As a kid, doing the pandal and free food stall round on Vesak Day, or going Vesak Balanna-fying, as I like to call it, was something yours truly would wait for with baited breath, every year. By dusk, on Vesak Day, I would team up with my cousins and hit the streets, taking in every single multi-coloured light bulb and free glass of iced coffee – well into the night.
Growing up, however, my enthusiasm for such things faded away as the novelty of the experience gradually wore off. Much later, it became a bit of a bore. Call me lazy, but the idea of dragging myself all the way to Colombo just to see a bit of eye candy became… unwelcome, at best. The massive crowds, the painfully slow traffic and the indecisive weather gods probably had something to do with that.
This year, however, things changed – for the better. Last Sunday evening, the threat of heavy rain notwithstanding, I found myself eagerly onboard an open deck double decker bus parked outside Galle Face Hotel, ready to make its way through the busy streets of the Colombo Vesak Kalaapaya on a special Vesak sightseeing tour. Needless to say, I was highly excited.
The tour was part of the Colombo by Night sightseeing programme launched by Ebert Silva Holidays together with Sri Lanka Tourism, which was in turn part of a bigger project to take tourists, both local and foreign, on a guided tour of the country’s commercial capital on a majestic looking open double decker.
The engine was revving and we were just about to set off when, predictably, it started to rain. There was no roof on the top deck and I was sure we were all going to be drenched within minutes. But we were all swiftly provided with umbrellas and any water on the seats was quickly wiped away. Thankfully, the rain didn’t last for more than 15 minutes and, so, we set off.
“This is the first time an open deck bus has been used in Sri Lanka, similar to what is being done in other countries around the world. We’re hoping to introduce more open deck buses, especially for tourists,” Rajini said, explaining the project.
“Mostly the tourists are local but we get foreigners as well. The daily city tour is very popular among them. It is a hand in hand collaboration of the Tourism Promotion Authority and Ebert Silva Holidays,” she said.
It was a Vesak Balanna-fying trip like no other. At least 15 feet above the ground, we had a bird’s eye view of every Vesak lantern and every Dansela (food stall) lining up the streets as we made our way down Galle Road, through the Pettah to Dematogoda, Borella and then finally back to Galle Face via Bauddhaloka Mawatha and Town Hall. Sitting comfortably where I was, with a light, cool breeze hitting my face, I could truly appreciate the effort people had put into the numerous beautiful Vesak decorations adorning the streets, particularly the mighty pandals.
The tour was more than just a regular bus ride. The guide on board, an experienced guide by the name of Bandula Kapugeekiyana, provided a running commentary for the infortainment of the passengers, and I was truly amazed by his extensive knowledge of the city. Listening to him, I learned quite a few things I didn’t know about the city I visit on a daily basis. For instance, we were told that the old clock tower in Fort is older than the Big Ben in London by three years. I had no idea!
“I’d like to see more people take part in this programme so that more people would come to appreciate their own capital city,” he told me.
Former Tourist Board Chairman Eranga Basnayake also happened to be on board.
“What with the dawn of this new era after the war I think it’s a great idea to start something like this; but it needs some improvements. For example, tree branches that can sometimes hit the top of the bus while it’s on the move have to be trimmed and we need more space for the passengers. But things seem to be moving. I had the opportunity to go on this bus from the first day it started operating and I think that over the four months since it started it has improved a lot. I think in time it’ll become a bigger attraction,” he said. |
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