Revisiting Colombo

To me Colombo is like any other South Indian city .I was in the city after a gap of three years .People look the same .Shops and signage look the same . The front office girls in the hotels in their sarees with pallus touching the floor and deep back cut cholis look gorgeous .We had dinner by the beach at the beautiful Galle Face Hotel .
http://www.gallefacehotel.com/html_classic/home_classic.htm

Musicians at Galle Face

While the musicians sang Srilankan and Bollywood songs the sea became rough and in moments it was raining cats and dogs. It rained non-stop for over two hours .To me it seemed this was the end of the world. Galle Face hotel is one of the heritage places in the city and it gave me a feel of Kolkata’s tollyclub. We were shown around the hotel and the manager showed us a room with a porch overlooking the sea .The interiors were done up in 19th century style. The room was available at USD 350 per night. It must have played host to so many celebrities.

SriLanka is a country where you feel quite rich when you exchange money at the forex counters. It is a cheap place to travel by Indian standards. Local cuisine is somewhat like a spicy and hot variety of many Indian preparations. Fresh fruits were served in plenty at breakfast and in the rooms. Drinking water is almost always served lukewarm which reminds me of similar practice in Kerala. The people are extremely gentle and well mannered which probably makes it such a popular tourist destination.