An early morning arrival at Colombo after completing immigration and custom formalities and of course claiming my baggage.
I had to find a mode of transportation to reach Colombo; I take the bus service to Katunayaka South Railway Station; upon reaching the railway station take a ticket for Colombo fort station is LKR 30 for third class LKR 60 for second class and LKR 120 for first class; it takes around one hour to reach.
There is one more option to reach Colombo from airport by bus (Bus no 187) the fare is pretty much similar to third class railway fare but it is more time consuming.
Upon reaching the Colombo Fort Railway Station you can take tuk tuk to reach to your hotel; the bus ride is cheaper option but with luggage it may not be the best of option.
After taking some rest at the hotel, its time for half day city tour:
1. Colombo Fort: The fort has some attractions which can be covered on foot.
2. Near to the Fort is the bazaar district (shopping market) which is good place to shop land if you are good at haggling you get them rather cheap.
Each street has certain characteristics:
Household goods are found on Keyzer Street; Electrical items on prince street and so on.
Next up is National Museum which gives an insight into history; do note that the same is closed on Friday and public holidays.
The last visit of the day was at Galle Face Promenade to witness a spectacular sunset to end the day.
It makes more sense to use the tuk tuk to cover the aforesaid attractions as its the best way to travel around.
Tomorrow I head for Kandy which is best accessed through train from Colombo Fort Station; you have two options as enumerated below:
The Second and third class seats tend to be crowded and it is recommended to have an advanced booking if you are travelling on weekends and holidays; the rest of the day its possible to book the ticket just before departure.
Distance 121 km Time 2.5 hours
Travelling by bus is another option Bus no. 1 from Colombo Bus Terminus costs LKR 70 to LKR 130 and takes around three hours.
Upon arriving at Kandy I have an early lunch at an Indian restaurant and the proceed for the City Tour:
1. The Tempe of the Tooth which has a tooth relic of Lord Buddha; you would mostly end up seeing the casket which has the tooth and definitely not see the tooth itself. A holy shrine for the locals has an entrance fee of LKR 500 for SAARC nationals and LKR 1000 for foreigners.
2. The Royal Botanical Garden which has a banyan tree, a orchid house and a bridge as its main attractions.
3. Bahirawakanda Temple which is one km from the city and the large buddha statue is best viewed from far away; if you wish to enter the temple the fee is LKR 200.
4. Arthur's Seat an ideal place to see the sunset which gives you a 360 degree view of the city.
End of Day Two
Day Three:
Leave early morning for pinnewala elephant orphanage located 41 km from kandy at Kegalle about 50 minutes drive.
I was running short of time and hence choose car as mode of transport; if you have time you can choose bus to kegalle for LKR 40 and turn for pinnewala which is about 6 more km the same is more cost effective option.
After spending some time there I head back to Kandy to catch my train to Colombo which departs at 15:00 and arrives at 17:30.
Upon arrival I head to Colombo zoo which has got decent variety of birds and animals and then do some shopping and have an early dinner as I have to spend my night at the airport to catch the early morning flight.
Since the flights leave early in the morning you have two options:
Option 1 : Early Morning
Option 2 : Late night a day before
I choose option two and take the 20:20 train and reach the airport by 10 pm.
Spending the night at the airport is not too stressful; on the ground floor of the departure hall, there is small super market by the name of "Food City" which has power outlets, toilets and chairs nearby to spend a comfortable night at the airport.
I take the 5:30 flight to back home and its good bye to Sri lanka.
I had to find a mode of transportation to reach Colombo; I take the bus service to Katunayaka South Railway Station; upon reaching the railway station take a ticket for Colombo fort station is LKR 30 for third class LKR 60 for second class and LKR 120 for first class; it takes around one hour to reach.
There is one more option to reach Colombo from airport by bus (Bus no 187) the fare is pretty much similar to third class railway fare but it is more time consuming.
Upon reaching the Colombo Fort Railway Station you can take tuk tuk to reach to your hotel; the bus ride is cheaper option but with luggage it may not be the best of option.
After taking some rest at the hotel, its time for half day city tour:
1. Colombo Fort: The fort has some attractions which can be covered on foot.
2. Near to the Fort is the bazaar district (shopping market) which is good place to shop land if you are good at haggling you get them rather cheap.
Each street has certain characteristics:
Household goods are found on Keyzer Street; Electrical items on prince street and so on.
Next up is National Museum which gives an insight into history; do note that the same is closed on Friday and public holidays.
The last visit of the day was at Galle Face Promenade to witness a spectacular sunset to end the day.
It makes more sense to use the tuk tuk to cover the aforesaid attractions as its the best way to travel around.
Tomorrow I head for Kandy which is best accessed through train from Colombo Fort Station; you have two options as enumerated below:
One-way adult fare
|
3rd class
reserved seat
|
2nd class
reserved seat
|
1st class
observation car
|
Colombo-Kandy by InterCity Express
|
LKR 180
|
LKR 280
|
LKR 500
|
| Colombo-Kandy by normal train |
LKR 105
|
LKR 190
|
N.A.
|
The Second and third class seats tend to be crowded and it is recommended to have an advanced booking if you are travelling on weekends and holidays; the rest of the day its possible to book the ticket just before departure.
Distance 121 km Time 2.5 hours
Travelling by bus is another option Bus no. 1 from Colombo Bus Terminus costs LKR 70 to LKR 130 and takes around three hours.
Upon arriving at Kandy I have an early lunch at an Indian restaurant and the proceed for the City Tour:
1. The Tempe of the Tooth which has a tooth relic of Lord Buddha; you would mostly end up seeing the casket which has the tooth and definitely not see the tooth itself. A holy shrine for the locals has an entrance fee of LKR 500 for SAARC nationals and LKR 1000 for foreigners.
2. The Royal Botanical Garden which has a banyan tree, a orchid house and a bridge as its main attractions.
3. Bahirawakanda Temple which is one km from the city and the large buddha statue is best viewed from far away; if you wish to enter the temple the fee is LKR 200.
4. Arthur's Seat an ideal place to see the sunset which gives you a 360 degree view of the city.
End of Day Two
Day Three:
Leave early morning for pinnewala elephant orphanage located 41 km from kandy at Kegalle about 50 minutes drive.
I was running short of time and hence choose car as mode of transport; if you have time you can choose bus to kegalle for LKR 40 and turn for pinnewala which is about 6 more km the same is more cost effective option.
After spending some time there I head back to Kandy to catch my train to Colombo which departs at 15:00 and arrives at 17:30.
Upon arrival I head to Colombo zoo which has got decent variety of birds and animals and then do some shopping and have an early dinner as I have to spend my night at the airport to catch the early morning flight.
Since the flights leave early in the morning you have two options:
Option 1 : Early Morning
Train Schedules from 00:00:01 to 07:00:00 , on 2014-02-21
| |||||||
COLOMBO FORT Arrival Time
|
COLOMBO FORT Departure Time
|
Train Starting from
|
Train Runs to
|
KATUNAYAKE Reaching Time
|
Available days of the week
|
Type of the Train
|
Train No
|
04:00:00
|
04:00:00
|
COLOMBO FORT
|
NOORANAGAR
|
05:08:00
|
DAILY
|
LONG DISTANCE
|
3404
|
05:00:00
|
05:00:00
|
COLOMBO FORT
|
NEGOMBO
|
06:13:00
|
DAILY
|
COLOMBO COMMUTER
|
3406
|
05:41:00
|
05:41:00
|
COLOMBO FORT
|
CHILAW
|
06:56:00
|
DAILY
|
COLOMBO COMMUTER
|
3409
|
Rates
| |
Class
|
Price (Rs.)
|
1st class
|
120.00
|
2nd class
|
60.00
|
3rd class
|
30.00
|
Option 2 : Late night a day before
Train Schedules from 18:00:00 to 23:59:59 , on 2014-02-20
| |||||||
COLOMBO FORT Arrival Time
|
COLOMBO FORT Departure Time
|
Train Starting from
|
Train Runs to
|
KATUNAYAKE Reaching Time
|
Available days of the week
|
Type of the Train
|
Train No
|
18:05:00
|
18:05:00
|
COLOMBO FORT
|
CHILAW
|
19:16:00
|
MONDAY TO FRIDAY
|
COLOMBO COMMUTER
|
3427
|
18:05:00
|
18:05:00
|
COLOMBO FORT
|
CHILAW
|
19:14:00
|
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
|
COLOMBO COMMUTER
|
3427
|
19:00:00
|
19:00:00
|
COLOMBO FORT
|
CHILAW
|
20:08:00
|
MONDAY TO FRIDAY
|
COLOMBO COMMUTER
|
3428
|
20:01:00
|
20:01:00
|
COLOMBO FORT
|
CHILAW
|
21:08:00
|
SUNDAY ONLY
|
COLOMBO COMMUTER
|
3424
|
20:20:00
|
20:20:00
|
COLOMBO FORT
|
CHILAW
|
21:28:00
|
DAILY
|
COLOMBO COMMUTER
|
3432
|
Rates
| |
Class
|
Price (Rs.)
|
1st class
|
120.00
|
2nd class
|
60.00
|
3rd class
|
30.00
|
I choose option two and take the 20:20 train and reach the airport by 10 pm.
Spending the night at the airport is not too stressful; on the ground floor of the departure hall, there is small super market by the name of "Food City" which has power outlets, toilets and chairs nearby to spend a comfortable night at the airport.
I take the 5:30 flight to back home and its good bye to Sri lanka.
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