We left Singapore on a red-eye half way across the Indian Ocean, and landed early in the morning in the capital city of Sri Lanka. The main destination for this trip is the island of Ceylon, where we hope to mix some jungle and beach time, see some ancient temples, eat some fresh curries and dip our toes into the Indian subcontinent in the gentlest way possible.
Colombo Transportation Demand Management is nothing like Singapore:
CcWe are staying in a nice guest house on a surprisingly quiet back street a few blocks from the University, which puts us about 3-4km from downtown. Arriving early in the day, We enjoyed a short walk around the neighbourhood and stumbled upon an expansive park where the monument to Sri Lanka independence is located.
It is attached to a retail mall of sorts, converted from an old "insane asylum", where we enjoyed our first dark, strong, Ceylon tea with lunch as the day heated up and humidity climbed.
Turns out the are we are staying in also hosts the University of Colombo, a fair smattering of Government Offices, and the home of various sporting institutions. Cricket, hockey (of the non-ice variety) and rugby were all around us.
After getting the feel of our neighbourhood, we caught a Tuktuk into town to visit the old Fort area and to enjoy a walk on the beach at sunset. Which all sounds idyllic, until you remember we are in Sri Lanka, which is crazy. And I don't even know where to start.
There is a large waterfront park called Galle Face, and everyone is here to enjoy the sunset. There are many signs warning against entering the water (the dangers were strangely both vague and specific), but many kids and parents were enjoying playing in the sandy surf below the sea wall.
There was an aging pier extending out into sea, from which one could enjoy creating nightmares for marine engineers worldwide.
There was a large steel Christmas tree being installed in the park. This was the 20th of September, and it was reportedly meant to be in place before the 23rd, although progress appeared slow (our host expressing some skepticism regarding its completion before the 25th). The construction of the two 50-story towers right next door seemed a little less frantic.
The sunset was beautiful, the food hawkers were working hard, crowds of young families and scene-minding teens were milling about. There was the usual music, kids games, lots of kites being flown, the traffic was loud and chaotic, the sounds, the smells, and the sights were constantly shifting. There were a few things that would make sense later, but for now, we just found a place to sip a Lion Lager and let the culture shock sink in.
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