India and the Middle East cruise: May 8

May 8 – Colombo

I had a tour organised here. Twelve of us were going to see the sights of the city with a local guide. There had been quite a bit of a thunderstorm before we arrived and it was still raining very heavily as we docked. By the time we disembarked the rain had eased to a bearable drop here and there, so the umbrella was not required.

We had a short wait for our guide, but eventually we were on our way. Ruwan was such a wonderful guide. Full of knowledge and very proud of his heritage and religion (Buddism). Our first stop was the Kalaniya temple, a historic and sacred temple in Colombo and the third most significant in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is the major centre for Buddism in the world as it is believed Buddah was born under the special tree situated at the most significant temple site elsewhere in Sri Lanka. It is a very peaceful philosophy/way of life more than a 'religion'. We found Ruwan's explanations of this philosophy very interesting.

As for the temple itself it dates back to the 14^th century with significant paintings from that time as well as more modern decorations. We all had to take off our shoes before entering and Ruwan had purchased flowers for us to lay at the entrance to the temple – a lovely gesture.

We were lucky to have arrived when we did as we were in town at the end of the 2 week festival celebrating Buddah and everywhere (not just the temples) was decorated with lanterns and flags. It all looked very festive.

Next we visited the Dutch Reform Church (Wolvandaal Church). Quite a contrast to the Buddist temple. Very severe. Established in 1629 the current building dates back to 1749.

After the church we visited the fruit and vegetable market. Ruwan talked about the food we saw and told us about those items we did not recognise. Then we walked through the bazaar. We had no local currency, so it was easy to say 'no'.

By this time we were very hot – the humidity was up around 95% - so I asked if we could make lunch our next stop.

Lunch was in a very well patronised hotel buffet and we sat down and had a very welcome local beer too. The bathroom facilities were also excellent which is always a relief. We had access to wifi at the restaurant so everyone was also busy catching up on emails etc. as Internet access on the ship is not great.

After lunch we drove to Galle Face Green which is an expanse of open ground (patchily grassed) where families go for recreation. Couples, who are not allowed to show open affection in public, also come here a they can sit on benches away from prying eyes of the street above!

This area is right on the beachfront. There is sand but the water was breaking right up to the sea wall, so I don't think anyone actually sits on the sand. There were some people paddling. It was quite pleasant strolling along the beachfront, passing the food stalls and general hawkers, despite the heat.

Next stop (by request) we went to the 'floating market'. This area is a part of the urban renewal which is quickly taking place in Colombo. With money provided by Chinese developers, there is a lot of development going on. These markets, still in the process of being established were only opened late in 2014.

Ruwan finally took us to the international Buddist temple in Colombo (Gangaramaya) which also includes a museum of articles to do with Buddism and items donated by those who leave Colombo but wish to leave something from their life there. A very interesting and eclectic collection.