For those of who do not know Galle Face Green (GFG), its a coastal strip of about 2 km, just opposite the old Parliament of Sri Lanka in Colombo.
I recall going to GFG as a kid with my parents, it will be the evening outing with my siblings. Waves continue to hit the strip as hard as they can, and without the reinforcement available, the strip would have disppeared by now. There will be kites, gram vendors, and of course a few ships waiting to get into Colombo harbor. I will try and spot them and count, but my father always spotted one or two before I could. It was fun.
Its a place I always visit when I am in Colombo. I can sit and gaze the vast horizon, changing colors at sun set, and enjoy all types of snacks vended. The competition is always between a half ripe mango or pineapple salted and peppered, and tapioca chips.
The day at GFG starts with middle aged and obese men trying shakeout a few grams they gained previous day. They are sweaty, walking briskly and panting as if they are about to lose their breath. I could be easily be one of them. Then a crew of kids enter the green with their cricket bats, balls and stumps. They will run across each others' pitches to save a run, and call each other from their bottom of their stomachs. I wonder whether they ever tire themselves.
Now it is almost 11 AM, time for the couples and coupling. The coast will be swamped with umbrellas covering faces and upper half of the bodies of young men and women. I will leave it to your imagination to figure out what happens underneath the umbrella. Policemen patrol around and warn that umbrellas should not cover the faces, but couples continue coupling underneath. Occasionally you will also see couples having picnic lunch, often feeding each other. Not a bad sight.
Then its the turn for the families - like the way we were - when we were kids. Kites, gram vendors and so on. There are semi-permanent stalls and restaurants, and diners hang around as late as ten pm. Yummy street food at cheap.
But, there's a part of the strip not patrolled by Police at any time. This is where pimps prosper. There are a swarm of them, and they prey on tourists. Once I recall reading in a glossy airplane magazine that Colombo. is a city of persistent pimps. He must have been walking on this part of the GFG. Recently, within a km of walking distance four of them approached me, one at a time of course. I too have got into brief discussions with them, but now I know the way out. Invariably all of them start the conversation by asking whether I am from India. Of course I look like one. I reply them in Tamil with a strong Jaffna accent that I am from Jaffna. They then walk away.
GFG has never disappointed me. There's always the breeze and the noise of relentless waves. They will always be there, and I will keep going there.
I recall going to GFG as a kid with my parents, it will be the evening outing with my siblings. Waves continue to hit the strip as hard as they can, and without the reinforcement available, the strip would have disppeared by now. There will be kites, gram vendors, and of course a few ships waiting to get into Colombo harbor. I will try and spot them and count, but my father always spotted one or two before I could. It was fun.
Its a place I always visit when I am in Colombo. I can sit and gaze the vast horizon, changing colors at sun set, and enjoy all types of snacks vended. The competition is always between a half ripe mango or pineapple salted and peppered, and tapioca chips.
The day at GFG starts with middle aged and obese men trying shakeout a few grams they gained previous day. They are sweaty, walking briskly and panting as if they are about to lose their breath. I could be easily be one of them. Then a crew of kids enter the green with their cricket bats, balls and stumps. They will run across each others' pitches to save a run, and call each other from their bottom of their stomachs. I wonder whether they ever tire themselves.
Now it is almost 11 AM, time for the couples and coupling. The coast will be swamped with umbrellas covering faces and upper half of the bodies of young men and women. I will leave it to your imagination to figure out what happens underneath the umbrella. Policemen patrol around and warn that umbrellas should not cover the faces, but couples continue coupling underneath. Occasionally you will also see couples having picnic lunch, often feeding each other. Not a bad sight.
Then its the turn for the families - like the way we were - when we were kids. Kites, gram vendors and so on. There are semi-permanent stalls and restaurants, and diners hang around as late as ten pm. Yummy street food at cheap.
But, there's a part of the strip not patrolled by Police at any time. This is where pimps prosper. There are a swarm of them, and they prey on tourists. Once I recall reading in a glossy airplane magazine that Colombo. is a city of persistent pimps. He must have been walking on this part of the GFG. Recently, within a km of walking distance four of them approached me, one at a time of course. I too have got into brief discussions with them, but now I know the way out. Invariably all of them start the conversation by asking whether I am from India. Of course I look like one. I reply them in Tamil with a strong Jaffna accent that I am from Jaffna. They then walk away.
GFG has never disappointed me. There's always the breeze and the noise of relentless waves. They will always be there, and I will keep going there.
