One Day in Colombo | Our First Impressions of Sri Lanka

One Day in Colombo | Our First Impressions of Sri Lanka

Colombo is our first stop in Sri Lanka, and we 
honestly have no idea what to expect. We only have one day in the city before starting a much bigger 
adventure. So, we decided to just let the day unfold at its own pace. No packed itinerary and 
without the pressure to chase every must-see spot. Just a chance to explore, enjoy the vibe, and get 
to know the local cuisine. This isn’t a complete guide. It’s our first impression of Sri Lanka. A 
slow and honest beginning that set the tone for the rest of our trip. What comes next gets a lot 
more exciting, but this is where it all started. The statue behind me commemorates D. S. 
Senanayake, and I apologize if I said that wrong, but he was the first Prime 
Minister of independent Sri Lanka and was lovingly referred to as the Father 
of the Nation, and I can understand why. We’re standing in the Independence Memorial 
right now, and the carvings on these pillars are absolutely beautiful. They’re so intricate and 
detailed, and you really get the sense of what Sri Lanka and its history is like here. I’m sure 
there’s a lot of cultural significance here that is lost on me, sadly, but it’s really beautiful 
to just kind of walk around. You have to look up. There’s just so much to see. You know, at first 
glance from far away, you would just kind of think like, oh, it’s, you know, it’s a memorial 
building, whatever. But once you get up close and really start to pay attention to the details, 
it’s really magnificent and very, very beautiful. They’re bats, and they’re huge. They’re the 
biggest bats I’ve ever seen. Oh my gosh. And apparently, these are the biggest bats in 
the entire world. Ashley says they’re a genus of mega bats, which just sounds so cool. There’s 
so many of them. They’re just hanging out. I have to say my first impressions of Sri Lanka, or 
more specifically Colombo in general, is this city is so incredibly tidy and clean. I don’t 
think I’ve seen one bit of trash on any of the sidewalks. I know that there’s not sidewalks in 
all parts of the city, but where we are right now, they’re very large, very clean. It’s surprisingly 
quiet. There’s a little bit of beeping, and obviously you can hear the engines of the 
tuk-tuks, but overall, for it being a large city, this is really, really peaceful. And all in all, 
this is a great first impression of Sri Lanka. Hello. Hello. Thank you. Thanks. We are here 
at Café KBook, which is in the upscale Cinnamon Gardens neighborhood. Now, if you’re not 
familiar, Sri Lanka is regarded for its cinnamon production. And a fun fact, cinnamon was 
once more valuable than gold. This place is cozy, and it’s got this nice Sri Lankan vibe. It’s 
really popular with expats, and they’ve got incredible coffee and really good food, too. 
They source local ingredients when they can, and they’ve got a big focus on sustainability. I 
got the iced spiced chai. I’m in need of caffeine, and this looks absolutely incredible. It’s just 
perfect. It’s exactly what I needed. Reminds me of cinnamon, just like the district. And I kept 
it really simple. I just got the honey lemon iced tea. And I was hoping to get some Ceylon 
tea, but they actually don’t have it here. So, I went for an iced tea instead. It looks 
really, really good. Let’s try it. It’s so good. It’s nice and refreshing, which is exactly 
what I need on this very rainy and muggy day. We just arrived at the Curry Pot restaurant 
on Marine Drive. Now, this is a chain, but we heard that this location specifically is very, 
very good. And if the amount of locals here is any indication, then I think we’re going to be in 
for a treat. We ended up getting a huge plate of I don’t know what, but it looks absolutely amazing, 
and I’m so excited to dig into this. Honestly, I don’t know where to start, but I think I’m going 
to go for this right here, which I’m not sure what it is. I think it’s some type of vegetable, maybe 
potatoes or something with curry. And we’re going to do it the traditional way, which is to eat with 
your hands, because I’ve heard that doing this makes the food taste better. So, we’re going to 
find out. Mmm. Oh, interesting. It’s a vegetable and spicy. Oh, it’s really spicy, but it’s very 
firm. I have no idea what that is. Mmm. Maybe cassava. It’s really, really fibrous. I 
think I got the end of this piece. The taste is phenomenal, though. It’s a spicy curry. 
The good thing is Mike and I love spicy food, so this doesn’t bother me whatsoever. So, I’m going 
to try and mix up a couple little things here. Let me get a piece of this chicken. I’m going to 
get some of this rice and some of this sambal. That is amazing. I love the veg sides, 
the little freshness from this and the coconut on it. It’s a little bitter. It 
pairs perfectly with the chicken. So, so good. I think I’m going to try a prawn. 
We got some prawns. And I wouldn’t typically order prawns, but I figure, why not? Since 
I don’t typically eat shrimp like this, I’m not entirely sure how to peel this. 
So, don’t judge me too hard. All right. So, just a tiny little bite-sized piece. I’m going to 
grab some of this rice. We ended up getting the yellow rice, which I believe is biryani rice. 
And I’m told that you’re kind of supposed to work the curry into the rice. So, that’s what 
I’m going to try and do. Here goes nothing. Oh, it’s so good. That one’s not spicy at all, 
but it’s really, really good. Let me grab one of these green beans. Oh, those are delicious. I know 
that you’re supposed to eat with the tips of your fingers. You’re not supposed to kind of work it up 
into your palm and the middle of your fingers. But I’m also like a baby when it comes to eating with 
my hands. This is new for me. So, this is so good. The yellow rice is what was recommended to 
us, and I think it was a good choice. It is so flavorful. Try these potatoes here. Mmm. Oh wow. 
You’re going to love the potatoes. They are so, so spicy. This is amazing. I wasn’t sure how spicy 
Sri Lankan food is going to be. It’s quite spicy, and that is okay. The only thing to 
note is that everything is cold. So, it’s not piping hot. But that being said, 
I think everything is really, really fresh, and there’s so many people in here that it’s 
turning very, very quickly. So, I’m not worried about getting sick or anything like that. But 
this is definitely the way to go. If you are new to Sri Lankan food, come to the Curry Pot 
because you can try a lot of things at once, and you kind of figure out what you like and what 
you don’t like. That being said, I haven’t found one thing on this plate that I haven’t liked 
so far. Everything is absolutely delicious. So, after our amazing lunch, we 
have to work off some calories. So, we’re going to head to a local 
park and take a look around. So, we just made a quick stop at Viharamahadevi 
Park. And this is actually the oldest and largest park in the city of Colombo. There’s not a ton to 
see here, but there is a beautiful golden Buddha and this remarkable tree behind me. It looks like 
it’s a couple of trees kind of all side by side. But if you look a little bit closer, it’s actually 
one big tree that the branches actually grow into the ground. So, it’s like taken up roots. I’ve 
never seen anything like this before. It’s so unique and interesting. I have to imagine it’s 
a bodhi tree, but I honestly don’t know. So, if you know, let us know in the comments 
because I’d be very curious. But yeah, I mean, look at that. So, that branch right 
there, what we thought was a third tree, it goes way up there. Like, that’s insane. 
I’ve never seen anything like that. Have you? Here’s where things got interesting. As we were 
admiring the marvel of nature that is this tree with a million little branches, a very kind and 
interested gentleman approached. Now, we’ve been to a lot of countries and had a lot of encounters 
with locals at this point, and we can usually spot these kind of interactions a mile away. According 
to his card, he was a master gardener with 35 years of experience, and he was pretty pumped to 
show us the immense variety of flora in this park. In situations like these, the local almost always 
wants a tip for their services, even if they don’t ask for money up front. It’s usually only a couple 
of bucks. So, since we weren’t in too big of a hurry and were endlessly curious, we obliged 
our new friend. We’re getting a botanical tour from a botanical expert. We spent the next five 
minutes or so making our way through the grounds, stopping at various plants and trees, and 
he’d give us a fun fact about each one. White milk coming. One second. Look. White 
milk. One second. Coming. Look. I touch. Close. Close the branch down. Close. 
Close the branch down. Look. Look at this. Botanical name calling Mimosa. 
English calling touch-me-not. Well, look. We have a botanical master 
just happened to be in the garden. The grand finale of this experience was seeing an 
even bigger version of the tree we’d started at, where he insisted that I swing this vine 
like Tarzan. After a few awkward swings, I walked over to our new friend to give him a 
handshake, a tip, and thank him for a lovely walk. Okay, so unfortunately, the gentleman wanted a 
tip, and he wasn’t happy with what we gave him, so it got a little uncomfortable. And I’m walking 
away because I don’t like these situations. He was very friendly. But yeah, it’s always 
uncomfortable when they don’t accept what you’re willing to give for their time. So, yeah, I’m 
going to walk away, and we’re going to keep going. So, this park is pretty awesome. Sure, if you’re 
a tourist, maybe the main thing you want to see is the golden Buddha statue. Come get your picture 
and leave. But it’s great for a stroll. And honestly, I love all the birds. There are so many 
birds here. The crows are just chattering in the background. There’s parrots. There’s pelicans. 
There’s some kind of storky-legged seabird that I’ve never seen before. There’s crazy ducks with, 
like, goobers all over their face. It’s really, really cool. A couple parts of it are a little 
bit worse for wear and have seen better days, but it’s honestly nice to just be out in a 
green space, take a break from the streets, and do some people watching. It looks 
like they’ve got an area that’s set up for a night market or some kind of snacks, and 
there’s tons of places for kids to play. So, if you’re visiting Colombo with kids, 
this is a great place to take them. Now, it’s time to move on to the next place, 
and I’m really excited for this one. Heat. Heat. If you’ve been following our channel for 
a while now, you know that we’ve spent the last three years in Southeast Asia for the 
most part. But we’ve been to a lot of temples, and I would put this up there with one of the 
most beautiful temples that we’ve ever been to. Not because it’s the most ornate or the most 
impressive structurally, but because of the amount of Buddhas and other religious symbols 
in the temple. It’s absolutely beautiful. I’ve never seen a temple with this many images of 
Buddha with so many different representations. You’ve got Chinese, Thai, Indian, Sri Lankan, 
something from everywhere. It’s kind of eclectic, too. There’s classic cars and a giant, realistic 
elephant head. There’s also this tower, or stupa, I guess, that looks almost like biomechanical 
or steampunk. I’ve never seen anything like it. Honestly, I’m so glad we came here. 
After spending so much time in Asia, I’ve definitely gotten to the point 
where I’m like, “Okay, cool. Yeah. Oh, we’re going to go see a temple.” But this is 
unlike any temple I’ve ever been to before. And I definitely recommend coming here when you’re in 
Colombo, because I bet you’ll be impressed. I was. Now, we’re going to go check out a 
temple that is built on the water here, and it just looks absolutely beautiful. I 
think you actually get free entrance to this temple that’s across the street by purchasing 
tickets at the other one. I’m not 100% certain, but I’m hoping that’s the case. So, let’s go find 
out. Uh, two seconds. Okay. Sure. Okay. Thank you. This place is so beautiful and so peaceful. 
It almost makes it easy to forget that we’re surrounded by a city. Like, yeah, you can hear 
the cars in the background and a couple honks here and there, but it’s just so serene. I 
don’t know. I really like Colombo so far. That’s saying a lot for a capital city. Like, 
typically the capital cities of places are where you get to and you’re like, gotta get out 
of here. I gotta go see everything else. But if this is setting the stage for anything 
else we’ve got in store in Sri Lanka, I think I can absolutely fall in love with this 
country. It’s not at all what I was expecting, but I am very surprised. I’m 
really enjoying my first day here. As soon as we got in the tuk-tuk, it started 
raining. So, now we are at Galle Face Green, and it’s beautiful, but it’s wet, 
and we don’t have a backup plan. It’s about to come down hard. Oh no. Here we go. It is beautiful, though. I think we 
need to find an indoor activity. I don’t think these palm trees are 
going to do much to help us stay dry. What is this place? It looks like 
the Raffles City Center in Chongqing. The audio for this next part was awful because 
of the wind, but out of nowhere, our new friend Luqman pulled up in his shiny red tuk-tuk. He 
insisted on giving us a ride to the mall so we didn’t get more wet. He was so friendly, and he 
asked us about our plans in Sri Lanka. Then we exchanged WhatsApp contacts so we could hit him 
up for any rides we needed in Colombo. All right, Ash. That guy was so nice. His name is Luqman, 
and he saw us walking in the rain. He offered to pick us up. So, he drove us 300 meters to the 
mall and wouldn’t accept money. He just gave us his WhatsApp and said next time we need a ride to 
call him. I absolutely love people in Sri Lanka. So, we’re not typically mall vlog people, but 
when it rains, why not go indoors somewhere with air conditioning? We’re in One Galle 
Face right now, and this mall is very fancy, very luxurious. I think Sri Lanka wants us to 
go shopping, which is a terrible idea. It’s not what we came here for. But when plans are 
thwarted, you pivot. And we’re going to pivot. We are at a restaurant called Hotel de 
Plaza. I have no idea why they call it a hotel. I’ve noticed that a lot of these food 
joints are called hotel. So, if you know why, let me know in the comments. I’m very curious. 
But we got kottu roti, which I’ve heard is a staple late-night food. It’s really, really good 
for after you’ve been drinking a couple of beers all night. We unfortunately haven’t been doing 
that, but we did go to the mall, and I got stuck. If you’ve been following our channel for a 
while, you know that anytime we go to a mall, Ashley’s got to get stuff. I needed new shoes 
and new pants. Okay, but I’m very excited to try this out. It smells amazing. And we got these 
adorable tiny little drinks. They’re so cute. So, we’ve got the chicken kottu roti. Is that 
right? No. No. Chicken kottu roti. And yeah, I’m excited to try it. It looks so good. From 
what I understand, this is like roti that is chopped up and sautéed with chicken and spices and 
stuff like that. Looks delicious. Smells amazing. It’s perfect late-night junk food. It is. If 
you’ve ever had something that just soaks up whatever you got in your food, this is it. 
It’s spicy. It’s a little bit heavy. It’s got really good texture. Got a good chew 
to it. Has a little bit of crunch. Awesome spice. And the chicken is perfect. They gave 
us, I guess, breast meat chicken with a wing, it looks like. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Oh man, this 
is absolutely incredible. Not too spicy, but spicy enough to make you want to have another 
beer, or in my case, a tiny little Sprite. We’ve only had a few things in Sri Lanka so far, 
but this might be hopping quickly to the top of the list. And this place is great. There’s so 
many people in here. It’s absolutely packed. Mm-hmm. I don’t see an empty table in this 
entire place. We’re actually sharing a table with somebody else right now. Yeah. He’s 
probably like, “Shut up, I’m trying to eat.” So, we’re going to do that. We’re going to eat this, 
be quiet, and respect our friends around us. Bye. Sri Lanka has been calling to us, tugging 
our shirts and begging for us to come see her in all her glory. And if our brief day of 
wandering around Colombo was any indication of what this trip is going to be like, we 
should have listened ages ago. Tomorrow, we set off for what will turn out to be one of 
the best trips of our entire lives. Traversing every type of landscape you can think 
of, seeing incredible sites and wildlife, and most importantly, connecting with 
the culture and people of one of the most amazing places we’ve ever been. The people 
we’ll meet, both locals and other travelers, will change how we view travel moving forward 
and show us what it means to be alive. So, thank you for watching this video. We’d love 
it if you followed us on this epic journey. So, subscribe if you’re new, hit the 
thumbs up, and tell the YouTube gods we’re doing something right. And we’ll 
see you at the start of our adventure.

Colombo was our first stop in Sri Lanka, and we had no idea what to expect. With just one day in the city, we kept things simple and let our first impressions lead the way.

This video isn’t a full travel guide or a checklist of must-see spots. It’s an honest look at our first hours in Sri Lanka, from quiet moments around the city to our first taste of local food. Colombo surprised us in the best way, and it ended up setting the tone for the rest of our trip.

If this is your first time watching, we’re Mike and Ashley. We travel full-time and share what places feel like beyond the highlights.

Subscribe for more travel stories, and let us know in the comments what stood out to you about Colombo, or what you’d want to see there first.

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*Donate to Support the Relief Efforts from Cyclone Ditwah*
Give Asia: https://bit.ly/CycloneDitwahRelief
Donate.Gov.LK: https://bit.ly/DonateGovLK

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*Places We Visited in this Video:*
Independence Memorial: https://maps.app.goo.gl/uMWbhU4jqF2idz729
Cafe Kumbuk: https://maps.app.goo.gl/DcGVSmUS8G3n6fPq7
Curry Pot: https://maps.app.goo.gl/SDc2sZtCTMFjWhM4A
Viharamahadevi Park: https://maps.app.goo.gl/TTq4ephJTxYUYfNK7
Gangaramaya Temple: https://maps.app.goo.gl/W6HosxfTZtYQExVr9
Seema Malaka: https://maps.app.goo.gl/gVkxULQMH91eTfPt5
Galle Face Green: https://maps.app.goo.gl/7VLr4CboVRFZwksi9
One Galle Face Mall: https://maps.app.goo.gl/yEXuTnN3Lyew69Nm9
Hotel De Plaza: https://maps.app.goo.gl/w9xHBQjc6cMZc7268

If you need a ride in Colombo, hit up Lakshman! Voice calls only – No text. 🛺
WhatsApp: +94 77 899 1510

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Where We Stayed:
Vibe Colombo: https://booking.tpx.li/8YuHta8r

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00:00 Intro
00:37 Learning about Sri Lanka’s independence
01:44 We were not ready for this
02:03 Our first impressions
02:36 Tea time
03:52 Our first Sri Lankan meal
07:37 A leisurely stroll… or so we thought
11:09 Our first taste of culture
13:05 Falling in love with this city
14:15 Our plans fell through
15:07 Our savior!
16:03 The best way to end a night
18:12 Outro

#colombo #srilanka #srilankatravel