Today began with a 2 mile jog along the beach and breakfast at our hotel. Then we grabbed a Tuk-tuk and headed out to explore on our own. We started off the day at St Anthony’s Shrine, a stop we could have skipped. Although it’s listed as a Top 10 thing to do in Colombo it really wasn’t too special. It was just a small unremarkable church. We felt as though we were missing something but there was no explanation or story to be found. From there we headed to The Red Mosque or The Candy Cane Mosque. It’s the only Red and White mosque in the world. The colors are based on the fruit the pomegranate that is mentioned in the Quran. We arrived just in time to enjoy a King coconut in the street before joining a quick tour of the mosque. This stop was well worth it. Unlike St Anthony’s Shrine, the mosque offered a free tour guide who was full of interesting facts and stories. The building itself was spectacular. To top off our religious day trip we headed over to a Buddhist Temple on a lake. It was pretty tranquil for being located in the heart of the city and worth a quick visit. From there we headed across the street to a small mall in search of AC and a snack. We found Nasi Goreng, an Indonesian dish we haven’t seen since our trip to Bali. By now the heat was getting to us so we took a break in our hotel room before heading out for dinner. We went to a place called the Dutch Hospital. It’s a complex of buildings that used to be a Dutch hospital but is now been converted to a shopping and dinning complex. We found an Indian restaurant and enjoyed some Tiki Masala and a Hookah before calling it a night. Even though Colombo doesn’t offer much in the way of tourist attractions it’s still a nice little city offering a good mix of history and modern life. It seems pretty safe and most people are very nice and welcoming. Lots of smiles. People have said that its culture is similar to its neighbor India but I don’t see it. The city is clean and a lot less noisy than India. Sri Lanka also has a much more diverse religious culture. The economy is recovering from it’s big collapse 2 years ago. The malls have a western influence with international brands as well as restaurants but everywhere else is traditional local foods and small shops. We realized at dinner that we have been here 3 days and still haven’t had a traditional Sri Lankan meal, just snacks, so tomorrow it’s our goal to eat only local dishes. The location of our hotel is perfect and so far we are really enjoying our time here. We have one more day in the city before heading out to enjoy the country side and we couldn’t be more excited.
Our last day began in the gym and then we spent a few hour making reservations and plans for the next few days. Once finished we took a walk to do a little shopping then found a McDonalds to continue my McDonalds World Tour. The menu here in Sri Lanka isn’t much different from back home but they did have the footlong spicy chicken sandwich with pickled onions and carrots (loved it) and a McRice and Curry Chicken bowl that was pretty good. They also have spicy bone in chicken wings that McDonalds really does right. We had planned to go to a street food market for dinner but as we left our hotel it began to downpour so we ended up just grabbing a bite close to home and then packing up and getting ready to begin our journey around the island in the morning.
It only took a few days but we finally figured out the scam that the locals pull on tourists and I figured I would mention it incase your heading this way and want to avoid it. You will be walking along the road and a well dressed business man “on his way to the office” walking along with you will start up a conversation. Then he will tell you about all the great things you should see while in Colombo adding a place you can’t miss while in town and sell you on why you should go asap. Then mysteriously a Tuk-tuk pulls up and he tells the driver something in their language while trying to get you to hop in. It all sounds so exciting and he makes it feel like you will be saving money or getting some special experience cause you were lucky enough to have run into him. After your in the Tuk-tuk you will be tricked and scammed into paying triple what an official tour with a company would have charged you. Beware!. We have realized that once they realize you are onto them they lay off quickly.
Other than that we have not had any problems with crime and most of the people are really friendly. English is spoken everywhere. Legit transportation is super cheap. Even hiring a private driver is very affordable. Food and accommodations are SE Asia cheap and unlike India the hotels are all up to western standards.
