve not had mangosteens for years – and it has been too long. Next are the juiciest tastiest mangoes. So good, the vendor gives us 2 – and as much as I want to eat them all – there is still more to try. We have a velvet apple – which is good, but really hard to eat, and really hard to explain. A guava – again good – but eh – not our favorite. Then there is something that tastes like a pear, but softer in consistency and maybe a little sweeter (and I can’t remember what that was). The fruit stand owner just keeps bringing stuff over and whacking it apart with this huge freaking knife. So wild. And of course we have bananas – 3 different kinds ranging from very sweet to sour. All so great – a total fruit feast! But we finally have to call uncle. We’ll never eat anything else if we keep going!
As Kuma pays, he gets into a semi-heated discussion with the vendor, and he tells us as we walk out that the vendor was trying to charge him extra because he saw we were tourists. Kuma told him that he was paying, not us, and not to jack up the prices. As with everywhere, a tourist walks in and the price goes up. There are a lot of things like that here – and all over the world – but the scams here are legendary, similar to India. Tuk tuk drivers, people on the street asking to help you, etc., etc. In a way, this place is like a little India – you just get used to it and go with the flow.
We move on to the main Buddhist temple, the Gangaramaya Temple, where surprisingly enough our shorts and skorts are allowed without cover up. Good thing since I hadn’t planned on the sarong and elephant pants today, so they are nicely folded up in the cabin. At any rate, barefoot, we begin our explorations with Ganesha of all things. Kuma explains that the Sri Lanka culture incorporates the Hindi and Buddhist statuary together because they believe that Buddhism is a way of life, not a religion, so it doesn’t conflict. That makes sense. We move on into a huge hall that has multiple Buddhas, the tree of life and all sorts of figurines, more in the Hindi style, the bold bright colors and almost caricature style. An overload to the senses this room is! So many different figurines. So many different stories being told. Incredible in the detail and sheer size. And Kuma says there is room for more!
Moving further into the complex, we enter a courtyard that has a small temple with a huge marble Buddha cut from one single stone. The exterior incorporates a lot of Chinese figurines on the pillars and as it turns out was donated by a famous Chinese singer. That explains the pillars! Across the courtyard is this amazingly realistic life size elephant head! I’m floored thinking someone killed it and stuffed its head, but no. It is a sculpture – and an excellent one! The tusks are real – they were given as a gift from someone (we don’t ask how the donor came into possession of them!) – but that is it. Amazing from the detail to the coloring of the spots on the trunk and the ears!! We move onto the Bodhi tree, here with a protective two tiered platform built around it. The tree is sprawling and has branches growing out the sides, reaching up into and through the roofs of two other structures. Incredible how these trees grow like weeds, snaking everywhere!
Next, Kuma leads us into the museum cum warehouse that stores all the gifts given to the temple from people. There is a stunningly huge number of items that are stored, well, just about everywhere you can imagine in a series of rooms we walk through. Kuma keeps a running commentary going on all the gifts, pointing out different ones of interest – the scrimshaw (which makes us think of Richard B.!) and ivory carved boat, the tiniest Buddha only seen through a magnifying glass – and then giving us a little Sri Lanka country highlights guide – explaining posters in the collection that promote the elephant gathering place and the fort rock in the middle of the country. Maybe something to visit on our next trip? If we return on a land trip that is! He says you can do a one day trip from here but it would be literally all day – about 15 hours. Definitely not a cruise ship stop!
Moving on, we cross the street over to the manmade lake with the floatiog Gangarama Seema malakaya temple. This is the quiet place temple where Kuma says you can come for meditation. You can see why that is – even in the midst of the city hustle and bustle, it is peaceful and quiet and serene here. Very easy to envision meditating in the open air temple space, which is surprisingly cool from the breeze flowing through the decorative slats, or the areas around the exterior of the temple overlooking the water. There are various statues strewn about the grounds – Ganesha, Shiva, the Buddha- all with the lovely lake backdrop as well as the lights and floating lotus lights still in place from Sunday’s big holiday festival. This place must be amazing all lit up at night.
It is getting on toward lunch time, and Kuma decides to take us to a food court so we could try a bunch of food all at once and sit down to eat. Ok, well, not exactly street food, but we’re game! Better inside an a/c food court than walking around the hot and humid streets trying to eat. Off we go to the food court where Kuma provides a huge meal of Lamprais – essentially a huge portion of rice topped with curried chicken, wambatu moju (this to die for eggplant dish), an egg, ash plaintain (another really good side of fried plantains with onions and garlic – and chilis – of course chilis), dal sambal and meatballs (from the Dutch heritage) – all steamed in a banana leaf. Oh my! Excellent. And monstrously huge! He also plops down another plate of rice and assorted curries and sides, equally large, and equally delicious. But oh my God! We could never eat all this food, ever! We make a valiant attempt, but don’t even manage half of it. We wash it all down with fresh juices Kuma brings us – an almost milkshake consistency mango drink and an excellent nara orange juice which is so good – a cross between sweet and sour and just right to wash down the spicy meal we just tried to consume!
Hitting the grocery store on the way out – looking for coffee but ending up with more snacks and beer, which is cheaper here than in Singapore – we head back out into the heat for the Galle Face hotel – the first purpose built hotel here in Sri Lanka and the oldest hotel east of the Suez. It is an incredibly beautiful colonial structure, originally built as a Dutch villa meeting place for gentlemen of the colonial era until some British businessmen decided to use it to start a business. And voila! The Galle Face Hotel was born in 1864. It is a beautifully stately building, with flowing outside porches, a lovely restaurant facing the water and lots and lots of polished wood walkways and porticoes. Kuma leads us up to the “museum” area where a car purchased by Prince Philip of Greece (before he became the Duke of Edinburgh!) purchased for 12 pounds when he was assigned to serve here in 1940. 12 pounds! That’s crazy.
We walked through the museum, looking at all the photos of the famous people who stayed here – you name them, they’ve stayed here! – then we went outside to walk along the oceanfront promenade and sit on one of the sunbeds to listen to Kuma recount the history Sri Lanka, the area and all the changes that have happened along the way. He is so knowledgeable about his country and city. We could sit and listen to him all day! Plus, sitting here is very pleasant what with the fresh breeze and the salt water blowing up on us from the crashing waves. Why move? But move we must – on down the Galle Face Green to our next snack – shrimp and crab cakes! Oh boy. And not your average shrimp and crab cakes either – the shrimp and crab are on top of the cake! Whole! We have never seen anything like these! We splurge and decide on one of the small shrimp cakes and one crab cake. How can we not? And these things are so so very good! We can eat the shrimp and crab in their entirety (although I find the crab claws a bit hard to manage). And they are so good – never in our lives would we expect to be able to eat a crab shell and all – and these are not soft shells, I may add! But both the shrimp and the crab are so crispy fried and perfectly done – and the cake they on is the same – rich and deep in flavor, and crispy fried. Yummy.
As we sit enjoying our cakes, we try to keep ourselves from laughing as Kuma keeps telling us how lucky we are to have such a nice day for the city tour. Nice? We are melting. It is so hot and humid, we’ve had 2 bottles of water each and still need more because it is pouring out of bodies in the form of sweat. He says that on a normal day, it is so hot with the sun that it is unbearable to be sitting here on a bench by the water eating our seafood cakes. Well, ok. He has a point. But oh my God. We can’t even imagine!
Back in the tuk tuk, we head back toward the port area and the original colonial area of Colombo. We pass by the original lighthouse, now surrounding by buildings in the city center. It became so congested here that they had to build a new lighthouse closer to the water for the ships to be able to see. We also visit the Rajasinghe Guard chamber which was used as the prison cell for the last king and queen of Sri Lanka. They were confined here after capture – for I can’t remember how long – before being taken to India by the British. We can not even imagine how 2 people could have lived (maybe existed is a better word) in this teeny tiny little structure for any amount of time. Scary.
We walk over to the Dutch Hospital which is now and upscale dining and shopping venue. Yeah, they turned all the old historical colonial buildings into high dollar retail facilities it seems. Here, Kuma wants to show us one particular restaurant – the Ministry of Crab – where they showcase the best of Sri Lankan seafood. He takes us in to see the fresh seafood display – which has the biggest prawns we’ve ever seen – but no crab at the moment. Apparently this isn’t the high season for crab because they even have a sign out front that says they have limited seating due to limited supply of crab. Oh well, it is more the idea than us eating here, because we are sure it is pricey (we looked later and it IS pricey!!!).
We are now moving on to the less touristy part of our tour, heading to where the locals shop at the produce market. All I can say is this is a sight. I can’t even describe the people, the produce, the constant din. The photos don’t do it justice – we just couldn’t get a good shot of the writhing masses inside this kilometer long shed. Produce on both sides of 2 aisles, thousands of people jostling for places. And the prices! I saw 1kg of red onions for 50 LKR which would be about 60 US cents. Craziness. But oh so fun. Just being immersed in all this was worth the walk – even if we couldn’t get the right pics!
From here we walked down streets lined with shops selling produce and just about everything else, over to the government bus station where we got an education in Sri Lankan transportation. The red buses are the government buses, and they are really run down and not well maintained whereas other color buses are independents and much better maintained, some even with A/C. They cost a little more, but are worth it in the long run. Not to say that people don’t use the government buses – they are packed when they come out of the station, but then again, the independent ones we see are pretty well full as well – so – who knows what to think? But in this heat? I’m going with anything that is air conditioned – hands down!
As we walk back to the tuk tuk, we pass the produce market on the street side, which is lined with hundreds of trucks waiting to load up purchases or disgorge more veggies, we’re not sure. But they are all so colorful – the way everyone decorates their trucks here is just something to behold. The more lively, colorful and ornate, obviously, the better!
Next we head over to the market or shopping area, stopping at the Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque, built in 1908 and the only one of its kind for its all white and red patterned façade. The side view alone is truly beautiful, and we want to see the inside as well, but sadly, when we walk around the corner to try to enter we can’t go inside because they have just closed it for prayer. It won’t be open for another hour and we need to be back at the port by then. Oh well. We sort of meander – well actually weave our way – back up the street through the tons and tons of people streaming along the roads and sidewalks jammed with goods from all the retailers, trying to figure out our next step when Kuma looks at a street vendor and gets this huge smile on his face, almost shouting “pickles!” Oh he is so proud of himself for stumbling on this! We had talked about the pickles – they are fruit (of all things) spiced and he says pickled. I say just sitting in oil and spices, but hey, it’s a Sri Lankan thing! We are already stuffed and are trying to decline, but he is so insistent! So we end up letting him buy us a huge container of an assortment of the pickles and taking it back to the ship with us. He’s also really sad that the tapioca shop he wanted to visit is closed, but the pickle guy tells him there is another right down the street. He tells us to wait where we are and he’s off – before we can protest again. And good thing we didn’t protest! When Kuma said tapioca, we both were thinking tapioca pudding or sweets, but no! He was talking about cassava chips – with spices. Oh man, these are the best. And so much better than regular potato chips. We gobbled down the whole bag in the back of the tuk tuk as we slowly make our way through the throngs of people and cars and tuk tuks and scooters choking the streets of the market area!
As Kuma is deciding where to go next – because he wants to take us everywhere – he is seriously so excited to show us everything, and new things, I guess because he knows we’ve been here and traveled a lot and he wants to show off his city – we ask about trains since we’ve talked about the buses and other transportation. Oh! The train station! So – off we go. He’s so funny! He directs his driver-buddy (as he has been the whole time, arguing with him and telling to go in different directions and say nehe, nehe, nehe to whatever driver-buddy wants to do) to the train station while giving us a dissertation on the trains. Again, government run, again not that well. Sounds like Amtrak and the US. But still fairly widely used, especially for commuting in and out of Colombo for work – and we are right at that going home from work time, so we get a show. First of all, we have to buy a ticket to get onto the platform – only 10 LKR which is .03 US cents! We almost lose Kuma while he is buying the ticket – we are standing across the entrance out of the way when hordes of people start rushing into the station and we have to fight our way through them to get across and stand next to Kuma as he finishes the buying process. Phew. That was a close one! There is obviously a train leaving soon.
Inside the platform we go up on the cross walk to get a good overview of the ancient trains. Kuma says many tourists ride them just because they are old and historic – but frankly – I’m not getting on one of those things. Not if they are crazy crowded packed like these here. I know it is work commuting but still. Just like in India, these things are packed full like sardine tins. With people running and literally jumping on at the last second as the train is already pulling out of the station. Crazy. And people hanging out the doors as the train is moving. Kuma tells us that is because it is so hot inside, at least hanging outside you get some air. Uh huh. Yeah. Not!
There are 1st and 2nd class carriages with seats and air conditioning, so maybe that might be ok. And if you are going inland, to say Kandy, or any of the mountainous areas, then it maybe the way to go. Possibly faster than a vehicle, depending upon traffic. But still. It makes for a really fun experience though, standing there watching the trains pull in, people running and jumping and hanging on as they move out again.
Our last stop is the Hindu temple up on a rise above the city. Here there is the old and the new temple, built side by side, the old temple in more subdued yellows, the new one in the now traditional bright caricature Hindu architecture style. We wander inside, snapping a few picture, until some guy who was inside comes up and tells Kuma it costs 500 LKR or something like that to take photos. It isn’t a lot of money in terms of dollars, a little over $1, but Kuma takes offenses to it because it is just some random caretaker trying to get money. It isn’t like at the Buddhist temple where he had to pay for tickets for us to enter and they use the money for the needy and the children who don’t have proper meals. Here he feels it is a scam, so we put our phones away and content ourselves with just wandering around. We’ve seen Hindu temples before, we don’t need more photos – it is actually just nice to walk around and inspect all the different figures of Gods and colors and statuary.
Because we are up on a ridge, there is a great view to the Lotus tower, the tallest self-supported structure in South Asia. It is actually a new sight in the Colombo skyline, only completed in 2019 and not even opened until 2022, due to the pandemic. Inside are viewing platforms and restaurants and conference rooms. Much prettier than the 2 Tokyo towers with it’s vibrant green “stem” and pretty purplish lotus flower on top. We get a great photo here, and then stop on the ridge road exit from the temple to take more. Then we actually drive all the way down to the base of the tower for shots close up. While quite pretty, Kuma says it is really expensive to go up there – and we aren’t that interested after all our Japanese tower experiences. Nothing can beat the Abeno Harukas tower in Osaka. Plus, it is time to get back to the ship and cool off before our Azamazing evening!
Kuma takes us back to the port entrance, where we say goodbye. We’ve had an excellent tour today – and it was wonderful just sort of wandering around. Since we combined 2 tours in one, we had a lot of different experiences we wouldn’t normally have had on the street food tour alone. We think the mall food court was definitely a time and place sort of addition that would have never happened on the street food tour – which was perfect for us. All in all, we’ve been really lucky with our tour guides and our tours.
Luckily there is a shuttle waiting as we enter the port, so we hop aboard in the a/c and happily wait until they take us back to the ship – which takes forever because while it might be rush hour for pedestrians, it is also rush hour in here for tractor trailers and loading containers! A total traffic jam! But that’s ok, because we have no intention of eating anything before we leave tonight – we are stuffed full. We just want to sit in the A/C, cool off, take a shower and freshen up before we leave at 7. Which is exactly what we do!
At 7 on the dot the buses begin to load up to take us to the show, which is being held at some sort of hotel/conference/event place right across from the Galle Face Green. Arriving at the venue we are greeted by a troupe of traditional drummers and welcomed into a monstrous tentlike facility by traditionally dressed attendants who give us lotus flower leis and a welcome drink. The place is immense with rows and rows of chairs toward the stage and canapes, food and beer and wine. We decide to check out the snack offerings, grabbing a 2-top cocktail table and then heading over to the canapes. We skip those actually and head to the food-food, which are nice little snacking items – lamb skewers, chicken wings, some sort of Okonomiyaki type pizza looking thing which was actually quite good. Nice little snack for us before the show. We grab a beer and wine, meet a lovely tour guide who decides he wants to talk to us all night! He’s actually a sweetie and has his own tour company focused on mindfulness and wellness and nature. Hey – right up our alley if we ever come back! And maybe a good lead for Natalie and Roger who were thinking of visiting. Business card in hand, we go search out seats, ending up in the back because, well, it is really filling up and we want an aisle seat.
Not that it matters, unless we were on the 2nd bus (1st bus was for suites) and sat right away, we’d never be close to the stage. Back here is actually good – we have breathing room because we are in a short row and the stage is so huge and raised enough you can see quite well. The show is excellent with a series of dances, costumes and music from each of the different regions in Sri Lanka. My favorite was the peacock dance where the dancers really did look and act like peacocks! And when they showed their plumage it was actually a piece of their costume that they flipped up. It was fabulous (you sort of had to be there to really get it, but pictures are here just in case!). Overall an excellent evening of entertainment! (Including watching the one alcoholic guy who originally sat down with 4 beers – yes 4 beers – and got up twice to go back and get more during the show!)
And bonus for our back row seats! We are on the first bus out! Yay. Back onboard, we hit the buffet for more snacks – there is jackfruit!!!! OMG! I take a bunch to save for tomorrow – then we just hang out on the back deck chatting with Mark and enjoying our end of the night beverages as we sail away out of Sri Lanka on our way to our last South Asia port – Cochin.
Andiamo 