We said goodbye to our host at Kumbukgaha with no regrets after another very insipid breakfast. The journey started with a visit to the Silk House in Sigiriya to collect the shirt Maggi had ordered on Friday.
The shirt
We arrived at 8:50 and were told that the shirt would arrive in 5 minutes. At 9 am coffee was offered and I accepted. The shirt arrived at 9:15 and Maggi tried it on while I was looking at my phone in another part of the shop.
Maggi called me over and said that the shirt was just overwhelmingly too big. She had sorted something out to replace it but I thought that naff. We then decided we wanted a refund which had been promised when we paid yesterday.
A lot of waffle started to happen, but eventually the young boss/manager came out of the back. He tried to delay things by saying that we needed to wait for the salesman to return. Bollocks to that. Give us the money you promised. He eventually agreed.
Wholesale vegetable market
We drove onto Drumbulla and stopped outside the wholesale vegetable market and had a walk around. So many people rushing about you need to carve away through all the people, the trucks and the vegetables laid out on the ground.
The food all looked so fresh and often unknown. Caesar decided to buy some things for his wife to cook this evening. Among the vegetables he bought were a kilo of green chillies, more than we would use in a year.
The place fascinated me. When you entered it looked like chaos but amongst this turmoil the market seemed to function. We didn’t hear any raised voices as the trucks moved in and out of the narrow centre avoiding the people carrying sacks of food.
Arrive in Colombo
After a 4 hour drive we arrived at the Shangri-La hotel, our home for the next two nights. A shiny brand new hotel, less than 5 years old, with a brash atmosphere.
Shanghai-La implies peace and tranquility. The hotel doesn’t conform to this concept. Impatient people wait to check-in shuffling their feet and looking round as if to say how long is this going to take.
We decide to eat something in the Sapphire Lounge. With very little choice we and ended up eating a large vol-au-vent filled with mushrooms and other vegetable matter. I’d describe the food as average, the service below average and the price very high, altogether not good value.
After we overcame our disappointment we had a good look round our room which had a great view of the ocean. The large bed felt comfortable. I had a place to sit and write this diary. The bathroom had all the features you would need. The mini bar had a menu but no contents which I thought odd.
Mark Forbes tour of the fort area
We met up with Caesar at 3:45 so that he could drive us to The Dutch Hospital which is part of the oldest section of Colombo. Here we met up with Mark Forbes a half Scottish half Portuguese photographer who conducts guided tours around the old town.
His enthusiasm for all the 17th, 18th and 19th century buildings that make up much of the original fort area of Colombo made the tour interesting.
Not only did he have plenty to say about the area and the architecture, but he took us into two buildings which showed the ingenuity of older architects and the enthusiastic approach mod a young entgrepreneur who wants to help other young business people in his open office approach at Hatch. Plenty to say about Forbes who implied the government had been responsible for Easter Day Massacre at Shangri-La Hotel killing its own people and a load of foreigners.
Galle Face Hotel
Mark Forbes recommended an old fashioned hotel not far from where we stayed as a place to have a drink and a nice meal. We took his advice and walked along the seafront to the Galle Face Hotel a 19th Century building which now looks very low rise compared with the large monstrosities that stand nearby.
We walked in with high expectations. We went to ask for a table and were informed that we could have one but the meal would be a buffet. Neither of us like that idea so we went and sat in another part of the hotel and had a couple of curries and drinks.
We enjoyed a reasonable tasting meal at a reasonable price. The only issue for me was that we sat in a spot that had absolutely no atmosphere. When we came to pay something happened to the Revolut card which meant it showed up as having processed the payment but they hadn’t received the money.
I began to get cross. We resolved the matter when we processed 1 rupee. This triggered Revolut to bar the transaction that caused the problem. I agreed to pay on out NatWest account and everyone was happy.
We walked back amongst the crowds on the promenade who were out for their Saturday night fun. Lots of street vendors selling a whole variety of food that I’m too scared to eat.
We made it back to the hotel after popping into the mall next door to the Shanghai-La hotel for an ice-cream before bed time.
The malll could have existed anywhere inn the world with all the major brands with outlets here. In the picture below I found KFC, Subway, Burger King and Pizza Hut within 5 yards of each other.
Strangely enough MacDonalds has been banned in Sri Lanka. I haven’t found out why