A good lie-in to shake off the last of the jet lag, a bit of breakfast and then into
central Colombo on the local bus. Buses here are definitely a cut above the rust buckets of India and reasonably comfortable. Each has a conductor who not only takes the fares collecting, with a certain amount of flair and dexterity, all the rupee notes in a single fan round his middle finger, but also touts tenaciously for business at the main stops along the way, even to the extent of alighting from the bus to cajole passersby. We can only speculate that the driver and conductor are paid a percentage of takings, so keen are they to maximise passenger numbers. That the bus merely slows down at stops to let passengers jump on and off as it rolls by only goes to support our theory. The buses steam through the traffic commandeering the road and hurtling straight through roundabouts and heaven help anyone or thing that gets in the way.
Sri Lanka is in the midst of an extended holiday for the New Year which started on Thursday and lasts at least until Monday, probably longer as people take extended holidays which will also encompass another bank holiday next week as well as Easter. As a result the vast majority of shops are closed and shuttered and the streets in the centre are almost completely devoid of traffic. It makes for relaxing, stress-free sightseeing but something of its vibrancy is lacking and unfortunately it won’t be returning before we leave on Monday.
We has planned to look round the central bazaar, but today there are only a few stalls open and no customers. So, having visited the station to buy our rail tickets for Anuradhapura tomorrow, we decide to head straight for the harbour and a restaurant that is recommended by Lonely Planet. But that too is a casulty of the holiday and we settle instead for another local restaurant, this time with cutlery and some seriously spicy food.
The harbour is actually a working dock and there is little to see even if it was a working day, so we head instead head for Jami-Ul-Alfar Mosque, an imposing red-and-white striped edifice in a side street of the Pettah district. Unfortunately, the interior is not so impressive.
A stroll along Galle Face Green is a pleasant way to while-away some time on route to Vidharamahadevi Park further south off Galle Road. The sea is too treacherous here for swimming, but there are still plenty of people careening in waves as the break onto the small patches of sand that are just visible at high tide.
Our route to Vidharamahadevi Park takes round South Beira Lake where we sit a while enjoying the view. Vidharamahadevi Park, known as Victoria Park until the 1950s when it was renamed in honour of King Dutugemunu mother, is a well-tended,lush green tropical garden with delightful formal fountains and ponds, many flowering trees, a childrens play area and an amusement park. Today it is full of families relaxing. And some of the trees are full of enormous fruit bats hanging like black hankerchieves from the branches.
We round off the day with a drink in the Lion Bar in Mount Lavinia. This bar’s two notable features are a live three piece group playing music vaguely reminiscent of a south sea island and who move from table to table to serenade the, almost exclusively male, clientele; and an rather novel entrance in the style of a lion’s mouth.