Sri Lanka

I started a blog entry for yesterday, shortly before we heard about the terrible attacks in Christchurch. That took all the fun out of things. It was especially sobering as we drove past the Red Mosque and others in Colombo, Sri Lanka later yesterday morning as the families were heading in for their prayers. One young mother saw our tour bus and she and her baby waved at us.

March 15
Tom first wants me to point out to everyone that it’s the Ides of March. Watch your back Caesar’s. (I suppose it will be remembered for multiple reasons, now)

Today we are visiting the capital city Colombo in Sri Lanka. Our port guide has told us:
“Sri Lanka conjures up the exotic and the mysterious. Once known as Ceylon, the island boasts a fantastic landscape that ranges from primeval rain forest to the bustling modern streets of Colombo, the capital. A visitor to Sri Lanka has a wealth of options. Relax on some of the world's finest beaches. Explore the temples, halls and palaces of the last Sinhalese kingdom at Kandy. Or take a guided tour of an elephant orphanage. Colombo also offers an array of charms, from the Royal Botanic Gardens, once a royal pleasure garden, to the Pettah Bazaar, where vendors hawk everything under the sun. Colombo and Sri Lanka were shaped by Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim and European influences. Colombo also serves as a gateway for Overland Adventures to India.”

Colombo is rapidly growing, The Chinese have heavily invested in this area. They have even spent about US$15 billion to reclaim several acres of land along the western shore. There are now high-rises and growing infrastructure. The people here, the Sinhalese, are very proud of their culture and are doing a lot to promote tourism.

Well, we’re glad we visited, we got some great visuals, but I am not sure there is much here yet to make me want to return. The people are very nice, but the smog, the traffic, the constant noise are grating.

However, in the elevator on the way to dinner, we met a nice German couple, who had visited here 20 years ago as backpacking college kids and they told us it was so exciting and amazing to see the growth, and that all the different cultures get along so well. That reminded us that the Sri Lanka Civil War only ended 10 years ago. We had passed by a couple of older buildings that had been pockmarked with bullet holes, but there was very little evidence of a major decade long war in evidence now. Sometimes that half-empty glass is really half-full.