Lady’s Itinerary for 1 Day in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Today I want to share my guide to spending 1 day in Colombo with you. The capital of Sri Lanka is a great place to start a trip to the country, and it’s well worth a visit.

1 Day in Colombo

Following my 3 days in Langkawi, I headed to Sri Lanka to start what would be the longest portion of my winter sun trip 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 Paradise Road 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 it had a reputation to match.

The lobby area, library, restaurant, and sitting room were all decorated with stylish contemporary decor, and the guest rooms were fitted out with antique furniture and high-end amenities.

As I settled in during my 1 day in Colombo, I discovered that the only things not to like about the Paradise Road Tintagel Colombo were the mysterious stains on all the white furniture and blankets in my room (thankfully this didn’t affect the sheets or towels).

The guy who 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), which wasn’t great, either.

And 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 Paradise Road Tintagel Colombo was a pleasant one, and it put me in a great location for my 1 day in Colombo.

Linea Aqua Factory in Colombo

First on the itinerary was a 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 the city.

After a scenic drive through Colombo, my guide and I arrived at the Linea Aqua factory in the late morning. I couldn’t wait to spend part of my 1 day in Colombo there.

After getting visitor badges, we settled into a large high-tech conference room to watch a 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’s come under criticism for the poor treatment of workers, it was refreshing to learn about MAS’ dedication to ensuring good conditions, fair pay, and healthcare and other benefits for 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’s 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 the intensity of the tour, I went with three others for lunch at the open-air canteen.

The Sri Lankan food was delicious, and it was a perfect way to end my tour before the drive back to Colombo’s city center.

Night Out in Colombo

After Linea Aqua, I settled back into my room at the Paradise Road Tintagel Colombo hotel to do some work and catch up on emails.

When that was done, I got ready to continue my 1 day in Colombo with a girls’ night out with my friend’s friend. Our first stop was dinner at The Lagoon, a seafood 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 to finish off my 1 day in Colombo.

1 Day in Colombo

The next morning I was up early to enjoy my English breakfast on the patio of the Paradise Road Tintagel Colombo before checking out and heading south for the next leg of my journey: Unawatuna for New Year’s Eve in Sri Lanka.

To be continued…

Want more? Take a look at my Sri Lanka travel video.

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