Here we go again then. I’ve been putting this off since I got back over a week ago despite having f**k all to do at work. However, since I know that everyone is desperate for a report on the theme park Mecca that is Sri Lanka, here it is.
A couple of people from here have already been, making this a basic-bitch trip on my part, but they didn’t get creds, so there’s that.
Colombo
Despite landing at 1am, the airport was a f**king nightmare and took ages to clear. There were just loads of people arriving there for the Christmas Holiday and a disorganised mess to get to the immigration counters. I think it was around 3am by the time I got to the hotel, which was lovely, pretty cheap for the quality and in a fab area.
The next day was spent walking in a huge circle looking at stuff. I’d intended to get taxis/tuk-tuks to get between places, but the distances between each bit weren’t that far and the weather was surprisingly really cool.
The Red Mosque was fab, right on a busy street and tucked in between regular fugly buildings.
Around the same area:
It funny how, when it’s the first day of a holiday in a new place, the ridiculous crowds make a place feel “vibrant” and “energetic”, but when it’s taking me almost 10 minutes to make the 3-minute walk from the metro station to my flat on the way home from work, I want to stab every c**t in the face.
To be fair, the rest of the city, including the area immediately surrounding my hotel, wasn’t too crowded at all. It was just this one area around the mosque thanks to it being a main thoroughfare and having a bunch of markets in the area.
This tower is very new, and now apparently the tallest structure in South Asia. I saw it lit up at night as well (from a train, so didn't get pictures), and it looks amazing, but I never went up it.
More stuff. All very nice.
It was all seeming relatively normal, but then this happened:
Yes, it seems that you can hire a Sri Lankan Mr. Bean impersonator to officiate your wedding.
There was a big museum nearby, and I was going to pop in to pretend to care about their old s**t so that I could use their bogs, but it was closed. No idea why: holiday or summat.
This temple wasn’t on the cards – I was heading to somewhere nearby and it jumped out at me, so I had a quick look. It was nice.
The nearby shopping mall was under the same company that has one elsewhere with a cred, so I popped in. No luck. I didn’t go out of my way at all since it was just there on the lake I was heading to anyway.
The lake (whatever it’s called) was nice, with a fair few animals around considering it’s right in the middle of the city.
From there, it was back around to the hotel area via the sea front. Not really much of the “beach” that it’s labeled as, but it's a nice area.
I’ve kept this relatively brief and not massively picture heavy, but I got a lot covered, probably walking a good 15km from start to finish.
I really liked Colombo. Because I’m clearly a massive racist and "they're all the same", I was expecting it to be more like a big Indian city, but it wasn’t at all. It was much more chilled out (apart from the area around the Red Mosque), less stressful, and a lot less crowded in general.
Parks in the next bit. They’re obviously going to be amazing, so that’s something for you all to look forward to.
A couple of people from here have already been, making this a basic-bitch trip on my part, but they didn’t get creds, so there’s that.
Colombo
Despite landing at 1am, the airport was a f**king nightmare and took ages to clear. There were just loads of people arriving there for the Christmas Holiday and a disorganised mess to get to the immigration counters. I think it was around 3am by the time I got to the hotel, which was lovely, pretty cheap for the quality and in a fab area.
The next day was spent walking in a huge circle looking at stuff. I’d intended to get taxis/tuk-tuks to get between places, but the distances between each bit weren’t that far and the weather was surprisingly really cool.
The Red Mosque was fab, right on a busy street and tucked in between regular fugly buildings.
Around the same area:
It funny how, when it’s the first day of a holiday in a new place, the ridiculous crowds make a place feel “vibrant” and “energetic”, but when it’s taking me almost 10 minutes to make the 3-minute walk from the metro station to my flat on the way home from work, I want to stab every c**t in the face.
To be fair, the rest of the city, including the area immediately surrounding my hotel, wasn’t too crowded at all. It was just this one area around the mosque thanks to it being a main thoroughfare and having a bunch of markets in the area.
This tower is very new, and now apparently the tallest structure in South Asia. I saw it lit up at night as well (from a train, so didn't get pictures), and it looks amazing, but I never went up it.
More stuff. All very nice.
It was all seeming relatively normal, but then this happened:
Yes, it seems that you can hire a Sri Lankan Mr. Bean impersonator to officiate your wedding.
There was a big museum nearby, and I was going to pop in to pretend to care about their old s**t so that I could use their bogs, but it was closed. No idea why: holiday or summat.
This temple wasn’t on the cards – I was heading to somewhere nearby and it jumped out at me, so I had a quick look. It was nice.
The nearby shopping mall was under the same company that has one elsewhere with a cred, so I popped in. No luck. I didn’t go out of my way at all since it was just there on the lake I was heading to anyway.
The lake (whatever it’s called) was nice, with a fair few animals around considering it’s right in the middle of the city.
From there, it was back around to the hotel area via the sea front. Not really much of the “beach” that it’s labeled as, but it's a nice area.
I’ve kept this relatively brief and not massively picture heavy, but I got a lot covered, probably walking a good 15km from start to finish.
I really liked Colombo. Because I’m clearly a massive racist and "they're all the same", I was expecting it to be more like a big Indian city, but it wasn’t at all. It was much more chilled out (apart from the area around the Red Mosque), less stressful, and a lot less crowded in general.
Parks in the next bit. They’re obviously going to be amazing, so that’s something for you all to look forward to.