Sunday, April 29, 2018

Colombo, Sri Lanka...Part 1

Our trip to India has come to an end which meant that our next stop was Sri Lanka which will be our last country to visit on this trip. 

The map shows our route through India, to Nepal and then on to Sri Lanka...





We covered a lot of ground in India but still much to see in this most interesting and diverse country.
We both agreed it was one of the best countries we have ever visited and to think we almost didn’t come!

However we were now looking forward to visiting Sri Lanka, an island country just off the tip of southern India and only a 50 minute flight.The airport is actually in Negombo an hour or so outside of the capital Colombo so we took a taxi in to our next accommodation which was located in a posh residential area... outside our homestay.




Our first impression of the city was that is was very green and hot!



The streets were wide and we did not see the garbage that was common in many parts of India. The buildings were quiet lovely alamost always surrounded by beautiful gardens...






This courtyard was located in a shopping complex which was in walking distance of our homestay and it was quite beautiful...



It is located in a refurbished complex that used to house an old government building and was a project of the Ministry of Defence and the Urban Development Authority. It took the Sri Lanka Army and Navy two years to demolish the former buildings and reconstruct this one.

It is located very close to the Independence Memorial Hall which is a national monument in Colombo built for commemoration of the independence of Sri Lanka from the British rule with the restoration of full governing responsibility to a Ceylonese-elected legislature on February 4, 1948. It is located at the Independence Square.



It is quite a large structure with a beautiful interior as well...



Loved the sign...



Colombo was very hot and humid so we took every advantage of shade to escape the heat...



Our first contact with the tuk tuk drivers in Colombo was not very positive as they are very aggressive so we took to using Uber to get around the city. It was reliable, inexpensive and no hassle! 

We visited a number of Buddhist temples with the first one close by where we were staying and this was most beautiful and quiet with only one other lady to be seen...



Some of the Buddhas were quite large...



The reclining Buddha...



The statues were so colourful and detailed...








Across town in a Uber to Gangaramaya Temple which is over 120 years old and quite a large complex with lots of tourists...



No shoes allowed and your shoulders and knees must be covered.

This temple contains many objects that devotees over the years have gifted to it so there are a jumble of things as here as well as being a place of worship.






The keeper of the museum showing Don how to pray...




Many examples of Buddhas from all over Asia...








There were lots of school groups here and these boys were escaping to be with the Buddhas...



And of course what would be a Temple without a monk...



And a stuffed elephant...



There are four main religions in Sri Lanka; Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity with  Theravada Buddhism being the majority religion with about 70% of the country's population as followers. To be continued...


No comments:

Post a Comment