Matt & Maria’s Trip to Sri Lanka 2018 - Part 2

Day 4 - 15th December 2018 - Pettah Market, Colombo

A great nights sleep results in us missing breakfast, so we grab an early curry lunch before heading of to the Pettah Market district.  We grab an Uber for 265 SrRps (about £1.30) for a 15 minute ride.  Enroute we drive past several hotel construction sites, JW Marriot, Hyatt, and ITC Hotels among them.  In short few years the landscape of Colombo will be very different.  

Uber drops us of in the Pettah Market district were we become immersed among the crowds and melt into the chaotic atmosphere.  Anything can be bought here, but we are drawn to the spices, peppers and other foodstuffs.  There still seems to be a fascination amongst the locals for fair skinned Europeans.  A small child is especially fascinated by Maria and reaches out to her, touching her shoulder to check whether she is real.

Having spent a couple of hours wandering the streets and spending 130 SrRps (Less than a £) on a coke and water we head past the Fort railway station and aim for the Hilton to grab an Uber back.  Just in front of the Hilton we get a chance to photo a passing train, but this does seem to attract the interest of a gentleman who informs us that there is an elephant 🐘 parade around the corner, that is starting now.  Somehow this seams all to convenient; around the corner and starting now!

In the Hilton, one Soy latte and a coke was 1,000 SrRps, 10 times our previous refreshment.  The hotel looks d and is in a good location.  

Our Uber drops us of near our hotel at a supermarket.  This supermarket is not a European supermarket, but a mixture of shops selling your staples, live chickens, previously live chickens and breads etc.  Of course on the way back to the hotel Maria must stop off at the mini mall next door.

In our room we make a discovery, but that is for a later date.  

Tonight we meet Mafaz Ishaq and his wife pick us up at the Movenpick and take us for a superb meal at the The Gallery Cafe Restaurant.  It was great to catch up with my old school buddy and meet his wife over a good old stake.

Day 5 - 16th December 2018 - Temples of Colombo

Morning by the roof top pool before grabbing the hotel car to take us on city drive.  First stop was the Gangaramaya Buddhist Temple where you will find a stuffed elephant amongst thousands of Buddhas, both big and small.  This is a working temple and museum, but parts of it resemble an antique fair.

At the lakeside temple I manage to try some of my photographic skills to great delight and to be honest good effect.  

Sri Kailasanatha Swamy Devasthanam Hindu Temple doesn’t open till 4:30 so we drive to independence square and catch a tug of war competition.  Pakistan men beat India in the quarter finals.  We drive to see the  National Museum and Town Hall, both impressive buildings.  Two further stops at Galle Face, the local beach and at the old Dutch museum meant that we were ready to see another Temple.

Sri Kailasanatha Swamy Devasthanam Hindu Temple (thank goodness for copy and paste) is a spectacular sight, full of colour and vibrancy.  As an added bonus we also came across a Hindu monkey 🐒.  For the good photographer this should be a delightful location.

Back at the hotel we grab a bite to eat, and have a cocktail on the roof top looking over the city an ocean.