Cruise of a Lifetime!

Around the World in 112 Days!

Sri Lanka

March 24, 2012

Our sail into Colombo, Sri Lanka, was another hazy, humid approach. The land is flat and Colombo is a major freight port, so there were containers as far as the eye could see. We docked near the passenger terminal, but did not see it as our tour buses came right to the ship to pick us up and drop us off. We could see temples and colonial buildings in the distance, but as with all container ports, the port area itself was not a place where they allowed you to walk around…

We were greeted by dancers and drummers in traditional clothing and I took some movies of them, but no still pictures.

The tour I selected was to the Kalaniya Temple. We were instructed to dress modestly and that shoes and hats could not be worn in the temple. They did suggest that we could wear socks. In other places, that meant that we could not wear shoes in the actual temple buildings, so I didn't bother to bring socks. But here, when we got off the bus, the first stop was a veranda where we removed our shoes, but then we walked bare-foot all over the temple grounds – cobbles, paving stones, sand. That wasn't too much of a problem for me as I hate shoes, but standing on sand that has been in the sun for a while eventually became uncomfortable.


The temple carvings were lovely and at times whimsical;

 the children charming.

The Buddha statue below is under wraps because he is incomplete. They will not unveil him until his eyes have been placed. Although it may not be unveiled at this temple as he is destined to go to a poorer temple in the country-side.

 

Our drive back to the ship was punctuated by views of various temples, churches, and incredible traffic. The little three-wheeled taxis were everywhere and seemed to be bent on joining Buddha or the various Hindu or Christian saints! I finished up by checking out the vendors on the quay by the ship. The port area did not look like a good place to walk through to get back to town and it was quite hot and humid. I ended up getting a sari and looked at a beautiful carved statue of Krishna. He was quite large. There would have been a problem with packing and carrying him as he was mahogany. But mainly, we could not agree on a price before someone else bought him. So he is going home with someone else.