Colombo - Sri Lanka

5.30 am the alarm clock rings and it is still dark outside. When I leave the guesthouse, my taxi is already waiting. It brings me down to Dharamsala at a speed of 20 km/h with a rather flat tire. Here, the tire is pumped up with air, and then it is another 10 km to the airport, where the speed is now 35 km/h. I don't want to rush anyone, but if you're feeling a bit in a hurry, a bit more speed would be nice.

Finally at the airport and now the question, why the rush? There's still plenty of running around for me later! Because as soon as I enter the small airport building, I'm told to go to the "Air India" office because my first flight to Delhi has been canceled. Suddenly, a lot of thoughts swirl through my head. What about my connecting flight? How long do I have to wait here or when will I actually arrive in Colombo? But take it easy, when I stand in front of the "Air India" door, the canceled flight is confirmed, but there should be another flight at 1 pm, so I should sit outside and he'll take care of everything.

28 minutes later, he's back next to me, I should hurry because a "Spice Jet" plane will take off soon and I'll be flying with it now. Well, that's a good start. The only drawback was that when I landed in Delhi, I had to change terminals. My time until the connecting flight was exactly 2 hours and from now on, time was running out. By bus from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3,

30 minutes. Waiting in a huge line to check in luggage 30 minutes. Mind you, I had 60 minutes left...

Waiting in line at passport control 25 minutes, waiting in line at security check 20 minutes. Despite all the rushing around, as it should be, I still had to unpack my backpack, with the note that all electronic devices had to be removed!!! So, now I've also passed that. I have 15 minutes left until my gate closes. I pick up my pace and run to Gate 4, it's a good 1.5 km.

After 10 minutes of sweating, I finally arrive there. And the red lettering "Final Call" is blinking on the display...

The flight itself becomes pleasant again with whiskey cola and pretty good food. Finally, I arrive in Colombo and from now on, everything goes smoothly. By bus to the city center, a few meters on foot to the "Fort Station" and from here, once again by suburban train to "Mount Lavinia.

Unfortunately, I caught a rush hour train, which was bursting with people, I didn't know where front and back were anymore, and I didn't really know how to get off. Somehow, it seemed to work because the train simply spit me out at the destination. So, there I stood, completely dejected and almost alone on the platform, watching the train roll away.

The next day, I started by visiting Colombo and for that, I simply took the train (this time pleasantly empty) back to "Fort Station". For now, I strolled through "Fort and Pettah" and then, due to the intense heat, I treated myself to a tuk-tuk, which took me to the city's main attractions. Starting from "Gangaramaya" to "Seema Malaka" temple, further on to the "Independence Hall", the "Town Hall", and the "National Museum". In the afternoon, he dropped me off at the mosque at. The next day, I took a city bus to "Kelaniya" where I visited the beautiful "Kelani Raja Maha Viharaya" temple and I must say, Colombo is indeed a beautiful, interesting, and worth visiting city.