Markets and Museums in Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka

I’m not sure what I expected to find in Sri Lanka’s capital city, Colombo, but the reality certainly didn’t match it. While we had flown into Colombo two weeks prior, we hadn’t gone into the city centre. So after two weeks in the country we had our first experience in the capital.

We stayed at the Kingsbury Hotel and after a mix up with our accommodation (them thinking we were arriving the day before, us showing them the itinerary from Amaya Lake Resort that clearly showed we should have been expected that day) we were upgraded to a suite - what a fabulous way to end our holiday.

The suite had views over the ocean from every angle - even from the spa bath. It was stunning. But we weren’t there to spend all our time in the hotel.

Our first full day in Colombo coincided with Good Friday and while Sri Lanka is largely Buddhist, it was a public holiday there also, which meant it was a perfect day for a driving tour of the city - no traffic.

Our guide picked us up around 10am to give us a quick two-hour tour of the main highlights. We stopped at the Independence Memorial Hall. Have I mentioned how hot Colombo is?

Everywhere in Sri Lanka is hot, but being in the city centre brings a special kind of heat and discomfort. However standing under the memorial was very cool and provided us beautiful views out over the parkland. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).