Big city whispers

Colombo - a completely different Sri Lanka. A lot more people, a lot more traffic, high-rise buildings, shopping malls, more European prices.

Our little city trip started on Sunday (3/3/24) with a Pick Me (the local Uber). Once again our driver was simply magical, providing Feli and Melody with coffee every now and then. When we arrived at our far too swanky Airbnb in one of the towers complete with concierge, we decided to visit the One Galle Face Mall to "browse around a bit". We walked almost 10,000 steps just in the mall and still had the feeling that we hadn't seen everything. We also made a few bargains along the way, and our needs for European food, which arose after 2 1/2 weeks, were also satisfied.

We started our tour the next morning feeling well rested. It started at the Pettah market. This is actually something of a separate district, with each little street specializing in different goods. Also, deep in the crowd, large quantities of spices, vegetables, etc. are sold.

From the Pettah market we then went to the floating market, a small floating island with shops and cafes, where we could treat ourselves to a short break with cold drinks.

We then drove to the Red Mosque, a beautiful mosque in the middle of the hustle and bustle, which unfortunately we were not able to visit from the inside due to the strict visitor times.

Our next favorite Pick Me driver picked us up there. He was actually only supposed to drive us to the Gangaramaya Temple, but his plan was to show us all and explain what was possible in such a short time. On the way to the temple he made a quick stop for a photo shoot.

Tourists pay a small fee to enter the temples, while locals can enter for free at any time to feel close to their culture and pray. It was therefore little surprise to us that our driver accompanied us into the temple and even gave us a tour of the endless rooms and corridors and explained to us as much as he could. Afterwards he simply drove us to the lake temple and a gemstone exhibition, as we could also use the ticket we bought first for the other entrances - which we wouldn't have known without him.

In the evening we dressed up again to go to a bar called King of the Mambo where we enjoyed good food and fantastic cocktails.

The next morning we had breakfast at Café Kumbuk, a simply incredibly photogenic breakfast that tasted as good as everything in this café looked.

Then unfortunately we had to say goodbye again. We then started our journey home again by train.

We'll be working a little harder over the next few days to make the most of the remaining time in the clinic.