A Lady in London

Following my visit to Langkawi, I headed to Sri Lanka to start what would be the longest portion of my winter sun holiday in Asia. After a three-and-a-half hour flight from Singapore, I arrived in Colombo late at night and took a taxi from the airport to my hotel, the Tintagel Colombo. There I found myself in a beautiful 10-room boutique hotel that was formerly a mansion belonging to the family of the first female president of Sri Lanka.

The hotel was located in the sought-after Cinnamon Gardens neighborhood of Colombo, and had a reputation to match. The lobby area, library, restaurant, and sitting room on the ground floor were all decorated with cool contemporary decor, and the guest rooms were fitted out with antiqued furniture and high-end amenities.

As I settled in on my first night and morning at the hotel, I discovered that the only things not to like about the Tintagel Colombo were the mysterious stains on all of the white furniture and blankets in my room (thankfully this did not affect the sheets or towels), the fact that the guy that brought my luggage to my room also asked for my email address (and even went so far as to get a pen and paper ready while I paused to think of a polite way to decline), and the fact that despite asking three times, nobody ever came to open the safe in my room, which was locked when I arrived.

Apart from those inconveniences, my stay at the Tintagel was a pleasant one, and put me in a great location for sightseeing in Colombo. First on the itinerary was a fairly unique destination: the Linea Aqua swimwear factory. A friend of one of my friends in London works for their corporate headquarters in Colombo and set me up with a colleague of hers who took me for a tour.

Textile manufacturing is one of the top three contributors to Sri Lankan GDP. With over 40,000 employees, MAS, the company that co-owns the Linea Aqua factory with Speedo and Brandot, is one of the largest of its kind in the country. The factory I toured was located on the outskirts of Colombo in order to be closer to the workers, most of whom live in the countryside outside of the city.

After a scenic drive through Colombo, my guide and I arrived at the Linea Aqua factory in the late morning. After getting visitor badges, we settled into a large high-tech conference room to watch a PowerPoint presentation and some videos about the company. We also talked to two of his coworkers, who told me about their experiences working for MAS.

In an industry that has come under criticism for the poor treatment of workers, it was refreshing to learn about MAS’ dedication to ensuring good conditions, fair pay, and health care and other benefits to its workers. This means that its products are slightly more expensive than those from other companies and countries, but it also means that its customers can sell its clothing—and consumers can buy it—with a clear conscience.

MAS prides itself on the fair treatment of its workers, over 95% of whom are women. The company has in place various initiatives—like its Women Go Beyond program—to help empower local women, and also environmental endeavors, including the building of a new factory that is Sri Lanka’s first LEED Platinum certified building.

After learning about Linea Aqua’s swimwear production for the likes of Speedo and Victoria’s Secret, it was time to see the plant in action. My guide took me for a tour of the huge, bright factory floor, which was abuzz with sewing machines and cutting tools, and awash in hot pink, deep blue, and other swimsuit fabric colors.

We also went through areas of the factory where the fabric was tested for elasticity, color fastness, and other factors, as well as offices where in-house designers were creating new styles and fabric patterns for clients.

After all of the intensity of the tour, I went with three others for lunch at the open-air canteen. The Sri Lankan food was delicious, and a perfect way to end my tour before the drive back to the city center.

After Linea Aqua, I settled back into my room at the Tintagel Colombo hotel to do some work and catch up on emails. When that was done, I got ready to go for a girls’ night out with my friend’s friend.

Our first stop was dinner at The Lagoon, a fish restaurant in the popular Cinnamon Grand hotel in Colombo. There we met up with five other girls to enjoy a dinner of dishes as diverse as cuttlefish curry and vegetable spring rolls. The food was great, and the seafood bar with its plethora of fish and shellfish options was an attraction unto itself.

After dinner we headed over to The Orient Club, a former British club that still retains its colonial ambiance today. There we met up with the girls’ male counterparts for drinks before turning in for the night.

The next morning I was up early to enjoy my English breakfast on the Tintagel’s patio before checking out and heading south for the next leg of my journey: the Sri Lankan beaches…