Colombo: Around Town

While in Colombo, on festival days we walked around the neighborhood of Cinnamon Gardens near our hotel, with wide boulevards, colonial buildings, and shady parks. We even ran into the park that was sheltering the temple elephants. As with the procession, I am super excited by their magnificent presence, at the same time, I am keenly aware of me being a passive witness to the subjugation of free spirits.

On the last full day we went into the city center to check out Colombo Fort and Pettah. Since it happened to be a Sunday, 90+% of the businesses were closed in Pettah. It was rather easy navigating around. Judging by the number of businesses and hand carts used by ports, I could just imagine what a bustling commercial area it is, more like India than Sri Lanka, including the neighborhood religious institutions, Hindu and Muslim, not Buddhist.

Colombo Fort, on the other hand, had a forlorn look on this Sunday, loomed over the halted construction of the new Ritz Carlton. All the roads around the Presidential Palace were closed, making the place awkward to navigate. Less than two years ago, in July 2022 protesters stormed the presidential palace as economic conditions deteriorated following Sri Lanka's sovereign default in April 2022. It seems to me the strategy of the government is to have foreign tourists fund their budget shortfalls. When COVID came, tourists stopped coming, things began to unravel. Now tourists have returned, and they are back at it again. Right before we came, the visa fees were upped from $35 to $50, UNESCO site fees for foreigners from $25 to $30 each (Sigiriya $36), and national parks at similar rates. Even with their deflated exchange rate, Sri Lanka cannot be competitive with their exports. I do not see a happy ending for Sri Lanka, as I do with Vietnam.

An unexpected bonus of staying in a hotel near the Full Moon Festival was disembarking after a long train ride from Kandy at Kollupitiya Station (1st below), right on the Laccadive Sea, and maybe our fav train station disembark ever. And then later riding the train from Kollupitiya into Colombo Station (2nd, 3rd, and 4th below).








Not to mention the hotel (Cinnamon Red Colombo) pool on the 26th floor.


Walking around the Cinnamon Gardens neighborhood: Elephants, City Hall, National Theatre, Rugby Stadium, futuristic Planetarium, and the modernist Clock Inn building.














Our day trip to Colombo Fort was very disheartening as SL describes above, although I did my best to make it look good in the photos below. First is the Unfinished Ritz-Carlton.


Clock Tower and Mosque


Former National Mutual Insurance Building .


Whiteways Building


Cargills, which is not the same as Cargill, the American Company


And the adjoining Pettah neighborhood is also a bit worn down. We did however become familiar with the Mawatha Bus Station, finding the platform/terminal and confirming the fare for bus No 48 which we will take to Pollonnuarwa. Yes!






Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque




There are also Hindu Temples and Christian Churches (it's Lent btw) in Pettah.




We had a very relaxed, tasty lunch at Arunthathee Pure VVegetarian Restaurant.


Pettah is a market neighborhood. So loads of green carts. "Sky of blue, Sea of green" ...