Today is a Buddhist and public holiday here - the Poson Full Moon Poya Day, which celebrates the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka from India. Thus, I have a nice little break from the office and am spending it in a local coffee shop with a (somewhat weak) ice latte, A/C, and free wifi.
The prevalence of coffee shops, restaurants, parks, and other public gathering spaces here stands out as a clear contrast to life in Bangladesh. While the Colombo streets can sometimes still shock the senses, there are more places to go and easier ways to get there. When I can't take the heat I hail one of the ubiquitous three-wheeler open air taxis, or more accurately one hails me. Many of the taxis here have meters (oh happy day!). Determined not to be hoodwinked, my normal procedure is to ask if the driver has a meter and then wait while he turns it on before I hop in. The cost of a meter taxi is 50 LKR (about $0.40) per kilometer - I can get most places in the city for no more than $2. Most of the drivers speak at least a bit of English, and now that I know my way around a bit I can direct with "right" and "left." So via my own feet or on three wheels, I am mobile.
Colombo is a sprawling metropolis of about 4.5 million people - no other cities in this country come close to its size. There is no clear city center, rather neighborhoods designated by both their own number and name that seep into eachother. I live and work in Colombo 5, also known as Havelock Town. I'm a short walk to Galle Road, the main thoroughfare running parallel to the sea. On this road one can find numerous shopping centers, small stores, local and international restaurants, at least one movie theater, and lots of construction. Colombo is certainly "developing" in the technical sense of the word. A major project seems to be building a consistent sidewalk for the length of Galle Road, which means that pedestrian ways can currently get a bit interesting. Dusty feet, I haz them!
When I step outside here, the first thing to hit me is the humidity. It hovers around 85 degrees Fahrenheit, but add extreme humidity to that and you've got a sticky situation. Even if I only walk the short distance to the office, I arrive with a sweaty face. The next thing I notice is how tropically beautiful this place is. Large, green leaves and flowers of deep yellows and reds creep out from fences and line the streets. I often play "spot the fruit" when I am walking and try to guess what is growing on a particular tree. In contrast to the frenetic rush of the main roads, the neighborhoods here exude a quiet calm that is only punctuated by birds chirping and the occasional three-wheeler dropping off or vocally trying to pick up.
When I am not exploring the city solo or with friends or traveling in the field I am either at work or at home. I continue to really enjoy my job and will post details about my field visits to Kalutara and Batticaloa soon. And my apartment here is huge and grand, if in a somewhat strange way. I have a spacious kitchen, dining room, living room, and two bedrooms to myself, all decorated in a 1960s Grecian villa style. There are lots of quirks (including a plethora of light switches that lead to nowhere, a currently dysfunctional fridge, and occasional critter friends), but overall it's a fine situation.
Oh, and what am I eating? Lots of fruit, for one. My fruit-adoring eyes have been a bit bigger than my stomach, and I need to curtail my purchases. But that's difficult when I see this every day:
For lunch there's the typical rice and curry packet. This consists of a whole lot of rice with various vegetable dishes and sometimes spicy fish wrapped up in plastic and paper for quick eating. Dinner curries can be more elaborate with crab, prawns, or other proteins and lots of "sides" that put Popeye's to shame. People keep asking me here if the food is too hot for me, but I always explain that I grew up on Cajun food and like the spice! Regardless, I am sure they still tone it down a bit. Other traditional dishes that I have enjoyed include "string hoppers" - clusters of rice noodles that are dipped into a sauce, "egg hoppers," - think a crispy crepe with a softly fried egg in the center, and "pol sambol" - a mixture of coconut flakes and spices that is typically served as a garnish for curries. It's all pretty tasty :)
The prevalence of coffee shops, restaurants, parks, and other public gathering spaces here stands out as a clear contrast to life in Bangladesh. While the Colombo streets can sometimes still shock the senses, there are more places to go and easier ways to get there. When I can't take the heat I hail one of the ubiquitous three-wheeler open air taxis, or more accurately one hails me. Many of the taxis here have meters (oh happy day!). Determined not to be hoodwinked, my normal procedure is to ask if the driver has a meter and then wait while he turns it on before I hop in. The cost of a meter taxi is 50 LKR (about $0.40) per kilometer - I can get most places in the city for no more than $2. Most of the drivers speak at least a bit of English, and now that I know my way around a bit I can direct with "right" and "left." So via my own feet or on three wheels, I am mobile.
Colombo is a sprawling metropolis of about 4.5 million people - no other cities in this country come close to its size. There is no clear city center, rather neighborhoods designated by both their own number and name that seep into eachother. I live and work in Colombo 5, also known as Havelock Town. I'm a short walk to Galle Road, the main thoroughfare running parallel to the sea. On this road one can find numerous shopping centers, small stores, local and international restaurants, at least one movie theater, and lots of construction. Colombo is certainly "developing" in the technical sense of the word. A major project seems to be building a consistent sidewalk for the length of Galle Road, which means that pedestrian ways can currently get a bit interesting. Dusty feet, I haz them!
When I step outside here, the first thing to hit me is the humidity. It hovers around 85 degrees Fahrenheit, but add extreme humidity to that and you've got a sticky situation. Even if I only walk the short distance to the office, I arrive with a sweaty face. The next thing I notice is how tropically beautiful this place is. Large, green leaves and flowers of deep yellows and reds creep out from fences and line the streets. I often play "spot the fruit" when I am walking and try to guess what is growing on a particular tree. In contrast to the frenetic rush of the main roads, the neighborhoods here exude a quiet calm that is only punctuated by birds chirping and the occasional three-wheeler dropping off or vocally trying to pick up.
When I am not exploring the city solo or with friends or traveling in the field I am either at work or at home. I continue to really enjoy my job and will post details about my field visits to Kalutara and Batticaloa soon. And my apartment here is huge and grand, if in a somewhat strange way. I have a spacious kitchen, dining room, living room, and two bedrooms to myself, all decorated in a 1960s Grecian villa style. There are lots of quirks (including a plethora of light switches that lead to nowhere, a currently dysfunctional fridge, and occasional critter friends), but overall it's a fine situation.
Oh, and what am I eating? Lots of fruit, for one. My fruit-adoring eyes have been a bit bigger than my stomach, and I need to curtail my purchases. But that's difficult when I see this every day:
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| Rambutan and Durian |
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| Egg Hopper with Pol Sambol |
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| Crab curry with all the fixins. Sure glad I know how to take those bad boys apart. |
Great read Helen!
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