The Havelock Area

Day 076 of Our Winter: Jay had an appointment at 10:15 at the Havelock Mall even though it is a holiday. It is the Tamil Thai Pongal, a harvest festival. In predominately, Buddhist Sri Lanka, many religious holidays are observed. As well as Buddhist Poya days each month: Hindu, Moslem, and Christian celebrations are on the calendar. It makes for a lot of days off for government workers.  However, some businesses were open today.  That's why we were out.

 

Jay and I got a PickMe rideshare car but were let off just before the Havelock City Gate. There is a Hindu temple there and we first walked to the side road to see the scene. The weather was warm today and it was nice seeing all the colours. 

Next, we still had plenty of time, so we walked a bit into the Havelock development itself. This large area was once a mill but it is now an expansive condo development. It has been built in stages.  The first opened fifteen years ago and the third phase is still selling. The mall and business tower is on the same site.  We walked to the bridge that connects to the other side of the canal. Jay's sister and late husband used to frequent a Buddhist temple there.

 

Next, we entered the mall and proceeded up to the fifth floor. Jay had an hour and a half appointment for a microdermabrasion. I used the time to walk around the mall and sat in the wonderfully large, half-outside, food court near the cinemas and IMAX screens. Jay didn't feel like seeing the new Avatar after the procedure, so we didn't eat lunch there but returned to the Nugegoda house at around 12:30 pm.