Suitcase Tales

I had an opportunity to work remotely from Colombo for a week in March of 2023. I had a lot of work – so didn’t get a lot of time to explore the city, but can share what I learned and experienced at Colombo.

Colombo is the captical city of Sri Lanka and is a vibrant mix of ancient heritage and modern attractions. For remote working, I usually prefer cities with cheap and good accomodation, lots of things to do in the evening and night after work and easy access to good food.

Colombo offers something for every type of traveler, from stunning temples and museums to bustling markets and restaurants. Here are some of the top things to do in Colombo:

Here are some of the top things to do in Colombo:

Galle Face Green

This is a long, open park that runs alongside the coast, offering stunning views of the ocean. It’s a great place for a picnic or to watch the sunset. I visited here on a Sunday evening and this place was bustling with a lot of people, food carts and the beautiful sunset.

Gangaramaya Temple

One of the most important Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka, this temple features stunning architecture and a large collection of Buddhist art and artifacts. I visited here on an evening after work and it was really serene and calm. They have lights during the night – so it might be good to stay back for a while to see the night view also. There is a mall in front of the temple – so you can also spend some time there.

Pettah Market

This bustling market is a paradise for shoppers, with vendors selling everything from clothing and jewelry to spices and fresh produce. I visited here mainly to see the Red Mosque (Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque). Its a very unique architecture and design and it was really stunning to see this in the middle of the market.

Mount Lavinia Beach

This beautiful beach is just a short drive from the city center and is the perfect place to relax and soak up some sun. I didn’t get a chance to visit here, but if you have time, you should visit this place.

Where to stay?

Colombo is a big city and there are lot of areas that have good accomodation options. I also usually prefer staying in Airbnb’s while travelling, but in Colombo, I found the hotels to be better than Airbnb.

A few areas I found nice were:

Fort Colombo

This has a lot of good high-end hotels. Lots of restaurants are close to this place but there’s not a lot of places to walk to from here. I stayed in Kingsbury Hotel for a night here which was around $70 a night. If you are looking for some budget hotels in this area, C1 Colombo Fort is a good option.

Galle Face:

Galle Face is a really good area to stay at during remote working. You can come out during the evenings, watch the sunset, and enjoy watching people having fun and make some new friends. I stayed at Ramada By Wyndham Colombo and Galle Face is a 2 mins walk from this hotel. The hotel is also really nice as in it has a nice pool, a well equiped gym and sauna. However, most of the restaurants around this area are quite high-end and not withing walking distance. I usually had to call in food using UberEats.

Kollupitiya

This is one of the nicest areas to stay in Colombo with a lot of cafes, restaurants nearby. I stayed at Cinnamon Red, Colombo ($50 a night) and this was my best stay in Colombo. Its a really beautiful hotel with a infinity rooftop swimming pool, gym and and a 10 mins walk to Gangaramaya Temple.

Bambalapitiya

I didn’t stay here, but it seemed like quite a good area. There are lot of cafes and good hotels around this area.

Mount Lavinia:

This was a bit far from the main city, but I heard from some tourists that there are good airbnbs in the area and you can work remotely from here if you are looking for a calm and quiet place.

What and where to eat?

Colombo has a lot of good places to eat. I loved the rice with curry and would order that everyday for lunch. To order food, Ubereats is really convenient and they deliver on time. A few places worth checking out are:

1. Cafe Kumbuk – A really nice cafe with good food and drinks. Its also a great place to work from. They also have accomodation on top called Srilax. If I had stayed in Colombo for a few more days, I would have definitely lived here for a few days.

2. Praneetha Foods – This is where I would order my everyday lunch from.

3. Ministry of Crab – The best crabs in Colombo, but its expensive. I didn’t go here, but you should if you get a chance.

4. Upali’s – Very good Srilankan food. The waiters were really nice and their recommendation was spot on.

5. Ocean Seafood Restaurant, Kingsbury: This had excellent and very afforadable fresh seafood – one of the best seafood restaurants in Colombo.

One thing missing in Colombo was that there wasn’t any single street where you can find a lot of restaurants next to each other. You really have to walk quite a lot or get a tuktuk for everywhere.

Nightlife

I didn’t up stay very late at night, but in general Colombo seemed to die down a bit towards late evening. There are definitely some pubs, bars and lounges that remain open till late night, but they are usually located in hotels and you don’t usually find those party streets that can you can find in some other Asian countries.

Overall, Colombo was a great city to work remotely from. I wouldn’t stay there for a very long time, but for a short period it was a good change. It gets quite hot during the day – so usually you will go out only in the evenings. I actually setup a nice healthy routine for myself in Colombo – a swim in the morning, work during the day, gym in the evenings and then meet some people in the evening.