COLOMBO –
SRI LANKA
Saturday, March 5, 2025, Temperature 79 Degrees, Humidity 75%, W- ENE 3.7 mph
VISA – Sri Lanka requires a VISA for everyone, whether you go ashore or not. The ship takes care of the paperwork for most countries – we had to turn in our passport early on which was somewhat disconcerting. They’ve collected and returned our passports several times, depending on the requirements of the country we are visiting. We had to procure and pay for our own VISAS for Australia and Sri Lanka. The paperwork from HAL said a VISA was required for them. As I said before Australia, was challenging because you had to take a photo of yourself and fit your face into their “oval”. Sri Lanka was just a form. About 5 days out of Sri Lanka, they began announcing and put in the Daily Plan that everyone was required to have a VISA for Sri Lanka. They gave the website. They said Sri Lanka officials were on board and if everyone did not have a completed VISA, the ship would not be cleared to come into port. They announced it every day. Twenty-four hours before we were to dock, they said 530 of the 1,240 on board still had not completed their VISA. Unbelievable that so many people still had not done it after all the requests! They must have gone knocking on doors because we were allowed to go into Sri Lanka the next day!
We only saw the city of Columbo, so we didn’t see the best Sri Lanka has to offer. It’s known for its beautiful beaches, mountains and elephants! We missed out on the elephants because we didn’t want to take a 9-hour excursion to get there. We had a great 4 hour excursion with hands-on cooking demonstration and lunch– in fact, it’s getting its own Blog, but it was totally a city experience.
Arabs began to settle the Columbo area around eight century AD. The port helped their trade and was a way to control trade between the Sinhalese kingdoms and the outside world. The Portuguese first arrived in Sri Lanka in 1505. The Portuguese made a treaty with the King of Kotte (1484-1518) which allowed them to trade in the island's cinnamon crop. Cinnamon remains an important income product today. The Portuguese were given full authority over the coast in exchange for a promise to guard the coast from invaders. The Portuguese expelled the Muslims and started to build a fort. In 1593 the Portuguese established complete control of the coastal region with Columbo as their capital. In 1656 the Dutch captured Columbo after a lengthy siege – only 93 Portuguese survivors were led from the fort. The Dutch had promised to return land to the Sinhalese kings but later refused to turn over the lands and gained control of the rich cinnamon crops. Columbo served as the capital under the control of the Dutch East India Company until 1796. The British captured Columbo in 1796 but it remained just a military outpost until the Kandyan Kingdom ceded the property to them and Columbo became the capital of the crown colony of British Ceylon. The British began constructing houses and other civilian structures which gave rise to the current City of Columbo. As seen in other areas, during the time they were in control the British were responsible for establishment of the infrastructure of the city. In 1948 British colonialism ended as Ceylon gained independence from Britain. The end of colonization had a tremendous impact on the population with changes in laws and customs, clothing style, and religion. The influences of the Portuguese, Dutch and British are still visible in Columbo.
As is often the case, we tied up in a commercial port, no Cruise Terminal here. We were greeted by a group of native dancers on the pier. There were tented vendor stands with local goods including several selling jewelries of local stones, especially sapphires. Because we were a small tour group (12) our transportation was a smaller van but the air conditioner was good and our tour guide was cute, very knowledgeable and fun. The excursion turned into an adventure right off the bat! Lots of construction in the port area. We worked our way around the construction as we went to one of several Port Exits manned by the Port Authority. After a lengthy discussion with our driver, the port police determined we couldn't leave from that exit and we turned around. Another lengthy drive in the port (almost to where we started) and we were stopped again by a motorcycle policeman. Another lengthy conversation, the driver had to show his driver’s license. More conversation, we were beginning to wonder if we’d ever get out of the Port. Finally, the motorcycle policeman led us to another Port Exit and 30 minutes after we started, we were on our way!
There were few high rises and modern buildings. Most were lower, older buildings. The roads were wider and not as congested as Bali. Instead of scooters, Columbo is full of Tuk Tuks (small 3-wheel vehicles similar to the Jeepney John remembered from Olongapo in the Philippines. Those were more elaborately decorated with colors and curtains). The Tuk-Tuks were made in India. Our guide said Motorcycles and Scooters weren’t as popular here because of the poor quality of some roads and the heat (although it was hot in Bali and that didn’t keep them from riding Scooters there). We passed the Lotus Tower, which at 1,153 feet is the tallest self-supported tower in South Asia. We passed by a highway overpass with a Brahman cow laying in the shade. She didn't appear to be tethered in any way. A Hindu cow? Are cows sacred here? We also passed a large market with many stores/vendors. Our guide said the merchandise was 3rd quality, but most people were just interested in the price. After about 45 minutes driving in the city, we reached our destination after driving down several narrow residential streets – a beautiful walled oasis which held a lovely home and our cooking class.
MISCELLANEOUS FACTS FROM OUR GUIDE:
Sources of Income into the Country:
1. Tourism
2. Tea (picked by hand, only the most tender leaves) First tea plantation 1867
3. Money sent back to the country from Sri Lankans who moved elsewhere
4. Garment Industry (no “child labor”, mandatory school until 16 years old)
5. Spices
Population is a multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multiculturality city but primarily Buddhist. Every month, the day of the full moon is a national holiday – schools and businesses are closed.
Apartment buildings are only found in the city of Columbo. Most of the workers live in small homes in the country and commute to work in the city. The homes have a small plot of ground where they can raise food and chickens.
Schools – Education is mandatory until age 16. High school and college are available beyond that. All education is free; uniforms and supplies are provided. There are private options for those who wish to pay. The literacy rate in Sri Lanka is 93% - we’re not even close to that in the US.
Medical – All medical, including hospital treatments are free although, like education, there are private options for those who can pay.