Colombo, SriLanka

 This is Saturday morning and we are in the process of docking in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

For us this port has sort of been a comedy of errors. First in June Canada was advising against travel to Columbo. So we were hesitant to book tours here. Then we thought about it and decided that Princess would not dock here if there was a lot of political unrest so we booked a tour.

Then in the late fall when the advisory was still in place I cancelled our tour. This is one of the spots where you require a landing visa so we did not apply for one.

Then when we were on the ship and learned that most people were going ashore we began to doubt our decision. We went back and forth on this and then a week ago we decided we had made a mistake and we should get that entry permit. When I inquired at Customer Service I was told it was too late to apply. 

So we decided that staying aboard would not be all that bad because of the intense heat in this area. To make the day special we decided to order Champagne breakfast. This is always something special so we could enjoy breakfast on our balcony and enjoy the view of the city.

We are here and there are dozens of buses lined up to take passengers to the gate of the port. Because this is a working container port they do not want people roaming around the dock. We were up early because we hoped to see a lighthouse here. Unfortunately it is not in view from here. Ken did go top side early and he says the big one he was looking for cannot be seen from the ship.

I believed that not going into the city would mean I would not be able to get a Xmas tree ornament, so I asked Julia to pick one up for me.

Much to our surprise as the ship slid into place we saw dozens of stalls being set up. It appears as if they are selling almost everything. So does that mean we are going to be permitted to leave the ship and shop at this pop up market? If we are not allowed to shop why are those sellers busily setting up? 

Do we need a special permit to just shop and then return to the ship?

How long will the sellers be there?

Then suddenly a dance troop began to perform. They were in elegant costumes, there were men and women and there were drummers. It was sensational.

 In the midst of all of this our breakfast arrived. It was even more special than we remembered.

We will have to be certain to keep all of our food trays covered because there are lots of crows around.

Our amazing view is of a crane. Perhaps we should have chosen a different day to have our Champagne Breakfast . But it is not raining, at least not yet. The humidity is very high and so far it is a comfortable temperature.

The first course was a quiche and greens, the next was smoked salmon and capers, the third course was fresh fruit, including strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, melon and clotted cream and the finale was a tray of assorted pastries. The beverages were champagne and coffee and juice. 

We enjoyed the first course and had some champagne and some coffee and a muffin. The rest will wait till later in the day. We brought everything into the room because we did not want a balcony full of crows and pigeons. Mid way in the feast I left our room and went to deck seven to get better photos of the dancers.

While there I spoke with an officer and he assured me that we could disembark and shop or we could take the free shuttle into the city. There were no restrictions. 

So now our plans have changed we will be going ashore to shop. I will be able to get my own tree decoration. This day will be a lot more interesting than we planned.

Ken of Ken and Julia phoned and said that they had a look on shore and that there were lots of tree decoration types of items that I could buy so that cemented my decision. Ken was not interested in shopping so I went off on my own.

I was on shore a little less than an hour and I did enjoy myself. I got 2 different items for the tree, One is a resin magnet and the other is a wooden carving of the mask used by medicine men to cure a fever. This mask was worn by one of the dancers that we saw earlier.

I also purchased some Ceylon Tea and some ground cinnamon. The good find was a new belt for Ken. I was assured that it was made from a cow and it seems to be very well made. Altogether I spent only 23.00 US so that was not bad at all.

On my return I went through the atrium to look for a place to hide a duck. This is Saturday and a duck day.

I discovered that the Sri Lanka tourist bureau had set up a table of information. They were selling post cards and they had a post box for mailing them. They also had a currency exchange there so you could get local currency.

The reception and service here was exceptional.  A welcoming dance troop, free transportation into town, souvenir sellers, a currency exchange and tourist information right on the ship. They could give lessons to every port we have been too and a very special educational session to Singapore should be their first contract.

I purchased a post card and wrote it to Emmitt for a birthday greeting. They stamped the card and mailed it for me. The entire cost of the card and their service was only 1 dollar US.

I exchanged one dollar US for their currency so I could show it to Leo and Emmy.

We spent the rest of the day enjoying the left overs from breakfast, the warm air, having a nap and of course appreciating the view of our very own loading crane.