- April 19-20, 2025, Black Saturday to Easter Sunday.
- Although I already had a glimpse of Colombo on my first day in Sri Lanka, I saved the other half of my Colombo must-sees on my last day in the country. Colombo is often given less time by tourists in preference for the other cities in the country. But although I understand how many grander things there are across the island country, Colombo itself has much to be experienced.
- I first visited the Gangaramaya Temple, which is one of Colombo's most respected and eccentric Buddhist temples. Built in the mid-1800s, by the Beira Lake, it was eventually made bigger to accommodate more devotees. The temple is striking because it mixes cultural expressions from other Buddhist countries like Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, and Thai cultures. The temple also has a museum of Buddhist artifacts, albeit unorganized with most not being labeled, provided a diversity of Buddhist religious items from all over the world.
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| Gangaramaya Temple. |
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| Main hall. |
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| Golden Buddha. |
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| Emerald Buddha at the museum. |
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| Stupa with Chinese statues. |
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| This majestic and colorful hall was a pleasant surprise! |
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| Embossed brass showing Hindu deities. Again, Buddhist temple in Sri Lanka often carry Hindu deities as well, and vice versa. |
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| Peacock door ornament. |
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| Bodhi tree. |
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| Behind the main hall, this reminds one of Indonesia's Borobudur Temple. |
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| Another look at the museum (which feels more like some rich person's house with lots of antiques.) |
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| Siddhartha Gautama's life carved outside the temple. |
- A few feet away, at the banks of the Beira Lake, is the Seema Malaka of Gangaramaya Temple. This was made to be a relaxation and meditation area, surrounded by Buddha statues and stupas. I was there before 8AM, which I think was the official opening time, but I was allowed inside anyway by the caretaker. I see the appeal of this meditation area, but because visitors had to walk barefoot, there were areas which were too hot for me to walk on because of the sun.
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| Seema Malaka. |
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| As much as I loved the place, the stone floor was really hot! |
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| Buddha statues. |
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| Chinese Buddhist statue. |
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| There was a nice stupa there. |
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| Inside the main meditation/prayer hall. |
- From there I rode a tuktuk to the Independence Memorial Hall which was located further south in an affluent neighborhood called Cinnamon Gardens. Built in 1949 after Sri Lankan independence from the British, it was finished in 1953 and serves as a reminder of where the ceremony was held formally giving full sovereignty to Sri Lanka. The hall also houses a museum built in 2008 (a really hot one....which may need more ventilation huhu) showing paraphernalia related to the fight for independence.
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| The Independence Hall, which was made to resemble the audience reception hall at the Tooth Relic Temple in Kandy. |
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| Between pillars. |
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| About to fly. |
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| The pillars have many distinct carvings on them just like the many historical temples and reception halls I have seen in Kandy. |
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| Museum. |
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| Paraphernalia from the early 1900s. |
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| The statue of Don Stephen Senanayake, the first prime minister of post-independence Sri Lanka. |
- Not far away was the Colombo National Museum. It was established in 1877 and is the largest museum in Sri Lanka. Its endless halls give a glimpse of Sri Lanka's rich history. Apart from the endless statues of Hindu and Buddhist deities and beings, there were also artifacts from the Kandyan royal era, as well as recreations of the cave paintings in Sigiriya that visitors were not allowed to photograph. At least people can take photos of the recreations in the museum.
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Colombo National Museum.
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| Staircase. Notice the flag of Sri Lanka. |
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| Golden Tara statue. |
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| Avalokiteshvara. |
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| A Shiva statue that was probably three feet tall. |
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| One of the halls. |
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| Kandyan throne. |
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| Hindu and Buddhist rock sculptures. |
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| This was one of the paintings I saw in the cave in Sigiriya. I'm glad I can take a photo of the replica at the museum. |
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| Kandyan costume for men. |
- Behind the National Museum is the Natural History Museum. A combination ticket for entry to the two museums can be purchased by the way. The museum was established in 1986 and showcases the natural diversity of Sri Lanka from past to present. What was most impressive to me were the bones of large animals.
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| Inside the Natural History Museum. |
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| This was one large grouper!! |
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| Leatherback turtle. |
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| Elephant skeleton. |
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| Whale, and an elephant at the back. |
- I spent a good while looking for more souvenirs before I decided to visit the Dutch Hospital Shopping Precinct, built in the 1600s. In the recent decades it became a police station, before being converted to the shopping and dining venue that is currently is in 2011. The reason why I chose this place, apart from its historical importance and because it was just a short walk from my hostel, was because I wanted to try some Sri Lankan dishes but the original restaurants that I wanted ran out of the dishes I wanted to try. Fortunately, I found Ceylon Curry Club online and goodness, it was the perfect last minute find. First, its ambience was classy, second, it had many typical Sri Lankan dishes that I feel tourists would like/need to try, third the price was honestly affordable (I was prepared - or dreading - to pay a premium amount, but the cost was like any regular casual restaurant). Fourth, the serving size was more than satisfactory, and finally, the air conditioning was on full blast - perfect for the heat! By the way, I was looking for egg hoppers and lamprais. This restaurant, literally, delivered!!!!
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| Passed by Lakmedura for some more souvenirs. |
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| Colombo Fort Old Clock Tower. |
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Central Point Building from 1911, currently houses the Economic History Museum of Sri Lanka, which I wasn't able to visit as it was a holiday.
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| The first squirrel I've seen in Sri Lanka. |
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| Finally some lamprais!! Lamprais, or "lump rice", was introduced in the 1700s by the Dutch Burghers (mixed blooded Dutch with Portuguese and local Sri Lankan). It is a dish made with sticky rice, some kind of meat (usually chicken and beef or pork), vegetables, sambol, fish sauce, meatball, a fried boiled egg, all wrapped and cooked in banana leaves. |
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| This chef is making my hoppers. Hoppers are thin fermented pancakes made of rice flour and coconut milk. People often look for egg hoppers as it is a traditional no-fuss Sri Lankan breakfast food, but it was, apparently, very difficult to find egg hoppers I don't know why (believe me, I tried since the day I arrived.) This restaurant serves five kinds of hoppers!! -- They have egg, chicken, vegetable, plain, and sweet hoppers!! Nothing can be better than this!! |
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| My hoppers (or "appa"" in Sinhala), accompanied by daal (lentils), sambal, and achar (pickled vegetables) (see lower left), then my lamprais pot on the top right of the photo. |
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| Restaurant interior. |
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| My culinary hero. |
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| Dutch Hospital Shopping Precinct. |
- After lunch I spent time resting in my hotel and freshening up before hailing a car to drive me to the airport. The airport by the way had so many souvenir stores that were quite reasonably priced (but definitely more expensive than normal stores int he city or the market). I did appreciate the variety of souvenirs though.
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| Sums up my Sri Lanka trip! (See what's written on the tuktuk!!) |
- I am happy that I finally made Sri Lanka happen, after years and years of wondering about the country. Although it had its own way of being busy and chaotic, something quite common in South Asia, it was still more relaxed than my experiences in other countries in the region like India or Nepal. I was happy that things appear more stable these days, especially being aware of the country's political conflicts and environmental calamities. I actually have a list of other cities that I wanted to include in this trip but didn't have time (like Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Galle, and Jaffna). Who knows, maybe I'll consider coming back to this up and coming travel destination in Asia? But for now, I'm elated that I got to see majority of the must-sees I had yearned to visit!
** Check out my other Sri Lanka adventures here!
Part 1: Colombo Fort, Pettah Market, Lotus Tower, Galle Face Green - here
Part 2: Kandy, Ambulawawa Tower, Three Temple Loop - here
Part 3: Kandy, Sacred Tooth Relic, Central Market, Sri Maha Bodhi Viharaya, Kandy Lake Club - here
Part 4: Sigiriya and Dambulla Cave Temple - here
Part 5: Nuwara Eliya, Nanu Oya, Ella - here
Part 6: Kandy, Bogambara Prison Park and Train to Colombo - here
