Negombo

My workmate offered to take me north of Colombo for the day. I'd been south before but not north and Negombo is the original Sri Lankan beach resort. I got the bus half way and then we drove from there. The guys had to stop at a Catholic church on the way as it had special significance and they couldn't pass it without dropping in. There was a sign asking people not to take photos so I didn't.
I am sticking my fingers up here, but in a W not a V. Take your pick for what it stands for from Westside, Weymouth, West Country or West Coast of Sri Lanka.I got burned when we went swimming in a hotel pool for half an hour, but for some reason the guys got away with it. The official tourist season is over and the beaches were pretty empty, although they weren't that full south of Colombo when I went. Tourism still hasn't bounced back completely since the Tsunami. The beach at Mount Lavinia was pretty busy at New Year and in the evening quite a few locals came down to watch the sunset at Negombo. Traditional Sri Lankan fishing boat (below), probably giving tourists a ride as most of the fishing is done at night. We'd visited another beach further up the coast in the morning, which was the main fishing area. They have a market early each morning to sell the nights catch to locals and merchants who will then sell the fish in the towns.
A boat on the beach, which makes it easier to see that it's fairly retro technology. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.