Blogs from Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka, Asia - page 2

Hurrah for a free day to explore, and not having to be at breakfast at 7am, I had a plan today to walk around the lake at the back of the hotel, visit the Gangaramaya Temple and go to the Independence Square Mall. It was surprising on a number of fronts, but was a lovely day. The road at the side of the Crescat Mall leads down to a big lake with a temple on a tiny island. There’s a path around the edge, a few men hanging around or working cleaning and sweeping. Perfectly OK for walking around in the daytime. There was a scratchy noise which turned out to be a 3 foot monitor lizard, and a few birds. At the entrance to the temple on the island a man was sitting on the ... read more

Following a fairly uneventful flight from Abu Dhabi to Colombo - yes we did doze and I watched Kinky Boots film, dad watched shape of water! We were pretty rapid off the plane and surprisingly quick through immigration - luckily we'd got visas beforehand - luggage collected and a nice man from the hotel picked us up so before we knew it we were in the hotel - and there was a roof top bar - rather grainy picture below - selfie and flash don't go together After a drink and some tapas it was definitely time for bed!... read more

A whole weekend free to hopefully eliminate jet lag. I had thought that today I’d go to the Old Dutch Hospital Centre, then to Pettah market, the Gangaramaya Temple and home through the park. Only the first of these actually happened, it was really hot and a bit harder to find my way around than I thought, not wanting to have my phone in my hand all the time and the hotel map being rubbish. There are 2 types of people who want to engage you in conversation, all of them are men, but not seedy or threatening. Both types start with the same 3 questions, which country are you from, are you here for a holiday, where are you going. Then it becomes clear(ish) if they are Type 1, wanting to sell you something, usually ... read more

Credit card information for anyone staying at the Cinnamon Grand. When you arrive they block funds from your card to cover the entire room stay and incidentals. I’m here for 17 nights (find me and say hello, anyone in the area) so the amount could have bought a small, family-sized car. Let’s hope I don’t actually need to buy one of those. I had reports of propel having trouble with cards in the past so maybe this is what they mean. They will be released when I pay up but you need to make sure you have double the amount available on your card, and some! I’m going to try to pay upfront in the hope that the blocked amount comes back to me. After lying by the pool all day reading an actual book and ... read more

So this is the start of my 4 week experience working In Sri Lanka. I must say, Sr Lankan Airlines provide a painless experience. The flight went in a flash. So much easier to sit for 10 1/2 hours rather than the usual 13 to Singapore etc. Boarding was interesting. The announcement said please remain seated until your row number is called. Everyone immediately stood up. I was in 22,meaning one of the last. The seats are 2-4-2, and I was quite disappointed to have a buddy next to me, although he was a very p9lite medical student going home to visit his family. He shook my hand, bless. Everyone I’ve met so far has been unfailingly polite. On arrival I was disappointed that the immigration officer took no notice at all of my business visa, ... read more