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Tuesday, April 02, 2024

Sri Lanka: Negombo

Colombo Airport (CMB) is in Negombo. Our tour of Sri Lanka is ending. Back in Vietnam, the notorious (we have since learnt) budget airline Indigo, canceled our Colombo to Hyderabad flight. We took that as a cue to reevaluate our itinerary. We cut out India and Pakistan. Since the cheapest flights from Colombo to Central Asia are via UAE, we got ourselves on a Colombo to Dubai flight. Stay tuned.

We chose to stay in Negombo village. There are beach resorts to the north. The airport is 10 kilometers away. We were surprised to find the Sunday market still bustling at 5pm, right on the waterfront by the sea. Our experience from the last few towns had been, people relaxed on the weekends. There were a few cricket games on the maidon.

Note to fellow travellers: we had a hard time getting a car at 7:00am from our hotel to the airport using Uber or PickMe. We ended up hailing a tuk-tuk the old fashioned way. Maybe we should have planned on a tut-tuk in the first place.

The bus from Jaffna to Colombo first headed south to Vavuniya, then west to the coastal town of Pittulam, then south to Negombo. Second below is the spiffy Puttalam Chief Post OFfice, and 3rd below, the Puttalam beach with plastic chairs and tables, ready for customers.
On the Bus from Jaffna to Negombo, Sri Lanka

Chief Post Office - Puttalam - On the Bus from Jaffna to Negombo, Sri Lanka

Puttalam Beach - On the Bus from Jaffna to Negombo, Sri Lanka

From our hotel room we could see St Mary's Churtch (1st below), and a snippet of the famous Hamilton Canal (2nd below). Later we walked by a beautiful section of the canal (3rd below).
St Mary's Church - Negombo, Sri Lanka

Hamilton Canal - Negombo, Sri Lanka Hamilton Canal and Mosque - Negombo, Sri Lanka

We were surprised to find the Sunday Market closing down but still vibrant, especillay the stretch along the sea. First below is a 35-second video. Link here if the embedded version does not play.
Sunday Market - Negombo, Sri Lanka

Sunday Market - Negombo, Sri Lanka

Sunday Market - Negombo, Sri Lanka

Cricket on the Maidan.
Of Course Its Cricket - Negombo, Sri Lanka

The fishing fleet was "in harbour" making for some good sunset photo ops.
Fishing Fleet - Negombo, Sri Lanka

Fishing Fleet - Negombo, Sri Lanka

FYI, the digital clock tower was out-of-order.
Clock Tower - Negombo, Sri Lanka

For dinner, SL ordered rice with curries, and John, noodles with curries. Yummy.
Veg Resto - Negombo, Sri Lanka

Here are some night pics I shot on the walk home from the resto.
Busology - Negombo, Sri Lanka

Gas Station - Negombo, Sri Lanka

Negombo, Sri Lanka

Not to mention the Green Diner, and St Mary's Church.
Green Diner - Negombo, Sri Lanka

St Mary's Church - Negombo, Sri Lanka

And a few more shots from the Jaffna-Negombo bus window. First below is a brick factory from a stretch of road where there were more than several brick factories.
Brick Factory - On the Bus from Jaffna to Negombo, Sri Lanka

On the Bus from Jaffna to Negombo, Sri Lanka

On the Bus from Jaffna to Negombo, Sri Lanka

On the Bus from Jaffna to Negombo, Sri Lanka

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