Many who have traveled to Sri Lanka have nostalgic memories of the moments spent on the coastline, named the ‘Galle Face’, just outside Fort in Colombo. In the simplest of terms, the Galle Face Green is the beauty of the Indian Ocean right in the heart of the city, flanked by hotels in Colombo, serenaded by the thousands of people who stop by every day to connect with nature and disconnect from the world and the distraction from all the upright concrete structures.
When Sir Henry Ward dedicated this bit of land to create a promenade for the people of Colombo he would never have imagined that it would be so well loved and patronized, not just by locals but also foreigners who travel to Colombo and stay as close to the Galle Face Hotel and as far as the Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo.
It is a large open space where one can get sunstroke during the day, but irrespective of the time there would be lovers holding hands, families playing on the green, cadets practicing and enthusiastic ice cream vendors carting their creamy goodies around. Towards evening the parking slots get full up, people come clad in their exercise outfits to get a whiff of fresh air while briskly walking or jogging to and fro.
Youngsters make their way to Galle Face to enjoy the strong winds, the setting of the sun and some delicious wadeis. Wadeis are a local favourite with many variations which could include prawns, onions or Maldive fish. They are served by tiny food stalls on paper plates and are quite crisp. The kids prefer to indulge in candy floss or popcorn. A few toy and kite vendors hover around hoping that someone would purchase their colourful trinkets. The kites cause much fun and get carried by the strong winds very easily, but are flown nevertheless.
Fritzjames Stephen is a travel writer, who writes content based on the myriad of experiences and indulgences that the world has to offer travellers across all walks of life. Google+
