Colombo, Sri Lanka March 15, 2017
Larry and I enjoyed the three day journey from Malaysia through
the Indian Ocean to the island at the southern tip of India, Sri Lanka. Our first time traveling the Indian Ocean, we
found it to be smooth sailing in its dark blue waters.
One evening while having dinner, we spotted lightening striking the water off the stern of the ship and magically a full moon appeared mystically from behind some, gorgeous smoky looking clouds….What a sight…..we had never spotted anything like it in our travels.
One evening while having dinner, we spotted lightening striking the water off the stern of the ship and magically a full moon appeared mystically from behind some, gorgeous smoky looking clouds….What a sight…..we had never spotted anything like it in our travels.
Up bright and early Wednesday morning to catch the sun rise,
Larry and I found Colombo to be a huge industrial port.
It had rained the night before leaving the top of the ship with puddles of water to walk through, while I tried to capture the sunrise between the massive cranes that surrounded our ship. To the east of the ship we could see large sand masses being pushed around by big earth moving machines, evidence of land reclamation. In this part of the world we have seen land being added to the shoreline in Singapore and Hong Kong. I find it to be an incredible mastery of engineering to be able to add land to the existing property and build sky scrapers on it.
It had rained the night before leaving the top of the ship with puddles of water to walk through, while I tried to capture the sunrise between the massive cranes that surrounded our ship. To the east of the ship we could see large sand masses being pushed around by big earth moving machines, evidence of land reclamation. In this part of the world we have seen land being added to the shoreline in Singapore and Hong Kong. I find it to be an incredible mastery of engineering to be able to add land to the existing property and build sky scrapers on it.
We had decided to try to explore this city on our own since
we were at a dock that we could walk off of the ship easily. Trying to beat the heat, we left the ship at
8:00am way before the excursion busses had left the dock. We walked among
numerous taxi cab drivers who hustled to gain our business by providing tours
of the city for a hundred or more bucks. Passing their offer up was easy, because
we had decided to try to get a tuk-tuk driver or walk for our daily morning
exercise.
Sri Lanka was once the home to dozens of ancient kingdoms
and then colonized by the Portuguese, Dutch, and British. Today it is a
smorgasbord of religions and cultures all living together.
On our walk out of the port we met Amue, a thirty year old
tuk- tuk driver who promised to give us a two tour of Colombo.
First
he took us to an unbelievable red and white brick façade called the Red Mosque,
1909, where we quickly took off our shoes to enter.
We observed many Muslem men scrubbing their feet clean in a fountain
of water and making their way into their own
‘male’ prayer room off to the side. Women were in another part of the
building. They do not pray together.
Modern Skyscrapers popped up among the old buildings
Amue next took us to some of the oldest architecture in
Colombo.
We took pictures outside of the Hindu temple….unable to
enter because Larry’s knees were showing since he had on shorts and I didn’t
bring a scarf to cover my head. Oh well,
by this time (10:00am) the temps outside were cooking pretty good and we were
happy to just see the many figures outside of the Hindu temple.
Probably the most unforgettable happening while here….a man came up to us with a little round basket. He took the top off and out popped a King Cobra snake….SCAREY as all get out! But this was his way of making money, by showing off his Cobra. Larry quickly tipped him and we anxiously watched him put the lid back on top of his basket. This occurred several times while touring the city.
We wondered barefooted through the Gangaramaya Buddhist Temple…..
strong incense greeted our noses as we observed
many Buddha of all shapes and sizes, while followers knelt to pray.
The walls were painted frescos dating over a hundred years old….it was a peaceful place with a guard to protect the millions of dollars of jewels and gold and the costly spiritual artifacts from around the world that were in this small cluttered museum.
Just what you need....a hollowed out elephant's foot
Pictures of Queen Elizabeth’s visit adorned the museum walls as well as my favorite…antique Flonaise blue plates.
The walls were painted frescos dating over a hundred years old….it was a peaceful place with a guard to protect the millions of dollars of jewels and gold and the costly spiritual artifacts from around the world that were in this small cluttered museum.
Pictures of Queen Elizabeth’s visit adorned the museum walls as well as my favorite…antique Flonaise blue plates.
A ten year old baby Asian Elephant…(has smaller ears and
body and four back toes (not three)…greeted Larry as we left the temple…friends told us that the little elephant bowed down in front
of the Buddha without being prompted.
We drove by the President’s House….
As well as the White House. Amue told us that Obama was the
first American president to visit Sri Lanka
We motored along the
Galle Face Green, a seaside promenade…
Sri Lanka is noted for being the world’s largest exporter of
tea……as well a rubber, textiles, rice, sugarcane, spices, fruits, and….precious
gem stones. Our final stop was the “Government” Gem Stone Outlet….no high
pressured sell…it actually was refreshing to have a bit of cool air
conditioning while we learned about the stones mined from here.
Sri Lankans were so proud of the fact that Princess Diana’s famous blue sapphire stone had been mined from here stating that it was purchased at $23,000 US dollars back in the 80’s and that today it was worth over $220,000……now that is one heck of an investment!
Sri Lankans were so proud of the fact that Princess Diana’s famous blue sapphire stone had been mined from here stating that it was purchased at $23,000 US dollars back in the 80’s and that today it was worth over $220,000……now that is one heck of an investment!
Amue took us back to the port entrance where he directed us to
walk to a shop with wi-fi. We walked about a mile among the crowded shops in
the heat in the direction of the wifi. Once we found it, we realized that it
was just internet using the owners computer which would not open to our email
accounts….I guess due to the strange address.... so out we
came back to the street thinking we would not get to check our email today.
Another young man
that Larry had met earlier, told us he would take us to free wifi. Guess where
it was? A tuk- tuk ride back to the “Government” Gem Stone Outlet. What a
hoot?
Another ride among the tuk-tuks
While the new gentleman offered us a new selection of stones, Larry checked out the mail from back home. Our trip back to the ship was hot ,hot, hot with crazy traffic. Upon arriving back at the port the tuk-tuk driver wanted 10,000 rupees (around $70.00US) for our trip. 1 US Dollar is equal to 147.00 Rupees. Larry had a grand opportunity to sharpen his haggling skills as we made our way out of the tuk-tuk. I will say he was quite masterful in getting us out of a huge overcharged trip that we didn’t ask for in the first place.
While the new gentleman offered us a new selection of stones, Larry checked out the mail from back home. Our trip back to the ship was hot ,hot, hot with crazy traffic. Upon arriving back at the port the tuk-tuk driver wanted 10,000 rupees (around $70.00US) for our trip. 1 US Dollar is equal to 147.00 Rupees. Larry had a grand opportunity to sharpen his haggling skills as we made our way out of the tuk-tuk. I will say he was quite masterful in getting us out of a huge overcharged trip that we didn’t ask for in the first place.
What an adventure today riding a tuk-tuk into Colombo! Not sure that we have ever had an experience
like it. We were so glad to have had the opportunity …tuk-tuks have been banned
in Mumbai, India due to the traffic and their
exhaust fumes… this may be our only opportunity to enjoy this unique form of
transportation before it totally disappears.
We enjoyed our day in Sri Lanka and understood why it is referred to as "the Pearl of the Indian Ocean".
We enjoyed our day in Sri Lanka and understood why it is referred to as "the Pearl of the Indian Ocean".
No comments:
Post a Comment