Serendipity!!

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY APARNA ON 3rd JULY, 2004

Wonder how many of you have thought of holidaying in Srilanka! It remains one of my favourite destinations...
As you land into the Colombo International Airport, you know you'ver reached paradise...all you see are the coconut groves literally swallowing up your aircraft!

Colombo city is a blend of the modern and the colonial.. just walking around the city, taking in the sheer timelessness about the place, easygoing people who have a ready smile for tourists ( inspite of the bitter strife that the country has seen...) is quite an experience..

Check out places like the Galle Face... watch the sun go down while you are sipping a mango cocktail!...Kandy a lovely town you could drive to, has a beautiful lake and a very famous Budhist temple. Dont miss Bentota, a wonderful beach resort. Also the Elephant Orphanage, that you could stop by when you are driving to Kandy from Colombo...

The food here is to die for, if you like seafood, cooked in traditional Ceylonese style in coconut milk!

I invariably end up talking about food and travel in the same breath. Never in my life have I had better seafood than in this lovely, quiant little shack called 'Beach Wadia' in Colombo. Dont go by the appearance of the place... it's barely four walls put together on the beach and you need to actually walk over train tracks to reach the place. Our host in Colombo, a connoisseur of fine food and wine told us that this place was famous for having hosted celebrities over the years..the Queen of England, Hollywood stars, diplomats...you name it! I was a bit unsure on seeing this bare place, plastic chairs and tables, no carpeting (well, we were bang on the beach!! ) The owner walked upto us, a likeable man who announced he was the chief waitor! And then the food arrived..crabs and prawns and ceylonese fish curry..every dish was a work of art and we knew instantly why this place had a permanantly 'reservations full' sign outside! What really was surprising was that the restaurant did not own any deep freezer. The food is cooked fresh everyday from the daily catch brought in!!

Srilanka also remains one of my favourite places to shop in.. It's inexpensive and the must check-out places are Odel ( for apparel and accessories ). You'll be able to shop for major international brands at prices to die for. Another place I loved was Paradise Road, a lovely place for knick knacks and gifts.


Serendipity, thy name is Srilanka!