Sri Lanka- Colombo

Bentota - Colombo

On the way to Colombo, you come across the domed temple at Kalutara which you also come across from Kandy-Bentota.

From Bentota, it'll take you 2 hrs or so to reach Colombo.

Colombo

Colombo, the administrative centre of this country, is an oft under-rated city. Many people bypass it on the way elsewhere. Fact is, Colombo is a fine city to spend a day or two, enjoying its shopping and sights.

City mapping

Fort, Pettah and Kotahena form the northern-most areas, and all three are of interest to tourists. South of Fort is the seaside Galle Face Green, around Kollupitiya. Many hotels including the Galle Face Hotel, Cinammon Grand and Taj Samudra are located here. East is Cinammon Gardens, home to great shops and is a posh area. There are some areas south, including Wellawatte, Bambalapitiya, and further south to Dehiwala and Mt Lavinia.

Bandaranaike airport is around 30 km north of the city. The domestic airport (Ratmalana Air Force Base) is around Ratmalana, south of the centre.

Colombo has 15 postal area codes, for example, Fort is Colombo 1 (Col 1), Slave Island is Col 2 and Kollupitiya is Col 3.

Sights
FORT

Buddha statue at Fort; outside the Hilton

You'll see the tall twin towers of the World Trade Centre from many parts of the city. There's great colonial architecture here. But, there's a lot of security around, so don't count on being let to go everywhere in Fort. You'll see many Buddha statues in Colombo, one of the grander ones is just outside the Hilton.

Wolvendaal Church

PETTAH
Pettah has busy market areas. To fully appreciate them, a stroll is recommended in the midst of the hustle and bustle. The great Wolvendaal Church , the most important Dutch building in the country, is located here. The church is built on a cemetery, and some remains of the cemetery can be seen.

KOTAHENA

Remains of the graveyard at Wolvendaal

St Lucia's Cathedral

The white St Lucia's Cathedral is located here. The cathedral is huge, and quite beautiful from the inside and the outside. It's the biggest church in the country.

KOLLUPITIYA and around

View from Galle Face Green

The not-so-green Galle Face Green is a park, albeit with almost no grass, except in some stretches. Still, it remains a good place to get sea views and enjoy Sri Lankan street food. It's a popular place to fly kites, and they are also sold there. You can also see the World Trade Center from here. There are cannons further north. Popular place for an evening stroll.

There's also a lake called the South Beira Lake around.

CINAMMON GARDENS

World Trade Center, as seen from Galle Face Green

The pleasant Viharamahadevi Park is a nice place to stroll around, with nice, flowering plants and a statue of the Buddha. The Buddha faces the Town Hall on the other side of the road.

The National Museum is located here.

The leafy Independence Sq area is very green, with a statue, and has a temple-like feel, with vast parkland stretching on either side.

The cricket stadium , next to the Sinhala Sports Center has a cricket shop from where you can buy jerseys and other cricket-related mementos. If you aren't seeing a match, you can see a glimpse of the stadium from a break in the wall.

Accommodation
We were staying at the Cinammon Grand in Kollupitiya. The hotel was great with plush rooms. There are two wings, overlooking two different atriums. There are many restaurants in the hotel. Try to choose a higher floor for better views.

Food
There's a Delifrance at Odel in Cinammon Gardens, with fair, average food.

The Veranda Bar at the Galle Face Hotel had some of the worst service I've ever seen. We got drinks within 15 min, but an hour passed, and our food didn't arrive. Told them once, told them twice and told them thrice, and still no food! Finally we left hungry, without receiving any apology. The drinks are fine, though.

The Amrith restaurant in Cinammon Gardens serves fine Indian cuisine. Service isn't bad. The decor is fine. It's in its own building.

The cafe at Barefoot is an OK place to while away time. Low variety, but food is fine. Drinks are fine too, but food takes a long time to arrive at your table...

The food hall at the Crescat Boulevard has good stuff if you want more variety. There's a Keels supermarket  there.

Shopping
Odel Unlimited at Cinammon Gardens is a good place for clothes and the like. They also have other stuff. It's very close to Viharamahadevi Park.

House of Fashions has some of the best discounts ever seen but there are no trial rooms (!). The surplus real top-end brand stuff is sold at what may seem like dirt. Crowds may be a huge problem, but biilling is really efficient. If you shopped too much, you can also buy suitcases. Good buy: cheap designer surpluses

Barefoot has a collection of clothes, accessories, books and more. Also houses an outdoor cafe (look above). It's on Galle Rd.

Noritake is famous for crockery on Galle Rd. It won't shower too many discounts, but it's worth investigatoing for something that tickles your fancy. On Galle Rd.

Crescat Boulevard Mall is small, but has fine stuff to shop, but not exactly too interesting. There's a food hall downstairs (look above). There's also an Internet cafe.

Paradise Rd has a great variety of local handicrafts and antiques. Look for good Buddhas here.

Laksala in Fort is similar to Paradise Road. Great stuff, especially the collection of Buddhas. Small ones are great, snag at just Rs 90 for one type!

Billing at the last two can be very slow...

More Pictures

Buddha statue at Viharamadevi Park

Expansive parkland around Independence Sq

Town Hall

Tourist Friendliness

Many people at shops, restaurants, hotels etc speak English.

Safety
3-wheeler drivers were surprised to see us walking down and you will see few pedestrians in certain areas come dusk. Some areas may be safe at evening even if devoid of any pedestrian but exercise caution anywhere you are alone and ask your accommodation for advice. But much of the centre is safe during daytime. Security in Fort may not let to access some areas, however areas where you can visit in Fort are as safe as anywhere else in the city.

Itineraries
One Day
Visit Fort and Pettah in the morning, visit some of the churches and the street market. Take a stroll by Fort (if allowed by the security) and shop around for souvenirs (Laksala). Later in the afternoon, visit Cinnamon Gardens and check out the Independence Sq and Viharamahadevi Park. In the evening, go to Galle Face Green and do some more souvenir shopping if you want, at Paradise Rd.

Two Days
Check out the sights on Day 1 and leave Day 2 exclusively for shopping. Check out the options above in the "Shopping" section.

Last visit- Dec 2010/Jan 2011
No of visits- 1

Sri Lanka- Bentota

Kandy-Bentota

Entrance to the Spice Grove

You'll come across The Island Spice Grove at Uthuwankanda--your driver should know of it. The spice garden deals primarily in making medicines out of spices--they'll give you a pamphlet, and explain everything about the garden and give you a complimentary cup of tea with vanilla instead of sugar. They have a shop where you can buy all that. Pricey, though.

At Kalutara, where you turn for Bentota (Galle Rd), you'll see a huge white-domed temple.

 Domed temple at Kalutara

Bentota

Bentota is a beach town--with lovely beaches everywhere. Apart, there is less to see, though. But, in the river , many companies set out boats with guides to show several sights around.

We took a boat--paid around Rs 4000 for 4 people for 1.5 hrs. There were many islands around with a few hundred families living. But, we went to an island, where only 1 family lives. They grow cinnamon there, and they show you how to powder cinnamon, and there's an aura of cinnamon in the air! They also sell the cinnamon to you--a packet of a few sticks will cost Rs 300 or so.

Buddha idol at the temple

The beautiful temple surrounds

Our next stop was a Buddhist temple, with a Ganesh statue too! The island was wholly used for the temple, a pretty complex. There was also a monk's quarter, where the guide showed you the monk's kitchen and bedroom, and his books.

Vivanta by Taj- link

Building of Vivanta

Gardens and beach at Vivanta

A lot of our time was spent at the resort where we were staying--Vivanta by Taj Bentota. The resort was a typical luxurious one, with a great beach and good food. The complex was big, and full of amenities. But, as it was a festive time, things were busy.

Sea at Vivanta

One flaw was the resort's layout was very confusing, it was hell easy to get lost there. For example, the two staircases never led you to the same place--two different wings, were divided, so you'll have to take a long-cut and a lack of signboards make it more than a little confusing.

Back to the good side...The rooms were impressive, and great if you had sea views. One tip is that try to avoid the first two floors. I don't know how the views from those rooms are, but when you step out, in the corridor, there is rock all around, and it feels dingy and claustrophobic.

The beach was great, and clean. There were many small rocks around and there were good views from them.

Food in the resort was of a high quality. There would be good variety usually.

Other hotels where we had lunch
Club Villa
The ambiance was good here. The resort was small, but quite intimate. No private beach though. A train track separated the resort from the beach. This part was also unfenced, so anyone could enter the resort. Food was OK, service was poor. It took over an hour for the food to arrive--which wasn't too worth waiting for.

Last visit- Dec 2010

No of visits- 1

Sri Lanka- Kandy

Sri Lanka, a beautiful island in the Indian Ocean, offers a great range of sightseeing and activity opportunities. The below and the posts above show my experience as a first-time visitor to this beautiful island.

Bandaranaike Airport (30 km north of Colombo)
As you arrive, you are greeted by a good, modern airport, which gives a good first impression of this wonderful country you'll be visiting shortly. Immigration whizzes by, baggage starts coming quite early. Hmmm, things look efficient! Outside, a busy street awaits you.
  http://www.airport.lk/ (Airport's website)

The airport is around 30 km from Colombo.

Airportto Kandy
This journey should take around 3 hrs. It took us much more though, because there was a big procession happening, which made the average traffic speed a few centimeters a minute---or less. You'll come across many villages on this journey. Closer to Kandy (50 km or so), on the right side, will be a huge cashew shop, selling all varieties of cashews ever imaginable!

Kandy
Kandy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a lovely green and rich-in-culture city in the Hill Country in Sri Lanka. There's a fair bit to see here, and a few days will be great fun here.

Sights
KANDY LAKE and CITY CENTER
Kandy Lake is a lovely place to walk around in the city. There are many benches around, and the lake isn't very polluted. If the weather is fine, do step out and enjoy!

The city center, with its shops, is another great place to stroll, and to get the feel of Kandy. Just be careful while crossing the roads, and cross when the locals are also attempting to cross the road. There are no traffic lights, but occasionally a few policemen may be regulating traffic. Mostly, there are none in the centre which means- cross at your own peril! Great to get into the city's skin.

THE MOUNT
There is a hill above Kandy which offers fine views over the city, which is called the Mount, or so, as our driver told us. This place is on a hill with great views over the city. There are usually many people up here. Views are quite great, and the Lake looks amazing. The city center looks great from up here. There will be many persistent sellers here.

TEMPLE OF THE SACRED TOOTH RELIC
One of Kandy's premier attractions, naturally, this temple attracts hordes--visitors and worshippers alike.. There's heavy security here due to an earlier bomb blast here in 1998. The complex will start off with a few statues here and there, with the main building in front, where you'll queue up and give your shoes, pay and get in.

The complex is amazing with several Buddha idols and some decoration. But, the shrine where the tooth (real or bogus, no one really knows...) is kept is only open when the puja occurs--that is, as of then:
5.30 am- 7 am
9.30 am- 11 am
6.30 pm- 8 pm

The Lonely Planet Sri Lanka guide says that the charge for a still camera is Rs 150, and that for a video camera is Rs 300. The latter is correct, but there are no more charges for a still camera.

AROUND KANDY
PERADENIYA BOTANICAL GARDENS
Beautiful...The gardens are a tranquil place to just admire nature or relax around. Before you get in, look closely at the map. The place is very big and you won't be able to see all in one single visit before getting tired. Just enjoy where you are. Some highlights are the orchid house  with amazing orchids. There is a lot more, but I can't remember all. There's also a suspension bridge where you can go halfway but have to turn back. Many paths lead into the big lawn , a big circular, perfectly-kept lawn.

Accommodation
We stayed in the Stonehouse Lodge, slightly outside Kandy. link

STONEHOUSE LODGE
A tad outside Kandy, up an amazingly steep road, into tiny pathways, is the Stonehouse Lodge. It's a nice, calm place. As you enter, there are two rooms on the right side, and a water garden with plants on top on the left and is home to turtles (don't you dare put your feet in that!!). There are many other animals here, like dogs, cats, and even porcupines.
The rooms were simple. Remember, this is a home stay, not a hotel. The rooms lacked TVs and toiletries and safes, so bring your own toothbrush, toothpaste, lotion, bathing soap etc. They provide hand soap and towels though.

There is also a living room, where this is a computer also, with Internet, but they have Internet Explorer 6 (old version) on it, so many things don't work. The friendly staff can also be seen there most of the time.

Food- they can serve a good Sri Lankan breakfast and dinner. Mostly, the food will be the same, but you can ask for slight variations.

Food
Look at Stonehouse Lodge above for food there.

Chaaya Citadel had OK mediocre food in a rather depressing ambiance.

The food at the Amaya Hills was however much better, with fine service. There are great views of the surrounding hills.
Both are around 15 min drive from Kandy, in hilly areas.

                                                                          Shows

At the Cultural Centre , there are traditional dance shows at 5.30 pm.

There are around 8 dances or so. Later, after the singing of the National Anthem, there would be fun with fire, which I found more interesting. The total show is for around 1.5-2 hours.

Shopping

The Splash store in Kandy is a typical mall-like place with good shopping. There is a Roots branch for great ice-cream.

The Kandyan Art Association has great but pricey work on sale. There is also a workshop below. They deal in brasswork, batik etc.

Signboard of the cashew shop near Kandy

Photo Gallery

The cashew shop

Kandy city centre

View of Kandy Lake and city center from the Mount

Temple of the sacred tooth relic

Botanical Gardens

Trains- 

http://www.seat61.com/SriLanka.htm

 http://www.railway.gov.lk/

One Day in Kandy

Visit the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens in the morning. Then go to the Mound for a good view, followed by a visit to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. In the evening, visit the lakeside and stroll around the city centre.

Last visit- Dec 2010

No of visits- 1