Day 75 – Columbo, Sri Lanka

Day 75 – March 20 – Columbo, Sri Lanka

Colombo is not one of my favorite ports and I suspect that the main reason HAL stops here at all is to provide a launch point for their overland excursions to the Taj Mahal.  I considered doing an independent overland to the Taj Mahal like we did in 2016, but the options for returning to the ship at our next port in the Seychelles were limited and had more risk than I was willing to accept.

Welcome Party

Dancers in colorful costumes welcomed us as we moored alongside our berth in Colombo early this morning.  There was quite a variety of dancers and I went down to the wharf to get a better look, even though our tour didn’t leave until 10 AM.  About ½ mile away is a Buddhist shrine called Sambodhi Chaithya,  made of reinforced concrete, which looks something like a rocket ship from a Buck Rogers movie.

Vendors set up temporary shops right next to the ship in permanent shelters selling a wide variety of souvenirs, local clothing and T shirts.  One shop offered a variety of gemstones but the ship cautioned that the buyer should beware as the fact the vendor is inside the security area doesn’t mean there quality is guaranteed or in any way endorsed by HAL.

A man standing near a van with a “TAXI” sign in the window will arrange for cars or drivers for any length of time.  He quoted me a price of $150 for a van with a driver for the day.  I didn’t try to negotiate, so I would consider this price the opening bid as opposed to the final price.  If you agree on a price, he will summon a taxi from somewhere outside the gate, as the van with the sign is not the actual van you might end up using.  Another guest told me later that she arranged for an all-day tuk tuk driver out in town for $25 and had a wonderful experience.  I have heard about too many bad experiences with Tuk Tuk drivers here to ever trust one, but as this guest described, there are people who have great experiences with Tuk Tuks.

NOTE: It is important to understand that there are two layers of port security here in Colombo.  Close to the ship you will find a gate that limits access to the wharf to those with specific authorization.  Once you pass this first gate, you are now in the general port area which is not open to the public and has several gates, which aren’t immediately obvious as they are some distance away.  Some taxis, but not every taxi, can access this port area.  If you walk outside the port area and want to take a taxi or Uber back to the ship, you may not get further than the outer port gates – leaving you with about a ½ mile walk back to the ship.  See the map below for the location of these port gates.  It’s possible you find a taxi out in town that has the correct pass to enter the port area, but there isn’t any way I know of to determine this and if you ask the taxi driver, he will probably say yes regardless of his actual authorization.

Plan Ahead

My advice for Colombo is to set up your tour or driver in advance.  If you do wait until you arrive, then I would suggest negotiating with the taxi dispatcher near the ship and make your best deal here.  If you want to experience a Tuk Tuk, I would use one that is already inside the port area, as that way you know they have the proper credentials to return to the ship and I suspect Tuk Tuk’s with port access may undergoing additional screening not required otherwise.

Before you start to negotiate for transportation know where you want to go and what you want to see.  If you allow the driver to take you to what he thinks is best, you may have a good time, or you may find yourself visiting “factories” trying to sell you more stuff.

The Hilton Hotel and other nearby markets are outside the port and about a 1 mile walk, but you have to be prepared to withstand the constant harassment by a wide variety of vendors to sell you something once you are outside the port area.  This is not a place where you can have an enjoyable stroll down a street near the port area.

Cooking with Color

We decided to take the HAL Tour called “Cooking with Color” which was very good and allowed us to interact with residents in a safe and controlled setting.  As an added bonus, it didn’t depart until 10 AM so we didn’t have to get up extra early.

Our tour met in the Queen’s Lounge and our tour was called 10 minutes before the scheduled departure time of 10 AM.  After making our way down to the pier we boarded the bus with 13 other people and were soon on our way.  Even though the class was only 7 miles away, it took us about 50 minutes to get there due to the heavy Colombo traffic.  The class takes place in the home of the instructor, Mohara Dole, and we learned later that her home in co-located with a small commercial bakery where she bakes a variety of bread and pizza crusts for local grocery stores.

Hidden behind high walls, the class takes place outside in a small yard between her home and the exterior walls.  Two tables were set up with wooden cutting boards, one for each student, along with a tomato, onion and a bay leaf.

Once we were all positioned by our cutting boards, Mohara Dole, explained how the day would proceed.  We would all cut up the tomato and onions in front of us and then gather around the main table and she prepared the dishes and combined the ingredients.  Our menu for today included:  yellow rice, red chicken curry, sliced lotus root, a Sri Lankan gourd in a yellow coconut milk curry, a “mallung” or leaf salad dressed with ground coconut and Mohara’s signature eggplant dish with green chilies and onions.

We would all have an opportunity, if we chose, to take part in the preparation by stirring in meat, minding a pot, or shaving coconut.  Most students gathered around the main table to observe while a handful volunteered to take a more active role.  I had an opportunity to help shave some of the coconut as shown in this picture.

As the morning progressed, Mohara would ask students to sample the dishes in progress and offer an opinion about their seasoning.

After we reached a point where the various clay pots containing our food was simmering away, Mohara led us on a tour through her small commercial bakery.  As we walked by the various work stations, about a dozen employees were busy preparing breads for the ovens where they would be baked, cooled and then bagged for shipment to local grocery stores.

It wasn’t long before the various clay pots containing a variety of rices, curries, sambols and salads were ready.  Our class lined up to serve ourselves and found open seats inside her house or in her yard under a tent.

After we were finished eating we gathered in Mohara’s living room and listened to her tell stories about growing up in the forests of Sri Lanka’s Vavuniya district in the 1940s and 50s and her future plans.  She is looking to sell his business and spend more time travelling, but so far she hasn’t found any interested buyers.

We wrapped up the day with some group photos before piling back into our bus and heading back to the port, arriving around 2:20 PM after another 40 minute drive to travel 7 miles.

Back on the ship

After a quick stroll thru the shops on the wharf, we returned to the ship and relaxed in our cabin for the rest of the day.

The President’s Cut

All of our tablemates from Table 303 assembled in the Pinnacle Grill at 8 PM for a group dinner.  Unfortunately, the pinnacle doesn’t have a large round table for 10 so we were forced to use the long rectangular table by the door.  The shape of this table makes conversation with anyone at the ends of the table impossible, but we still had a good time sharing the wonderful food in the Pinnacle.  The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the $59, 36 ounce “Presidents Cut”.  We ordered one for the table to share and after it was paraded, they took it back to the kitchen to carve up and serve some slices to everyone.  The meat was very good, but not so good I would order it for any reason other than the spectacle of seeing such a large cut hit the table.

Craig Richard, a saxophonist, was the entertainer this evening.  He put on an excellent show playing a variety of popular hits, including a nice medley of Michael Jackson tunes, complete with a white sequined glove.