Temples, Spa Treatments, and Good Food
I arrived in Colombo on a Sunday morning, tired after the overnight flight from London. Colombo was my first stop in Sri Lanka and a city I would return to several times during the trip. It’s a big city with malls and big chain hotels, and for this part of the trip I planned to indulge a little. I wanted Ayurvedic treatments, a facial, and some good meals. Sightseeing was secondary.
Nyne Hotel
For my first two nights in Colombo, I stayed at Nyne Hotel. I was welcomed with a fruit popsicle, a nice treat on a hot day.
The room itself was fine, but the breakfast was excellent. The only issue was that you can order local specialties for breakfast if you give them 24 hours’ notice, but no one mentioned this during check-in. I only discovered it during my first morning there, which meant I had already missed one opportunity.
After checking in, I went out to explore Gangaramaya Temple.
A Quiet Moment at Gangaramaya Temple
Gangaramaya is one of the most important and most visited temples in Colombo. I generally find that I’m able to access a peaceful feeling in temples if I can find a quiet spot. Gangaramaya was busy with visitors, but I was still able to find a small moment for reflection.
Outside of that, I don’t have much interest in religious relics. I’m more focused on the architecture and the surroundings. I’m usually looking for small elements of surprise, something unexpected in the structure or the details. Here, it was the reflection of the pagoda in the glass and the details on the dancers’ outfits.
After the temple, I went to find a rickshaw to take me to Marino mall.
Falling for the Rickshaw Jewelry Stop
On the way to the mall, I managed to fall for the classic “free rickshaw ride” situation that includes a stop at a jewelry shop. To be fair, I do have some interest in jewelry right now. I lost a star sapphire pendant on my flight to Japan in 2023, and I’ve been casually looking to replace it. But the sapphires in Sri Lanka are a different color than the one I had. They tend to be more grey than blue, while my original pendant was from India and had a much deeper blue tone. So the stop didn’t result in a purchase.
After that I continued on to Marino Mall. I don’t remember what I was trying to find, but I didn’t find it. After walking around for a bit, I realized I was hungry and walked over to Café Gallery for an early dinner before heading back to my hotel.
A Facial That Didn’t Go as Planned
On Monday morning, I had two appointments. The first was a facial at Cristall. When I arrived, 20 minutes early, they informed me that I didn’t have an appointment. I had booked through WhatsApp, but apparently my “okay” message hadn’t been registered as a confirmation.
I had to wait more than half an hour before they finally resolved the issue and scheduled an appointment for me. The facial itself was supposed to boost collagen. I didn’t notice any improvement in my skin afterwards, but I did end up with some bruising on my chin, which wasn’t exactly the result I had hoped for.
Ayurvedic Oil and a Decadent Massage
Next I went for an Ayurvedic treatment at the Australian Wellness Clinic. I had a full body abhyanga, a traditional Ayurvedic oil massage. The ayurvedic doctor who owns the clinic is a Sri Lankan woman who lived in Australia for several years before splitting her time between the two places. My massage was done by both her and another woman.
The treatment involved a lot of oil, which is common in Ayurveda, and it felt wonderfully decadent. I avoided having oil on my face since I had just had a facial earlier that morning. But nothing else was spared on this treatment. And at the end, they used warm rags to wipe the oil off.
A Working Holiday Routine
I didn’t do much else during that stretch in Colombo, but I did spend some time working at Barista. That brought back memories of hanging out at Barista cafés in Bangalore with friends when I lived there from 2003 to 2005, in my twenties.
While I was sitting there working, I started to hear loud noises outside. At first I ignored it. But eventually curiosity won, and I went to see what was happening. A procession was moving down the street, elephants, monks, and a large crowd following behind them. It was a delightful surprise and a welcome break from sitting at my computer, exactly the sort of small unexpected moment I enjoy when traveling.
This trip was a working holiday. Any time I took off, I made up somewhere else. That often meant waking up at 5 a.m., working for a few hours, doing my own thing for a while, and then working again into the evening or night. Dinner was often simple, sometimes just a protein shake or easy snacks.
Returning to Colombo (More Than Once)
I actually passed through Colombo several times during the trip. After the first time, went to Galle. Then I returned for one night before heading to Kandy. Later I came back again for a final night after Ella before my flight home.
One of those stays was at the Taj hotel. When I lived in India, I had always wanted to stay at a Taj property, but it was outside my budget at the time. This time I stayed in an executive room that gave me access to the lounge. The room was spacious and looked out over the beach, which was lovely.
The check-in experience, however, was not. I was ignored for more than 30 minutes before I finally got assertive and asked what was happening. I had arrived early and was perfectly fine leaving my luggage, but no one even acknowledged me. Eventually they let me access the lounge before check-in, and someone came to the lounge after 2 p.m. to complete the process. That part (almost) made up for the initially poor treatment.
The lounge served cookies and drinks throughout the day, except during evening happy hour when there was food served buffet style. You could also order from a room menu at any time.
On my last morning there, I walked over to the beach before heading out to visit the floating village. The floating village itself was fairly unremarkable. In hindsight, I probably should have gone to Lotus Tower instead, which I kept seeing from different points around the city.
But it did give me the chance to walk around the nearby market in the morning when everything was in motion. I saw sacks and sacks of garlic being moved around, piled high and carried through the market. It turned out to be another small moment of surprise.
The ITC Tasting Menu
During my stay at the Taj I went for a tasting menu dinner at ITC, at Avartana. The meal was decadent and delicious. But being on Mounjaro, I knew I needed to pace myself and not eat everything, even if the portions were small.
About halfway through the meal I started to feel nauseous from the richness. I switched to sparkling water and kept going, tasting a little of each dish.
Normally when I feel nauseous during travel, eating something helps. That definitely wasn’t the case here. I made it through the entire meal, though. I completely enjoyed the first half, and then half-enjoyed the second half. Still, it was a splendid dinner.
Afternoon Tea and Fresh Sneakers
On my last day in Colombo, I also tried afternoon tea at the Kingsbury Hotel. It was fine, but I wouldn’t go again. There were too many bread-heavy items and no scones, which felt like a strange omission for afternoon tea. I didn’t end up finishing it.
One surprisingly useful discovery in Colombo was Deluxe Shoe Laundry. My sneakers were filthy after all the hiking I had been doing, so I dropped them off there. For 1600 rupees, they washed them the same day and even delivered them back to my hotel at 10pm. It was one of the more practical luxuries of the trip, just in time for my flight to Cambodia early the next morning.
This post is part of a series about my 2026 trip to Sri Lanka. You can read the overview of the trip here (coming soon).
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