The Zuiderdam arrived to the port of Colombo, Sri Lanka around 7am, but was docked by 8am. Nothing looked familiar to us since we were in a different area of this very expansive port. It has been a few years since we have visited here, so perhaps the other dock cannot accommodate a ship of this size. The good news is that there were shuttles provided to take us on a 20 minute ride to the port gate. But which gate, we did not know.
The country of Sri Lanka has a population of 22.2 million people that speak Sinhala and Tamil, as well as some English. The capital is right here in Colombo with 750,000 living in the city. One quote says it all: "There are endless beaches, timeless ruins, welcoming people (not quite all of them), oodles of elephants, rolling surf, cheap prices, fun trains (not always), famous tea, and flavorful food." This best describes this teardrop-shaped island off of the coast of India. Once known as Ceylon, it is one of the most desired destinations for many vacationing Europeans. And cruise ships too.
With all of the good stuff said, there have been years of war, tsunamis, train accidents, and interior unrest. Despite that, the people are resilient. Many UNESCO World Heritage Sites are here such as the world's oldest living tree at Anuradhapura or witnessing hundreds of Asian elephants bathing in a river in Minneriya. And it was our pleasure to have stayed in Yala National Park out of Hambantota several years ago. We had a 6 day stay there to witness the world's highest concentration of leopards – an unforgettable experience. The only downside at the time was an untimely deadly heatwave that struck the country. That made "roughing it" take on a whole new meaning while staying in not quite so much semi-luxurious tents with ceiling fans….no air-conditioning. This safari camp did not have a swimming pool, but did have a nearby pond where one could take a quick dip. However, there were wild buffalo there as well as crocodiles. Sometimes. No thanks, we will stick to a cool shower in the bathroom of our tent. What an adventure we had while sitting on our raised veranda watching for the procession of the Sri Lankan waiters coming down the hillside with our meals. Dinnertime was the best…magical, as they came down in the dark with flashlights. The highlight of this safari were the sightings of leopards every day we were there. On the drive back to Colombo, we spent a night in Galle Fort another UNESCO site. Perhaps some day, we will do it again if the ship stops on the east coast of the island.
There was an overland tour from here to India. It was 4 days and 3 nights with visits to the Taj Mahal and Pink City of Jaipur. At least that was the original plan, so this may have been amended when the world cruise itinerary changed. After the tour, they will fly to the Maldives and re-join the ship. The price was $4000 per person. The other fun excursion was a long 3 hour bus trip one way to see Pinnawela elephants. That was 9 hours for $160 with lunch. A long drive to Galle with lunch was 10 ½ hours for $160. Shorter tours were Holy Colombo and Panoramic Colombo 4 ¼ hours for $55, and 2 hours for $50. We have done all of these over the years, so no buses for us today.
There was a big show of Sri Lankan dancers and drummers on the pier when we arrived. They danced their hearts out for over an hour as the guests joined their buses. Not sure of the temperature today, but we guarantee it was hot even more steamy. However, that would change later in the early evening. We went off the ship after obtaining a nice map that was available in the Explorer's Lounge. The information ladies said the port gate was # 8, and insisted it was the only gate. That would work for us because we know our way to town from there. The ride was 20 minutes, and the buses were leaving on the ½ hour.
From the port gate, we were inundated with the most persistent tuk-tuk drivers and taxi guys. They were all offering incredibly cheap tours, and we knew not to fall for it. As usual, we were out for a walk with no desire to get into a car let alone one of the really unsafe tuk-tuks. We hate to admit it, but some of these guys lie about who they are and what they will provide as far as tours go. And have you ever heard of "touts"? They are well-dressed men, usually carrying a nice leather briefcase, and offering to get you a taxi to some kind of special event happening. It could be an elephant parade or like today, a Ramadan faire. Some of our buddies have fallen for that and had a ride to anywhere but an event. Usually a very expensive jewelry store.
We were followed by several guys who did not know the meaning of "no thanks", even saying it politely. This just goes with the territory, and we are well aware of the practice. But today we heard a new approach. One fellow behind us said he recognized us from the pool on the ship, saying he worked there as a bartender or a deck hand. Yeah….sure. He said he was on his way to see his family in town. Again, yeah, sure. We waited for him to suggest selling us something, but when we got to the crosswalk, we turned around and he was headed back to the gate.
We made our way through the Fort area, passing the old Cargill Building, the Clock Tower, and finally, The Kingsbury Hotel. Great, we could duck into this lovely hotel to cool off and ditch the remaining tuk-tuk drivers who were stopping and offering us tours. We laughed and said we need to have T-shirts printed with "NO THANKS" on the front and back. Once inside the lobby, we had to pass through an xray portal. This was new to us. We have always had to do this precaution in Mumbai at the famous Taj Hotel, but never here. Funny thing – it did beep when we passed through, but nothing was said and we were greeted nicely. We checked out their dining options, but we were too early for the buffet or the outdoor pool dining.
Continuing on, we located Marine Drive, and followed the seaside walkway passing the Colonial Government Building, the Beira Lake, and the Galle Face Green with many towering luxury hotels facing the Indian Ocean here. Besides crows and pigeons, we spot a few pelicans and white egrets. Thank goodness for the breeze coming off of the water with the pounding waves about hitting the seawall. It is one long walk, but it is far away from the road, and no one bothers you for rides here. The strip of the Galle Face Green used to serve as a race track in the old days. Now we could see some stands of hawkers selling beach toys for little kids. There are a few food stands that are mostly opened on weekends.
Located at the far end of the Green is the Galle Face Hotel, a Sri Lanka icon and where we always go for lunch. We heard rumors that after Covid, the high- end hotels limited access to their properties to registered guests only. It would be very disappointing if that were still true. However, upon arriving to the front entrance, the doors were opened and we welcomed inside. Of course, there was another xray check upon entering. And again, the buzzer went off but no one double-checked either of us.
We went right to the outside patio, and took seats under a working fan on the side veranda. Usually there are small squirrels that will search for crumbs on this patio, but it appears that they have been eliminated. Ordering Lion draft beers, we followed up with a burger with fries and one plate of Bolognese spaghetti. The nice aspect of dining here, besides the colonial atmosphere all around us, is the fact they never rush you. The Lion beer never tasted so good, and their cuisine was excellent. Some of the common foods here include a type of sambol, a condiment with spicy chili powder. Hoppers are bowl-shaped pancakes made with rice flour. If a fried egg is added, then it is called an egg hopper, which they top off with sambol. A national dish with spicy fish or meat is called rice and curry. Pani pol is a small pancake with sugary cardamom and cinnamon. Tea, of course, is popular with everyone, and they like it with lots of sugar and hot milk. The menu at this hotel did have some of these typical meals.
Close by this veranda was a full buffet which began at noontime. We knew that one of the travel groups was on its way here at the end of their 4 hour tour. We have done it dining in both the inside convention hall as well as outdoors on this patio. As long as the breeze continued, being outside was the best option.
We had spent almost 1 ½ hours relaxing here while finishing our meal with a shared tiramisu and caramelized banana dessert. Perfect ending for a hot afternoon. Time to leave, we went into the side bar and lounge to pay our bill. There were many photos of famous folks that had stayed here in the past. One was of Gregory Peck, another of Emperor Hirohito, and also President Nixon to name just a few. Many world leaders had graced these verandas as well as famous actresses of the day like Jean Simmons, Ursula Andress, and singer Sade and even Harrison Ford, who may have starred in a movie here.
Back outside, we strolled down the stairway to the swimming pool and discovered some of our neighboring dinner mates on the ship were here. Four of them were enjoying the strong breezes of the India Ocean while sipping pints of cold beer. It is really the best place to spend an afternoon we think. Asking how we got here, we told them we walked, which they did not believe at first. Yes, it was hot, but taking our time was the trick. Taking a taxi here, they had avoided all of the "fun" dodging the tuk-tuk group. We were heading back into the melee as we walked back.
Actually , it was better going back as most of the drivers did not bother us much. Only when we got to the port gate, they stuck their tour offers in our faces. And guess what? The price had dropped to half as much, if we could believe that. While waiting for the shuttle bus, one elderly man was being harassed by a taxi fellow, and seemed quite perturbed. He said this is the reason we should have never stopped here in this port. When one is a single elderly person carrying a cane, they pester you more. The 20 minute ride went quickly and we were back home to the wonderful air-conditioned ship by 3pm. Other than going out on our veranda, we never left the ship again.
By 5:30pm, we noticed that the string of tented vendors on the pier began covering their outside tables of treasures with sheets of heavy plastic. In fact, they worked frantically because in the distance we could see black clouds dropping rain coming quickly our way. Then we saw the lightning and heard the thunder. The sunny and partly cloudy skies we had all day had turned on a dime and a good heavy rain was imminent. And that it did by 6pm…..heavy driving rain which had the vendors piling racks of clothing and other items into the waiting vans. Not everything was packed away, since there were still people coming back from tours and the shuttles to buy stuff. Even with the pier almost flooded, the guests and crew continued to shop. From out of the 12 to 15 tents, about 4 of them stayed open until 10:30pm when the all aboard time was in effect.
Dinner had some nice Sri Lanka items, but we stuck to what we know best. One appetizer was fried calamari and another was a very tasty tomato-veggie soup. Our mains were the same – prime rib (half-size) with baked potatoes. It was plenty filling, so no dessert was needed. Only coffee.
The ship finally left the pier after 11pm with the rain mostly gone by then. Now we are heading to new territory for us – the Maldives. Should be interesting. Glad we have some sea days getting there.
The clocks went back another ½ our tonight. Not a bad idea….we need it.
Bill & Mary Ann
