May 07, 2009 01:29 PM
5689 Views
I recently visited Colombo for 2 days and was not at all impressed byanything. It is a commercial city without any tourist attractions. Dueto security issues, there is heavy army presence everywhere in thecity. Though army is non intrusive to an extent, there presenceeverywhere does not help either. Add to this the hot and humid climate, its not fun to even walk around in the city. All this reduces thetourism traffic thereby further reducing options for tourists andsending prices upwards.
Experience at airport was more likethat on any Indian airpot - lot of taxi drivers waiting to take you fora ride! And be aware of auto rickshaws in the city, they can be quitepursuasive in trying to trick you into taking a tour around the city.Within a one hour walk around city, I met 3 people who tried to take meto an unbelievable sale or city tour for cheap. One of them was verywell dressed and appeared to be quite educated and friendly. Thanks toa friendly local shopkeeper, I came to know about such touts and wascautious.
Overall, I would say that avoid spending anytime inColombo and head to some better tourist destinations, which I am surethere will be plenty in Sri Lanka itself.
