Galle Face, Colombo

Galle Face, Colombo, Sri Lanka (3 September, 2005)

Galle Face (GPS: 6.92375, 79.84513) is a place in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It has a seaside promenade where the folks from Colombo come to hang out, especially during the weekend evenings. Next to the promenade is a wide open space called Galle Face Green, which is home to Sri Lanka's oldest and most prestigious hotel, the Galle Face Hotel which opened in 1864, and is among the oldest hotels in Asia.

Galle Face Hotel is the place where the rich and famous rub elbow, among them Princess Alexandra of Denmark, Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, former British Prime minister Edward Heath, Prince Sadruddhin Aga Khan, Lord Louis Mountbatten, and Marshal Josip Broz Tito. Arthur C. Clarke is said to have written the final chapters of 3001 - The Final Odyssey at Galle Face Hotel.

Interior, Galle Face Hotel (3 September, 2005)

Despite its name, Galle Face Hotel does not face Galle. It fact, it faces the other direction, towards Galle Face Green, the lawn that stretches between the hotel and Fort.

Galle Face Hotel was one of my last stop in Colombo before heading for the airport for the flight home. I love to sit on the seafront coffee terrace and feel the gush of wind coming in from the Indian Ocean. The sea is very rough here, as the waves break hard on the shores. I like it this way - the seas back home as just too calm for my liking.