Day in Colombo

Arrived in Colombo at 3:33:33 as we walked from the plane to immigration. I’d managed to forget to print toms visa certificate, so we joked how he wouldn’t be let in! Eventually we got through and found washing machines, fridges and freezers for sale in duty free. We could tell it was hot so we both changed into shorts and went through to the exit. Tom got himself a SIM card And we asked about a bus to the city but they o it started at 05:30. We took the conscious decision to just grab an Uber as it was only £5 to the door if Island Hostel in Colombo where we planned just to drop the bags whilst we explored as we were staying at the sister hostel that night in Mt Lavinia further south before picking the Tuktuk up tomorrow. Upon arrival at the Colombo hostel, we learned that the sister hostel was closed for refurbishment and had been for some time. We couldn’t believe it. After the flight and connection drama, now this!! Looks like we were staying In Colombo...but we had to wait for a manager to find out properly.

We left the hostel (still only 05:30) and went straight to the coast where the train line runs north the south. We crossed the tracks and sat on some big rocks thinking of the journey and that we we’re finally here. Before it got hot we decided to walk around the city. First to Galle Face, then to old Dutch Hospital, then the Red Mosque and floating markets where to our horror we saw men pissing on what looked like kitchen worktops for no apparent reason! It was getting hotter and hotter and our jump from winter to summer felt extreme! By 8am we were miles away and tried getting back on what seemed like the unending streets of Colombo. We eventually made it back via a Sri Lankan Waitrose which wanted to charge us £2 per apple, so we dumped them and left, but we were back at the hostel...still only 9am. We chilled out for a bit, they had a pool which was a life saver and we generally sorted out our bags trying to find everything a home. Finally by 12 our room was ready so we went for a quick nap as we were exhausted, 15 minutes turned into an hour...ooops, but we needed it. We asked the owner of the hostel where was good for Kottu, a classic dish here. She recommended a place and we went, probably not the best example but it was tasty and we’d definitely have it again. After this we headed to Gangaramaya Temple which had a huge collection of Buddhist offerings including a stuffed elephant and some hair in a jar. It has a sister temple, on a lake which was very pretty. Finally, for sunset, we went to Galle Face again which is the classic spot in Colombo. It was a great way to end our first day of travels. We walked back to the hostel for a well earned shower and bed. An early start would follow tomorrow to go and collect our Tuktuk.Read more