Colombo (Sri Lanka)
02-03 January 2026
Travel-wise, the past few months
have been unexpectedly eventful, with two new countries having been added to my
‘visited list’, South Korea mid-year and now Sri Lanka. There’s always that
thrilling tension when stepping into a
country for the first time, there’s the excitement of discovery, the quiet apprehension of the unknown and the understanding that the promise of something
new is in every single thing you are about to experience. The moment you exit the aircraft cabin and commence
walking the airbridge to the terminal, your senses are heightened, and you
start absorbing everything. What do my surrounds look like? What do I feel,
what’s the temperature? What are the actions of the airport staff telling me
about this place? Passport control and the customer entry procedure are your
first real indicators of the general approach that you can expect. For example,
have you ever gone through passport control in a major US city? It’s hands down
the most unwelcoming, arrogant & aggressive introduction that I’ve
experienced in all my travels. Just plain horrible. It just oozes US supremacy
– and for that they can go and f*** themselves!!! Sri Lanka was nothing like
that. It was simple, easy and relatively warm – which is about as much as you
can expect from border control.
Bandaranaike
International Airport (CMB) is about 35kms outside of the city centre,
and about 45 mins by car if you’re taking the Colombo-Kutanayake expressway,
and about all I can say about the drive is that it serves a purpose. There’s
nothing eye catching or appealing about the drive – with the moment of arrival
into the Colombo city centre itself, as equally as underwhelming. With that
said, this part didn’t disappoint me. I research enough before travelling to
know what to expect, and all reports had indicated that even though Colombo serves
as the primary gateway to the country, you’ll get a lot of value out of not
dedicating too much time to its discovery. Sorry Colombo, that’s just the word
on the street, you can blame ‘Google Reviews’ for that outlook.
Entering the city itself, I got irregular
vibes of what I anticipated this part of the world to be like. There were
moments of mad traffic, typical hustle and bustle, dishevelled buildings,
chaotic human movement…but it was only in pockets, and only minor to what I
anticipate India to be like. Interestingly for me, I just sat back and
observed, without passing any sort of judgment, or likening the location to
someplace else I’ve been.
Whilst Colombo was just a port of
transition, we did stay at a particularly nice hotel overlooking the Indian
Ocean, Marino Beach Colombo.
From the moment we arrived, Inga
and I were struck by their customer service. It wasn’t just friendly - it was
effusively warm, genuinely appreciative, and endlessly welcoming, the kind of
attention that could fill a dozen pages of adjectives. Every interaction felt
carefully attentive; for me, the politeness was almost deferential, teetering
on the edge of obsequious, yet somehow still charming in its intensity. What were
happy to find however is that this type of interaction is typically Sri Lankan.
Perhaps not to this level of intensity but certainly the trait of warmth, friendliness
and appreciation permeated through the very fabric of their society.
The highlight of Marino Beach was of course their rooftop infinity pool. With views up and down the coastline, and a pool edge that seemed to meld into the vastness of ocean, relaxing here on our first afternoon was just the way that we wanted to commence the 2nd leg of our holiday – which on reflection, initially didn’t have a long Sri Lanka component to it. Originally the idea was to fly from Malaysia straight to the Maldives but somehow the idea morphed when we realised that high-season in the Maldives could be defeated by adding some time in Sri Lanka – and hence a travel itinerary was born.
For the remainder of the afternoon
the incessant demands of Aiden wanting to pick up a ‘scratch game of cricket’
somewhere, is what kept us occupied. Of course we had promised him that Sri Lanka
was a land filled with cricket enthusiasts and that he could easily pick up
random games of cricket just by walking along the beach. Somehow within his
mind I’m certain that he developed the idea that I already had developed a
pre-planned itinerary of when and where this ‘random games’ would be
available, and so our duty has decent, obliging parents meant that we needed to
support his desire and prove our initial assertions….and ultimately we did, at
the Dehiwala Mountlavania playground. Set across the road from the
Marino Beach lounge (which in truth was the adults’ s destination for the evening),
we were lucky enough to pick-up a game with some locals that were kind enough
to let Aiden and myself join in. And let me just add, Aiden had a blast.
…and now, to add the exclamation
mark on this moment
I am proud to say that Aiden
Elisher claimed his first international wicket on the dusty, difficult
pitch of the Dehiwala Mountlavania playground - Colombo, late on day 1 on
the 2nd of January, 2026. A beautiful delivery that clean bowled Nimal
(surname unknown), who was 2 yrs Aidens’ senior. A very proud moment for Aiden’s family
(especially his Dad), and a now a much-cherished memory of our short stay in
Colombo.
The next day we were already
exiting the capital. A lovely stay at the Marino Beach hotel and the briefest
of introductions to Colombo were quickly set aside by a short-trip from our
hotel to Colombo Fort railway station, and the anticipation of a 3h, open
door-open window ride down the coastline to Galle.
There’s something about Colombo
Fort railway station, it stands almost like a fading crown in the heart of the
city, its colonial arches and high ceilings whispering stories of what
certainly was a much busier, grander past. Time has dulled the paint, worn the
tiles, torn holes in the ceilings and walkways, and yet beneath the decaying
exterior, the lovely symmetry and scale hint that this was the centre of
something profound and impressive – now an almost ghostly sentinel of transit
& history, it appears that tourism, at the very least, are providing it
with somewhat of a slight resurgence and an opportunity to tune into echoes of an
earlier era.
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Waiting on the platform with over zealous teens from Canada, elderly grey nomads from Australia (not me), stereotypical backpackers from Germany, the platform was full of tourists wanting to partake in the 'authentic' Sri Lankan rail experience. Which beckons of course the question, when does authentic simply turn into kitsch and self-serving? And my answer, the first time you hear ‘man, you sold out’ and most likely in concert ‘its just way too touristy’.
...As a tourist these days you just can’t win. The experience is just what it is, and if its all about needing local to make you feel authenticity, then I think you're really missing the whole point of taking the experience for what is offering in the moment. With that said, our authentic rail experience was just that – we stood or sat in the aisle for most of the journey down to Galle as was probably expected. Travelling the rail line down the south-west coast, lost in simplicity of the relentless clatter, the sound of the rail cars along the track making it feel somewhat like a metallic heartbeat of the moment - each clatter and each screech a pulse against the landscape. The sea breeze slipping effortlessly through open windows, tangling hair and carrying that freshness and freedom into the carriages. Passengers swaying with the rhythm, lost in thought or quiet conversation. And then, after a 3hr journey, we eased our way onto the platform in Galle—which now became a the new story waiting to be told.
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