COLOMBO – ARRIVING IN SRI LANKA

ARRIVING IN SRI LANKA

After leaving Cambodia I took a flight to Colombo, via Sri Lanka, arriving in the evening.

Holly was coming to join me and would arrive a few hours later, so I checked in to a small hotel very close to the airport, before moving on the next morning to a hotel closer to the centre of town.

My first impressions of Sri Lanka were that:

• the prices seemed to be comparable to much of Southeast Asia
• the locals tended to speak very good English and were, in the most part, very friendly towards Westerners
• the British influence was obvious, with many streets with English names

• there were pavements you could actually walk on. Something you take for granted back home, but something I’d grown to live without on much of my travels so far
• the town seemed clean, modern and very accessible for tourists
• there were universities and colleges which were associated with universities back in the UK

• the tuk tuks here were another level from those I’d experienced in Southeast Asia. They had 2-stroke engines and were like being driven around in go-karts. It was like something from Wacky Races

EXPLORING COLOMBO

We spent 3 nights in Colombo in total and couldn’t really scratch the surface of the town. It’s a massive city. We enjoyed our time here though.

Wandering the streets, we found a train line that runs parallel to the coast, that, unbeknownst to us, we would be heading along in a couple of days.

The views across the sea were great and we enjoyed a couple of sunsets looking out across the waters here.

One day, while walking up alongside the train tracks, we bumped into this guy, with wispy, flyaway hair:

His name is Hatef Mokhtar and as well as being the editor for the Oslo Times, he’s also a published author. He was brought up in a refugee camp in Pakistan and paused to tell us about his book, which was inspired by his experiences  – The Red Wrath: A Journey Between Two Destinies. It’s got pretty good reviews on Amazon, but I haven’t had a chance to give it a read. If you’re interested, pick up a copy via the link!

Further up, along the tracks, is a place named Galle Face Green. There was a busy market area here with many places to eat, drink and watch the sun set over the sea.

COLOMBO NIGHTS

On one of the nights here, we went to a bar, named ‘In..On the Green’, a decent boozer, where there was some live music and a really good vibe. We got pretty smashed and I got up and played a song while I was in an inebriated state. There’s no photo of me playing, but here’s a couple of shots from the venue.

The following night was actually my birthday and what better way to celebrate than go to a good old sports bar to watch the football, followed by a visit to the Bally Casino, where I won £350 on Black Jack. Happy birthday to me!

THAT’S ALL FOR COLOMBO – MOVING ONTO GALLE

There isn’t really much else to mention from Colombo. We had a good few days here, but it was really just a stop off for us, before experiencing the rest of Sri Lanka.

After 3 nights here, we were heading down to Galle and I was excited about the train ride along the coast.

My excitement was reduced to frustration though as the train was the most packed transport I’ve ever experienced.

We were crushed in between two carriages, in intense heat, with no view other than that of other passenger’s heads.

A hellish 2 hours, but once we arrived in Galle there was an epic sense of relief.

Read on for Galle!