Sri Lanka

Hello Everyone!

We spent the last day and a half in Colombo, Sri Lanka, an island nation just off the southern tip of India. We arrived early in the afternoon of Monday, 9 March 2026 and stayed overnight before departing at about 6:30pm the next day. 

We arrived to a busy seaport bustling with activity. Containers and container ships were everywhere, a reflection of Sri Lanka's strategic position along major shipping routes between the Middle East and East Asia. 

Sri Lanka, a Busy Seaport

We didn't have to go far to find vendors with all manner of goods for sale. These shops were on the dock directly adjacent to our ship. Prices were reasonable and negotiable, although I didn't see anything that I couldn't live without.

Vendors on the Dock

As with many of the places we visited so far, we were treated to a performance by traditional dancers and musicians upon arrival. Here's a link to a short video of the drummers.

Lively Drummers

Sri Lanka Background

Sri Lanka has about 22 million people, with its de facto commercial capital in Colombo but its administrative capital in nearby Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. The country is known historically for its Buddhist culture, ancient kingdoms, tea production, and maritime trade. It is an ancient civilization (2,500+ years) with a colonial past and a long civil war. A recent financial crisis resulted from heavy debt, policy mistakes, and global shocks, culminating in a historic government default in 2022 and ongoing economic restructuring.

Sri Lanka has a strong colonial past. The Portuguese arrived first in 1505, controlling coastal trade. The Dutch replaced them in the 1600s, then the British took control in 1796 and made the island a colony they called Ceylon. The British developed large tea, rubber, and coconut plantations, which still shape the economy today.

Sri Lanka gained independence from Britain in 1948, but as our guide put it, "The British granted us democracy, but they failed to tell us how fragile it is." Ethnic tensions began to grow between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil minority.  These tensions led to a civil war (1983–2009) between the government and the Tamil separatist group LTTE (Tamil Tigers).

The war ended in 2009 but left political and economic challenges. Before 2020, Sri Lanka’s economy depended heavily on tourism, tea and agricultural exports, garment manufacturing, and workers' earnings from overseas employment. Growth was moderate, but in an effort to mimic Singapore's success, the country accumulated large amounts of foreign debt to finance infrastructure and government spending. 

Sri Lanka entered its worst economic crisis since independence beginning around 2019. By April 2022, Sri Lanka defaulted on its foreign debt for the first time in its history. The country ran out of foreign currency reserves and could not import essentials like fuel, food, and medicine. Inflation soared and long queues formed for fuel and gas. 

Causes were many. There was a lot of corruption and nepotism in the government, leading to a short-term view and poor decision making. Tourism collapsed, first as a result of terrorist attacks in 2019, and then the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020. Government revenue dropped sharply after misguided tax reductions in 2019, and a sudden ban on chemical fertilizers in 2021 hurt agricultural production. Rising global energy prices and the Russia-Ukraine war worsened the situation.

Massive protests erupted in 2022, and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country and resigned. Since then, Sri Lanka negotiated an IMF bailout and debt restructuring. International aid and loans from countries such as India and the World Bank helped stabilize imports. Inflation has fallen and foreign reserves have slowly improved, but recovery remains fragile.

My Excursions

I had two excursions while we were there and enjoyed both, especially the second one. I saw a city and countryside filled with contrasts. The downtown area of Columbo was busy and vibrant, with a mix of colonial buildings (some in disrepair, some restored), modern skyscrapers and office buildings, and third world shops and businesses. Traffic in the central market district was the most congested I've seen anywhere, with cars, buses, tuk-tuks, motorbikes, and pedestrians all flowing through the streets in a slow-moving amalgam. The people were friendly, but clearly suffering economically. Merchants tried very hard to gain our business.

Snapshots of Columbo

On the afternoon of our arrival, I boarded a bus for the "Snapshots of Columbo" tour. That's a euphemism for what was mostly a "windshield tour" in the local area. Nonetheless, it was interesting. That's where I formed my first impressions of the city as I described above. Our driver and guide took us through various districts and neighborhoods, driving by a former British fort and the neo baroque Old Parliament Building. We drove through an affluent residential district (Cinnamon Gardens) as well as the University of Colombo and Royal College. 

Here's a short video taken from my seat on the bus that captures some of the traffic and "busyness" of the streets as we passed by the the Red Mosque (Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque) in the Pettah District.

Street in the Wholesale Market District

Street in the Wholesale Market District

The Red Mosque (Jami Ul-Alfar)

Our bus stopped at the Independence Memorial Hall in Colombo. It is Sri Lanka’s principal national monument commemorating achieving independence from Britain on 4 Feb 1948. Built in 1953 at Independence Square, the stone pavilion was designed in a traditional Kandyan royal style to symbolize the restoration of indigenous sovereignty after centuries of colonial rule. It honors the country’s early leaders, especially first prime minister D. S. Senanayake (whose statue stands at the site), and served for many years as the location of national Independence Day ceremonies. Today it functions both as a historic symbol of Sri Lankan nationhood and as a major public gathering space in the capital.

Independence Memorial Hall

Independence Memorial Hall Interior

After that we drove past the Bandaranaike Memorial Conference Hall (BMICH). I was completed in 1073 as a gift from China in memory of the former Prime Minister, Solomon Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike. It is frequently used for international summits, exhibitions, and large conferences.

Bandaranaike Memorial Conference Hall 

This building, the Colombo Town Hall, is known locally as the "White House of Columbo" for obvious reasons. The resemblance to the White House is real, but the building was not deliberately designed to copy the White House. Instead, both buildings reflect the same European neoclassical architectural tradition, which was widely used for government buildings in the 18th–20th centuries.

Town Hall of Colombo

After a bit more driving through the city, we ended up at Gangaramaya Temple, one of Sri Lanka’s most prominent Buddhist temples and a major cultural and educational center. Founded in the late 19th century during the British colonial era, the temple expanded into a large complex combining shrines, a museum, educational institutions, and the distinctive Seema Malaka meditation pavilion. Known for its eclectic architecture and extensive collection of Buddhist artifacts, Gangaramaya serves not only as a place of worship but also as a hub for charity, education, and major religious events and festivals.

We had to remove our shoes before entering the temple, a universal practice at Buddhist and Hindu shrines and temples we visited throughout our trip. Both women and men had to cover the "sexy parts" (that is, the knees and shoulders) with either clothing or sarongs, and we also removed hats and sunglasses. Here you can see the plastic bins they provided for our shoes. At most of the other places we went, we just put them on the ground.

Bins for Shoes

The “Thousand Hand Buddha” statue shown below depicts Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, often depicted in a form with a multiple arms and often with eyes in each palm. The many arms symbolize the ability to reach out and help countless beings, while the eyes represent awareness of suffering everywhere. Together they express the Buddhist ideal of limitless compassion actively responding to the needs of the world.

Thousand Hand Buddha

Gangaramaya Temple Interior

Vajrapani is a powerful guardian figure in Buddhism who represents the strength that protects the Buddha and his teachings. Often depicted holding a thunderbolt weapon and appearing fierce or muscular, he symbolizes the force needed to overcome ignorance and defend the Dharma. For this reason, statues of Vajrapani stand at the temple entrance as symbolic protectors of the sacred space.

Vajrapani, Guardian of the Temple

A stupa (dagoba) is a solid Buddhist monument that houses sacred relics and symbolizes the Buddha’s enlightenment. Devotees do not enter it; instead they walk around it in meditation and prayer, honoring the relics and the spiritual meaning embodied in its dome-shaped structure. The stupa below was on the temple grounds, surrounded by various Buddha sculptures.

Stupa

This Holy Bodhi Tree (Sacred Fig, Ficus religiosa) at Gangaramaya Temple is revered as a living symbol of the tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment. Worshippers gather at its shrine to offer flowers, light lamps, and pray, continuing a long Sri Lankan tradition connected to the ancient Bodhi tree lineage brought to the island over two thousand years ago.

Holy Bodhi Tree

And just for a bit of contrast, here are a couple of pictures of more modern buildings downtown. Most of these are condominiums and office space.

Hi-Rises in Colombo

Hi-Rises in Colombo

Back to the Ship

Because this tour didn't start until late in the afternoon, it was already getting dark when we got back to the ship. Shower, change, and dinner rounded out that day.

Organic Agro Farm Tour

The next morning (10 Mar) I went on a tour to a very historic Buddhist temple followed by an in-depth visit to a local agrotourism farm.

We drove for about 45 minutes from the port to the Kithsiri Mewan Temple (Viharaya). It is an ancient Buddhist temple founded in the early 4th century CE by King Kithsiri Mewan of the Anuradhapura Kingdom. The shrine commemorates sacred traditions associated with the Buddha’s legendary visit to Kelaniya. Its stupa is believed to enshrine a relic connected with the Buddha’s bathing robe from the Kelani River, making the site an object of pilgrimage for Sri Lankan Buddhists. Although it suffered destruction during the Portuguese colonial era, it was later restored and remains part of the historic Kelaniya sacred landscape.

Kithsiri Mewan Temple

The reclining Buddha at Kithsiri Mewan Viharaya is a rock-cut sculpture carved directly into the hillside behind the temple. Depicting the Buddha lying on his right side in the Parinirvana posture, it symbolizes his final passing into nirvana. Likely dating to the late Anuradhapura or early medieval period, the carving reflects the Sri Lankan tradition of integrating Buddhist art into natural rock formations and provides a quiet place for contemplation within the temple complex.

Reclining Buddha at the Kithsiri Mewan Temple

This stone tablet at Kithsiri Mewan Viharaya is an early medieval Sinhala inscription carved into a stone slab that records royal grants of land and privileges to the temple. Written in a Brahmi-derived script dating roughly to the 9th–11th centuries CE, it functioned as a permanent legal record protecting the monastery’s economic support and confirming its historical importance within the Buddhist religious landscape of Sri Lanka.

This Bodhi tree at the temple is a sacred fig tree venerated as a descendant of the original Bodhi tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment. Like the one at the Gangaramaya Temple I visited yesterday, it serves as a focal point for offerings, meditation, and circumambulation by pilgrims. Although the present tree may have been replanted during later restorations, it is considered part of the ancient Bodhi lineage and remains one of the most spiritually significant features of the temple complex.

We spent about 45 minutes looking around the temple before reboarding the bus and heading to a small village further south. We went the last few miles from there to the farm in these tuk-tuks. They're simple little three-wheeled vehicles powered by motorcycle engines, and they carry a driver and two passengers. They're used as taxis in a lot of SE Asian countries, and it's usually an adventure. Today's ride was tame because there was no traffic (or fare negotiations...!).

Our Tuk-Tuks

Along the way, we stopped to see a rubber tree plantation. All of the trees you see in the picture below are rubber trees. They cut thin slits into the bark of the tree and collect the milky sap (latex) that flows out. The trees are tapped daily (sunny days only) and each produces about 100-150 ml (3.5 - 5.0 oz.) of latex daily.

Tapping Rubber Trees for Latex

Here you can see the latex being collected in shells attached to the tree trunk.

Latex Collection Cup

Traditional rubber sheet production involves taking the latex from tapped trees, straining it, and adding acid (vinegar) to coagulate the latex into a soft slab. They demonstrated this process to us later when we arrived at the farm.

Making the Slabs of Rubber in Pans

The slab is washed and then repeatedly passed through hand-cranked rollers that squeeze out water and flatten it into thin ribbed sheets.

Rolling the Slabs to Flatten into Sheets

Rubber Sheet after Rolling

These sheets are then air-dried or smoked for several days until they become durable rubber sheets ready for storage or sale. They're bundled and shipped to factories that use the sheets to make gloves, condoms, tires, etc. Our guide told us that while the vast majority of automotive and truck tires are now made from synthetic rubber, quality standards still dictate that aircraft and Formula 1 racing tires be made from natural latex rubber.

Rubber Sheet After Drying

Our guide led us on a tour through the farm. There were some 200+ species of plants there, and he loved talking about them. Here are several samples.

Ceylon Tea Leaves

Coconuts

Coffee

I learned something very interesting about peppercorns. Black, white, green, and red peppercorns all come from the same fruit of the vine Piper Nigrum - it’s one plant, one fruit, but four processing styles. The differences are entirely due to ripeness at harvest and how the berries are processed afterward. Here's a breakdown:

• Green pepper = unripe berry
• Black pepper = dried immature berry with skin
• Red pepper = ripe berry
• White pepper = ripe berry with the skin removed

One interesting detail: the peppercorn itself is actually a small stone fruit, similar in structure to a tiny cherry. The white peppercorn is just the inner seed once the fruit pulp and skin are removed.

Peppercorns

This flower is called the Butterfly Pea Flower. The flower grows on the tropical vine Clitoria ternatea. The botanical name reflects an early European attempt to describe the flower’s shape through comparison with human anatomy—a style of descriptive naming that was common in early plant taxonomy. Today the plant is far better known for its striking blue petals, widely used across Southeast Asia to color teas, rice dishes, and desserts. You may recall that in an earlier post I described a cooking class I went to in Jakarta. During the meal we had tea made from this flower. The cool thing is that the blue color of the tea changes to purple when citrus juice (e.g. lemon) is added. It's dramatic to watch!

Butterfly Pea Flower

Toddy is a traditional alcoholic beverage made from the sap of the coconut palm’s flower stalk. We got to sample some - here's what it looked like. It tasted slightly sour, yeasty, mildly fizzy. 

Coconut Toddy

Skilled tappers climb the trees, often moving between them on ropes strung from palm to palm, to cut the unopened flower's outer covering and collect the dripping sap in pots. The fresh sap begins fermenting naturally within hours due to wild yeasts, producing a mildly alcoholic drink (typically about 4 to 6%) that is consumed the same day. When this fermented toddy is distilled, it yields Arrack, a stronger spirit that is often aged in wooden vats or casks, developing a smooth, slightly fruity character somewhat reminiscent of rum or whisky.

Tapper Moving Between Trees

The farm also grew cacao trees. You probably already know that chocolate is made from the cacao seed/bean, but a part of the seed pod is edible and quite tasty. Inside the pod, each seed is wrapped in a soft white pulp that is pleasantly sweet and tangy, with a flavor reminiscent of lychee or citrusy melon. The pulp has a slick, slightly fibrous texture that makes it easy to suck from the seed, leaving the bean itself, surprisingly bitter and astringent, to be discarded. I tried eating some and it was quite tasty.

Cacao Seed Pod

We got to sample some King Coconut. The king coconut is a bright orange-colored coconut cultivated primarily for drinking rather than for its flesh. Vendors typically slice off the top with a machete and hand it to you with a straw so you can drink the coconut water directly from the shell. The water is abundant, very sweet, and slightly nutty, often described as cleaner and more delicate than the coconut water Americans may know from packaged drinks. The interior flesh, if present at all, is usually thin, soft, and jelly-like. It doesn't taste much like the coconut we're used to in the States.

King Coconut Drink

After we drank the coconut water, they cracked them open for us and gave us a piece of the shell to use as a scraper to remove the gel-like flesh. I wouldn't go out of my way for it again, but it didn't taste bad. It just wasn't a tasty and chewy as the coconut we're used to.

Flesh of the King Coconut

We also learned about Ceylon cinnamon production. Sri Lanka produces the vast majority of the world’s Ceylon cinnamon, and traditional harvesting and peeling techniques there are highly specialized. The delicate multi-layer quills seen in export-grade cinnamon require skilled hand processing, which is why true Ceylon cinnamon is typically more expensive and considered higher quality than cassia, the variety we usually see in our stores.

The trees are grown as low shrubs and regularly cut back so they produce straight young shoots. Harvesters cut these shoots, peel away the outer bark, and remove the thin inner bark, which naturally curls as it dries. Several delicate layers are often nested together to form the familiar “quills”, or thin, fragile cinnamon sticks made of many papery layers.

Ceylon cinnamon is considered the “true cinnamon.” Its flavor is mild and complex, slightly sweet and citrusy, and less sharp or spicy then cassia. The sticks are light tan, thin, and brittle, easily crumbling between your fingers.

They demonstrated the process of stripping the inner bark.

Stripping Cinnamon Bark

The leaves from the Ceylon cinnamon tree can be processed to get cinnamon leaf oil. It is produced from the leaves using steam distillation. After cinnamon branches are harvested, the leaves are stripped off and allowed to wilt briefly to reduce moisture. They are then packed into a distillation vessel where steam passes through the leaves, vaporizing the aromatic compounds they contain. The vapor is cooled in a condenser, turning it back into liquid, and the essential oil naturally separates from the condensed water and is collected. 

Cinnamon leaf oil used primarily as a flavoring, fragrance, and antimicrobial ingredient. Because it is rich in eugenol (the same compound that gives cloves their characteristic aroma), it has a warm, spicy scent and mild antiseptic properties. It is commonly used in soaps, perfumes, and cosmetics, as well as in flavorings for candies, baked goods, and beverages. The oil is also used in dental products and mouthwashes, where its antimicrobial qualities and clove-like flavor are useful.

Cinnamon Bark After Stripping

Pretty much every part of the coconut tree gets used for something. Here you can see the inside of the husks and all the fiber that's in there.

Coconut Husks

It gets woven into rope and mats, among other things.

Coconut Fiber Rope and Mat

It's a bit hard to see in this picture, but zoom in and you'll see how a new coconut tree sprouts from a seed. 

The fascinating thing to me was that when a mature coconut falls to the ground and begins to sprout, an embryo inside the seed starts to grow. Instead of immediately producing roots and leaves, the embryo first develops this soft, porous ball of tissue inside the shell. The volume once filled with water becomes filled with it, and the material resembles angel food or sponge cake in consistency. The white flesh of the coconut is consumed in the process. The resulting "coconut apple" is edible, and tastes quite good. 

Coconut Apple

We ate pieces of the coconut apple after dipping them into coconut treacle. Treacle is made from the sap of the coconut palm flower, the same sap that can ferment into Toddy if left untreated. Instead of allowing it to ferment, the fresh sap is collected and immediately boiled down until it thickens into a dark, viscous syrup. It's similar to making maple syrup from the sap of sugar maple trees.

 

Piece of Coconut Apple

All this talk of food made us hungry, and the folks running the farm accommodated us by feeding us a lunch made from various things grown on the farm. It was all delicious. For dessert, we had a variety of fruits, plus some bread and cakes made from rice, rice flower, and the coconut treacle. Delicious.

My Lunch at the Agro Farm

After that, we got back on the bus and made the 70-minute trip back to the ship.

Overall

Never having been to or known much about Sri Lanka, the tours at this stop were both informative and interesting. I especially enjoyed the farm tour. I learned so much about the common foods and spices that we take for granted, and it was eye opening to see how much work goes into cultivating, harvesting, and processing all these foods. Much of it is nowadays done with machines, but there are still many large regions where all or most of it is still hand work.

Tomorrow we have a sea day as we make our way to Malé in the Maldives. I'm scheduled for a submarine dive there to see the fishies. Looking forward to both the down day and to the tour!

Cheers,
Jim