I was successful to visit unconventional Colombo on my third attempt. Generally speaking, Sri Lanka is famous for cricket games, the beaches, and homegrown teas, or for an Elephant Safari. Most visitors can plan to see the colonial beauty of Sri Lanka by keeping these mentioned activities in a broader sense. My trip was totally different from others. It was neither for tourism nor for business, nor for enjoying cricket. It was for attending the annual DAN Regional Conference trip with colleagues where I used to work in the advertising industry. Confining in a 5-star hotel in Colombo for 48 hours, naysayer may say, it was boring. In reality, it was not.
I tried to extract the tourism flair out of this official tour. I remembered the walk with my colleagues from the Ministry of Crab to Hilton Colombo after having a mouthwatering seafood dinner. Now, I am going to share my Colombo travelogues which are totally different from the regular tour plan.
1. WELCOME TO UNCONVENTIONAL COLOMBO
I reached Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport via Dhaka-Kolkata-Chennai without any hassle exactly 3 years ago. All you need is your valid passport to enter Sri Lanka by paying USD 25 only. It’s a port entry for Bangladeshis. The immigration officer will ask you 2 simple questions. Why did you come to Sri Lanka and when will you go back from Sri Lanka? Your reply always should be “Tourism” even it is for a conference or any other purpose unless you have a special invitation. By 11 am local time, after completing the immigration formalities, we got our taxi ready. We reached our destination “Hilton Colombo” in just 40 minutes by using the highway route. No one felt so tired during the 14-hour transit journey. Straightway, we walked into the conference hall while our luggage was sent to the room.
2. STAY AT HILTON COLOMBO I UNCONVENTIONAL COLOMBO
The Hilton Colombo owns the title of Sri Lanka’s leading hotel. It is located in the central part of the capital city. The hotel offers you a spectacular view of the Indian Ocean through its guest rooms, executive rooms and suites. This place makes a perfect stay for people who are in Sri Lanka for business, conference, leisure or a mix of both. The luxurious accommodations and amazing services are meant to pamper you. My experience at the hotel was too corporate yet fond memory with ex-colleagues which I’ll cherish for a long time. My room offers splendid views of the Indian Ocean, Colombo city, Colombo railway track, and colonial beauty that surrounds it. All in all, I must say that the overall experience at The Hilton Colombo was by far the best. I enjoyed every moment of the great hospitality of Hilton Colombo.
3. SPELLBOUND BY MOTIVATIONAL SPEECH I UNCONVENTIONAL COLOMBO
I never listened to any kind of motivational speech except for brand launch speech and announcement. It was beyond my expectation that how a person can influence a house full of the audience! I am talking about Kumar Sangakkara, former Sri Lankan ace cricket captain and a living legend within the cricket fraternity. He was scheduled to speak at the conference for an hour on the first day. Trust me, the moment went like in the blink of an eye. It was so much inspiring. Since I was fond of cricket from my childhood, I listened to him thoroughly, and so did the hall. It was so amazing that I won’t forget his catchphrase. I still remember his expression –
“Never confuse your skilled identity”
Kumar Sangakkara
4. CHILLING BY THE MARINE DRIVE I UNCONVENTIONAL COLOMBO
In the heart of Colombo, near our hotel, we went for a night out with my ex-colleagues after the conference. Though we were tired but couldn’t resist going out by the sea ridge. It was a very cool place to sit down and have a sightseeing break watching the sea waves. I enjoyed the conversation of my colleagues sitting beside the ridge of the Indian Ocean through the marine drive. I still remember I was leaning my back on the concreted ridge shore and watching the open sky. How cool was that!
5. BEAUTY OF THE CONFERENCE I UNCONVENTIONAL COLOMBO
It was the day when I connected to my regional bosses, colleagues, and Mr. Chairman in a group discussion session. I was very much inquisitive about the working environment of DAN. I asked a couple of questions to my regional colleagues and they were happy to reply. Prior to this conference, I had participated brand-wise annual conference abroad where I experienced a similar atmosphere. I learned many things from the trip because it was absolutely a learning aptitude journey. Needless to say that we had so much of fun with dance, drink, food, and light moments of life. It was the beauty of advertising where your junior colleagues or your boss could be the best of buddies on the dance floor.
6. LOT TO LEARN FROM UNCONVENTIONAL COLOMBO
I found the city to be very clean when I went for a brief tour for exchanging currency. I marked that Colombo was developing their infrastructure every day. But I didn’t find any debris on the roadside. It happened due to the education of their countrymen and their willingness to keep the city clean. I recalled the phrase “Education is the backbone of a society”. Sri Lanka is a glaring example of it.
7. BRIEF UNCONVENTIONAL COLOMBO TOUR
I and my colleague went for a brief tour by a popular three-wheeler called Tuk-Tuk by taking office permission. We passed through Viharamahadevi Park which is Colombo’s biggest park. I recall a couple of huge roundabouts while crossing the park. The city green and banyan trees truly gave me a refreshing break from the conference environment. We grabbed ice cream from the nearby market to enjoy the moment on the go.
Before entering our desired destination, our Tuk-Tuk driver told us about the Dawatagaha Jumma Masjid. This mosque is one of the prominent mosques in Colombo. Its lovely exterior is almost an iconic part of the architecture near Town Hall. It is also partly a shrine to a Saint from the 19th century – Sheikh Usman Waliullah – and Muslims and non-Muslims like to visit to pay their respects. I saw it from a distance but didn’t know the name of the mosque and its background at that time. Now, I pay respect through my internet-based R&D about this mosque after three years.
7. VISITING SRI LANKA FAMOUS ODEL
I went to Sri Lanka’s first lifestyle retail shop called “Odel” for a shopping experience. It was a very neatly shelved shop. Time was very limited for me. I had no intention to buy anything except for one thing i.e. Dilmah Tea. Naturally, my eye-balls attracted to famous Sri Lanka’s own tea brand “Dilmah” section. I bought tea for everyone as a gift with great packaging and different flavors which is 100%, Sri Lankan. Gifting tea as a gift was totally worth it!
8. VISITING OLD DUTCH HOSPITAL
The Old Dutch Hospital is considered one of the oldest buildings in the Colombo Fort area, dating back to the Dutch colonial era (early 1600). It is beautifully restored and still maintained. It houses some really nice restaurants, cafes, and cool shops. They have a lot of nice local quality clothes and souvenirs. However, we booked our dinner at “Ministry of Crab” which was located in this place. Except for having dinner in this old building, we could not do much here. I wish to visit this area again.
9. DINNER AT MINISTRY OF CRAB
Our office opted for an official dinner at the “Ministry of Crab”. We had to reserve before going to the restaurant. We kept talking and waiting outside the restaurant for a while. That waiting was not boring at all. I looked around and found the whole place as retro yet modern. When we entered the main restaurant hall, it was chic. We all tasted seafood dinner with great crabs which are the signature dish of the restaurant. Thanks to the office for the wonderful dinner treat.
10. LESSON FROM TUK-TUK DRIVER
Tuk-Tuks are everywhere and really easy to find! They are the main transportation for both locals and tourists in Colombo. In two days, I realized that Sri Lanka is an impossibly civilized nation whose education was reflected in an English conversation with a Tuk-Tuk driver. He explained about every place like a pro tour guide from the vehicle.
CONCLUSION:
My hunger for tourism was not fulfilled with this unconventional Colombo experience. Henceforth, I am still looking for opportunities to travel to Sri Lanka. You never know, my next travel to Sri Lanka may be knocking around the corner. On this note, I conclude my unconventional Colombo experience for my upcoming travel blog on God’s Own Country, Kerala!