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| Incandescent |
One of the biggest problems about Colombo is that unless you have a
load of cash, there’s very little to do. As in, to hang out. Watch a
movie? Upwards of LKR 600 each. Eat out? Saivar (roadside eateries for the
non-Sri Lankan you) is fine; you can polish off a meal for two for less than
200. But any decent cafe, restaurant or even fast food place is gonna cost you
more than LKR 500 per head because you can’t just eat to fill your stomach, you
have to pay service charge, other taxes, leave a tip yada yada.
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| Step right in... |
What about a trip? Again, if you don’t have a vehicle of your own,
public transport is gonna tire you out. And as you saw from my earlier posts,
trips kinda empty your account. Even budget trips.
So imagine my delight when I found this little gem in the heart of
Colombo. Frances Hodgson Burnett* would’ve been proud.
The Beddegana Wetland Park is in Ethul Kotte and opened for visitors
just about a month or two ago. Before that it was just a patch of land with
swampy water where people would visit at night to ahem... er... maybe I
shouldn’t say. Wasn’t safe for kids anyhow.
We started off from Colombo 05 on a weekend and got there around 11.30 AM. It took us about an hour to navigate traffic from Borella and find the Beddegana road that leads to the park. If you're familiar with the area, it's very easy to find.
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| Beddegana Wetland Park via Google Maps |
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| The prettier ones wouldn't stay still :( |
Today it is a bird park (although I saw more butterflies than birds)
that charges LKR 50 per head for entrance. There is an elevated walkway that
goes around the park so that humans don’t damage the environment. There’s a
huge parking area too, and it’s very family friendly.
It was kind of hot inside but the most surprising thing was the
quiet. Ethul Kotte is close to Nawala and Battaramulla, both busy urban areas.
100 meters from the front entrance are traffic-laden roads. But inside? It was
paradise.
There were tons of butterflies of all colours and shapes. My
boyfriend and I had fun trying to count how many (we lost count). It was close
to midday so most birds were resting but a few storks were out on the water for
us to see. There is a watch tower, several viewing platforms and a number of
intersecting paths that meander around the park.
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| Come over to the other side... |
It took us a good 1-2 hours to go all around it. Mind you we walked
slowly, enjoying the absence of smoke, dust and loud horns screaming in our
ears. The park borders the Diyawanna Lake on one side and you can look out on
it from 2 different viewing points.
Most of the park is closed off for public access, which I think is
smart. Even the small area open to us was already becoming polluted with toffee
wrappers, polythene bags and plastic water bottles. I wish they’d kept large
dustbins here and there. And checked our bags to remove all polythene stuff.
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| One of the many summer huts dotted around the park |
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| Colombo's secret garden |
If you’re thinking of going, take a hat and sunglasses and switch
off your phones. This isn’t the place for selfies every 2 minutes. It’s a place
for quiet, for reflection and maybe a few photos to remember the place. You
won’t catch the bird calls on your Instagram my friend. It’ll only be in your
heart. If you remember to listen.
(Approx.) Time Taken : 3 hours
(Approx.) Total Cost : LKR 500 (including petrol for the car)
Satisfaction : 4.5/5 (didn't see enough birds)
* Check out 'The Misselthwaite Archives' here, a retelling of F.H. Burnett's Secret Garden on YouTube.
*All pictures are subject to copyright © Asuka Randeniye 2016. Photo Credits: Lahiru Piumwardena
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