I work in Colombo, which means unless I am travelling out, I spend five days of any week here, but still most importantly I don't like the place. I usually tell any visitor to get out of Colombo if you want to see the real Sri Lanka! Today we had a set of visitors, since they had limited time to spend here we were forced to show them a bit of Colombo.
We ended up taking a stroll along the Galle face. For me it was too crowded to enjoy the sea or the views, the beach didn't have the usual magic other Sri Lankan beaches present, probably due to the urbanization around. But on the contrary my visitors were pleased with the place, they said that they could feel a vibe around the place, they were surprised to see it being like a family hang out place and most importantly the absence of public boozing. They were even more surprised to see a lot of little children being wide awake and playing around there even late after the sun set and one of them remarked "Its amazing apart from Cairo this is probably the only place in the world where you find kids on the roads in the nights"! I don't know whether if it was a coincidence but I couldn't come up with a counter argument for that statement.
I was glad that the visitors did enjoy themselves, but still I couldn't stop thinking how they would have felt if they had a real taste outside Colombo. Anyway to the people of Colombo who always find fault with me for being critical about Colombo , look now I have written something good about your City so be happy and also be happy since there are people who like your City :P
In your post your wording implied that you are not of or from Colombo. However I think most people who currently live in Colombo and its environs are not of or from Colombo either.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to people on Galle Face Green, at night many are from Slave Island who are go there as an area to breathe easy.
Some of the Slave Islanders will be booted out of there, to where I know not. They are true Colombians who will become outcasts into far away places.
I wish Colombo reinvents itself to make it more livable. I mean improving the air quality and commuter times.
Interesting to know where you call home. I like your blog. Very refreshing.
Though I'm an outsider, I love colombo as much as any place else in the world. Your friends are right, its one of the most buzzing AND laidback places ever. Tokyo's got nothing on Colombo, and I'm serous.
ReplyDelete@Patta pal Thanks for the comment. People about to be booted out sounds nasty.
ReplyDelete@Sach I wish that you are joking..But I guess Jap is a bit too monotonous and orderly for people like us who had grown up with a a fair amount of chaos around us..hehe
I hate Colombo ... starting from the climate .. Its definitely not for me .. Nothing like Kandy dude... ;) ...
ReplyDelete