dennis s. hurddennis s. hurd

Friday, January 07, 2022

A Walk Around Little Beira Lake in Colombo

Day 52 - After breakfast, we got a notification that our two-month visa extension had been approved.  We needed to log on to a payment processor and give the Sri Lankan Immigration and Emigration Department $US 100 each.  Soon after doing so on our credit cards, we got a PDF explaining we could stay legally until March 16th, the day we requested, and one day following our return flight to Dubai.
     
Altair Jay at Beira Lake

So a bit later in the morning, we decided on a place in Colombo, the capital, to visit.  We chose the new Altair Building, one of the huge mega projects in the city.  We had visited the huge modern mall complex of Colombo City Centre.

We went up to the food court to take a few pictures of this section of Beira Lake from the McDonald's terrace.

Colombo, Sri Lanka

From McDonalds

Then, when looking out at the lake, we decided to talk around it.  Whereas much of the city looks towards the ocean, the inner parts of the city include lakes and canals.  This really is the center of the city but we found many wild birds that call this place home.

Listening at Beira Lake

Encouraging Growth

"I'm So Pretty ..."

High Center of Gravity

It was about three kilometers to walk around the lake.  The area needs continued development but we had an enjoyable, quiet walk in such an urban area.  

It was midday by the time we had made the trip around the water.  We came back home for lunch.  Uber now seems popular here, so we took the half-hour ride through the colonial, green layout of Columbo for a mere $US 3.50.  Getting back to Nugegoda took a bit more than a half-hour in extraordinarily heavy traffic.


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