Last hoorah in Colombo - Galle Face Green

Up until the day before we were to leave Tissa for Colombo, I had no idea where to go in Colombo (except Galle Face Green) with our luggage and how to get to the airport. Our flight to KL from Colombo was only at 11pm. We wanted to leave Tissa early and anyway the car that we rented was only meant to take us to central Colombo. One option was to leave our backpacks at the Left Luggage facility at Fort Railway Station (apparently there is one but I could not vouch for it as we did not get to use it) and then kill time at Galle Face Green before getting a cab. But Rohan came to the rescue. He got the driver to take us to Galle Face Green, wait for us there and then take us to the airport – all for an additional Rs2,000.

The drive from Tissa to Colombo was uneventful, except that Irf was complaining of nausea and was feeling a bit under the weather. The quickest way to Colombo was via the highway which was relatively deserted compared to the coastal road. We stopped at a rest area on the highway for lunch. The toilets were super clean, as was the general common areas. We had lunch there and Irf immediately knew what he wanted when he saw Pizza Hut. He had a mini vegetable pizza (with lots of mushroom). I generally avoid Pizza Hut like the plague but that pizza that I tasted in an obscure Pizza Hut branch on an unknown Sri Lanka highway was on a whole different level. It could be the fresh ingredients used or the fact that it was freshly baked.

After what seemed like years in the van, especially with all the traffic starting from the suburbs of Colombo, we reached Galle Face Green at around 5pm.  This is a half kilometre promenade right at the centre of Colombo.  In the evenings when the sun is no longer at its fiercest, locals and tourists alike flock here to relax, take a stroll and hope to see the perfect sunset. Another famous activity that can be enjoyed here is kite-flying. The sky was full of colourful kites of many shapes and forms and flying them was a breeze (no pun intended) due to the wind in the open space. We bought one for Irf from one of the few vendors for around RM15 - a falcon, no less. A cheap amount to pay for seemingly endless entertainment.

Having a tough time deciding which kite to buy

A kite runner in Colombo

After a while, it got more crowded. The locals were coming in droves, enjoying themselves on the beach or eating from the many food stalls/kiosks. We were getting thirsty and tired and I remembered that the Galle Face Green Hotel was just next to the promenade. We don't usually pop over to 5-star hotels to quench our thirst but this hotel is an iconic landmark built in the colonial era and I really needed to go to the toilet. We sauntered into the lobby, asked around and eventually found ourselves at one of the best seats at The Chequerboard - front row for sunset viewing.

The steps leading from The Chequerboard to the beach

Seated on wicker chairs between the colonial structure of the beautiful hotel and the crashing waves of the Indian Ocean, I thought it was the perfect ending to our Sri Lanka trip. Never mind that we had to pay more than RM100 for 3 mocktails. As if that was not enough, a bagpiper dressed in a kilt appeared out of nowhere, accompanying a uniformed concierge to the flag pole for the flag-lowering ceremony. It was done with such pomp and grandeur, with music from the bagpipe in the background.

Sun going down...

...and down...

It was soon time to leave Colombo for the airport. We bade farewell to the Ceylonese capital and at the airport, Irf had another pizza. So that's Pizza Hut for lunch and dinner in one day.

All in all, we had a great time in Sri Lanka. There were no theme parks and no Disneyland/Legoland but there were animals to sight, lakes to navigate and ruins and forts to explore. Unfortunately Irf brought back an unwanted "souvenir" - his first food poisoning and diarrhea in his life. It could be the pizza at the airport but I was just glad that it started when we had reached Malaysia. I took that as a stroke of bad luck, definitely not something to deter from taking kids to Sri Lanka.