"Colombo is everything I did not expect. It is not your exotic tourist destination, and it is not a place that I would say is celebrating its culture or traditions as much as you’d expect. The look of the city is a mix between your typical overcrowded Asian towns, while the centre towards the port features a series of colonial buildings that clearly show the influences of the past. The past crises, over 30 years of tensions as well as the Tsunami in 2004, have left their mark. However, people are making a huge effort to compete with their Indian neighbours to the North and apparently Colombo has never been as clean as it is now. Many colonial buildings are under refurbishment and there is definitely a wave of excitement, a sense of moving on and becoming a global destination for business and tourism."