I downright enjoy me a good city, especially a Capital. Vibrant... lively... happenin'... capital cities have it all. Sadly, not all capitals are created equal. Despite a city's reputation, I try to give them a shot. People say 'stay away from Georgetown, Guyana', but I actually liked the place. General chatter around the forums is that Colombo, Sri Lanka is good for an airport and that's about all. And... well... they may be right.
Truth be said, Colombo actually surprised me at first. I'm not sure what I was expecting,
perhaps something more akin to the Indian, every man for themselves, live version Frogger, street crossings. But Colombo was definitely India-light. Relative calm and organization (notice I said 'relative'), nice green spaces and no real hassle for the white man who just wants to walk and doesn't need a freakin' tuk-tuk!! But, a lack of general chaos and a few parks just aren't reason enough to sing the praises of a city.
I guess the big draw of town are Buddhist related. Gangaramaya Temple is likely the leader
of the pack. However, chances are you're going to see much more impressive Buddhist sites in other parts of the country. The Seema Malaka temple in the middle of Beira Lake is nice, and rather photogenic. But it takes all of 6 and a half minutes to walk around the thing. And that's sort of how I felt in most of the "attractions" in town. There are churches and museums and such, but I just wasn't feeling it.
Instead of giving up, I decided to just people watch and I figured 'what better place than
a park?'. Sadly, the weather was rather uncooperative. It's hard to creep on people when there sprinting from Covered Spot to covered spot as if they were made of sugar. In the end, I just gave up. Crap weather and ordinary sights just wasn't enough to motivate me to leave my cool hotel. Speaking of which, while I don't usually recommend hotels and such the Cinnamon Red is an amazing, value for money place to stay. And the views are to absolutely die for!! (get a corner room)
Bottom line? Colombo is not the highlight of Sri Lanka. I get why so many people just pay for a taxi from the airport to their 1st destination, bypassing Colombo altogether. I suppose I'm glad I went. But I certainly have no need to go back.
Truth be said, Colombo actually surprised me at first. I'm not sure what I was expecting,
perhaps something more akin to the Indian, every man for themselves, live version Frogger, street crossings. But Colombo was definitely India-light. Relative calm and organization (notice I said 'relative'), nice green spaces and no real hassle for the white man who just wants to walk and doesn't need a freakin' tuk-tuk!! But, a lack of general chaos and a few parks just aren't reason enough to sing the praises of a city.
I guess the big draw of town are Buddhist related. Gangaramaya Temple is likely the leader
of the pack. However, chances are you're going to see much more impressive Buddhist sites in other parts of the country. The Seema Malaka temple in the middle of Beira Lake is nice, and rather photogenic. But it takes all of 6 and a half minutes to walk around the thing. And that's sort of how I felt in most of the "attractions" in town. There are churches and museums and such, but I just wasn't feeling it.
Instead of giving up, I decided to just people watch and I figured 'what better place than
a park?'. Sadly, the weather was rather uncooperative. It's hard to creep on people when there sprinting from Covered Spot to covered spot as if they were made of sugar. In the end, I just gave up. Crap weather and ordinary sights just wasn't enough to motivate me to leave my cool hotel. Speaking of which, while I don't usually recommend hotels and such the Cinnamon Red is an amazing, value for money place to stay. And the views are to absolutely die for!! (get a corner room)
Bottom line? Colombo is not the highlight of Sri Lanka. I get why so many people just pay for a taxi from the airport to their 1st destination, bypassing Colombo altogether. I suppose I'm glad I went. But I certainly have no need to go back.
