The long, narrow strip of lawn between the city and the Indian Ocean is where Colombo comes to breathe. Every evening, families lay out mats, children fly kites, and vendors set up grills selling isso wade (prawn fritters), corn on the cob, and sweet rotis. It's one of the best and most democratic places in the city — everyone comes here.
The view west is open ocean; to the south, the new Colombo Port City development rises from land reclaimed from the sea. Behind you, the Galle Face Hotel — open since 1864, the most storied hotel in Sri Lanka — faces the new towers across the road. The contrast between the colonial cream of the hotel and the glass of the new development captures Colombo's present moment in a single glance.