Colombo, Sri Lanka

Our last stop in Sri Lanka was Colombo, the commercial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka. We reached there by train from Galle, taking about 2 hours.

The city was boiling hot - we were definitely getting into a heat wave but we headed out to explore the vegetable and fruit market ‘Petta Bazaar’.

As well as visiting the main city sights:

Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque (aka “Red Mosque”) built in 1909

The Town Hall - which looked a bit like The White House! Except that a buddha statue faces it

Parliament and the National Museum

Independence Memorial Hall, built 1953 to commemorate the independence of Sri Lanka from British rule in 1948.

Nelum Pokuna (Lotus Pond) Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre, a performing arts centre

Then we made a final shopping stop at a clothing and souvenir store.

Where I also treated myself to a fro-yo to cool off in the hairdryer heat.

Back at the hotel, we had a little dunk in the pool overlooking the sea, before it was sundowners time!

Final group dinner was a buffet feast, including stuffed crab, butter fish, stuffed cuttlefish, grilled okra salad, thai spiced fish and pineapple salad…