Colombo
- January 16th, 2020
Colombo lies to the North of Tangalle and at a distance of around 175 Kms. We got to cross some beautiful stretches of blue seas and beaches before hitting the Southern Highway which connects these two places. It was an awesome road to drive on and we reached the outskirts of Colombo where our hotel was located by around 5 in the evening. We had booked ourselves at Hotel Loft and after completing the check-in formalities, we decided to go to the House of Fashions for some bit of shopping. Hired a local cab to cover the 3 km distance.
The day ended with some nice dinner at Kottu Labs located very close to our hotel in Nugegoda. A pizza type treatment given to the staple parathas with a choice of carb, protein and veggies.
It is also an amazing place to pick up hard bargains in the bustling and sprawling street markets of Pettah or Galle Face and many more starting from fragrant spices to colorful local art to silks and cotton stuff, the famed Ceylon tea etc.
Known to be a melting pot of cultures, races and religions, one would see a congregation of Temples, churches and mosques on the same street.
One was amazed to see a eclectic mix of swanky high rise offices, standing in co-existence with the red-tiled Colonial Era buildings.
A perfect city of contrasts, Colombo has a lot to offer in terms of lovely temples, memorials & museums, parks, beaches etc. The cosmopolitan city of Colombo is the gateway to this Pearl of the Indian Ocean, also known as Sri Lanka and earlier known as Ceylon.
We started off the last day of our stay at Sri Lanka with a visit to the Colombo City Centre Mall and had reserved the 2nd half of the day for some local sightseeing around Colombo.
Post a quick bite at the Colombo City Centre Mall, we started off our whirlwind tour of the few select places of tourist importance which we wanted to see. We went to The Independence Square Complex which also housed The Independence Memorial Museum and The Arcade then drove from there to the Viharamahadevi Park.
The Independence Square Complex
To commemorate the liberation of the island from the British rule, the Torrington Square or the Independence Square as how this place was formerly known as, was built in 1948. At the head of the monument is a statue dedicated to Sri Lanka’s Father of the Nation and the first prime Minister of the country, Rt. Hon Don Stephen Senanayake.
A huge sprawling lawn adds to the beauty of this place which also houses the Independence Memorial Museum, built to honour the valiant leaders who fought for Sri Lanka’s freedom. There are a number of stone busts of these leaders along with a display of arms and ammunition used in the freedom struggle.
A short walk away from this place leads to a refurbished Colonial Building The Arcade, a vast white and green expanse housing a few shops selling designer wear and artefacts. There are also a few snacking joints around.
A few pictures from the Independence Memorial Museum
The Viharamahadevi Park
A short drive from the Independence Suare took us to the Viharamahadevi Park formerly known as the Victoria Park and located opposite the Colonial Town Hall Building. This park used to be occupied by the British and Australian soldiers and post independence, got opened to the public in 1951 and said to have housed a cricket ground inside the park where 1st class cricket matches used to be played.
The Galle Sea Face Front
Next on the cards was a visit to the Galle Sea Face front. A 5 hectare strip of land between Galle Road and the Indian Ocean, this largest open air attraction gets pretty crowded during weekends. There are 2 large hotels which overlook the sea front – The Galle Face Hotel and The Ceylon Intercontinental Hotel.
The Gangaramaya Temple
After spending some time on the beach, we headed for the Gangaramaya Temple. This temple happens to be one of the most important temples in Colombo and is a perfect amalgam of modern architecture and cultural essence.
Located right in the heart of the city and in the Beira lake, this 19th century temple owes its history and existence to a trader and shipping merchant Don Bastian who was instrumental in building this temple which is an eclectic mix of Sri Lankan, Thai, Chinese and Indian Architecture. The complex has a Cetiya (Pagoda), a Vihara (Temple), a Bodhi Tree, an assembly hall for monks and a relic chamber.
This serves as a place for Buddhist worship and a learning centre and the temple trustees are involved in lot of welfare work. An entrance fee of $ 2 per head was levied at this temple complex.
Do click on these to see what caught our attention at The Gangaramaya temple
Having soaked in the sights of the city and done with some last round of shopping, we headed for dinner along with a family friend to Hotel Maharajah Palace, a lovely multi cuisine restaurant with some very nice decor. A sumptous North Indian dinner done, it was time to bid goodbye and head for the Colombo Airport for our return back to India.
Lovely memories of this nice island and am sure we would want to revisit but with plans of doing some other places additionally like Jaffna, Trincomalee, Anuradhapura, Yala and Galle which got missed out during this trip.
