Our priority for the day was to reserve a taxi for our overland to India tomorrow. Mission accomplished, we were able to book a taxi for tomorrow morning to take us to the airport along with a city tour today. After leaving the port we headed to Galle Face Green, a mile long promenade for some photos. Next we drove past the Clock Tower Lighthouse a rare site indeed in the middle of the city centre. The highlight of my day was our stop at Manning Market, this is a working local market supplying retailers with fresh produce. The workers were very friendly and receptive to me taking their photos. On our two hour tour we covered a lot of Columbo’s city sites such as; The Beira Lake in the heart of the city to see the Gangaramaya Simamalakaya Buddhist Temple complex with Buddhist artifacts from around the world is a must see site. The snake charmers at the lake also made for an interesting site. On to the Diyatha Uyagana, the picturesque part, Independence Memorine Hule and the Town Hall. We ended our taxi ride at the Old Dutch Hospital Columbo’s oldest building. Next we walked the Pettah Criss, Crossing many roads in the city’s busiest shopping area representing a diverse mix from wholesale dealers, textiles, shoes to silk flowers. In the middle of the traffic congestion sits the Jima-Ul-Al Jar Jumma Mosques known for it’s iconic red domes. We made our way back to the port after a great spontaneous tour and a bit of shopping. So, tomorrow at 4:30 am Ann, Cathy & I depart the ship returning 6 days later.... We will explore Varanasi on the Ganges, Khajuraho and it’s ancient temples and finally... Panna National Park for a jungle safari looking for Tigers, Ghaial, Sloth Bear, Leopard, Blue-bull and the Chinkara along with over 200 species of birds... you never know what we’ll see. We return to the ship in Dubai..... Looking forward to an amazing journey! Part 1 of 2....
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