Great Guide Proves Key Ingredient in Immersive Tour of Colombo

Day 63, 2025 Grand World Voyage

Saturday, March 8, 2025; Colombo, Sri Lanka.

A great tour guide can make even a mediocre tour interesting. But combine a great guide with a fascinating tour, and you have a winner. That’s what I had today in Colombo, Sri Lanka, as we walked through the heart of the city, including parts that, as our guide said, “aren’t touristic.”

Colombo is the administrative and financial capital of Sri Lanka. The island country is called the pearl or teardrop of India. Marco Polo described it as “the finest island of its size in all the world.”

Occupying a central position on the trade routes through the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka was controlled by the Portuguese, then the Dutch and finally the British, who called it British Ceylon. In 1948 it became a self-governing dominion of the British Empire and gained its full independence in 1972, changing its name to Sri Lanka.

Once again, I opted not to take one of the popular tours here to see elephants. Last year I left the city for a boat ride through the nearby Muthurajawela wetlands. This year I vowed to see something of the city itself, and a Holland America walking tour drew my attention. It turned out to be the best tour of the cruise so far.

For each of its shore excursions Holland America lists the top three reasons to book. The first point on this tour sold me: “Mark Forbes, perhaps Colombo’s most informative guide.” The small print specifies that it will be Mark or one of his team. Our bus lucked out with Mark, who led us through the crowded and “untouristic” Pettah District, a hive of markets, trolleys, tuk-tuks and merchants. Using wireless headphones, he described the fruits and vegetables, the lives of the porters who pushed incredibly heavy loads on small two-wheeled carts and the history of the people, all without losing one of us.

With his professional photographer’s eye, Mark drew our attention to the best shots, assuring us that we could take pictures anywhere. It was obvious that the locals know him, as they either gave us big smiles or simply continued on with their work.

From the produce market, we passed by spice vendors, cloth and silk markets, and the Jami-Ul-Alfar Mosque, one of the oldest in the city.

We slowly left that district and crossed a canal into Fort Colombo, the central district from colonial times. The fort walls have been destroyed, but much of the colonial architecture remains, and Mark is an expert on the subject (watch for his soon-to-be-published book).

While I saw other ship passengers passing by on the infamous tuk-tuks, by walking with Mark we saw the little details, such as an early HSBC bank logo including details of the opium trade (it unsurprisingly fell out of favor), stunning marble columns discovered under layers of black paint and a multi-story chandelier.

We enjoyed tea in the Grand Oriental Hotel, spying the Zuiderdam docked in the distance. The iconic combination lighthouse/clocktower is no longer near the sea, as the city continues to reclaim and expand its land.

Our final stop was the Old Dutch Hospital, which now houses shops, bars and restaurants. I briefly considered having lunch at the top-rated Ministry of Crab. But as I tried to calculate the currency conversion, I realized the prices were in U.S. dollars and well beyond my budget.

No worries. Last night on the ship, I enjoyed a spectacular dinner in the Pinnacle Grill, prepared by Singaporean chef Deming Chung, with wine pairings by Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen, the Wine Guys. During the world cruise, Holland America brings guest chefs on board for a couple of weeks at a time. They conduct cooking demonstrations, mingle with the guests and prepare special regional meals. I make it a point to book as many as possible.

Chef Chung left an investment banking career for an unlikely transition to the famous Singapore hawker stalls. He now is known for his Mod Sin (modern Singaporean) cuisine.

The Wine Guys Mike and Jeff have written for virtually every wine aficionado publication, authored books and made numerous television appearances. They’ve generously shared their wine knowledge with us and did a great job pairing fantastic wines with Chef Chung’s dinner (stretching Cellar Master Jacques’ budget, I’m sure).

The five courses were great, but Chef Chung calls my favorite Fwah! I never would have expected brioche topped with foie gras, kaya jam and scrambled eggs to be so good.

Other courses included Straits Bisque, Ohh LaLa (crab in chili crab sauce), Beef Rendang (tender short ribs) and dessert of durian and passion fruit crème brûlées.