**As always, you’ll find accompanying photos for this post here.
24 days after arriving in Colombo for the first time, we once again landed on the city’s doorstep. A little bit more tanned, marginally better informed about its geography, far more understanding of the country’s culture and customs, and significantly more well-fed.
Our primary purpose for spending any time at all in Colombo was because there was an England v Sri Lanka One Day International cricket match. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Don’t worry – you’re not missing anything significant. However, given that the country is cricket mad and my husband shares their passion, off to Colombo we went…
We spent a brief while exploring Park St on our first night (spoiler alert: don’t bother), and the following day spent some time at Pettah Market, where I picked up yet another bag of rambutan which once again served as an entry point into genuine encounters, this time with a security guard who looked like we made his day and made sure to wave the next time we passed. While in the market, I continued my portrait streak and asked various Pettah Market workers if I could make photos as we passed: pushcart handlers, vendors, and random passersby all landed in front of my lens.
We made our way to the cricket grounds (easy, since every Sri Lankan we passed pointed us in that direction) and Rich gave me a re-briefing on the rules, since it has been well over 15 years since I last watched a match. The game started sloooooowly, but England ramped things up at the end of their innings and Rich was feeling pretty pleased. Sri Lanka came firing back out of the gate and it was so fun to watch locals love the game (even if I don’t). Their performance dropped off a cliff, though, so when it was pretty much a guarantee that England was taking the series, we headed off in search of a tuk tuk to Abdul Hameed St, which is known for having a lively nighttime BBQ scene. Sure enough, we found two more helpful locals who led us to a great spot for chicken and roti, so we could finish the trip with one more great meal.
The following morning, we hauled our bags back on our shoulders and headed for the airport to catch our flight to Kochi, India feeling thankful that we’d gotten to experience Sri Lanka and knowing that we aren’t done with it yet.
Here’s a little look back on 26 days…
Little details we’ll miss:
- Kids waiting until you’re almost past them to muster up the courage to shout “hello”
- The bus seat lottery
- Walking to town with touque macaques and grey langurs as companions
- The Mario-Kart-meets-Beethoven Moonlight Sonata soundtrack of the country’s paan (bread) trucks, which proved to be as reassuring as it was comical
- Casually passing wild peacocks as they perched on rooftops and fencetops or strutted the streets
- Heading to the sea and just expecting to see turtles because it had become the norm
Highs:
- Running into a water monitor on our first morning in Anuradhapura
- Our mountain sunset view from Pidurangala Rock
- Rock-hopping on Sigiriya Lion Rock and through the highlands
- Feeling the atmosphere shift before the ceremony at Temple of the Tooth
- Catching our first sight of the highland mountains and mist
- The first 15kms of the Pekoe Trail
- Meeting Ali in Haputale
- Tangalle’s perfect mix of city & sea
- Memorable meals: lagoon crab at Chef Crab (Negombo); the entire menu at Pakistani Tandoor Food Hotel (Anuradhapura); Rangiri Luuv (Dambulla); breakfasts at Niyagala Lodge and Dishari Tangalle; Haputale Roti Hut; pineapple roti at Watergate Bay (Tangalle); penang curry at Wayside Thai (Talpe); anything at Turtle Restaurant (Talpe); and the oysters at Mister Oyster (Talpe)
- Rambutan friendships, however brief they might be
- Gradually feeling like we were finding a rhythm on the road
Lows:
- The last 5k of the Pekoe Trail
- The food at Sara’s Grove Bungalow
- Saying goodbye!
Grateful for: a willingness to FAFO ;)