"The Seema Malaka temple, a meditation center designed by Geoffrey Bawa, Sri Lanka’s best-known architect, known for his signature tropical modernism style. The temple extends from the bank into the lake, an elegant construction of wood and stone with a surfeit of Buddha statues. It’s a peaceful haven in a city filled with honking tuk-tuks and buses blasting Indian pop tunes. An abundance of pelicans and storks call the lake home, and it’s not uncommon to see a yard-long monitor lizard pulling itself onto the banks."