24-Feb-2024 Colombo, Sri Lanka (Day 1)

Our ship was staying overnight in Colombo, Sri Lanka, so we would have two days to explore the area. For our first day, we went with an independent company (Tuk Tuk Safari Sri Lanka) to do a tour of the city in Tuk Tuks. They were great to deal with, and had no problem customizing the tour for us so we wouldn't repeat locations that we'd be doing the next day on a Celebrity Excursion. It turned out, this was one of the best excursions we had the whole cruise portion of the trip.

Our tour guide met us at the port gate, and prepared some fresh coconuts for us to drink on this hot day.


We needed 3 Tuk Tuks for the 6 of us on the tour.


We set off through the streets of Colombo to our first stop. This mix of classic and modern elements was in the middle of a roundabout.


Our first stop was Gangaramaya Temple. This is one of the most important temples in Colombo and the architecture demonstrates an eclectic mix of Sri Lankan, Thai, Indian, and Chinese architecture.


The main temple featured a colourful scene of a sitting Buddha surrounded by many other figures.


These Sri Lankan figures flanked both sides of the Buddha.


There were several other temples around the complex.


Rows and rows of Buddha statues.

The temple was busy the day we were there because later that day there was going to be a celebration. The streets around the temple were lined with chairs for the parade. This annual parade and festival would feature decorated elephants along with dancers and drummers. We wouldn't be around for it, but we did get the chance to get up close to some elephants that were being cared for in the city park close by.

Next stop was Independence Memorial Hall built for commemoration of the independence of Sri Lanka from the British rule on 4 February 1948.

On the steps of the Memorial Hall, we came across this snake charmer (and Cobra and monkey).


Looking through the hall to the D.S. Senanayake Monument statue. He was the first Prime Minister of Ceylon having emerged as the leader of the Sri Lankan independence movement that led to the establishment of self-rule in Ceylon. He is considered as the "Father of the Nation".


We made our way along narrow streets competing with carts, trucks, tuk tuks, motor scooters and pedestrians.


We made a stop on Old Moor Street, filled with small shops selling spices and other foods. This shop had a couple of domestic shoppers, but the shops are also wholesale.


Outside the spice shop we visited was this colourful truck. It out did the many painted trucks we saw in India.

From our Spice Alley stop, we made our way through the streets of Colombo again. It was hard to know just where we were sometimes as we crisscrossed the city from one stop to another.

A couple of the mosques we passed along the way; on the left is the famous Red and White Mosque, Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque. On the right is Shazuliya Thaqya Mosque.


This little shop was one of many we passed by. At least we seem to amuse the guy as we passed.


Tuk Tuks seem to be the most popular form of transportation here in Colombo.

Our next stop was the Shivan Kovil temple. This impressive complex was one of our most interesting visits to a temple.

Outside the temple, there was this burning shrine to... maybe a crow?


A classic design for the entry into a Hindu Temple in Sri Lanka.


Inside the building were many ornately carved pillars and alcoves with various gods to visit for prayer.


We needed to cover our knees and were given a red dot (Bindi) on our forehead by our tour guide as we entered. It is a common practice for Hindu priests to mark the foreheads of both men and women with red powder as they enter a temple. Wearing a bindi every day is also thought to serve as a reminder to its wearer to keep God at the centre of her thoughts.


The ornately decorated entrance to the temple grounds. Our shoes were kept outside this gate.

We were off again, tearing through the streets of Colombo on our way to our dinner (part of the tour).

The Lotus Tower in the distance as we made our way to the restaurant.


Our tour guide explaining to us and another group about the preparation of our dinner. We were going to have Hoppers - a sort of pancake (made from a fermented batter of rice flour with a touch of coconut milk and sometimes an egg in the bottom). We filled these bowl shaped pancakes with a chopped mixture of chicken and vegetables called Kottu.

We thought we were headed back to the ship after our dinner, but we had one more stop to make - a Tea Shop.

It was dark, it was a back alley, and we weren't sure what was going to happen next - but it was just a shortcut to the Tea Gate shop where we were given a detailed explanation of the various teas grown on the island.


On our way back to the ship, we could see the lights of the Slvar Footbridge, part of the Port City development.

The whole tour had been awesome, and would remain one of our favourites throughout the trip, both for the fun of zipping around in the Tuk Tuks and for the many things we experienced in our 5 hour tour. We also appreciated the cool breeze riding around in the open Tuk Tuks on this hot, humid day.

Two shots of the Lotus Tower, during the (hazy) day and at night all lit up. The lights of the petals changed colour frequently. The tower offers an observation deck, banquet hall and a revolving restaurant.

Goa, India <  Colombo, Sri Lanka (Day 1)  > Colombo, Sri Lanka (Day 2)
[Asia Adventure - Spice Route Cruise 2024]

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