We visited Colombo, Sri Lanka on a port call during an 11-day cruise on the Seabourn Sojourn from Singapore to Mumbai, India.
While we had done a little advance research on Colombo, we decided to take a 4.5 hour long shore excursion called the “Life and Lore of Colombo” before exploring on our own.
Colombo is a fascinating mix of old and new. We drove by Viharamahadevi Park, which was originally created by the British as a botanical garden.
We made a quick stop at the Independence Memorial Hall built to celebrate Ceylon independence from the British on Feb 4, 1948. Ceylon was renamed to Sri Lanka.
The sculptures around Independence Memorial have interesting details..
These school boys posed at the Independence Memorial. The Friday of our visit was designated as a day for school trips, and there were friendly uniformed school children every where we toured.
Next we headed to the National Museum, the largest museum in Sri Lanka known for its Hindu and Buddhist bronzes as well as regalia of the King of Kandy. The grounds are shaded by magnificent banyan trees.
The museum’s collections are diverse – from Buddha heads …
to a depiction of human evolution.
Driving through the city, one sees the contrast of old and new. High rise buildings are going up at a fast pace.
Our next stop was at the beautiful Taj Samudra hotel, where we stopped for refreshments in the top floor ballroom looking over the historic Galle Face Green and the Indian Ocean. The famous Galle Face hotel – seen in the distance – is undergoing renovation.
Refreshments were a version of British tea, with sandwiches, cookies and the famous Ceylon Tea
The Taj also offered a terrific view of downtown Colombo.
Employees at the Taj were very gracious.
We’d stay at this hotel if we were visited Colombo.
Our last stop was at the Gangaram Buddhist Temple.
After the tour, I had fun making friends with the school girls, who loved posing for my iPhone, and then looking at the photos.
They were so friendly and adorable.
The Temple Cat also made sure that she got attention from all of the visitors.
From the bus drive back to the port we got a view of Beira Lake.
This tour was terrific, and we would highly recommend it if you are visiting Colombo on a cruise ship.
Have you visited Colombo, Sri Lanka? What was the highlight for you?
Check out these other posts about our adventures cruising on the Seabourn Sojourn“;.