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Colombo Nights
DISCLAIMER: The author is merely stating his own opinions and desires. Some information may, due to the vagaries of time and memory, be inaccurate. If so, the author begs your indulgence and forgiveness and asks for help in correcting the inaccuracies. But he does NOT accept responsiblity for financial loss, loss of face, loss of faith, loss of motor control, or any other losses you encur. Some of the places mentioned here are rather rough enter at your own risk
Its night time in Colombo. The dirt and the grime of the day is hidden under a merciful cloak of darkness ..... NOT!!! Colombo doesn't sleep (much). As befits its status as a major city it stays up all night. The denizens of the dark offering you any pleasure you desire... for a price. So what IS there to do in Colombo at night?
First of all some basic advice - CARRY I.D. Thanks to our erstwhile friends in the North we now have check points at almost every major area in the city and you never know when you will be stopped by the Army or the Police or the MP's (Military Police, not the Members of Parliament). If you are caught without I.D. you may find yourself in for a protracted and potentially uncomfortable grilling session. Acceptable ID includes National Identity Cards, Drivers' Licenses and of course the ever popular Passport. If they seem rather brusque (which they rarely are nowadays, the top brass having made them take "sensitivity courses" or whatever they call them) have a thought for them. If you had to stay awake from midnight to 6 a.m. wouldn't you be P.O.'ed at about 2 a.m. too?
Now, with that part taken care of let's get to the meat of the night. The question is, "What do you want to do?" Just spend a night dancing away? Relax a bit? Have dinner? Watch the city life pass you by? All of the above? None of the above?
Let's start the night with dinner shall we? Now the choice becomes what do you want to eat? Colombo has almost everything. The choice ranges from the cheap and belly filling to the expensive haute cuisine. The range is international from the many (some say too many) Chinese restaurants to the Swiss to the all American Kentucky Fried Chicken. If you are going for Chinese I recommend the Flower Drum chain with its restaurants on Duplication Road and in Nugegoda. The Chesa Swiss on Duplication is pretty expensive but the food is fairly good (not much to my taste though). My favourite for a belly buster of good food at a fairly reasonable price is the Alt Heidelberg German restaurant near the Galle Face Brown ... er I mean Green. A draft beer and a filling steak for about RS.300
Fancy some Indian food? Try the Shanthi Vihar at the Thunmulla. Vegetarian Indian food served cheap and in heaping portions. There is the Alhambra at the Holiday Inn for Moghul cuisine ("tandoori stuff" for the uninitiated), and the Khyber Pass Pakistani restaurant on the Galle Road just before Colpetty.
Of course Chinese, Indian, German, Swiss, Thai, Korean, Japanese and other internationals are just imports. The real food to have on a night out is some real Sri Lankan food. For a truly Sri Lankan experience try a good old roadside "thosai joint" where the waiters wear white sarongs, the food is very cheap (get stuffed for less than RS.50) and the atmosphere truly Sri Lankan. Or better yet try some Godamba Rotti, Egg Rotti and some scathingly hot Koththu Rotti. Wash it down with a glass of Faluda and you are ready to hit the night with money in your pocket (Chicken Koththu being about RS.60 at the last check) and a fire in your belly (Pepto Bismol ..... who needs it). Pilawoos on Galle Road is usually open 24 hrs a day and will serve the food right to your car (and the Americans think THEY have drive-ins).
OK, so you have filled your inner man (or woman as the case may be). You are looking for a place to go hang your hat. Well son, in Colombo you have more than enough of them. There are lots of night clubs in the city and in its suburbs. The Blue Elephant in the Hilton is unarguably the most high-class of them all. With DJ work by DJ Viran (one of the best in SL) and a over 21 rule it is an exclusive spot. It doesnt have the frenetic speed of the other places, but its a good place if you want to relax a bit AND dance. Next on my list would be the Chapter One at the Oberoi. Last I heard they were in the process of a hefty renovation, but it should be ready for occupation about now. Then there is the my Kind Of Place (MKOP to the regulars) but it is usually frequented by the teeny bopper crowd. One of the newest clubs is Valentino's at the Galadari Meridien a fairly high class establishment. The music is pretty good and the people interesting.
From the latest to the first. The Little Hut (lovingly known simply as "the Hut" by its many fans) at the Mount Lavinia Beach Hotel is definitely my favourite place. It has good music, both live and DJ'd, good atmosphere and a good crowd. It has a fairly large dance floor, a videotheque and lots of places you can sit in a fair amount of seclusion. After the dancing you can cool off with a long stroll down Mount Lavinia beach ( a romantic place if there ever was one) or just relax at the poolside watching the waves break on the rocks below.
So you don't want to go dancing. You just want a place to sit and chill. The best place is at the Echelon Pub at the Hilton. With fairly cheap food and drinks, soft music and pool tables it is definitely a good place to be if you don't want to dance the night away. It is also a good place to get yourself wound up for a night of dancing or to wind down afterwards. If its Jazz you want try the Saxophone just opposite the Hotel Ceylon Intercontinental. Its a pretty eclectic crowd there but the live bands playing are pretty damned good.
Also keep a look out for the regular events that happen in Colombo. I remember the CR&FC used to have a "Rock Saturday" every third Saturday night of every month. It was a lot of fun and a good place to be. Look in the papers (especially the "Entertainment" section) for information about upcoming events.
On the way home after the wild nights you should stop at the traditional meeting place for all revellers - Pilawoos. Starting at 4 AM the crowd gathers from all the clubs to get some lime juice to clear unsober minds and coffee to wake up enough to drive home. Also you can get a pre-breakfast snack to tide you over until you wake up at noon
All this is well and good, but what if you are not in the "club scene"? What do you do that is really fun? You can do my favourite night out routine. One that is enjoyed by many people in Colombo yet is different enough to be called "unfashionable" by the "in" crowd. But who wants to be fashionable? We want to have fun, right? Well, there is only one thing to do. Get some of ytour friends together. Go to a liquor shop, get some bottles of arrack. Go to the Galle Face Brown and get thoroughly liquored up. If you want food there is always Nana's (hot hot hot) and usually an Elephant House ice cream van is parked there. Sing and dance away until the wee hours of the morning. Good cheap fun for everyone.
So there you go, lots of things to do on at least one night out. And if you pace yourself you can set up almost a month's worth of weekends. So good luck, enjoy yourself and please be careful.
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