Colombo, Sri Lanka aka Ceylon

Sri Lanka has a history similar to other southeast Asian countries having been colonized by the Portuguese, the Dutch and then the English. Unfortunately its post colonial period has been marked by more civil war and strife but recently it has become more stable and its economy is recovering.
Main industries are textiles, tea, gems and jewelry (it is the only source of a medium blue colored sapphire) and tourism.

We visited a popular Buddhist temple (80% of the population is Buddhist). Uncharacteristically it seemed a bit like a museum because it displayed many of the items it had been gifted. It also had a tree that represented the tree Buddha sat under. Apparently a banyan tree is supposed to be included in all Buddhist temples.Read more