By Richelle
Saturday 5th of August 2017
The local bus dropped us off right in the middle of the capital’s Pettah markets - perhaps no better way to be thrown back into a city setting. It was crowded, loud and overflowing with plastic toys, cheap shoes, artfully displayed fruits and electronic gadgets. A tuk tuk drove us west towards the sea line, before swinging back towards Kollupitiya and district 3, our home for the next 2 days. Colombo feels like a city under construction. It's quite clean, has large spacious streets, it's dotted with beautiful colonial buildings and the skyline is littered with cranes and half built skyscrapers. A brand new suburb was in fact underway in the heart of town next to the fort - flashy signs promising modern living at its best.
Daniel was feeling a little drained and we were both needing some space, so I decided to head over to the National Museum for the afternoon. The museum is a beautiful, big, white mansion full of treasures from the 3 ancient capitals of Sri Lanka; Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Kandy. Bronze Bodhisattva sandals, dancing Shiva's, a 17th century Royal throne and the beautiful remains of post-classical murals from a thousand years ago fill the halls. School kids also fill the halls, 2 by 2. I also discovered the most amazing decorated conch shell, that I wish I could have stolen for Daniel. For dinner we ventured about 2 metres from our hostel door, a busy street vendor was selling delicious vege balls and fresh chapati, smothered in red onion and chilli sauce - all for the grand total of $1.
The following day we ventured out on foot, following the Galle Face Green, a small strip of parkland along the unswimmable shore. It was originally cleared by the Dutch to give the cannons of the fort a clear line of fire, but today it is lined with street vendors and kite fliers instead. The day was spent figuring out our transport options to Kandy - all trains were sold out for the next few days, a less atmospheric bus would have to suffice - and roaming around the fort area. There is a small collection of English colonial buildings and a 17th century Dutch hospital here that we spent some time admiring, before finding a traditional English/Scottish style pub for coffee. We also had a look at the floating markets, which were a little underwhelming, being somewhat abandoned and surrounded by stagnant water. For lunch we ate locally at a place with only Sinhalese menus but friendly staff who served us a huge and colourful lunch of vegetables, dhal and rice. We finished our day tour of Colombo with a visit to the Gangaramaya temple, which was the strangest temple we have visited yet. It's walls are covered in an extraordinarily eclectic array of bejewelled and gilded gifts presented by well wishers over the years. It felt much more like a garage sale than a holy place, but it was interesting nonetheless.
Our short and sweet visit came to an end and we decided to get an early night, falling asleep to the last episode of season 2, Twin Peaks. Tomorrow, the real adventure begins, as we head into the heart of the country for the biggest festival of the year - the Esala Perahera.