Just a big holiday

We arrived in Colombo early on Sunday morning, having not really slept. Not being impressed with the accommodation options we had found when looking from the UK, we had decided to follow some advice we’d found online and look for a place to stay near the station in the centre of Colombo. This would apparently be cheap, and also convenient as our plan was to travel by train to our next destination.

In the event, we did find a pretty basic room near the station (after discounting one that was quoting hourly rates). However, after leaving it for a wander about the town, we both realised we were rather uneasy about the place. It was a relief to get back to it later in the day to discover our stuff safe and unmolested.

So with concerns about our accommodation and sleep deprivation, we probably didn’t get off to the best start in Colombo. Despite this, we still had a good look about and joined the Sunday crowds strolling by the sea along Galle Face Green. After lunch (our first experience of the Sri Lankan staple, curry and rice) we visited the National Museum and learnt a little about some of the historical sites we would be visiting in the next few days. In the adjoining park, Tom was excited to see a tree full of fruit bats, which are surprisingly massive. The highlight of our day was an evening cocktail in the Galle Face Hotel, a grand building left over from the colonial era.

While there is almost certainly more to Colombo than we saw, we decided that we’d probably seen enough and so decided to leave early the next day for our next port of call, Anuradhapurna.