Arrival in Colombo

Jetlagged, hot and sweaty.

It was a hectic last few days before leaving Vancouver, as I second-guessed my packing expertise. It became clear after the struggle of clumsily putting on my (very heavy) backpack, that maybe these old bones and muscles needed something a bit more minimalist.

Travel light = travel right

After saying goodbye to a few items I had previously thought were essentials, I was off on my 21 hour+ journey.

Three very smooth flights later, I arrived in Colombo. Even though I arrived in the early hours of the morning, I was grateful to see that many of the key tourist businesses in the airport were open. I managed to pick up a 50GB 30-day tourist plan with Dialog for roughly $10 CAD before hopping in an Uber. Everything was very efficient and easy to navigate after a long travel “day”.

It’s now been a few days of remote working from my AirBnB in Mount Lavinia, a suburb 30 minutes south of Colombo city centre.

The guesthouse is comfortable, modern, and 50m from the beach. You cross these train tracks to reach the beachfront.

The beach at Mount Lavinia is probably representative of my first impressions of Colombo as a whole — diverse.

There are these beautiful white birds (egrets?) grazing in lush greenery by the local fishermen’s homes. Unfortunately, it sounds like the impact of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami is still being felt today. The fishermen spoke to many deaths in the area, and destroyed homes that still haven’t been rebuilt to this day.

There are also a few scattered restaurants catered to tourists, and perhaps even fellow digital nomads. Sugar Beach has a cute sign outside that encapsulates my aspirations for the next few weeks: Eat, Drink, Work, Chill.

The beach looks to be well used by locals, so it’s nice to see several lifesaving stations at key swimming spots, along with a wide selection of beach toys.

With daily temperatures in the low 30s, I haven’t been able to explore the beach in its entirety (read: hot, sweaty), but there’s a noticeable contrast between derelict hotels and slightly more lavish ones still in operation. The most famous and prestigious is a colonial heritage hotel which I’m sure I’ll cover in a future post.

You can faintly see the outline of the city in the backdrop. I have a lot more to explore there on day trips, as it has been an adjustment getting used to the new time zone, heat, and multiple sensory experiences.

Going from snow, to beach, to busy city tuk-tuks has been a lot to absorb. I want to learn more about the history of the city, and explore everything it has to offer…including a chicken biriyani from KFC if that’s where I end up.

More to come as I settle in!

—Heather