Sri Lanka might be full of fascinating places to visit, but Colombo isn’t exactly one of them – let’s just be honest. It’s reminiscent of Delhi without the cultural and historical sites to redeem itself. It’s dirty, chaotic, crowded and colorful, but there’s a little charm hidden in its grittiness, and I like that.
Like so many places, Sri Lanka has paid a heavy price for peace. The country spent 26 years entrenched in a bloody civil war, due to ethnic tensions between the Buddhist Sinhalese majority and the Hindu Tamil minority. In 2009, the long-running war came to an end, as the military claimed victory over the Tamil Tigers.
For those who make their way to the tear dropped island full of questions about its future, I suppose Colombo offers a little reassurance. But war can never be washed away, and even in a city like this, where Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims live and work beside each other, underlying tensions must still run deep. It will probably take decades for wounds to heal and, even if peace proves sustainable, there will always be scars. For now though, it appears at first glance that it’s enough for those in Colombo, that the guns have been lowered.
With a few hours of sleep, we took to the streets and were instantly absorbed in a sea of tuk-tuks, sarees, temples and mosques. We spent the majority of our time in the Pettah district – which has retained a noticeable Tamil and Muslim flavor – dodging vendors, food carts and porters. Watching my sister’s eyes widen as she witnessed a new way of life gave me great pleasure, and any previous concerns were gone, for her love affair has just begun.
