Holiday in Sri Lanka (3): Columbo and Galle
On number of group holidays that I have enjoyed, the arrival point in the country is not really on the tour as such. This was the case with Johannesburg in South Africa and San Jose in Costa Rica. So it proved on this holiday with Colombo being the subject of just a very quick drive-around.
Sri Lanka is an island shaped like a tear drop and Columbo is situated on the coast in the south-west of the island, The city is the commercial capital of the country, while adjacent to it is the new political capital called Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. Colombo has been formed by centuries of Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial rule. Today the actual city has a population of about 750,000 but the wider cosmopolitan area is home to around 5.6 million which is around a quarter of the nation’s entire population.
We drove around the city centre for an hour and half to obtain a very brief overview. The traffic was lighter than usual because today (Friday) fell between two holy days and two weekend days, so many workers stayed at home. On the other hand, the security – police and army – was tighter than usual because the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in town for the Vesak festival.
Our short tour enabled us to view Independence Memorial Hall, Beira Lake, Colombo Harbour, the old area called Fort, the bazaar area called The Pettah, and the site of the former Parliament (before it was moved in the civil war to the new capital).
After this city tour, we headed due south on one of only two highways in the country, heading for the southern city of Galle. About half way there, we turned off the highway and drove the short distance west to join the coastal road on which we hugged beaches combed by tall breakers.
We made two short stops. First, we visited a turtle conservation project at a place called Kosgoda. Here we learned about the five types of turtle native to Sri Lanka and got to handle turtles of various ages including a charming creature just one day old. Second, we viewed a Japanese memorial to the victims of the tsunami of 26 December 2004. Over 35,000 were killed in Sri Lanka and around 1,000 of them died in a local incident when a train was overwhelmed by the deluge near Hikkabuwa.
We eventually reached the town of Galle which is virtually on the southern-most tip of the island. We had lunch in the Rampart Hotel overlooking the sea and then booked into the Lady Hill Hotel for a break before exploring the oldest part of town later in the day when the heat was not so strong.
Galle Fort was originally built by the Portuguese in 1589; when the Dutch seized the port in 1640, they extended the fortifications; then, in 1796, the town was handed over to the British who modified the Fort. This was the country’s major harbour throughout the 19th century and today it is UNESCO protected.
We walked around part of the old ramparts and viewed ancient bastions and we took in the more recent additions of the clock tower erected in 1882 and a lighthouse dating from 1938. The name fort is a misnomer because the enclosed area was a miniature town and still comprises a couple of dozen picturesque streets. We strolled the length of the main road called Church Street but the two churches and the two museums on this street were all closed.
Again the tour included dinner in the hotel. Again we were the only ones in the hotel restaurant – I think the season must be over. But this time I was able to have a cold beer. I found a large beetle crawling over my seafood salad starter but I decided to just flick it away – local colour!
I confess that, so far, the trip has been slightly underwhelming.