FIRST TIME In Sri Lanka Colombo is NOT What We Expected…
we have just landed at Colombo International Airport this is our very first time here in Sri Lanka now we took a flight from Bangkok to Columbo with Sri Lankan Airlines and I must say that it was a very pleasant experience uh the staff on board were very hospitable I think that's going to be something that we find here in Sri Lanka so that was a nice start and also we got introduced to some Sri Lankan food it was our very first time trying some Sri Lankan food it was actually pretty good we just got through immigration it was nice and easy it didn't take long at all I think we were through in like five 5 minutes and the immigration officer was very nice it wasn't grumpy like some of the immigration officers can be around the world it actually was quite friendly yeah and we are saying 30 days here so it's going to be exciting a whole month and uh we've been learning some um some of the language here which is "Stuti" is thank thank you and "Ayubowan" is like the greetings like hello or uh she difficult okay so we are on our way to get our luggage one thing to mention is that you do need to fill in an ETA application before taking your flight and uh just another thing we did actually when we landed is that we actually activated our eim from aloin and so we had internet straight away where we landed but more on that later we need to find our luggage there is a crowd of people here just arrived ready for the holidays I mean I think a lot of them look local like Shri LAN so we are picking up our luggage from number three here is my beautiful luggage from Level8 we're almost outside but we need to get some cash now I haven't seen any ATMs I've we've SE these like kind of currency exchanges I do have some pounds to exchange if we need it but let me see there's an information center over here excuse me hello are there any ATMs here yeah go straight and left straight and left okay thank you uh study all right we're learning some uh hello oh no taxi thank you um we're going to be using a app for that there are a few so we're going to talk about that later but she said the ATMs ah here we go yeah just over here so if you're looking for the ATMs to withdraw some cash you have welcome to Sri Lanka here and then you just want to come over to this ATM place here we're going to be going with the Bank of Ceylon because we think that they have the best fees or maybe no fees whatsoever let's find out all right let's see I think we need to put the card in first Karolina the bank of England let's put this into image do you want a receipt yeah we always want a receipt okay this is the part we don't show you guys let's go for withdrawals current account all right so we decided on 100,000 mhm is that enough I I haven't put tooo many zeros I think so oh yes please all right we got to do it again 100,000 I'm pretty sure that's correct all right is it going to give us the cash I can hear it counting good news we always get a little bit worried when we're going to cash machines if we don't get any cash cuz I think Sri Lanka is very uh cash like heavy in terms of cash is King all right wow all right there's people want to use it let's uh have you got the receipt obviously yeah this is 5,000 all right so Midway while Karolina was showing you the cash the donut forgot to take the card take the card the bank of England left the card in the machine okay you should never do it like I think so the cash came out first and the car came out afterwards you need to that's something for people to be aware of so here we have it guys look at all of these beautiful colorful notes and actually there's so many of them I didn't expected yeah that's $335 right there it looks a lot more yeah so this is our very first look this is$ 1,000 there's some tribal people here and there's even some par like I really like it these are Sri Lankan rupees Karolina and you've also got a 5,000 no here so they do like their colorful money here oh that's really elegant the notes Here look at that all right guys so we are almost there we've got our luggage we've got some cash now we need to get a sim card so we can connect to the internet and honestly guys it can be such a hassle trying to find the SIM card shop waiting in line dealing with all the forms and usually it's more expensive but not this time guys I installed an eSIM from aloSIM the sponsor of today's video before flying and then as soon as we landed I activated the eSIM and boom I was instantly connected to the internet all you have to do guys is download the free aloSIM app we'll put a QR code on screen so you can scan that and then all you have to do is choose the location you're traveling to pick your prepaid data package install and then activate your eSIM it really doesn't take long at all and the best part is guys that it is super affordable plans start from less than $5 per week and if it is your first time using aloSIM you can save $3 off your first eSIM using our code JAYKAROLINA honestly guys this makes traveling so much easier if you want to save time and money don't forget to scan the QR code on screen so you can download the free aloSIM app and the moment you land you'll be online instantly we have finally exited the airport and the first thing we've noticed is oh it's so hot it is extremely hot now we've turned left as we exited to go to the ride hailing area because there will be a lot of taxi drivers approaching you inside uh they're very friendly as soon as you say no they're completely fine um but I think it's cheaper to use the ride heing apps there is pick me tax I think that's the number one in Sri Lanka there's Uber um but we're actually going to be using Kangaroo cabs cuz I've heard it's more reliable here at the airport so I've just booked one on the app um and so hopefully he turns up and I can see already over here is the pickup points we've got Uber just over here and then we also have the PickMe pickup Point here but I don't see the Kangaroo Cabs pickup point let me ask someone uh to granell uh you already B yes but is he moving yeah yeah he's coming yeah yeah okay so we can just stay here stay okay I also saw Pik me was good as well okay so Uber PickMe me and Kangaroo Cabs okay very honest man okay uh Stuti what a guy so we're just going to wait here for our cab okay guys we are on the move cuz our we taxi driver has arrived not at the pickup Point here he is yes so we are riding in a Suzuki hello my friends oh is it going to be enough space might be a bit of a tight fit for you in the back thank you after you no space for me inside of there nice uh airon it's very hot this is uh YouTube YouTu are you Auybowan Ayubowan Ayubowan am I saying it wrong how do you say hello in Sri Lankan language in Sinhala s uh Sri Lankan uh Sinhala yeah and uh singala Sing Sing Singa Singa singal yes and how do you say hello like uh hello H hello I I I I I okay I was saying I say I I I I I okay thank you uh good morning I I I okay thank you all right we're off to the center of Colombo my friend okay oh it's uh a long way uh maybe 1 hour I didn't realize that the airport was actually quite far away from the center of Colombo all right let's go my friend what's your name my name is samon samon yes my name is Jay J and this is Karolina okay all right let's get going hi is a Buddha so are you Buddhists is the main religion here in Sri Lanka main Sri Lankan uh Buddhist is the religion Buddhism okay we're learning lots of things with our friend here okay Saman I have a question for you question so Kangaroo Cabs yes PickMe taxi kangaroo caps U taxi Uber do work all three s you you do three Uber just kangaroo kangaroo kangaro all right you're a permanent kangaroo yes I I really like someone Christian yes can you guess yeah me I am Hindu Hindu Hindu yes yes my grandparents uh were born in India India then they moved to Africa East Africa Kenya Kenya and Tanzania then my parents and family they moved to the UK and I was born in the UK so I sound British but I I look Indian yeah I'm a brownman same as you we're in Colombo now oh yes Colombo yes there much traffic we have a bus over here this is the bus we made it to Colombo guys we've got these Tuk tucks everywhere hello my friends hello everyone's smiling that's good to see oh hello he oh what are you thinking Karolina in the back there it's quite um vibrant this is Karolina's first time in South Asia yes oh the buses look really interesting uh School Bus thank you my friends Saman this is for you thank you I have you on WhatsApp you call it I will call you okay right hello all right so we have arrived at our hotel they've taken our suitcases uh reception first the first floor okay thank you suitcases are here we have to go up to reception everything's kind of like goldplated I like the decor already we made it to the first floor guys wow you can see the ocean from here what a beautiful view wow it's so relaxing and I have spotted some coffee shop in the corner so probably people order I'm sure you've spotted the coffee shop okay it seems like it is the check-in time which is 2:00 so it's quite busy uh under my name okay please be seated I'll come to you okay thank you hello [Laughter] here sorry that's okay uh so this is your good name yes yeah you checking out on 13 yes okay just your address email and a signature please sure I also um we cuz we're making a YouTube video about colum I don't know if you know about that yes I know oh you do okay okay great top Floor room right top Flor room yes a few minutes we are getting it ready as soon as possible perfect yes I'll I have some rooms in the below flow but you want a top flow one right we want to show these guys like the most beautiful view of col all right thank you so room number is 1801 which is in the 18th floor all the information is mentioned here M so all of our rooms are non-smoking so in case if you want to have a smoke you just have to go to the rooftop enjoy thank you so much you so much thank this is the luggage or uh I think so yeah I look we've got quite big luggage just um them two suitcases at the end the blue and yellow one uh these two here number uh 1801 thank you all right so uh wishes had been granted we've got a very high room floor check out this incredible view overlooking Colombo guys so we have the wide open ocean right in front of us absolutely stunning and actually you can see along the coast for as far as the eyes can see you can see train tracks there's going to be trains going up and down here and then we have the city of Colombo just in front of us and we haven't actually told you where we're staying we're staying at the Granbell Colombo and this is a upgraded room we originally went for a twin seing room and that costs $97 so almost $100 per night and this one is upgraded to a superior double let's show you guys around so we have a nice Sun lounger over here so you just want to take in the views and you're going straight into the bathroom which is kind of like the open bath yeah and I really like my bath top so I will enjoy it later on yeah any opportunity to have a bath Karolina is going to have one so we've got this kind of open shower area we've got all of our showering needs courtesy of Granbell Hotel Colombo it's actually very modern right like I really like the sink yeah I like the kind of stone gray look with all the wooden touches yeah the decor is just amazing like they really pay attention to it and let's show you guys the toilet it's not going to jump out of me is it oh there we go the Japanese style all right let's show you guys the rest of our place so this is the entrance again there's the Wardrobe and it's also wooden like I really like these touches got a mini bar I think this is all complimentary so get some Waters from Granbell Hotel yeah green tea all right I wonder if they have like Lanka Ceylon tea no Salon tea they have English breakfast how dare they all right um and so we've got all our little bits and Bobs over there we've got nice light there's so much light coming into this place and here we have it we've got the nice double bed I do like the kind of Decor inside of here again you got kind of wooden Stone um kind of combination we got our level eight suitcases nice big TV and uh you can actually enter the balcony from here as well so it's like really open space and uh I'll show you guys another view wow hello my friend is this your Tuk Tuk okay we would like to go to the Independent Square Independent Square how much City toour uh no City Tour just uh to The Independent Square I uh we're making a YouTube video oh uh how much to The Independent Square Independent Square go and come just one way one way one way yes please only $3 3300 $3 $3 what how much in Sri Lankan rupee 1,000 rupes 1,000 we'll do maximum 500 my friend negative th000 rupees we tried the PickMe taxi up it's 400 we'll give give you 500 with these guys no no uh okay so we're kind of stuck here how much is the best price to get to Independent Square with this how much to Independent Square price by Price same price same a th okay the whole time that's yeah that's probably okay it's okay it's okay it's right it's all right my friend we need to bargain hello uh Independent Square oh yeah same price as them same price same price okay it's right we'll work okay I want hat we we want to go to Independent Square okay how much they ask they ask for a th000 that's way too much okay how much your price maximum 500 maximum 500$ $2 we're working shanka rupes yes how much is that we'll do 500 as a deal I Pik me taxi up is 400 is a big company I won't explain you they get another customer if they drop you drop youty we don't get let's do 500 and you can take us straight there just one way okay one way I will take you for the 500 yeah there a uh for the this season what you know what is the lover season the what season L season Seas valtine Valentine season so is it going to be a there's a big sale going on look on the way I can than you oh no no I can thank you for the 400 rupes no no no no no we we want to go straight to Independent Square he wants to take us to some shop to do some shopping probably look look you going to help us because they are giving up leader that Ved Max 500 my friend otherwise we're going to find someone else y 500 is okay no okay all right thank you wow so I've seen this on some YouTube videos where uh they basically uh take you to some maybe jewelry shops or something where they earn a commission if they bring you and even probably more commission if you uh they re buy something yeah but I love the idea about the Valentine's yeah yeah it's you know is what it is okay I think what we're going to do is try and find someone on the street not maybe outside of our uh hotel maybe this man hello my friend uh Independent Square how much independent yes Independent Square how much we'll do uh 500 Max 500 okay huh 500 5 500 my friends come on just go 600 all right we're going to go with this man he he didn't say a th000 that's the most important thing all right first time in the to to in Sri Lanka that's go my friend this is quite fun I really like the air coming in yeah it's quite a nice way to transport our way around we're in a Tuk Tuk guys in Sri Lanka yeah wow and actually it's not that loud so you can actually talk yeah so because he's not going super fast there's probably some traffic up ahead so we tried using the Pik me taxi app um and as we said to the taxi drivers we uh it was about 400 um but we struggled to actually find someone for a good like 5 10 minutes I think it's probably because the pikme taxi app is um a very low rate for the drivers but a thousand I mean that's what happens when you uh try to get a Tuk Tuk outside your hotel which our friend here is uh bit more honest I would say okay okay you have change my friend okay okay B okay orang is okay okay thank you my friend thank you nice little tuk tuk driver all right so we have made it to the Independent Square just over here so Independent Square is a symbol of Sri Lanka's Liberation from the British colonial rule and the man taring over us just behind me is a very important man he's considered the father of the nation his name is Don Stephen Senanayake I think I'm saying that correctly correct me wrong in the comments if I'm not and he was the first Prime Minister after the independence from the British and I think he brought a lot of economic prosperity to Sri Lanka so he's standing here at the head of the monument to symbolize his importance here in Sri Lanka and behind us guys we have the independence Memorial Hall again commemorating the independence from the British and the architecture is very much Sri Lankan a very beautiful building so just behind the father of the nation we have the hall but also in the distance can you see that Karolina yeah it's a Lotus flower that's the Lotus Tower which we're going to check out at some stage and again surrounding the kind of walls you have these many of these Lions yeah they're Lions I think this is a place place of national significance keep discipline and what makes this building very unique is actually these columns like look how ornamental they look yeah this is this is the traditional Sri Lankan architecture and I did a bit of research and the kind of inspiration for the hall and the architecture comes from the Kingdom of Kandy so there's a place there and that's where the design comes from but very uh beautiful should we have a look inside oh yeah actually can look inside this is breathtaking wow I've never seen anything like this before very beautiful next up we have come to a rather large Park w oh my God these crows oh my God there's crows All Above Us wow so we've come to a park called Viharamahadevi Park again sorry if I'm Mis pronun pronuncia it is that a word I'm not sure if it is but um the interesting story about this park was that during the British rule it was called Victoria Park and actually once Sri Lanka got their independence it was quickly renamed to viad Dei Park hello my dear I love this park there's even horses here so there's horses surround us over here they are tied to the trees they're not like wild horses um they're doing like horse rides around the park now this park is the largest and oldest Park here in Colombo during World War II the British army occupied this Park which is kind of crazy to think about but this is a absolutely beautiful Park park it kind of feels like I'm in a park back in the UK it's very green there's a really nice breeze but there's a tropical touch yeah I mean there are like flying fox bats in the trees uh palm trees lots of wild yeah we've seen some palm trees and uh lots of wildlife which is um it's just very pleasant to walk around here hello [Music] good morning guys we have gone on a morning stroll to gangar raaya park a very beautiful Park in the heart of Colombo and we're on our way to the most famous Buddhist temple in Colombo that is Gangaramaya Temple it's only a 27 minute walk from a hotel yeah now usually when we're in Asia walking is not ideal uh we usually uh don't have the opportunity to walk to the places that we go to but here in Colombo it is extremely walkable is very pleasant to walk here exactly actually the Pavements are very wide and also there's a nice breeze coming in so it's very pleasant to have a stroll yeah the breeze I'm assuming is that because we're on the coast we're having that nice kind of seab Breeze come into the City and there's lots of green spaces in Colombo like everywhere you see there's always small Parks there's lots of kind of trees and plants everywhere and so it is very pleasant to walk here in Colombo now what were we expecting well actually uh I haven't been to India in a very long time we're talking over 10 years that's the only place I've been to in South Asia with my Indian Heritage and growing up I would remember it being very chaotic Karolina has never been to India this is our first time in South Asia and here like the city is kind of like buzzing with energy but it's a very laidback atmosphere and there's all like literally as we're speaking there's a tree like we have to kind of Dodge um and so my expectation was that based off my kind of uh childhood maybe India has developed a lot more since then but it was very chaotic it was a lot of pollution a lot of noise um not ideal walking conditions there wasn't probably any good Pavements and so I apologize to the people of Colombo uh and to the people of Sri Lanka because that was my expectation but actually it's far from that hence why we're happy to walk for 30 minutes which is something that you really can't do in a lot of Asian countries yeah and the traffic is not that bad like sometimes they even when there's peak hours there's a guy who's controlling it so and also like we noticed that there's people stopping on the crossroads oh yeah people are super friendly like they're very um kind of respectful of pedestrians here so when we're crossing like in some Asian countries especially in Southeast Asia like they won't stop for you they'll just go and we're not expecting it like we're like stopping and they're like no no no go go go they very very polite so there's speakers with the prayers blaring from the speakers but we have elephants karolina was really shocked to see all the elephants wow wow it was on the street and there's so many of them I think this is Gangaramaya temple wow wow so they're feeding the ban uh oh so they're feeding the elephant with some bread some bananas we have the monks over there all right I think this is possibly the uh entrance looks like it let's have a look over here okay ah okay we have to take off our shoes can you smell the beautiful smell of the incense yes all right so we got to leave our shoes over here oh it's a this this is a action camera like a DJI oh is this a GoPro it's not a GoPro it's a DJI DJI yeah this this is better than GoPro now it's called Uh the can see action five okay okay I see p yeah oh yeah uh I will show you oh hello hello what is your name I'm samita India you're from India okay yeah I am upasana from India okay great I'm also Indian but uh I was born in the UK okay but you Indian origin Indian origin from Gujarat oh your parents are gujaratis yes a Gujarati but my grandparents uh are from India but my parents were born in East Africa yes St multiculture I'm a child of the world I am the child of the world and now we have a Polish inclusion from Poland wow that was wonderful country yes it is have you been inside of the uh Temple yes it's am you must where do we enter do we just through there this is the ENT what you can see is here you will find one thing because you have a YouTube channel let me just tell you you have seen this ball here it looks like you're a lion come here yeah it's a lion lion what is very interesting here this wall it's moving it's movable okay now this wall you can't take out okay from any side you can't take it off MH now how the hell did they build this how did they put it inside yes yeah wow did they carve it while it was inside no one knows all right okay but this is something which is a unique technology in India you have certain temples where the ball is of a different metal alog together some other Stone so now the question comes what went how did that happen yeah that's interesting that is interesting here the all is of the same material but you can take it off and it's so heavy as well it's very heavy you can move it you can take it all so this being a Buddhist temple MH you see these are only seen in Hindu temples yes that's interesting so there's a mix of Buddhism and Hinduism and then there is Lord ganes just over there yes and then you go inside yes it's Buddhism it's wow so it's a real mix of the also as Sri Lankan touch um yeah seems so there Buddhism Hinduism there's a maybe a touch of um like a Chinese influence possibly as well Chinese I didn't see anywhere but as you have said yeah this ah looks like Chinese that looks chines over there I'll have a quick look I was going around the so I'll hop over these how put it where do you put it you see this I think is uh part of the Chinese influence as well wow what the entrance thank you by the way thank you byebye byebye let's enter guys hello you notice there's elephants everywhere Karolina and there's G and then we have the Buddhist monks just at the entrance wow this looks like the museum yeah very much does look the museum we can walk through I think so this is like the main area I think it's all of the what is Ms everywhere here mhm I don't know what to look at there's so many details this looks absolutely stunning look at all of the buas there's hundreds of them you got all the kind of the gold Buddhas but then over here you've got hundreds of Buddhas and then in the distance you have kind of the the top of the tower of the temple wow wow this is incredible and so it's super peaceful here like we're in the city center but you don't hear anything so I wonder what we're going to find inside of here W wa wow this is massive I was not expecting that smiles on people's faces says it all this is this is incredible wow I wasn't expecting as we're walking in to be be greeted by such a vibrant there's so many these figurines and colors so that is a famous Buddhist tree so they pray and meditate I think under a tree like that you can even see on the roof intricacies is just everywhere to be seen exactly what an incredible Place guys not just where we've come from but this a temple as a whole is a beautiful culmination combination of different cultures you've got Indian Chinese you've got shr Lankan and Thai influence we even spoted Thai kind of um it's like statues around this Temple so it's bringing together all of these cultures and I'm not surprised because in these religions they are quite related yeah they're very like intertwined as well exactly and you you see as we go by there are Buddha statues everywhere and lots of elephants um actually looks very realistic it's actually kind of slightly scary I'm trying not to turn out you don't turn your back there we go yeah yeah I've seen like kind of the notification that you should always be like in front in front yeah never turn your back um so we are absolutely like surprised and in a very pleasant Way by this Temple it's probably one of the most beautiful temples because to be able to combine all of them cultures and it just feels so good to go through is just incred Masterpiece incredible even beautiful vibrant buildings everywhere it's a special place this is hello it is very hot outside I hear the chicken biryani is what are you known for yes so could we go for a Chicken Biryani and uh can we get Chicken Rice and Curry sure good choices good choice okay you got a drink is okay sure all right this is egb is this ginger beer ginger beer okay that looks great could I get one of them and Karolina what would you like and could I go for one bottle of water the small one please beautiful so we have these banana leaves in front of us and I think we're going to is so many different things potato D okay L different vegetables yeah this goes with rice and all this is for the rice yeah so many things being laid out for us we need the entire table wow so we've come to the New Banana Leaf Restaurant here in Colombo and you can see we've been given our Banana Leaf it almost looks like an entire kind of plate there's also Banana Leaf plates and behind us there's a wall which kind of everything's green exactly like like a Banana Leaf so we've got the banana leaves and we've gone for so I heard the staple here in this restaurant is the Biryani so you've got the Biryani with the egg this is the chicken that comes with it uh but also they've provided I think this is supposed to be like the Korean rice um so we've got the rice and all of these side dishes vegetarian side dishes the entire table is full literally covered with food and I've gone for a beautiful egb so I am a massive lover of ginger beer and this tastes absolutely delightful everything smells so good very fragrant right all right so I feel like we should just kind of like plate up and then we're going to be using our hands no they have provided this with I think spoon maybe and I've seen already ear on people eating with their hands all of them so we're going to do things traditionally we've done it guys we have plated up our banana leaves it's actually covered with everything right so we're not used to eating with our hands and I think we just go for it should we just try and eat bit I'm such a Messy eater so I really want to try this uh maybe some of this chicken the chicken is actually cold mhm and then some of this biryani it's got this kind of red sauce on it m this is so good oh that's good wow mhm first bite is really good yeah wow there's so different uh so many different things so all of the spices and different tastes are coming in yeah I was expecting it to be um like too spicy or something but actually it's got a nice Ki to it yeah and it's very nice because actually you can combine whatever you like mhm that's actually the beauty of it like those are different kind of side dishes it's almost like you call like Sri Lankan Tapas or something exactly there's rice there's potatoes there's vegetables there's some meat how are you feeling eating with your hands you're getting really stuck in there I'm so Mery m m I don't know that if you eat with both or is it just your left or right you I'm just using my right hand right maybe let us know in the comments how we if we making any mistakes but even the vegetarian um side dishes are very tast like very flavorful yeah I actually just tried the potato and it's with caramelized onion and with some chili so actually I would say the majority of the options here are quite spicy I struggle with spice so it's kind of ironic because of my Indian background but Karolina can eat me like like eat me that sounds that sounds wrong she can have a lot more spice than I can and I struggle with it so I was a little bit worried but but I think Sri Lankan spice is to like a different level did you try birani I did yeah I had the I had the birani with the chicken start yeah oh wow try it there's so much like every time I'm trying something different each individual element has just it's like bursting with its own different flavor honestly guys this is the truth we weren't really expecting it to be as good as it as it I'm loving it like we thought it be good but this is like a really amazing welcome to like Sri Lanka Cuisine and actually like eating with our hands I feel like the food tastes better yeah it's like oh oh having some juice that's right over there I thought we I thought we were going to get some free juices but yeah people are so hospitable but we have our drinks but eating with the hands is definitely enriching The Experience right yeah this is the way to do it right so we've gone for some some takeaway desserts called is that watala panalal is this the bill here yes okay so it's 3,294 okay the thank you all right thank you guys byebye thank you bye-bye bye-bye so at our hotel we have on the roof a infinity pool check this out guys wow look how inviting that is and right in front of us we have the ocean and around here kolina is just getting ready so there's a kind of chill out area at the top over here and the view is just magnificent oh we have been waiting for this all day yes this water looks so inviting actually it's cold that's exactly what we need Karolina this is perfect oh yeah this is nice oh yeah is nice oh yeah that is nice you can't fall because you got this but it does look like it's the edge I just really love this like open view on the Indian Ocean and also how the water is glistening like this is just perfect hello my friend pick me okay to Lotus Tower okay thank you so we finally managed to get a Pik me actually this is our second time getting a Pik me during this trip so it definitely works and it's actually the best app in our opinion it's the most user friendly you just have to be a bit more patient when waiting for it and the prices are much cheaper than um can tabs so I definitely recommend Pik me that seems to be like the number one it's like the grab of Southeast Asia but of South Asia okay guys we've come to Columbo Lotus Tower so there is an observation deck and a pixel balloom but this is the local price over here we have no choice we have to go for the foreign price which is $20 I believe I think so yeah hello uh two foreign tickets can I pay by card is that okay thank you so much so we've come to the Lotus Tower which is the tallest tower in South Asia and what's interesting is that actually on the top right there is the blooming lles flower so it's so beautiful vibrant and pink yes I love it and it's actually the symbol of tradition and modernity here in Sri Lanka so it's very combining the like the traditional aspects of Sri Lankan culture and modern aspects and then they've turned it into the tallest tower in South Asia yeah so unique oh wow look at this okay very fast yeah hi hi nice to meet you my ears are blocking oh yeah they're popping my ear popping I think this is the probably the fastest elevator in or lift in Sri Lanka it's a heart all right let's go check out the view you can see the sun is coming down pretty quickly yeah oh what a nice bre nice to meet you guys oh we uh y Jay and Karolina yes all right we have some new our first subscribers in Sri Lanka yes we just arrived yesterday yeah this one no yes this one I okay nice to meet you all right I can already see some incredible views let's try to find a spot so we found our spot guys you can step up on these little platforms over here we do have this to stop us going over the edge for security but the first thing that I can spot is this massive Lake over there it's very green isn't it yeah there's also train tracks and the train is just passing by but there's also this massive port in the background yeah we did spot that from the rooftop there's like an island with a kind of sand out there but there is a bit of like a haziness in the sky I don't know where that's from do you think that's you think that's pollution possi sure Poss I have no idea hoping the sun comes down we get a bit of better visibility but look at the this is what you can see from the distance the really kind of shiny pink um I guess like glass that's reflecting the Sun and everyone actually says to come here for the sunset to get a bit of both like the sunset glass is going to be like lit up later on and what's nice about this is that usually at observation decks they have like glass or like you know window and so you don't get really the full feel of being out this high up but this although is very Breezy yeah although this kind of thing is kind of somewhat annoying it does mean that we can have this experience so what's really nice is that you can walk 360 around the Lotus and you get a 360 view overlooking Columbo was saying earlier how many green spaces there are you really get a feel for that up here there's Lally green spaces everywhere and down here we also have a railway Network as well loads of old I think disuse trains there and the the train tracks go all the way along there it's actually so impressive the vast train Network that's here in Colombo and I'm guessing that probably stretches through the country we're going to be finding that soon as we travel through the country today stands the tallest building in South Asia and amidst the Tom of daily life as a beacon of Harmony and joy a place where the threads of History weave a unique story of Bey diversity and a resilience of Columbo and [Music] good morning guys guys we are on the hunt for some local breakfast specifically we really want to try Egg Hoppers so I think we have to really search for it because we just been walking through this Market it's called Peta Market it is an absolute Hive of activity that goes all the way along here there's track drivers motorbikes coming along there's hundreds of people walking alongside all of the uh the transport yeah in the morning it's already buzzing here so we're struggling to find Egg Hoppers but what we found is these two gentlemen over here actually making tea hello so we've ordered two teas with these guys so they've got like a sock there and pulling the tea it looks like so he's adding hot water to this sock and pouring all of this tea into this adding more hot water he's just wondering what I'm doing so he's now pulling that tea adding lots of that kind of air bubbles into it making a lot creamier tea Sri Lankan tea beautiful wow I'm just shocked how he doesn't spill it anywhere he's literally so accurate you're getting it in it's very good okayyy all right guys so we've got some freshly pulled Ceylon tea so they pull it to make it creamier cheers it's actually very hot oh wow that's very good very nice yeah very sweet yeah I've never tasted anything like this before like it's very strong but very sweet has a very nice tea flavor to it so the story behind seon tea is that the British I think in 1824 brought a tea plant from China to seon which was what Sri Lanka was known by the British and so then they that's how seon tea came about and now they're here on the streets of Pettah Market huh it's okay it's okay sit down on the motorbike on the motor bike here all right you can have it sit down like this okay there you this is my vent for today so I imagine these guys have been making tea for a very long time americ uh UK UK okay I'm from Poland yes and you Colombo ah local how much do we pay 200 200 okay 200 so one of thank you thank you so we've just had our delicious Sri Lankan Milk Tea and our friend here is going to be taking us to the place where the Egg Hoppers be careful Karolina you can see it's pretty hectic ah is this the place oh hello hello you have Egg Hoppers Egg Hoppers okay uh the yes I think I think he has Egg Hoppers okay oh it's finished oh okay after 3 4:00 we can come back here time 3 4:00 3:00 okay we'll come back okay thank you so much my friend okay well that was very nice of him so we were thinking Egg Hoppers was more of like a breakfast so it looks like they've sold out yeah we came here at 9:00 so I think we'll come back here at 3:00 p.m. cuz I think the egg HPP is at this place just behind us is really good so where you next Karolina it's actually pretty mental in this uh just like everyone is stopping to get a taxi but we like to walk yeah it's guys it is chaotic here but there's something fun about just being in the chaos and people are super friendly and like welcoming okay guys we're on the hunt hello my friend uh I'm good we're looking for a Sri Lankan Cricket Jersey this way okay hello uh Sri Lanka Cricket Jersey just to the end okay I can see it hello okay Sri Lanka cricket Jersey I can see it we just come off this is third cross street a local told us to go here for the cricket Jersey hello we're looking for the Sri Lanka cricket Jersey yeah check yeah okay hello my friends you have the oh there you go Sri Lanka Cricket Jersey uh do you have 3 XL XL three oh 2 XL XL only oh God okay maybe I can TR this one maybe yes all right oops oops oops all the jerseys are falling on you okay oh this actually looks really nice good material and this is this is the a lion the lion and the flag I love it okay looks looks really nice Sri Lankan badge this is a Lion yeah there a lion wow okay this actually looks really nice I can try this is 2XL all right 2XL this is uh I'm uh I put on some weight okay and this is the biggest size all right let's put this over okay right all right all right you think it's okay I like the colors yeah I have got a top underneath this but the colors are really nice I actually quite like it it is a bit of a tight fit there's no 3XL nowhere in Pettah Market no 3XL it's the last SI last the the the fat size for for for me I think shanans are uh smaller small okay um how much for this one 900 900 okay so we're looking at $3 900 this 900 wow okay that's an honest price we we'll take it yes I I can take this one yes the head nod is like uh no but yes inan Indian yeah cuz I was teaching Karolina actually that the it's like a South Asian head noot so I'm wearing this out of here and we're going to give our man a little bit of a tip that's for you my friend you're honest man good okay thank you sty what a friendly bunch of people we found inside of this just this Alleyway over here everyone was just greeting us I think it's safe to say that Sri Lankans are extremely friendly now we've spotted I think this is called King coconut it's so yellow yeah it's like a yellow YY orange coconut hello my friends this is your coconuts this a king coconut oh King coconut King coconuts okay we can have uh you want should we get one two coconuts no straw not huh straw oh Straw's finished ah okay so maybe uh we can drink it like this like this we there's no straws left so maybe we can just drink like this okay okay uh we have two uh one one pie one is 200 so how much is that 200 two two okay good price we'll have two so this tast tast no with taste t one taste this is taste there's no taste here how do you know okay we'll go for the taste so these King coconuts are indigenous to Sri Lanka I always get worried when they're like cutting so close to their hands yeah oh like and they're actually smaller than uh than normal coconuts this is so cute should I try it yeah go for it my God I'm a coconut lover so I'm really excited he's watching me but anyway all right o that good M it's very good it has the AY flavor a little bit but it's very sweet and refreshing I like it so these are sweeter than regular coconuts and they actually are more nutritious o yeah I will believe so oh look at all that water flowing out sty okay so I'm in my fresh Shri Lankan Cricut Jersey let's give us a go M oh wow it definitely is quite sweet really refreshing yeah your eyes tell it all you know what guys like walking around this Market is actually very very hot so you don't really realize it but you are kind of sweating so it's really important to hydrate yeah this is our treat cheers oh yeah that's goodoo I'm happy oh 5,000 do you have change no change he hasn't got change you have uh smaller notes oh my God there's Tuk to gliter going right by us I have this one oh there we go you got 5,000 there's so many of these notes 500 no 400 it's okay 500 than thank you yes the extra hundred is for you my friend thank you all right guys what we spotted is these next to the king coconuts we actually have people eating food here hello hello this is so interesting food there's food here the TK hello I can show are you the owner can I show is okay what is this they got the curry and some so people are eating in the back of the uh the Tuk Tuk there's also people just eating alongside here that's so interesting bulab bu bulab bulab that's so cool literally like all these guys are literally just hanging around this Tuk Tuk having a meal very cool so there's one more thing left to see here in Peta Market Carolina and it's on your right hand side I think I've spotted it at looks like a palace so this is the red mosque says on the exterior that it was built in 1908 but look how Majestic it looks right here in the heart of this Market just next to this main ground so right next to Pettah Market you'll come to Colombo Fort now this was a fortress built by the Portuguese in the 16th century the Dutch then came along took it over and expanded it before the British in their usual fashion took it over for themselves now there used to be walls surrounding the forts but they were demolished and what you'll find a lot here in the fort is many British and Dutch colonial era buildings particularly British buildings because they were the last to occupy it now talking about British colonial buildings you'll see this very characteristic red and white brick building almost looks like a building from Manchester this is called Cargill's and 100 years ago British residents would come to this building and they would purchase essential and luxury items and we next up guys is taking us to the Fort railway station right behind us now this was also built by the British in 1908 in a Victorian style architecture let's see if we can actually have a look inside so you can see four railway station and that's all in wood so over here we have the ticket counters let's see if we can sneak inside see all the steel beams across there first thoughts Karolina it looks quite vintage I like it yeah so everyone's waiting over here for their trains I'm assuming we're going to be taking the train to candy from here not too long in the future but it definitely looks like a train station that was built over a hundred years ago there is definitely like a retro vintage vibe to to this place and the time is 3:00 we've come back to our Egg Hopper place and it looks like they're making The Hoppers oh it's very busy hello Egg Hoppers okay we can sit okay it's a a very small place inside of here very busy he's making the Egg Hoppers just over here uh two egg two plane is okay uh is is egg two uh plane no egg egg egg two two okay I think we're getting two eggs this guy's helping us out thank you okay guys so they're putting this mixture over there I think it's a mixture of coconut milk and rice flour so they're putting it into this small but very deep pan and then it's basically cooking away and making a very fluffy Hopper there so this one's with egg and pepper see all the eggs just over there is very hot over here okay so we've got the egg Hoppers egg one egg and this is plain these are plain and then we've got some sambal it looks like some very spicy sambal so we're going to start off with the plain Hoppers without the egg yes go for a Karolina they're so fresh and so flavourful they're really crispy it's doughy in the center and it's crispy around the outside it's a that sweet I think we just dip it in like this just going to put a little bit of a dip there m we are very good but there's a kick to it oh yeah that's really good though like um gives like a really like fresh chili flavor to it it's a little sweet as well now this one so this is combined with egg and black pepper yeah this is the star of the show I think so I think we're going to really enjoy this one it looks so beautiful so let's give [Music] this now we can see you people here are observing our reactions I guess this man over here has been very helpful but uh after it's after is okay yeah okay he wants to take a photo so all right I find this so interesting so you can see that it's so flaky but it's so doughy inside M this is really delicious I could have this like all day long so I thought it's like more of a breakfast thing but it looks like they're eating this throughout the day like as a street food or maybe like as a snack but I loved Egg Hopper more like dipping it with the sauce and I love the egg and the pepper is so like pungent so how much was our delicious meal 200 oh oh 200 each okay 400 okay so 400 okay thank you thank you all right well I can see all the hype about Egg Hoppers and we are inside of another Tuk Tok and actually this is a bit different because we asked how much to go to I think it's called Galle Face Beach and he said meter some tunes blurring in the background yeah the meter is yeah see you my friends thank you it's a very good meter you're the only guy I've seen with a meter yes there's not many thank you oh no it's okay it's fine it's for you okay bye-bye all right so a very honest Tuk Tuk driver proud to be Sri Lankan okay bye-bye very nice guy and actually I've been looking inside the all the Tuk Tu I've never seen a meter no so we found the only guy goodbye we found the only guy in Sri Lanka the Tuk Tuk with a meter and it's actually cheaper than uh Pik me so we gave it a little bit extra all right I can see the ocean Karolina yay Tuk Tuk casually strolling down the prominade yeah so we haven't actually come to the beach yet there is a beach I think it's right down at the end but this area but it's called this kind of grassland is called Galle Face Green and it's actually very nice because there's a promenade so people are actually coming here and just strolling around there's also a lot of food vendors selling like some traditional snacks I believe smells like sweet food everywhere this is kind of scent of Sweetness in the in the air and fried and fried there's also like a very nice flag in the background which is uh yeah kind of overlooking the area so we've come to a very interesting part of Colombo it's called Port City it's an urban project where they've reclaimed Land from the Indian Ocean so what that means is they've actually turned the Indian Ocean into land and they're now building on it and it's going to take 25 years to build we're going to be well over the age well I'm going to be well over the age of 50 around 50 so what they're trying to turn it into is like a Utopia somewhat like you'd see in Dubai maybe even in Singapore and you're looking at luxury hotel HS skyscrapers there's even plans for a Marina and so I didn't even know this place like kind of existed yeah it's such a futuristic idea one thing they have completed is this bridge we're walking on right now it's actually quite a nice Bridge mhm nice breeze and you can see them working there so that's the reclaim land there's loads of sand that they're going to build on top of and we have a very nice view of of the skyline of [Music] [Applause] Colombo Valentin's Day thank you happy Valentine's Day all right yes wherever we can oh where's the best best view so we've come to a beach club here in Port City see the music is blaring and we forgot to mention Happy Valentine's Day guys Happy Valentine's Day Karolina thank you so we're really enjoying the end of our day here we're on a beach I don't know if it's imported sand or if it's the reclaimed Land from the Indian Ocean yeah most probably let's spin this around so we can see what we're looking at here so sun is coming down waiting for Sunset it's glistening in the water yeah I just really love the atmosphere here it's so like relaxing and we are literally on the beach front so we have transported into the future guys we are in Kandy we just finished filming our video here right in front of us we have the most beautiful view of Sri Lanka well probably there's going to be a lot more beautiful views along the way and so we wanted to actually talk about our first impressions our honest first impressions of Sri Lanka and it's safe to say that they are very positive you want to kick things off yeah so first we want to talk about people like the hospitality here is just on another level like everyone is super friendly and super helpful and super curious about us the people are great like they're so warm so open and very hospitable so they they will always want to help you and whenever I smile at them they always smile back and so that's a really good feeling when you come into a new country and so we feel really welcomed here um and also like it's super clean um so far from Colombo and like candy it's so clean um we were expecting we'll be honest with you guys obviously I've been to India back in the past I've spoken about this but when you see videos of like India or and South Asia like there's this image in people's minds of it not that that being rubbish everywhere and it being unclean and from our experience it looks like Sri Lankans really respect their environment they keep it clean yes and so it's so nice to just be walking on the Pavements and not there to be like just kind of rubbish everywhere or you know it's just it's just nice and clean and it's that makes it tourist friendly um and so talking about it being tourist friendly there is great Transportation so again like we we spoke about that you got pick me you can use Uber you use kangaroo cabs um there's Tuk Tok drivers everywhere and so you don't have to worry about like transporting um anywhere yeah and actually there's really good hotels like you can see actually now but for the you'll see in the future video in box oh also Gran Bell Grand Bell oh my God like we would come back during the day when it was super hot and would be on the infinity pool on the rooftop best hotel in Colombo that's great and also like another thing of point on people is that uh sometimes when you go to some countries there's a lot of hassling um especially in tourist areas but actually in Sri Lanka there's not really not much hassling like sometimes you'll get approached especially in tourist areas by an individual who will try to like get become friend with you ask you where you're from and he's trying to like sell you something yeah like by the end of the conversation like you thought you just having a friendly conversation then there's like oh do you want a tour around this that's this amazing place um but as long as you say you know politely but firmly no we don't want a tour um they usually just smile and then leave you alone um so that's the only thing we've encountered but actually in general shankin don't they're very respectful they don't just approach you and start like having a conversation with you so if you do have someone happen to you you'll quickly realize that it's kind of one of these individuals and food like you'll see in this candy video we've been eating like crazy and the food Sri Lankan food in particular it's Super Fresh there's a lot of uh vegetarian curries with Rice and Curry and so it's very vegetarian like very vegetarian friendly is that how you say I would say so and actually the portion size is so big like you don't realize it but actually you're just like you can compare me arriving into Sri Lanka when I leave Sri Lanka I'm probably going to put on a few pounds but it's really good quality so we like it all righty guys we hope you enjoyed this video we have many more videos coming from Sri Lanka we have a full series and so on that don't forget to subscribe and we'll see you guys in Kandy Kandy Kandy it's like a sweet yeah
2025-03-12 22:04
