Colombo

11 & 12 January 2026

We’d been to Colombo before, in 2013 (here). The city, boarded up then, is more lively now.

Cargills & Millers building, originally the residence of the Dutch military commander of Galle, was rebuilt in 1906 and now houses a supermarket

Pettah Market with the historic Old Town Hall built in 1873 in the background

The distinctive red and white Jami-Ul-Alfar Mosque was completed in 1909 with the capacity for 1,500 worshippers, now it can fit 10,000

The Old Colombo Lighthouse was constructed as a clock tower in 1857. The navigational light was added in 1867 but deactivated in 1952 when it became obscured by the surrounding buildings.

Multi-award-winning restaurant in the 400 year old Dutch Hospital Complex, the Ministry of Crab was founded in 2011 by 2 Sri Lankan cricket legends. We got stuck into a Sri Lankan Curry Crab and a Black Pepper Crab – fingers essential, forks optional.

For lunch – the original *Lamprais* comprising chicken, beef & pork with rice and spices baked in a banana leaf at The Dutch Burgher Union of Ceylon

Bamboo biryani has rice cooked with spices and meat inside a bamboo

Here is a video of the Bamboo Biryani