Columbo, Sri Lanka - Mar 07, 2013

Columbo is the largest city and the commercial, industrial and cultural capital of Sri Lanka. It was the political capital of Sri Lanka, before Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte. It is located on the west coast of the island and often referred to as the capital since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Columbo. Columbo is a busy and vibrant place with a mixture of modern life and colonial buildings and ruins. Due to its large harbor and its strategic position along the East-West sea trade routes, the city was known to ancient traders some 2,000 years ago. The name “Columbo” was first introduced by the Portuguese in 1505. We had an incredible visit to Columbo today under a sunny, hot and humid skies, but it was also a day of negotiations and deal making and price calculating. We were hit right out of the port by the Tuk Tuk drivers trying very hard to give us tours at various price levels. Finally agreeing on a price and once in the Tuk Tuk , the price suddenly changed and other negotiations had to be agreed too. Having none of that and after a few blocks we simply left to vehicle and began our tour on foot. While looking at a map we were approached by David, a hawker selling necklaces on the street. Jeff had a chat with him and for $2.00 USD he had agreed to walk us for a hour to the Gangarama Temple, making a bit of a tour out of it along the way. This temple is inside and amazing serene complex, set beside a beautiful lake (Beira Lake) and is a training institute for monks. This temple complex was amazing with several temples which also included an area set aside for a baby elephant. There was a wedding taking place and after showing some interest by asking and taking pictures were we invited into the reception area to participate in some of the festivities - delicious food. Along the way to the temple we had learned a bit more about David, a very nice street guy who apparently lost his wife and three children to the Tsunami of 2004 (Hmm, do we believe him??? well he seemed pretty genuine), but he did take good care of us and made sure that we safely crossed the street under his traffic control. Jan took a bit of liking to him and his story and indicated to me that she would like to up his fee, so after the temple we presented to him a $10.00 USD bank note that he very gladly accepted, she also purchased for a dollar one of his shell necklaces. Not sure that he thought that he had a live one on his hands or if he felt that now he needed to watch out for us as this amount of money to him would take about a week to earn (these guys make about only a couple of dollars a day - especially when there is not a cruise ship in). David now befriended us, he negotiated our Tuk Tuk ride back to the main part of town, a dollar per Tuk Tuk (a very good price), he walked us through the shopping areas offering advice along the way. Jan then asked what time it was in Vancouver (10:00 pm - the day before), as she wanted to call home - David overheard this and asked if we wanted and internet cafe. He took us along some back streets and then up four floors of an old building to an internet cafe with five air conditioned stalls - so for a dollar we were able to call home (using Skype) and the internet for up to hour or more - we only used it for a half hour and told the operator that no change was required. We then thought than David was going to try to get some more cash out of us as we finished with him at the World Trade Centre, but he simply shook hands with Jeff and that was it. It was then that we realized that for the money we paid him that he felt obligated to take care of us until we were back at the starting point of where we had met him - so at the end of the day we had a great guide for a great price. After some shopping in the WTC we headed to the infamous Galle Face Hotel, a hotel that dates back to the 1800’s. We had a wonderful lunch before heading back to the ship.