‘Colombo Heat’? Scorching, as usual, with the tropical sun staying true to form. So it’s a test of a kind right from the start. The action can get even hotter, but isn’t that what it’s all about? What better way to enjoy the sights of the busy commercial capital than on a vintage jeep – WW2 Jeeps or early Land Rover Series 1 for instance. These classics are true veterans who have seen the wars and ridden the rough. Now with their tops down, open to the elements, they take on the challenge of toughing it out in the city streets.
Whizzing along the Marine Drive, a brisk breeze blows from the ocean – a brief respite from the heat. The skyscrapers muscle in on old shops as traffic crawls bumper to bumper down the busy Galle Road – Colombo’s lifeline. Up narrow side streets where nothing much has changed for lifetimes, and beside the Beira Lake where Pelicans swoop and temples stand still while futuristic architecture rises above it all. Then onto the greener suburbs where the roads get less smooth and into a wetland right in the midst of chaos. Here, the jeeps show off their true colours, revelling in the demands of the off road experience – manoeuvring over rocks, battling against the mud, thrilling everyone on board to bits, as the birds and the occasional croc looks on. It is one bumpy ride, but the fun just like the sights are not easily forgotten.