After two sea days where we were entertained and educated by some speakers who are tops in their fields, we reached Colombo, Sri Lanka around 2:00 PM.
Sunrise in the Laccadive Sea in the Indian Ocean
Sri Lanka, historically known as Ceylon, and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian peninsula by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. It shares a maritime border with the Maldives in the southwest and India in the northwest.
Sri Lanka has a population of approximately 22 million and is home to several cultures, languages and ethnicities. The Sinhalese people form the majority of the population, followed by the Sri Lankan Tamils, who are the largest minority group and are concentrated in northern Sri Lanka; both groups have played an influential role in the island's history. Other long-established groups include the Moors, Indian Tamils, Burghers, Malays, Chinese, and Vedda.
We scheduled the "included" tour (Panorama Colombo) for this afternoon. On our previous visit we only had one day, and we did a full day overland tour to the city of Gall and Old Town, it was a 2 hours' drive south of Colombo. As a result, we saw very little of the city.
After a 45-minute driving tour of the city, we made a stop at Independance Square.
Independence Memorial Hall (also known as Independence Commemoration Hall) is a national monument in Sri Lanka built for commemoration of the independence of Sri Lanka from the British rule with the restoration of full governing responsibility to a Ceylonese-elected legislature on 4 February 1948.
It looked like a bicycle race was about to start. It was a race sponsored by the Rotary Club, "Ride for Hope", which I believe supported heart health.
Snake handler, we saw one the last trip as well.
After leaving Independance Square we made our way thru the city to the Gangaramaya Temple.
One of Colombo’s most famous and recognizable temples is Gangaramaya Temple. The architecture of the Gangaramaya temple is a fusion of Sri Lankan, Thai, Indian, and Chinese designs. The Gangaramaya complex, which is made up of the main temple, a museum, a library, and vocational training facilities.
One of the most well-known religious leaders on the island, Galaboda Gnanissara Thero, took over the Gangarama when he was a 16-year-old novice monk. Gnanissara Thero is an avid traveler, and as a result, the temple is filled with bizarre trinkets he’s collected from places he’s traveled. In addition our guide informed us that many items have been donated to the temple.
In addition to the "normal" collection of Buddhas, the temple was filled with the most eclectic collection of objects you could imagine.
The 800-year-old "Buddha Tree", a type of Ficus.
A few of the many autos donated to the temple.
How about a watch?
A very unusual Buddha.
For my daughter-in-law, Tuesdie, who collects Blue Willow China. There were several of the large platters which were 15 our 16 inches in diameter.
After returning to the ship, it was already dark, Kay and I went to deck 8 to enjoy watching the busy port. It was more entertaining than the television.
Tomorrow, we have an early excursion for a two-hour tour of Colombo on the local mode of transportation, the Tuk-Tuk.
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