|
By Rene Martel
THE capital cities of the world’s paradise
destinations are not places where the visiting traveler yearning for
quality sand, sea and sunshine time is inclined to hang around for
too long.
But Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital and its
largest city, is a candidate to buck that trend, what with its
bright mosaic of vibrant modern life fused with sedentary colonial
charm—and blessed with the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean
seductively kissing the shores of its seaward flank and providing
the perfect backdrop to soothe the senses and sap the tired soul.
To rewind the city’s historical lineage going
back the centuries, the Romans, Arabs and Chinese were very early
visitors. But it was the comparatively later arrivals—the
Portuguese, Dutch and British—who left lasting cultural, social
and spiritual imprimaturs that endure to this day.
And what a picture postcard contrasts are thrown
up by cosmopolitan Colombo: north of the city center is the bustling
Fort business district with its mix-and-match architecture of
Victorian (a hark back to when the country was part of the
British Empire) and glass-and-steel modernism; to the south the
Galle Face Green where promenading or jogging (or even swimming or
frolicking on the frothy waves of seawater below) is a delightful
way of local life; and to the east the Pettah bazaar district where
the lively sights and sounds are as sharp as the circulating aroma!
If you are interested in getting up close and
personal with Sri Lanka’s cultural heritage, then Colombo is a
good starting point. Several museums and art galleries bear eloquent
testimony to this beautiful island’s rich historical past, and
resonate with memories of a bygone era.
The Colombo National Museum, Sri Lanka’s
premier museum, is a grand white-walled colonial building that
houses many of the island’s historical treasures, such as
4000-year-old archaic palm leaf manuscripts, rock sculptures from
ancient provincial cities and the royal weapons of Sri Lankan kings.
Follow that with a visit to the Natural History Museum and the Dutch
Period Museum and you would have digested an almost complete dose of
the island nation’s historical fare in one fell swoop.
Despite the negative vibes created in the past
two decades as a result of the sectarian strife to the north of the
country, Sri Lanka is noted for both its ethnic and religious
diversity. These positive elements can be spotted in many parts of
Colombo where marbled mosques, decorative Hindu temples, domed
Buddhists temples and grand spiral churches sit in spiritual
juxtaposition—and often on the same street corner.
Says Sri Lanka’s “Mr. Tourism”—Chairman
of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority Renton de Alwis:
“Colombo is indeed one of the best kept secrets in the east and
it’s time the world knew about it. It’s a destination with
contrasts and that is what makes it so exciting.
“The city is also home to some of the best
hotels in Sri Lanka, ranging from the Galadari. TransAsia, Hilton
and Cinnamon Grand in the modern and luxurious 5-star category to
the grandiose period charm of the 150-year-old Galle Face Hotel and
Mount Lavinia Hotel.”
Then there is the exciting new development of
niche villas such as The Colombo House, Casa Colombo and The
Tintagel, which provide delightful contrasts to their 5-star
cousins. The newest of the three, Casa Colombo bills itself as
“retro chic” and really lives up to that boast with a pink
swimming pool!
Colombo also has attractive hand-made leather
products, brass-ware and local crafts that can be found at native
boutiques like Paradise Road, Barefoot Gallery, Lakmedura that are
dotted around the metropolis. The city is also known to come alive
and kicking after dark as Sri Lankans love to party on any given
night of the week. In fact one of the most popular nightspots is
Tramps at the Galadari where you can sip innovative cocktails and
dance the night away alongside Colombo’s beautiful people.
Incidentally, the 500-room Galadari—where the
general manager is accomplished Sri Lankan hotelier Sampath
Siriwardena with almost three decades of sterling experience with
some of the best known global hotel brands—is tagged as the
“businessman’s home in Colombo.”
Colombo is a key element in the tourism master
plan of Renton de Alwis who is regarded as one of the best tourism
brains in the Asia Pacific region, having also served in the 1990s
as Vice President (Asia) of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).
He explains: “The current challenge, as it has
been in the past 30 years, is to manage tourism in a
social-political environment that is not optimal to supporting
tourism. In spite of that, Sri Lanka tourism has done extremely well
to stay on top of things.
“Today the challenge is to set in place
policies and strategies to manage tourism in a post peace scenario,
looking at the rapid growth of global tourism and optimizing on the
nature, culture and adventure products that Sri Lanka uniquely has
to offer as a compact island destination.
“Our current platform is as an ‘Earth
Lung’ where we are working toward making Sri Lanka a carbon clean
destination to contribute to the global effort in mitigating climate
change. We are taking a proactive leadership role in this area.”
|
